Teaching with Moodle

Guten Tag, Martin!

In my opinion the question is not how to establish a web 2.0 tool (with cookbook type solutions) but to ask first what kind of classroom activity would help my students develop the knowledge/skills they need.

Then think of way to mirror what you would do in the classroom online. For example by linking several moodle activities and resources to achieve a cooperative learning scenario.

Any scenario will only work if the students see the direct use for their learning. Also, don't forget that all collaborative work needs trust among the learners and teachers. Otherwise people will be extremely reluctant to contribute anything to forums, wikis, etc.

I can recommend the following links to you for further info/ideas/advice:

http://moodle.org/course/view.php?id=17223

http://moodle.vhs.essen.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=382

Best wishes,

Stephan

First let me say that Stephan knows what he is talking about. He gave a great presentation about creating trust and interaction at the iMoot that inspired me (use games, give virtual gifts, have students create groups by shared interests).

I am a big fan of the current event discussion for getting kids active online.
Variation 1:
You post a link to a news article and pose a few questions as a regular part of the class. The students must reply to you and respond to one other student. Extra credit for extended discussions or high quality posts.

Variation 2:
Students find articles and discuss the relevance to the material the class is covering. If a student finds an article/event that is already being discussed the student replies to the original thread.

Why it works:
It seems I never have enough time in class to discuss how the events of the world relate to the material we study, so putting these discussions online helps enhance student learning. Also because some students have very strong opinions about current events, these discussions can take on a life of their own. Current events also help students answer the question: "Why do we have to learn this?" "How does this matter to my life?". Online discussions are a great chance to reinforce good citizenship (staying informed, participating) and to teach the elements of a respectful debate and a well constructed argument.

Hi Martin,

I teach a related subject - geography. I might be able to offer another perspective. You say that you've been running Moodle for 2 years and that web 2.0 tools are not yet as well used. I've been using Moodle for over 3 years and I'm just beginning to see a serious uptake in wikis, forums etc. In my research with student groups I've found that this is mainly explained by the process of acculturation. Even Prensky is now going back on the 'digital native' idea - our students are no more born understanding computers as I was born in an earlier era understanding cars! The lesson here is to keep going and put more emphasis on the use of forums etc. to drive student interest. Gradually you will find it become part of the lesson.

My students aren't assessed on these skills either but I've found a way forward. Firstly, in the preparatory courses (in my system yr11 before the final senior yr12) I grade students on both their test results and their learning processes. The former is for the report grade, the latter for the report comment. Then, in the final year I emphasise the use of the forum. Each topic has a forum, exams have a forum. I expect students to revise via the forum. I bring in the chat room feature just before exams. Increasingly over the years, students have used these forums as a basis for teaching each other, swapping information etc. I find I rarely need to get involved (although they do like it when I do). There are some very good ideas up there now. In addition, I discuss the use of external social tools so, this year, each of my classes has their own Facebook page! I don't get involved in this but they organise their own revision sessions in local libraries etc. I am also aware they will use IM during evening revision.

Bottom line - keep going, it's a cultural process. Put up opportunities to interact - every topic gets a forum. Teach students how to use it and when/why. Emphasise the economies of scale!

Hope this helps,

Paul

A great post Martin, looking forward to reading the replies.

A few things I've been trying......

1) Using the Lightbox gallery, I've posted up some images to stimulate discussion on a particular topic eg 'With reference to the images, discuss how drugs can impact both the individual and the community'. Kids can then 'add a comment' below the gallery with their thoughts. Not that dissimilar to what they do every night of the week on Facebook and the like, look at their friends photo albums and post comments.

2) Using the forums I've asked students to post fictional first aid scenarios and then all students are to discuss (online of course) the best management of these scenarios. Will know how successful this is next term.

3) Finally, using Forums and/or Google Docs - I've placed students into small groups and provided them with past HSC (end of year) Examination questions. Within their group they have to work on the 'perfect' answer, with all answers being shared around the class at the conclusion of the activity. This has worked well, but the worst thing is the super keen (and often really bright students) jump in and post excellent answers, leaving the less motivated kids with little to contribute and their posts read 'I agree with Bill'.

Hope one of these ideas can be of some use.

Hello again,

Sorry for the slight delay in replying. Term has ended, and I’m in the process of moving back from Hong Kong to Sydney, so it’s a bit hectic.

Paul: Thanks for the advice to just keep using the tools, so that students get used to them. I think that, together with Stephan’s reminder to focus on outcomes before tool selection forms the answer I was looking for.

Stephan, Chris: Thanks for the tips, and suggestions. I have used the ‘wiki’ idea with non- exam students (Y7)  - split them into small groups to create a topic/subject revision page.

I then rotate the groups so that at least one other group reviews/edits another groups page. You can do as many iterations as you have time for to get improvements for each wiki page. This worked well. 

Tomaz: I didn’t know about the cookbook, so thanks for putting me onto that. I have put up a recipe that I hope may be useful : http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=82&rid=3966

The spirit of the moodle community is really terrific, and I have found all your contributions very helpful, and so please, any other comments are welcome

Best wishes

Martin