Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Alex Jibb -
Number of replies: 22

I'm looking at developing Moodle based courses to support my teaching in all seondary age groups: 11-18. My idea is to use Moodle to extend the classroom community and encourage discussion about all aspects of ICT as well as discussion on specific topics.

This may work for my older pupils, but I find myself asking if Moodle is suitable for 11 year old pupils

Does anyone have any experience of using Moodle with these age groups?

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Tom Murdock -
We've had great luck with 5th and 6th graders.  Courses are often structured differently (more structure!), but the familiarity of the activities and the ease of the interface worked well with our students this year.

We find that we are doing more differentiated learning in the early grades.  After students are grouped, forum descriptions can state things like: Group A do X, Group Y do Z, etc.., and then the students run merrily along without much sense that they are doing different (and more appropriate) work to match their current skills.

I know we've had a discussion here about whether to allow parents into a classroom and all, but in the younger grades, it is easy to create logins for them, to group them separately, and then to create a private dialogue between them and the teacher, as well as a forum that is hidden from the students to discuss general calendar issues or announcements.  This way, they can see the student work calendar, but also have access to each other and the teacher.

-Tom
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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Ian Usher -

Hi Alex,

I'm looking at implementing our fledgling Grid for Learning using Moodle - both as an LEA working with people in schools and for schools using it themselves...

I have a primary school interested in using it for Gifted and Talented pupils in Year 6 and their school council...

I'm also interested in establishing some sort of loose organisation of people who are using Moodle in pre-FE education - there are lots of resources for FE and HE, but our end of things is patchy at the moment.

Get in touch if you think this would be useful!

Ian.

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Drew Buddie -

Hi there.

I'd be interested in your suggestion as I am ICT Co-ordinator at a private girls school near London and I am currently using Moodle experimentally with Years 10 to 13.

Drew

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Miles Berry -

There's definitely potential here.

I'd be very intested in joining any such group, Ian. Not much experience of moodle as yet, but I'm hoping to support our Year 5 and Year 6 maths lessons through moodle from September, and have in mind exploring some of the theoretical / practical issues for a Masters dissertation.

I'd be interested in getting in touch with your primay school, if that's possible.

Miles.

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Kieran Sweeney -

How's it going? Was wondering if you did any research in it?

Was thinking about using it to teach a foreign language? Any ideas?

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators
Hi there. Moodle lends itself really well to foreign language teaching (I'm an MFL teacher by trade) because of the multimedia elements it has. There's a forum for Moodle for Language teaching on this site and in October Packtpublishing are releasing a book on using Moodle in teaching languages I haven't read it but it could be useful.
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In reply to Ian Usher

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Fran Hughes -

Hello Ian,

I am also interested.  Could you please keep me posted?

Cheers,

Fran

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by mandy honeyman -
Hello Ian, Fran and secondary school et al's,

I am installing moodle this summer for use across the curriculum in our school (years 7-11 ages 11-16) with possible expansion into the feeder schools  (year 6 age  10)  to follow, in order to give kids coming into the big school a taster of what is to come.

I am the ICT support manager so will be relying on (some of) the teachers to pick this up and run with it. I know some will and then I'm hoping that the students themselves will urge the reluctant teachers to dip their toes in the water.

From all the VLE's I evaluated I felt that moodle was the most intuitive, with the simplest interface (thank you Martin and everyone who has worked, and are working, so hard to develop this) and a very supportive community of educators.

I am making an assumption that where the teachers lead the kids will follow and that the kids won't be afraid to just explore and will, therefore, learn how to use it pretty quickly - whatever their age.

fingers crossed.
cheers
Mandy
 

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In reply to Ian Usher

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Nicholas Cutajar -

Hello Ian

You can add my name to the list. I' the Technology Coordinator at Ocean View Collegelocated on the seafront north-west of Adelaide, South Australia. I'm working on some senior physics (Yerar 11-12 = Form 4 & 5 in the old British system), others Chemistry, Geography, etc. We are a P-12 school so the possibility of extending it to the Junior and Primary levels is also a possibility.

Nicholas Cutajar

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Mark McNulty -

Hi, Ian...

Apologies for bugging you out-of-the-blue like this...but I'm a newbie Moodler at a secondary school in Cumbria who's anxious to learn from (and, hopefully later, contribute to) any colleagues pursuing similar routes in the UK.

Just noticed you're old post and wondered if anything came of your comments, perhaps a Moodle Users Group or somesuch?

Would really like to know, if you have a minute to reply.

Thanks,

Mark McNulty

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Rick Barnes -
Hi, just a quick helo. I have been using moodle in ICT for over a year and am happy to share ideas. What subjects are you focusing on.

I wish our school could move to Cumbria for teh support from the LEA (I don't know what they give you) but If I want anything from the LEA or Local broad babd provider I am going to have to show them what I wan/need. So at the moment I am using a moodle partner instead of making the most of free hosting. Not quite ready to go it alone.

Rick.
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In reply to Ian Usher

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by dougal bett -

Hi Ian

Can you add my name to your list... I'd be interested in being kept up to date.

