Moodle in the Classroom

         Moodle is one of the many types of learning management systems that are available to teachers to construct online learning sites. Moodle originally stood for Module Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, but it can also be used as a verb that means finding your way through something that usually leads to creativity or comprehension of a subject. The first time I was exposed to Moodle was through my college course called New Technologies of Instruction. I was immediately captivated by its easy navigation, interactive presentation, and creative use for learning. As an elementary educator I quickly began to think of how I could incorporate Moodle into my classroom. Moodle can be used in large educational settings like universities, but can also be modified for the primary classroom (Moodle, 2011).

         Moodle can be used in a variety of ways. Most users use it to deliver content, create a collaborative environment of learners or simply as a hobby. There are several advantages to using Moodle that include flexibility, access to innovative tools, technical support, communication, collaboration, peer review quality, and reliability. A major advantage that I discovered was that it is available in many languages, which increases the accessibility to users from different parts of the world.

         Some disadvantages found by Moodle critics are that Moodle lacks efficient use of space, problems with too much customization and the capability to create high-level assessment and grading capabilities. The good news about the disadvantages is that companies that support Moodle are helping deal with these kinds of issues.

        Moodle is a learning management system that could benefit my students and would allow me to create a creative collaborative learning environment. There are many ways that Moodle can be used in the primary classroom. Some interesting ways that I found I could incorporate Moodle are as a forum to give students the opportunity to extend classroom topics beyond the class discussion, as a resource that provides helpful links for student learning or practice during center time, as a way to deliver content, display student pictures or class videos, and as a form of communication about the classroom for parents. A very beneficial use would be for storage of resources such as PowerPoint and Smart Board lessons, which I use very often in the classroom. The only drawback that I can find is time. Time is very valuable in a classroom setting and very difficult to manage. Although Moodle would be engaging and useful, students must understand appropriate use and copyright laws before implementing in the classroom. It seems that there are endless possibilities with Moodle and it can be used in creative ways to enhance student learning. There are many sites that offer tutorials and sources on how to use Moodle. I am looking forward to using Moodle and giving my students the opportunity to share their ideas and grow as learners. As society continues to advance in technology using technology in the classroom as a part of learning will prepare students for success in the future.

M, Martinez & S, Jagannathan. (2008). Moodle: A Low-Cost Solution for Successful e-Learning. Retrieved from:

http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/71/moodle-a-low-cost-solution-for-successful-e-learning

2011. Moodle. Retrieved from: http://moodle.org/