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.
E To fully develop and comprehend this teaching issue,
it’s advisable to research and expand these areas:
1
|
Moodle tools
|
2
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Moodle training for educators
|
3
|
Training students to use a Moodle LMS
|
4
|
Embedding media in Moodle
|
5
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Html training for Moodle users
|
Professor
Jonathan Acuña-Solano
ELT
Instructor & Trainer based in Costa Rica
Freelance ELT Consultant four OUP in Central America
For
further comments or suggestions, reach me at:
@jonacuso – Twitter
Other blogs and sites I often write for my students at
the university are:
Get new ELT material and ideas by visiting my
curated topics on http://paper.li/ and http://scoop.it/
Published on October 3, 2013
|
Moodle Tool Guide for
Teachers
CLT Moodle Tool Guide
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/clt/2011/08/16/clt-moodle-tool-guide/
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