Experimental Research on Moodle

Experimental Research on Moodle

by Ramon Iriarte -
Number of replies: 6

Hi Everyone!

I'm in the process of building a theoretical framework aiming to carry out a qualitative assessment of Moodle as learning environment from the standpoint of several theories (i.e. learning spaces, environmental psychology, learning styles, multiple intelligences, etc.). I would appreciate if anyone could provide me with some information on experimental research carried out using Moodle as learning platform at different educational levels. I would also appreciate to know if anyone has replicated the experimental work on Moodle using COLLES and ATTLS.  I am particularly interested in the way the diversity of tools offered by moodle (forums, workshops, surveys, etc.) have contributed to enrich the learning experience or eventually hindered the realization of learning objectives.

Thank you very much in advance!

Ramon A. Iriarte

Department of Information and Computer Science

Faculty of Engineering

Kagoshima University

JAPAN

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In reply to Ramon Iriarte

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Irmgard Willcockson -
Ramon, I am teaching at the UT School of Health Information Sciences in Houston (www.shis.uth.tmc.edu) . We are using Moodle to deliver online only and blended courses. I am working on research to look at how different students perform in one of our courses based on their background and the difficulty level of the questions. This research does not evaluate Moodle as such, but rather uses the data we get from Moodle to help us answer questions about the performance of our students. If you are interested I can send you the paper when I get a first draft. That will probably take until sometime in August.
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In reply to Irmgard Willcockson

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Ramon Iriarte -
Hi Irmgard! Thank you very much for your reply and sorry for my delayed answer. Your research work sounds really interesting, it would be very helpful to know about the results. I would appreciate if you could send me a copy of the paper when you get it done. Just a question on the background you mentioned, would this include students' experience using these kinds of technologies for learning or it's rather a content related background?
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In reply to Ramon Iriarte

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Irmgard Willcockson -
For this paper I am looking at the student's background, such as degree earned, where the degree was from, their grades, GRE scores, etc. Once I am done with that, I want to look at what about Moodle was helpful to the students, but that will be a ways off.
We have done a preliminary study on chat participation and scores on a quiz and found that participation did not affect grades. Problem was that the sample was small, so we don't know for sure. Once the abstract is indexed, I'll get you a link to it, it will be freely available.
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In reply to Irmgard Willcockson

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Ramon Iriarte -
Thanks a lot! We are starting an experimental study with a group of future and practicing teachers and our target is a qualitative assessment of Moodle as a teaching/learning supportive environment. Our concern is that there seems to be a lot of people choosing Moodle as e-learning platform, and although there is huge enthusiasm and some apparent success in its introduction into educational settings; the amount of formal research to assess this environment and its tools (both from technical and didactical standpoints) is really scarce, so much so that still little that can be said about its impact on educational outcomes.
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In reply to Ramon Iriarte

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Ron Walker -
am using it with pupils in a secondary school (11-18) and have run it for 1 year with several subjects including my own (ICT).
Already some evidence that exam results in GCSE improve , comparing last years no moodle group with this year's moodle and comparing CAT scores whcih are alike.
Am continuing to do research to narrow down:
Who benefits most?
Is motivation improved?
Will this be across the board in all subjects which go on-line this September?
How much use is made of:
chat?
forums?
specific Scorm software (OCR Nationals in the UK using NGFL resources)
ps. has anyone got this package to work?

Ron Walker
School in UK

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In reply to Ron Walker

Re: Experimental Research on Moodle

by Ramon Iriarte -

Hi Ron!

thank you very much for your reply. I am very interested in your work, it sounds like a really serious attempt to assess Moodle's impact on learning outcomes. Could I have more details on your procedures? Have you published your results sofar somewhere? I might be able to reply some of your experiences here in Japan to support your findings.

Ramon Iriarte

Department of Information and Computer Science

Faculty of Engineering - Kagoshima University

JAPAN

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