Module 1 Reading

Lesson 2 Virtual learning environm ents find

WWW
Lead-in
th eir
1 Search online for definitions of a ‘virtual learning environm ent’. Look through the virtu
search results and choose the best one. ‘It’s г
it ha;
R eading focus w ith
2 Read the title and introduction to an article. Underline the key words that will help is rig
you understand the m ain topic. W hat do you think the article is about?
SimiJ
struc
can s
Open source e-learning: In the Moodle o f tec
O pen-source software (OSS) has m ade a huge im pact on the software th e n
market. One such product could be about to revolutionise e-learning. differ
staff \
To quote a well-worn adage: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. There are
som e exceptions though, and the free-to-download course-m anagem ent software, Dist
Moodle, that also allows users to build e-learning courses and com m unities, could
Amoi
be one of them.
wants
In the learning sector, Moodle, developed in Australia by the educator and computer own e
scientist Martin Dougiamas, is probably the m ost high-profile piece of free open-
СШ Ь
source software (OSS). In sim ple terms, OSS is software that is developed through
Mood
public collaboration because anyone can have access to the source code and
this ai
therefore modify or extend it to s u it 1their needs.
using
for ch
3 Answer the questions. the us
1 Do we have any evidence th a t th e au thor is im pressed w ith the p o tential of Moodle? using
2 W hich specific expressions prove this? d a ssn
w orld
4 Skim read the w hole article in two m inutes. W hat is its tone? given
im partial an d w
critical b etter
com plim entary
Case
5 Read the article again and follow these instructions.
Custoi
1 How does each heading prepare th e reader for w h at com es next? h e lp b
2 Identify one sentence th a t b est describes the m ain idea of each section. mana^
progra
Pedigree It w as
Ray Lawrence, managing director of Telford-based HowToMoodle, w hich provides o f th e i
training, consultancy and developm ent services to help users get the m ost from th e c o i
the software, says the ‘free’ tag may be what attracts people initially, but it is the site aft
product’s 'pedigree' that is also fuelling its take-up. UK an<
m anag
'M oodle was developed for educators, not just people with software skills,’ he says.
talk ab
'People in learning and developm ent quickly see that it works.' Those who want to

28
 unit 2

find o ut m ore ab o u t th e pedagogical principles b eh in d th e software can do so at

n w v .m o o d le.o rg . P artn er co m panies such as HowToM oodle give the 'to p slice’ of
th eir revenue from M oodle projects back into th e softw are's developm ent. ‘It's a
T iim ous circle an d it is w h at keeps M oodle alive an d su stainable/ explains Lawrence.
Ь 5 also w h at sets it a p a rt from som e o ther open-source softw are b ecause it m ean s
■ has a steady flow of incom e.' Law rence adds th a t w hile it is easy to get carried away
w ith th e idea th a t M oodle is free, p a rt of his com pany's role is to en sure th e software
s right for 2their requirem ents.

Similarly, w hile M oodle m akes it easy to u p lo a d content, it is also im p o rta n t to

structure th e learn in g activities so they are ap p ro p riate for th e learner. 'The platform
can su p p o rt co m m u n icatio n a n d reduce adm inistration,' says Dick M oore, director
of technology at Ufi an d a tru stee for The A ssociaton for Learning Technology. 'But
th e m o st critical factor is th e quality of th e co n te n t a n d course design - th a t’s the
differentiator.' M oore adds th a t to get the m o st o u t of it, it is also necessary to have
staff w ho u n d e rsta n d th e platform at a technical level.

Distance learning
Am ong HowToM oodle's clients is th e C hartered Institute of H ousing (CIH), w hich
w an ted to ru n d istan ce-learn in g courses on an e-learning platform a n d develop its
ow n e-learning m aterial, as well as drive dow n costs.

СШ believed an o p en -so u rce solution w ould suit th eir needs, an d discovered

M oodle. It h as since built a M asters degree-level e-learning course to be lau n ch ed
this au tu m n . It is also looking at how M oodle could be u se d in o th er ways, such as
using 3its e-portfolio space for m em b ers to provide evidence of th eir co m p eten ce
for ch artered status. 'O ur aim is to raise th e b a r on assessm en t criteria through
th e use of M oodle,' says M ary James, IT m an ag er at CIH. 'W e're investigating how
using electronic m e th o d s of learning can raise stan d ard s of learning co m p ared to
classroom en v iro n m en ts.’ Currently, M oodle has aro u n d 40,000 registered sites
w orldw ide, m an y of 4them p rivate-sector com panies. Law rence says M oodle has
given e-learning a w elcom e sh ot in th e arm . 'A lot of organisations tried e-learning
an d w en t th ro u g h th e mill,’ he says. 'This tim e, they w an t to get it right.’ A nd w hat
b etter w ay to dip th eir to e back in th e w ater th a n via a piece of free software?

