Moodle Report

In accord with the state of Michigans requirement that all students have an online
learning experience before completing high school, we designed and facilitated online courses
using the Moodle structure. I built a module on the topic of mechanical waves, aimed at a high
school Physics class (most likely composed of 11th graders).

Figure 1: Introduction to Module

In designing my Moodle module, I was concerned with a number of priorities. Online

learning can be a challenging experience, particularly if the course structure is difficult to
navigate. I designed my module to be simply and easy to navigate, with the tech-savvy high
school who is also first-time online learner in mind. I began the course with a welcome and a
syllabus, which included my contact information, learning goals and educational standards for

the module, my works cited, and a page of resources and suggestions to help with online
learning.

Figure 2: Syllabus - Help with Online Learning

I also included a syllabus page providing a summary of all assignments included in the module.
The purpose of this page was to collect basic assignment information in one place, providing a
student reference which made expectations clear. I also put assignment information in maroon
letters (throughout the module), to make content and assignments easily distinguishable.

Figure 3: Syllabus - Assignments

The module was divided into an introduction (including syllabus), six topics, and the
final project. Each topic was about one page long, to keep the course units manageable in
extent. In every topic section, I included one-two images, animations, or videos to illustrate the
topic, as well as some content information (written by me). At the bottom of the topic section, in
maroon lettering, was information on the assignment for that topic. When a topic had no
assignment, I specified this.

Figure 4: Sample Topic Section

Embedded videos was one of my favorite features of the Moodle indeed, of any of our
web-based projects in EDMT. It seems to me particularly useful for student learning to be able
to embed videos, animations, simulations, or other interactives directly into one web location,
such as the Moodle structure. This makes these valuable tools easily accessible to students,
while minimizing the problems associated with student use of youtube or other unlimited internet
access. Learning how to embed videos and other applications was one very valuable take-away
from this project!

Figure 5: Embedded Videos and Applications

Activities and assessments are an important part of any student learning. In an online
setting, where direct student-teacher interaction is minimal, these become all the more important,
as they are essentially the teachers only source of insight into student mastery of the content. I
included a variety of activities within my module, taking advantage of Moodle options when
available. These activities included a discussion board to begin the module with brainstorming
among students about real-world examples; a lab assignment, providing short-answer questions
to accompany an online interactive simulator; a Moodle quiz; and a culminating project. This
last project was partially individual, allowing the student an opportunity to research a contentrelated application and design a digital poster independently; however, it also required group
collaboration, including coordinating via a discussion board and working together to produce a
group poster. By including so many different kinds of activities, I intended to allow learners
with diverse strengths and learning styles to be successful in different ways. I also wanted to be
able to see students demonstrate learning in various ways, to help me (as the instructor) assess
their content learning. Finally, the lab assignment was a learning activity in itself! I enjoyed

designing that assignment based off the principles of scientific inquiry which I have learned from
other education courses still valid even if the experiment is an online simulation!

Figure 6: Moodle Quiz

Moodle provided the structure of the online learning environment ready-made. There
were some drawbacks to using it, however. I was disappointed with the lack of user-support on
the main Moodle site (particularly regarding details of site design), and some features of the
Moodle were inflexible. For instance, I wish the navigation side panel could link directly to the
topics location on the main page, but I was unable to override the setting to allow this.
Similarly, I would have liked to make the topic section headings bolder, to make navigation on
the page easier, but no text editing features were readily available for section titles. These
downsides are the tradeoff to having a fairly useful structure readily available, which is the
service that Moodle provides.
My primary difficulty with the Moodle is the amount of time required to do an acceptable
job in designing and implementing instruction. I refer here to the actual content written by me as
the instructor to write out a concise, complete explanation that tries to cater to all student needs
is not time-efficient in comparison to in-person instruction, in my judgment. Complete online
instruction is a good option to have when it is the only option, but I do not find it nearly as

beneficial or feasible (for my own use) as live classroom instruction. However, the ability to
have online resources readily available is of great value. This aspect alone could be provided by
simply having a class website. However, the Moodle also provides a structure for submitting
assignments and for tracking grades. Thus, I think the Moodle could be best used in a hybrid
setting, combining live instruction with an online support environment for resources, gradebook,
and assignment instructions and submissions.
My student mentioned that she found some of the videos unnecessary, particularly when
two videos were included in one section. She acknowledged that I was clearly trying to reach
students in various ways, and suggested including a note that the second video provided extra
information or was optional. I like this suggestion, in cases where it applies that is, where the
second video is truly unnecessary, but may be helpful for students who are struggling with the
material. However, in some cases, the second resource provides additional information to which
all students need to be exposed, and I would be reluctant to label such a resource as optional. I
tried to compensate for this by choosing short, well-made, and worthwhile videos. Reflecting on
this feedback also led me to consider having an additional resources section for every topic.
This could include further resources which truly were chosen with the struggling student, or the
student who needs to see things presented in multiple ways, in mind.
In addition, my student noted that one link required her to download an application
(Java). This is a legitimate concern. As she noted in her comments, a full class would generally
require certain minimum technology applications, and for a full online physics class, I would
certainly hope students would have access to Java, as many excellent online physics interactives
require it. However, I agree that I ought to have made this requirement explicit. The source of
interactives upon which I was drawing (PhET) offers some in both html and Java, others only in

Java. The first PhET interactive I included in the Moodle worked in simple html, making it easy
to embed for student access. I incorrectly thought that the second interactive would embed
similarly, but not see that it requires Java to run. This feedback has helped me to realize all the
more the importance of carefully checking each link with the students needs in mind.
Facilitating the class was fairly simple. I believe this was because I had designed it with
facilitating in mind in other words, I set it up ahead of time in such a way that it could run as
smoothly as possible for students. One difficulty was in fully engaging my student. For
example, although I provided detailed instructions for an online lab activity, my student gave
answers with less analysis and thought than I was expecting. Had we been discussing things in
person, I could simply have redirected her efforts to a deeper analysis and explanation.
However, as it was, I simply received what I considered to be an incomplete assignment, turned
in as a finished product, and her grade suffered accordingly. This has caused me to consider how
the process of working on assignments might be made more interactive, to avoid such
misunderstandings. Perhaps a Q&A discussion board would be helpful for every assignment
although this demands student initiative, just as reading the directions carefully does. Perhaps
some students would benefit from a podcast or video of me explaining the assignment, rather
than simply reading the instructions as text.
All in all, the feedback from my student was largely positive. I was glad that she had a
positive experience participating in my class, just as I had a good learning experience in
designing and facilitating my course, and in taking anothers.