If you walk into classrooms at All Saints, you might hear students asking each other if they did their Moodle last night.
Students this year have had a chance to experience online learning through Moodle and Area Education Agency 9. The online learning environment is not a substitute for a teacher, but expands the classroom beyond the 45-minute middle school class period.
Online, students are able to participate in discussion boards with classmates, find assignment information, submit assignments and even find copies of handouts they might have lost. Students can even take quizzes and tests on registered computers throughout the school instead of doing a paper test.
One of the best features of Moodle is opening up classroom discussion to everyone. How can a teacher find the time to call on 24 students to answer one question in the classroom, have a meaningful discussion and have time to accomplish other things? Teachers are able to assign discussion questions and have students post replies.
Using the discussion board has helped create more dialogue among students. Instead of just handing in papers, students are able to reply to a teacher’s question, post their thoughts and even reply directly to a student’s comment. The reply is then shared with the whole group.
