A Concise Guide On Moodle
Moodle is a free learning platform used to provide learners, educators and administrators with a single integrated, secure and robust system where personalized learning environments can be created. The software can either be downloaded to a web server or used with help from one of the partners. It’s an e-learning tool that offers simple yet safe solutions to an institution to facilitate online collaborations.
The Various Uses of Moodle
With this platform, one can create learning spaces (known as courses), with each course containing its own set of activities and resources. These can be customized in terms of appearance and organization. The course can also be password-protected or time-limited so as to curtain unauthorized access.
A course can contain texts and activities, including video and audio. These can be accessed by students whenever they need to. The platform works best when used in conjunction with face-to-face learning. There are numerous possibilities here. Such include supplementing classwork with online supplementary activities, offering links to sites relevant to the coursework, co-authoring a document as a team or asking participants for feedback.
There are numerous optional modules offered by Moodle. Students can upload their assignments for marking and grading. The teacher gets automated alerts whenever a new assignment is uploaded, with the marks stored in the grade book. One therefore doesn’t have to worry about misplaced score sheets.
There’s a built-in chat module which would be helpful for students working together. They can discuss an issue or answer questions set by their teacher. All chats are saved, which means that the teacher can review then whenever they please.
Moodle is also useful for running web quests. Here, one can group their students, create a webpage for the chief task, set up links and offer forum and chat spaces to facilitate discussion. Students can then upload their work using the assignment tool.
The platform also comes with a simple Wiki, which can be used for collaborative writing. Such include group writing assignments and planning projects. The simple process of editing and saving means that the work goes on quickly without participants having to be in the same place.
Getting Acquainted
The best way to get familiarized with this software is to play with it. A typical Moodle homepage has a header and login box on the top, with the rest of the page containing a collection of activities and blocks. The latter are used to provide key info or point the users towards helpful links or pages. They often contain message alerts, menus and an administrative control panel. To aid in distinction, the blocks can be perceived as static, with the activities being interactive.