Ta

Doug

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Michael Bloemsma -
Hi Ian,

I am a graduate student at University of California, Irvine working on getting my Ed.D. in Education - Technology Leadership. I am looking at doing a study of the impact of using social networking with a group of middle school students to study the impact on student learning and motivation against a control group of students. I would also be instrested in learning what people have found effective with regard to using moodle with secondary level students. Please add me to any list you may have started.

Thank you,
Michael Bloemsma

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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by PeterJaap de Bruin -

In Holland, for 12-16/18 we have, besides pre-university (Gymnasium / Atheneum / VWO / HAVO) what we call VMBO schools.

The less math/language oriented kids, more the young hands-on craftsmen and women are my focus. That means stripping useless info and much more guiding through an electronic "maze". I think what we try to build for them is equally usable in primary schools (the oldest groups).

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by koen roggemans -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Translators
I'm using Moodle for one year now in a group of 13 year-olds for geography. Works fine. I tried out a lot of Moodlemodules, but for this group, I'm especially fond of  the forum, quiz and exercise modules. You can take a look at www.ritacollege.be/elo -> aardrijkskunde 2de jaar (in dutch). Guests welcome.
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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Dennis Daniels -
Hello,
I teach high school English in Los Angeles. With the help of a local LUG knight we put together a Linux Terminal Server network. All of my students have their own client. All work is typed. Almost all work is done a computer and more, now, is being done directly in the brower connected to the web. I've 40 clients on my network now. Total cost, ~$2K.

I say to friends and family that I'm the happiest English teacher in So. Cal. My job is so pleasant now with a fully networked classroom. My students are engaged, the work is being done, and learning is taking place at an accelerated and measured pace. This is where Moodle comes in... I can see what my students are doing in real time... I'm planning on using Moodle very heavily this year. I've been using, and loving!, Tiki for almost two years. As a CMS Tiki rocks, but the tools I need are found in Moodle.

I'm very anxious to find ways to begin sharing question data bases with other teachers. A bit of momentum is building on campus for more online support for students. Being able to share resources among teachers i.e. assignments, exercises, forum topics, and quizzes! would be a great first step towards providing more support for studnets. I'm quite willing to share my questions with those who are willing to share as well!   smile

Dennis

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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by W Page -
Hey Dennis,

Sounds like a great interactive class.

Just wanted to ask a few questions.
  1. You indicated you have 40 clients on your  network.  Do you also have 40 students per class or are these clients and students divided between different classrooms?
  2. Is this a portable network or fixed in a classroom?
  3. Is it a wireless network?
  4. Did the cost ~2K include just setting up the network or the network and the clients as wel?
  5. Did you have a grant to set up your classroom(s) this way or was this all your money [network + clients]?
  6. Is your assessment about "learning taking place" based on a standardized test(s) or some other form of assesment?
  7. Would you write up something to share how you devleoped this network with associated costs and share it with the Moodle community?

WP1
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Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Sam Sam -

I'm using Moodle online course at my school in Brisbane Australia with children around the ages 7-9 without a problem. Children seem very switched on and within a session have a good understanding of the process.

Having the activities in weeks allows for the activities to be organised as 1 , 2 , 3 , etc so that children know they must start at activity 1 and so on.

Poll and forum discussion finish off learning experience.

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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Byron Farrow -
I am using Moodle with great success in my school here in Suzhou, China. Personally I'm using it with my older students at the moment, but I'll be exanding my usage down into Grade 6 (UK year 7) by next school year, and I have colleagues currently using it with the lower grade levels.

I'd be keen to be a part of a Schools-based Users Group.

Cheers,

Byron
--
Science/Physics
Suzhou Singapore International School
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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Rick Barnes -
Hi Alex, I'm interested, I am currently using moodle with 11 to 16 year olds in the UK, mainly for ICT and to provide links for specific activities in Maths.
I am the ICT coordinator and am hoping to promote moodle school wide, with science and design and technology showing interest.
My girlfriend alread uses Moodle (I think she is the sole user) teaching science at her school.

Rick Barnes.
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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Gregory sheath -
Hi all,

I set up moodle at my secondary school 18 months ago. Up take by staff has been slow but gathering momentum there are now a few faculties playing with it with 2 faculties using it big time, computing studies (mine) and PE. I use it mainly with Yrs 9 & 10 but moving into senior and PE across the board 9 to 12.
Students like that they can access from home and use blogs and wikis.

Computing studies have ben using on-line quizzes foe about 12 months now and this has proved very successful.

I ran a course last year without a lot of input from a classroom teacher but this was not successful, I need to change the activities and content for distance Ed delivery.

Regards Greg Sheath
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In reply to Alex Jibb

Re: Secondary Education: extending the classroom using Moodle

by Ron Walker -
As using moodle in seconday school in Kent with all years studying ICT and with some subjects (hopefully all) by September. Group is a good idea. Am also doing some research into its effectiveness as a teaching/ learning tool.
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