Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by Frances Bell -
Number of replies: 9

A guide for Adult Learning purporting to be in Plain English has been lambasted for gobbledegook, and in the processs, Moodle's name has been taken in vain, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/10/councils-gobbledegook-plain-english-campaign

An interesting story but what can we learn from it?  I think it's good to think about implementations of Moodle as <name> powered by Moodle rather than as our Moodle.  This might also help with our periodic visitations of students who think they're at home when really they're here.

Perhaps we should also capitalise MOODLE though I do remember it as a name rather than as an acronym.

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Frances Bell

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by ben reynolds -
I'm always in favor of plain speaking. I wonder if the Lounge wants something like this above that gorgeous photo:

If you are a student, you are probably here by mistake. This is not your classroom.

Perhaps it's a little too plainly spoken.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to ben reynolds

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by E. L. Cooper -
I have to admit I heart tech documentation. It takes a foot in the world of common man and a foot in the world of technology to have a clue what they are saying.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to ben reynolds

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by Frances Bell -

Ben,

I'm all for anything that helps students realise they are not in their own classroom, but I don't think that particular suggestion would help more than the inclusion of the information on the log in page (that has already been done). The capacity of human beings to ignore written instructions is impressive ;)

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Frances Bell

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by ben reynolds -
Frances,
Given that I haven't read the info on the login page in quite a long time, I concur on both your points smile
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Frances Bell

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by Don Hinkelman -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers
Good questions, Frances. I prefer to use "Moodle LMS" or "Moodle open source LMS" when I refer to my favorite learning management system. I dislike "MOODLE" because it looks like "shouting out loud". I also like "Powered by Moodle" or "This LMS is powered by Moodle". Actually, it is also powered by Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP and other wonderful contributions to be exact.

Given the current state of elearning and blended learning across education, I think we should emphasize the generic "thing" we are talking about, less about the brand. The brand is important, but first teachers have to understand what an LMS is, and second that there are commercial/proprietory and open source options.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Frances Bell

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by Martin Dougiamas -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
An interesting presentation by Helen Carter from the University of Canberra at Educause last week showed that no matter how hard they tried to re-brand their own site locally they found that everyone continues to call their installation Moodle.

I don't think there's much we can do from here ...

BTW, I strongly vote against MOODLE ... I've always called just called it "Moodle" (the acronym is really a sort of open secret smile )
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Martin Dougiamas

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by Don Hinkelman -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers
Yes, I do not think you can re-brand after a name has stuck. In our school, no one knows the name Moodle except the tech guys. It is just "e-learning". Students say, "I went to 'e-learning' the other day, but couldn't log in." or a teacher will say "the e-learning server is slow today".

That is the name we started with and now it is virtually impossible to re-brand. I think that is fine. Like Linux, Moodle is a structure underneath and it really does not matter to our students and staff what the name is. However, the administration and funding committee sure know about Moodle, and appreciate the annual licensing fees (zero).

In academic journals, I use "Moodle LMS" and "Moodle open-source LMS" as keywords and phrases to describe our setup.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Don Hinkelman

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by ben reynolds -
Same for us, although we had no trouble re-branding. We started out on WebCT and built a lot of documentation calling it "WebCT," but when BB bought them and we moved to Moodle, we removed all references to the platform and just called it "CTYOnline."

Every so often, a student will remark, "You know, this looks like Moodle."
Average of ratings: -
In reply to ben reynolds

Re: Moodle unfairly implicated in Plain Speaking critique

by ben reynolds -
Having thought about this some more, I should add that we had no trouble re-branding because we are a totally distance education part of CTY. So, except for us office drones (who do call it "Moodle"), there's no f2f community to reinforce the original brand.
Average of ratings: -