Super Moodle

Knowledge-building, communities of practice, learning networks, collaborative learning, cognitive apprenticeships, situated/problem/inquiry/thematic/case-based learning; whatever constructivist learning model you subscribe to, the mild-mannered Moodle has the tools within to unleash power of the super e-learning environment.

For those of you new to Moodle, a moodle is a learning management system used to create, deliver and manage online instructional content. Traditionally, using online tools made the integration of instructional models and methods a managerial nightmare. Tools such as Filimentality and Edheads made it easier for student to explore content; while social tools such as PBwiki, Gaggle, and Edublogs made it possible for students to carry discussions and collaborate beyond the classroom. But the dawn of the LMS has now made it possible to integrate these these kinds of tools (blogs, wikis, chat, forums, email, RSS, etc) into a single learning environment. To help illustrate this point, I've set up a demonstration site to showcase of some of the capabilities of Moodle.

Theories and models aside, most of us spend our time in the realm of instructional strategies, while these theories and models inhabit the shadowy recesses of our brains, unconsciously guiding the actions and strategies we choose. So what kinds of instructional strategies would be appropriate to Moodle? Big question. I've been toying with some ideas lately and here are some things I've come up with so far:

• Role Play- Using the blogging tool to have students create diary entries of historical figures as part of a social studies unit on American history


• Reflection- using the discussion forum to facilitate interclassroom bookclubs


• Articulation- creating wiki encyclopedia entires to share new knowledge and link ideas across the course


• Exploration- using a links directory to let student explore content as part of a webquest


• Collaboration- using the workshop module to allow student to peer assess writing pieces using a rubric

Those are just a few general ideas I've come up with so far. Feel free to add to the list if you have any bright ideas that I can steal borrow.