Thing 12: Try out Moodle



As we learned in the last "Thing", Moodle is an exciting educational technology that easily lends itself to creating "hybrid" classes (online and in-classroom). We saw and thought about possible applications from a very broad perspective. In this "Thing", we get to dig a little deeper and take a look at some of the specific things that Moodle has to offer.

*A quick note: One of the Challenge items from our last discovery was to get your own Moodle shell set up. If you're interested in Moodle, It might be worth your time to do that now so that, when you learn about the specifics, you can apply them right away and get playing!

On this discovery journey, you are going to get to log into a Moodle demo course and check out some of the things Moodle has to offer and dream about possibilities for you and your students.

Discovery Exercise

  1. Go to the Moodle Demo Course (top one) and create an account.
  2. Once your account is created, go back to the Moodle Demo Course and enroll in the course (on the left hand side).
  3. Check out 3-5 things in the demo course. They walk you through a pretty easy demonstration of each of the things you could use within Moodle. (If you're at a loss, check out Assignments, Quizzes, Choices, Forums, Wikis and Workshops.)
  4. Blog about your experience with Moodle! (If you're at a loss, check out the prompt ideas below.)

Discovery Resources

Blog Prompts

  • What specific things are especially interesting to you in Moodle?
  • What applications that we have already learned about do you see in Moodle?
  • What ideas do you have for the use of specific Moodle applications in your area?
  • If you were to start with just one thing in Moodle, what would you be sure to do?
  • What solutions are there for students who do not have internet access at home? (How do we, as educators, bridge that inequality and still utilize Moodle to its potential?)

Challenge (optional)

  • E-mail Gary Blok (if you're a member of district 833) and ask him to set you up with a class in Moodle for one of your classes. And then read this: Getting Started for Teachers
  • If you already have a Moodle class, try one new thing that you learned about in the Moodle Demo Course.
  • Check out the "Teaching Do's" (like "encourage students to learn together") and "Teaching Don'ts" (like "Don't get overwhelmed by Moodle") .
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Discovery is so much fun!

Have you ever thought, ”Gosh, I wish I had time to learn more about blogs, wikis, or (enter your Web 2.0 tool here)?” Well, this is your chance to take the time to focus on your personal and professional development around Web 2.0 tools. It’s fun to explore these tools and figure out ways to use them in school, with your personal Web sites, or in other ways.

SWC's 23 Things is a twist on the Library Learning 2.0 program developed by Helene Blowers at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County and adopted or adapted by many other libraries (including Minnesota Libraries with 23 Things on a Stick) and organizations since then.Learning 2.0 is online learning program that encourages staff to learn more about emerging technologies on the web that are changing the way people, society and schools access information and communicate with each other.

Over the course of the next nine weeks, this website will highlight “23 Things” and discovery exercises to help staff become familiar with blogging, RSS news feeds, tagging, wikis, podcasting, online applications, and video and image hosting sites.To familiarize yourself with this project, be sure to read the About page. The FAQs should answer most of your questions about this program. If not, then please add your question to the FAQ page as a comment.So fasten your seat belts, grab your mouse and get ready for a discovery adventure… and remember, it's OK to play with technology and have fun!