Moodle as a communication tool in CULC - Essay Example

?Critically evaluate Moodle as a communication tool in CULC. How does the use of Moodle enrich your learning experience? Introduction Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment or simply Moodle is an Open Source platform for e-learning (Moodle, 2006). It is sometimes referred to as course management system or learning management system (LMS) which provides the basis for communication and learning tools which is created for the sole purpose of facilitating e-learning (Moodle, 2006). Given the popularity of Moodle, CULC also implemented the system across its campuses for the ease of students. Although many advantages are there of Moodle, it has been subjected to criticism as a communication tool in CULC. Critical Evaluation Moodle is an open source system which subjects it to many criticisms of being of this system. Open source systems as suggested by Petrus and Sanky (2007) are risky to implement because the modules used for such systems are not proven. It is also argued that open source software is costly to administer as it depends on continuous changing resources and evolving patches and upgrades. Such is the case with Moodle. Problems occur with Moodle during too much customization which makes it unable to be integrated with student information and administrations system, used as an administration model to support many departments and campuses at once, sophisticated capabilities for assessing and grading assignments and quizzes, and a complete proper software with navigating and learning materials (Cole and Foster, 2007). Moodle, on the surface, looks like an excellent learning system for CULC. Teachers and students can communicate with each other through this system. In addition, homework, assignments and quizzes can be set and completed online. The implementation of Moodle as a communication tool at CULC remains a critical issue. Any community needs followers without which it would be useless. Likewise, if no students contribute their knowledge to the discussions, the communication module of Moodle is useless. This is exactly the case in CULC. Students are not motivated to use Moodle as a communication tool because of which forums and discussions are closed for communication by default which is a technological error in Moodle. The feature of ‘quiz module’ is sometimes used to set assignments or homework which is distracting for students. An instructor sometimes sets quizzes, announces deadlines or assignments through this module which is failure of Moodle as a communication tool (Cole and Foster, 2007). Technical issues such as the quiz can be submitted for automatic marking as many times as possible even after the limits imposed by the instructor remains problem for the Moodle operators as it is still to be tested for adequacy (Cole and Foster, 2007). The features of forums and group discussions are not so important features of the Moodle on which much emphasis has been given by the creators of it as instructors already have the email lists for the students which allows them to communicate through the email (Petrus and Sanky, 2007). In addition to this, Petrus and Sanky (2007) also argue that resources, tutorials and documentation are not stored on the CULC Moodle which would not be so if placed on the campus websites. The major criticism that CULC Moodle has received is the underdeveloped Moodle websites and lack of time for improving the websites to provide the students with a more customized and fully functional website. Furthermore, many students are not fully adept to use the Moodle interface and prefer face-to-face communication as means of learning. Although many instructors are focusing on educating the students on the usage of Moodle, it will still take time for students to become completely adaptive to the e-learning environment (Moodle, 2006; Petrus and Sanky, 2007). So, Moodle although conceptually is a great idea to be used as a communication tool, there is still room for much improvement in terms of interfacial and technical issues as well as the way the students and instructors utilize the system (Cole and Foster, 2007). Moodle besides been a communication tool also provides many viable features or modules which enriches the e-learning experience of the student as well as the instructors. Use of Moodle CULC Moodle is a great innovation for learning for the educators as well as the students. The software philosophy behind the educational use of Moodle is based on the collaborative learning or social learning method (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008). This philosophy enhances the learning experience of the Moodle user as it is an individual and social process at the same time where students can learn together through collaboration, investigation, sharing and analysis. It is because of this that Moodle has become much popular in the educational realm. The tools and elements inculcated in the philosophy behind CULC Moodle are based on the following concepts (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008): Moodle enhances the learning when students are actively participating in the knowledge construction rather than inertly reading, viewing or memorizing course material. Moodle’s discovery and inquiry based learning approach is enriching the learning concepts. Students are able to learn much more with the interaction and supplemental materials Interaction with the fellow students and observing the community is much easier for the learning paradigm. Teachers and students can be a part of collaborative environment at the same time where learning through participation is focused. Moodle allows the learning environments to be adaptive and flexible to the needs of the users or students. Moodle enhances the emotional appeal that is innovation and creativity in every student by giving equal opportunity to exercise, contribute and participate in the forums. The design of the interface of CULC Moodle and its organization is done in such a way that it supports the students and their learning tasks which is not just the technology and the working of the tools (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008). To be flexible, Moodle offers three different styles of course format which allow for different and enhancing experiences of e-learning (Rice, 2007). For instance, students at CULC can organize their course materials under the traditional format of Topic; Weekly format in which students can organize courses week-by-week; or Social format which is discussion focused rather than being formal (Rice, 2007). In terms of the CULC Moodle features, the software has all the LMS standard features that support the learning module such as tools for structuring the courses, multimedia and text presentation, interactivity amongst others, assessments and quizzes (Rice, 2007). In addition to this, the learning experience is enriched through the suite of tools provided by Moodle such as social networking for sharing, collaborating and discussing ideas and experiences in groups (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008). With Moodle at CULC a student can create courses that are richly textured each having its own audio or video resources and activities as well as lessons which includes reading materials, quizzes, projects, assessments, social events happening in the community for encouraging the students participation. For instance, a student can upload an assignment for a certain course and the instructor can assign marks and send messages to the students about their assignments (Rice, 2007). The CULC Moodle offers many optional modules such as the Chat module which helps the students learn face-to-face with the help of supplementary course activities or use the Choice module to answer the polls (Rice, 2007). For online courses, Discussion and dialogs are very crucial which the Moodle supports through standard communication channels such as Discussion forum which is public forum for every student, Chat to have a group conversation and so on. Moodle enriches the learning experience through promotion of new collaboration channels such as (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008): Academic journals for encouraging the students to reflect on their courses as well as stimulate deep learning and thinking Wikis which is an easy way to create papers, lecture notes with collaboration RSS and other hub forms for sharing course work and ideas through blogs, podcasting and so on. Another way Moodle enriches the learning experience is through the timely feedback and response of the students and teachers which allows the students to analyse their requirements making e-learning more effective than traditional classrooms (Rice, 2007). Moodle allows the teachers to provide feedback through grades and written format for all activities and courses (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008). For instance, the assignment module allows the students to upload the work in any format to which the instructor can give detailed comments in in written as well as audio format. Given the above advantages and usage of Moodle, Moodle enriches the learning experience of students at CULC making learning fun and easy with step-by-step guidance as well as close interaction with the instructors and the peers. Conclusion Moodle is a great system for enriching the learning experience of any student whether at CULC or any other university. Although it has some disadvantages as a communication tool, this can be removed by working on the criticisms to make the Moodle system create a better learning experience for the students. Moodle software enhances the learning experience by providing collaborative and interactive environments. REFERENCES Cole, J. and Foster, H., 2007. Using Moodle. 2nd ed. United States of America: O’Reilly Media, Inc. Petrus K., and Sankey M., 2007. Comparing Writely and Moodle Online Assignment Submission and Assessment. Rice W., 2007. Moodle Teaching Techniques. Packt Publishing Limited. Martinez, M. & Jagannathan, S. 2008. Moodle: A Low-Cost Solution for Successful e-Learning. Learning Solutions Magazine. http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/71/moodle-a-low-cost-solution-for-successful-e-learning/page2 Moodle, 2006. Retrieved on 20 May 2011 from http://docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy. Read More