Using Moodle for Train the Trainer course

Using Moodle for Train the Trainer course

by Steve Thomas -
Number of replies: 2

I'm not too familiar with Moodle, so bear with me.  I'm an Emergency Care Instructor Trainer, running a small training center.(myself, my daughter, and a few independent instructors).  We teach things like CPR, First Aid, etc., most of which are very short (1/2 to 1 day) courses.  I teach a lot of Instructor Development Courses to train instructors, who are mostly independent trainers or in small training centers.  The course is 12 hours or so, with courses for experienced instructors being only 3 hours or so.  Not a long course, and not much money involved.  We do it because it's the right thing to do.

The problem is that the prospective instructors are scattered all over the country.  And since they are mostly part-timers or small entrepreneurs, just the time and expense of travel makes it prohibitive.  They just can't spend $1000 to get trained to teach something that will make them $200/mo.  So I've been looking for a method where I can teach them via distance.  I thought about WebEx or Live Meeting, but that is totally too expensive (a seat in a live meeting costs more than the entire tuition by about 2 times!).

So, is this something I could use Moodle for?  And if so, where do I go to learn more.  I envision a real time (as opposed to an individually paced) course, where I can interact with the students over the course of the 2 days, but with some or all of them not physically present.  I'd also like to make non-real time courses for renewals, where they just check in and complete the course when it's time.

Thoughts?

Steve Thomas

AlertCPR Emergency Training

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In reply to Steve Thomas

Re: Using Moodle for Train the Trainer course

by Lori Cheezem -
Hi Steve,

You might want to check into Yugma. It would require a bit of coordination on your part, but because it is openly available you might be able to use it to meet with your students.

Lori Cheezem
Instructional Designer
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID
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In reply to Steve Thomas

Re: Using Moodle for Train the Trainer course

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
I'm not too familier with Emergency Care, so _you_ have to bear with me smile

As far as I can judge, you face a major challenge because you teach a _practical_ subject. In simpliefied terms, Moodle tries to provide web-based alternatives to learning activities in a public school: you distribute a portion of a subject, give instructions, ask casual questions, give compulsory tutorials, correct answer sheets, etc.

The medium is goverened by the technology used, in this case the web. Text is the most obvious, you can add pictures, distribute printed material, distribute presentations as (much dreaded) slides and/or with audio files, ...

In your case, how do you demonstrate a CPR? I can only think of a video. Assuming that you have the skill and facilities to make one (or buy one), how do you know whether your audience is doing it right? If not, how do you interact?

I don't say that this is impossible, to me it all sounds quite involved. My suggestion is to use Moodle a) for the organization b) to spread out activities over a longer period c) to give support d) to facilitate communication amoung the peers.

Buy a book on Moodle and see what "activities" are of use. Plan a "light" version and do a couple of iterations.
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