subject: How a Learning Management System Like Moodle Improves Collaboration and Social Learning in Higher Ed Environment [print this page] How a Learning Management System Like Moodle Improves Collaboration and Social Learning in Higher Ed Environment
Improving Collaboration and Social Learning in Higher Education with Moodle
One of the fastest growing areas on the Internet today is the world of social networking. Every day, more and more people are connecting and collaborating on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. In the same way these sites have revolutionized the way people are communicating in the social and business realms, online learning management systems (LMS) are enhancing the way students and teachers are working together and learning online.
One of the most popular LMS packages is moodle. This powerful, open-source LMS is freely available for use, and companies such as moodlerooms.com can handle all of the technical heavy-lifting to quickly get an implementation of moodle up and running for an organization. Here is just a sample of some of the collaborative features and benefits that moodle offers.
Assignments
An instructor can use moodle to setup an online assignment for their students. When the student completes the assignment, they submit it to the instructor through the online interface. Unlike a traditional assignment submitted on paper, the instructor can add comments to the assignment and open a back-and-forth dialogue with the student that can continue even outside the classroom.
Forums
The instructor and students on a moodle system can setup online forums or message boards related to their class. This provides another place for thoughtful, ongoing discussions about topics from class. Even if the main course has moved on from a topic, students can use a forum thread as a way to maintain their own continued discussion on it.
Glossary
The Glossary feature of moodle allows the instructor to maintain a list of terms and their definitions for a course. Unlike a glossary on paper or printed in the back of a book, the moodle glossary is a living thing that can be expanded, updated, and edited all the time. moodle can also be configured to automatically recognize words from the glossary in any other document posted throughout the course, and then provide a link to the definition right from within that document. Now students do not have to stop what they are doing to hunt down an unknown word in their paper glossary, as the definition is only a click away.
Again, these are only a handful of the features available in Moodle to enhance collaboration and social learning for students, and more are being added everyday. As teachers and students begin communicating and working together more effectively, great strides in learning and comprehension will not be far behind. To learn more about moodle's virtual learning enviornment and other learning management systems, visit moodlerooms.com today!
