Moodle

At my school, there is a big push for teachers to use Moodle for the 2012-2013 school year. I was wondering what other teachers are using Moodle. If not, what other sites do you use? What are some positives or negatives? Thanks in advance for any feedback!

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Young on June 8, 2012 at 11:40am

I certainly wouldn't be without Moodle - I have a Maths course on Moodle for every year group in the school (11-18). Even though we have been on holiday this week I can see there have been hundreds of hits on each course as students prepare for exams.

(Some Moodle links here which may be useful).

Staff will need support - it's not that obvious how to do everything!

If I wanted students to collaborate online I'd probably use a wiki like Wikispaces (more links here).

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Permalink Reply by Mary Cooch on June 8, 2012 at 4:27pm

I would definitely recommend making an account on the help forums of www.moodle.org where there is the most up to date free documentation around docs.moodle.org and also lots of people keen to help you solve issues and encourage you to make the most of Moodle.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on June 8, 2012 at 7:06pm

About 5 years ago, Moodle was a welcomed answer to a need, specifically, putting files and links and other materials were students could access them. My more ambitious students would check the lesson plans (now required by admin to be posted on Moodle by all teachers) when they were absent and come to class with assignments done. Some would also say, "I left my copy of the worksheet (or whatever) at school but I got a copy off of the Moodle."

Many of my average students, however, do not typically seek out directions or information that they are missing, at least not outside of class hours. So, I am looking forward to moving to a 1:1 environment next year where I can reinforce the missing behavior.

Moodle will continue as a part of how I deliver content and make info available, though I have fallen out of love with Moodle;

Here's the cons as I see them:

it's a bit clunky (lots of clicks to place material or activities),

not as aesthetically appealing as other options,

missing in the sort of social timeline format that students are accustomed to in FB and other sites.

On that last note, it is possible for information to find students by using Moodle to send out a mass email, but it works only if they are enrolled on the site and they routinely check email.

Pros:

I can hide or reveal or rearrange elements, making it easier to guide my students' attention.

I can get reports that indicate a student's Moodle usage.

The quizzing/testing ability allows the teacher to customize feedback (great for wrong response on formative assessments).

I, too, am curious about LMS sites that others are using. I am checking out haiku, brainhoney, and My Big Campus.