MOODLE

Delmy Marisol Hernndez de Paz (31-5023-2006)

Essay Moodle

Moodle is a course management system for online learning. The acronym MOODLE stands for Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. Among its many users, however, Moodle has already become a term of its own synonymous with a software package designed to help educators create quality online instruction. It was the brainchild of Martin Dougiamas (http://dougiamas.com), a former WebCT administrator with postgraduate degrees in Computer Science and Education. The design of Moodle is based on socio-constructivist pedagogy. This means its goal is to provide a set of tools that support an inquiry and discovery based approach to online learning. Furthermore, it purports to create an environment that allows for collaborative interaction among students as a standalone or in addition to conventional classroom instruction. One of the advantages of Moodle is that it has been developed as an OpenSource software project. It is entirely supported by a team of programmers and by the user community. This also means that Moodle is available free of charge under the terms of the General Public License (GNU) and has no licensing cost attached. As such, it is accessible to anybody in contrast to commercial software such as blackboard (http://www.blackboard .com) WebCT(http://www.webct.com), whose licensing fees has skyrocketed in recent years.

Since the development of communicative skills in language learning requires social interaction between the teacher and the students and among the students themselves, the use of computers has for a long time been regarded only as a support tool with regard to certain skill areas. Rapid advances in technology (e.g. fast internet connections, ample storage capacities, increase in bandwidth) and more compatible crossplatform applications now make the implementation of synchronous and asynchronous learning tasks, in oral and written modes, feasible from a pragmatic point of view (see Cziko and Park, 2003, for a review of computer mediated audio communication (SCMAC) software. Furthermore, a growing body of research is gradually emerging that provides concrete suggestions on how to exploit instructional online tools effectively or how to integrate the internet for different language learning goals (Brandle, 2002; Gonzlez Lloret, 2003). As a courseware package and learning system, Moodle has great potential for supporting conventional classroom instruction, for example, to do additional work outside of class, to become the delivery system for blended (or hybrid) course formats, or event to be used as a standalone e-learning platform . in the following, I will provide an
overview of Moodle features and point out those that are in particular useful for language leaning. In addition, I will present some sample learning tasks and describe their implementation within a Moodle environment.

Moodle is a template based system to which content must be is added. This makes Moodles interface very intuitive and allows for easy navigation. The whole page is presented in a flat view format. It is laid out in small blocks and organized around sections following a topic or weekly outline. As Robb (2004) describes it, this is different from other systems that often make use of Chinese boxes with content inside folders at various levels. Each section has its own tools such as lessons, quizzes, assignments, and forums which are all linked to a built in gradebook (see section on assessment below). All blocks on a page can be individually arranged, and the elements within each section can be easily moved around or be hidden.

As Robb (2004) describes it, this is

different from other systems that often make use of "Chinese boxes" with content inside folders at various levels. Each section has its own tools such as lessons, quizzes, assignments, and forums which are all linked to a built-in gradebook (see section on assessment below). All blocks on a page can be individually arranged, and the elements within each section can be easily moved around or be hidden. This Figure shows an example of a course setup in the topic format.

Conclusion: In the beginning, I asked what Moodle is. I would like to conclude by commenting on what Moodle is not. It is not a panacea for language learning. It is a course management and delivery system. Moodle has great potential to create a successful e-learning experience by providing a plethora of excellent tools that can be used to enhance conventional classroom instruction, in hybrid courses, or any distance learning arrangements. In whatever form of instruction Moodle is used, the design of the learning tasks must be grounded in theories of second language acquisition. To find out additional information about Moodle, how to download and install it, go to the official Moodle site at http:moodle.org.