TEL Showcase (2020)

Did you know that Moodle can do more than just host learning materials like presentation slides and PDFs? Moodle is one of the most popular learning management systems in the world and is capable of so much more. We can help you make the most out of Moodle.

There are more than 20 built-in activities and resources available within Moodle. Adding some to your page can make it more exciting and engaging. You can combine them into sequences to provide learning pathways (each activity building upon the last).

• Chat - Text-based, real-time synchronous discussions 
• Choice - Ask a single question 
• Database - Create, maintain and search a collection of entries 
• Feedback - Custom surveys for collecting feedback 
• Forum - Asynchronous (anytime) discussion 
• Glossary - Create, maintain and search a list of definitions 
• H5P - Interactive content, e.g. videos, quizzes and presentations 
• Journal - Collect feedback on a specific topic 
• Lesson - Adaptive pathways through content 
• Quiz - Powerful activity with lots of different question types 
• Scheduler - Schedule appointments with students 
• Wiki - Students add and edit a collection of web pages 
• Workshop - Facilitates the collection, review and peer assessment of student work
• Book - A multi-page resource in a book-like format 
• File - Upload any kind of file as a learning resource 
• Folder - Display a group of related files in a single location 
• Label - Add text, images (or other media) to the main page 
• Page - A web page built using the Moodle text editor 
• URL - Link to a web page

Did you know that Moodle stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment?

It's also a verb that means to dawdle aimlessly, to idle time away. Or to do things as and when they occur to you, often leading to insight and creativity. In this sense, the name both represents how educators and students might use it in very different ways!

Moodle provides an online space for interactive teaching and promotes collaborative learning. Its ongoing development is guided by a social constructionist model of learning.

Moodle's features promote and support the learning theories of constructivism and constructionism (first explored by Jean Piaget and expanded by Seymour Papert).

It can also add a social dynamic to these pedagogies—so-called Vygotskian social constructivism—through the use of built-in communication tools and group activities.

Moodle's 5 Guiding Tenets

1. All of us are potential teachers as well as learners—in a true collaborative environment we are both. 
2.  We learn particularly well from the act of creating or expressing something for others to see. 
3.  We learn a lot by observing the activity of our peers. 
4.  By understanding the contexts of others, we can teach in a more transformational way. 
5.  A learning environment needs to be flexible and adaptable, so that it can quickly respond to the needs of the participants within it.

Example Moodle sites

Note: You will need to login to Moodle to view these pages.

Fundamentals of Social Media