Resource Tools in Moodle

Hybrid and Blended Learning, Moodle, Online Teaching Practices, Reflective Teaching, Teacher Development, VLE 0 comments

Resource Tools in Moodle

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña

Sharing and analyzing content is indeed a crucial part of any teaching and learning experience and scenario [F2F, Blended, VLE, etc.]. In an online setting, selecting and implementing tools that support these educational processes is vital, but it is also necessary to assess teacher and student needs and abilities prior to the implementation of any chosen tool. While cautious gathering of such tools can enhance student learning experiences, the selection may imply that instructors can face challenges and potential failure.

Let’s now analyze three Moodle resource tools in terms of their potential uses within an online or blende learning course and the challenges instructors may encounter when deciding on the best use of each one. All changes made to improve student learning experiences may imply that instructor have to face with a variety of challenges to be successful.

Moodle Resource Tools	Uses	Challenges
*Wikis*	· Sharing of web links with relevant and updated information regarding class content: Vocabulary sites, grammar practices, etc. · Collaborative writing or assignments in EFL/ESL contexts · Sharing of documents among students or with the instructor	· The organization of different pages in the wiki seems to be not very user friendly for a first timer or an amateur student or instructor. · Some sort of training on the use of the tool is a must to ensure proper and effective use of it.
Once both types of participants get the knack of how to use the *wiki* option in Moodle, they won’t have much trouble making it work. It just takes a bit of patience to get confident on the use of the tool.
*Blogs*	· If used as a journal, they can be a great tool to encourage and foster reflective thinking among students. · In ELT contexts, they can also be used to ensure reflective teaching and critical thinking in the search of answers to their teaching queries. · They provide some room for students who barely voice opinions or comments in a F2F class setting.	· For the first timer, keeping a blog can be a bit of a problem. As in any kind of Moodle tool, some sort of modeling by the instructor is a need. This might subtract some teaching time for class but can be the solution to potential arising problems. · Many times students have claimed that their blog entries cannot be accessed or “reutilized” after a course is over. It’s always smart to ask them to keep a copy of their entries for themselves.
*Blogs* are great tools for reflection, voicing opinions and thoughts, commenting, etc. It is indispensable that instructors take some time off their regular teaching to train students on the correct, optimal use of the tool to be successful and profit from the blogging experience for their own learning.
*Media embedding*	· With some basic knowledge of *html* teachers and learners can contribute greatly to course content along with their blog entries, wiki contributions, glossaries, and the like. · Sample media that can be displayed with this Moodle tool are: o Videos from Youtube, Vimeo, TeacherTube, etc. o Docs from Scribd, SlideShare, etc. o Widgets	· Training is a must. Students and instructors lacking the basic notions of *html* use will find themselves incapable of using this tool to enhance content within their lessons, homework assignments, forums, etc. · This tool for the neophyte is or can be a headache.
From the many options that Moodle provides educators, *media embedding* is the one that really does need some sort of training to assess instructors’ understanding.

Training oneself as an instructor, whether that is by self-instructing yourself or by being trained by one’s school is the first step to get really acquainted with a learning platform. The second step is to take some time off one’s class to train students who are new to the system and need some extra assistance. After all this you online or blended learning scenario is going to be easy and highly productive for both the instructor and the learners.