Case study: Customer 1st International

C ustom er 1st In tern atio n al in W iltshire p ro d u ces learning m aterials a n d resources to
help b u sin esses im prove th eir stan d ard s of cu sto m er service. It n e e d e d a learning-
m a n ag em en t system for overseas an d UK clients, as well as a tu to r-led interactive
program m e th a t could acco m m odate learning logs, action plans an d assessm ents.
It w as aw are of M oodle a n d w orked w ith HowToM oodle to create an online version
of th e Best Practice Guide fo r C ustom er Service Professionals. H ow ToM oodle built
th e course an d provided training so C ustom er 1st could m ain ta in th e course an d
site after th e handover. 5It is n ow being sold to m ajor blu e-ch ip co m panies in the
UK a n d abroad. 'M oodle delivered exactly w h at w e w anted,' says C ustom er 1st
m anaging d irector S tephanie Edwards. ‘It m ea n s we have raised the gam e an d can
talk ab o u t cu sto m er service at a higher level.'

29
 Module 1 Reading

6 Scan the article and m atch the people m entioned in the text (1 -5 ) with their role in
regard to M oodle (a-e).
1 M ary Jam es a m anages a M oodle consultancy
2 Stephanie Edw ards b created th e m ost well-known OSS
3 M artin Dougiam as с uses th e platform to prove th e advantages of e-learning over
4 Ray Law rence traditional face-to-face m ethods
5 Dick M oore d points out th e features th a t distinguish M oodle from other
platform s
e runs th e business th a t uses M oodle to deliver a very specific
course for their custom ers

7 Read the text again and make a list o f all the benefits of Moodle. Add to the list if you
know of any others.

8 Look at words 1 -5 in bold in the article. W hat do they refer to?

Vocabulary focus
9 As an educational platform, M oodle contains a great deal of specific teaching/
learning vocabulary. Read the text on page 31 and create two spidergrams to summarise
w hat students and teachers do differently in M oodle compared to face-to-face teaching/
learning, e.g. students self-enrol.

30
 Lesson 2

1
nsM o o d le ’s b a s ic stru c tu re is o r g a n is e d a ro u n d c o u r s e s . T h e s e are b a sic a lly p a g e s
or a r e a s within M o o d le w h ere t e a c h e r s c a n p r e se n t their learn in g r e s o u r c e s an d
ac tiv itie s to s tu d e n t s . T h ey c a n h a v e differen t lay o u ts, b ut th ey u su ally in clu d e a
n u m b e r of ce n tral s e c t io n s w h ere m a te ria ls a re d is p la y e d a n d h a v e s id e b lo c k s
LC
offering e x tra fe a tu r e s or in form ation.

C o u r s e s c a n co n ta in c o n te n t for a y e a r ’s s tu d ie s , a s in g le s e s s i o n or a n y oth e r
ш v a ria n ts (d e p e n d in g on th e t e a c h e r or e sta b lish m e n t). T h ey c a n b e u s e d by o n e
t e a c h e r or s h a r e d by a g r o u p o f te a c h e r s .

H ow s t u d e n t s enrol on c o u r s e s d e p e n d s on th e e s ta b lis h m e n t; for e x a m p le th ey

c a n se lf-e n ro l, b e en rolled m an u ally b y their t e a c h e r or a u to m a tic a lly b y th e ad m in .

An Activity in M o o d le is a fe a tu re w h ere s t u d e n t s iearn b y in teractin g with e a c h

oth e r o r with their tea c h e r. T h ey m ight, fo r in sta n c e , c o n trib u te in a forum , u p lo a d
an a s s ig n m e n t, a n s w e r q u e s t io n s in a q u iz or c o lla b o r a te to g e th e r in a wiki.
rise A ctivities c a n b e g r a d e d .
ng/ A R e s o u r c e in M o o d le is an item th at a t e a c h e r c a n a d d to a M o o d le c o u r s e to
s u p p o r t learn in g, s u c h a s a file, a v id e o or link to a w e b site . A r e s o u r c e d iffe rs from
an activity in th a t it is s ta tic (i.e. th e s tu d e n t c a n m erely look at o r re a d it, rath er
th an p articip ate ).

A c o u r s e in M o o d le is an a r e a w h ere a t e a c h e r will a d d r e s o u r c e s a n d ac tiv itie s

for their s t u d e n t s to c o m p le te . It m igh t b e a s im p le p a g e with d o w n lo a d a b le
d o c u m e n t s o r it m igh t b e a c o m p le x s e t o f ac tiv itie s w h ere learn in g p r o g r e s s e s
th rou gh in teraction . P r o g r e s s c a n b e tra c k e d in a n u m b e r o f w a y s.

Follow-up
10 Look on the internet for articles describing possible disadvantages of platforms like
Moodle. Write them down and compare your lists in class.

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