by Suzanne Ama
Moodle is one of the brightest stars in the lineup of Learning Management Systems (LMS). It is arguably the best LMS available because of its open-source architecture and social constructivist philosophy. I have been using Moodle to deliver my online media arts courses for a semester now, and I would like to share some of its most outstanding features-particularly those that build community and social capital.
Social capital provides mutual benefit to a community through cooperation, the use of shared resources, creation of networks, engagement with others, and the assumption of responsibility for community issues (Imel & Stein, 2003; Putman, 2001; Sirianni & Friedland, 1995). There is an expectation that what is freely given now will be reciprocated in some form in the future. Each time there is reciprocation, trust builds, and social capital grows. This positive reinforcement creates a virtuous cycle and facilitates the social component of learning, also known as social constructivism (Sirianni & Friedland, 1995).
The premise of social constructivism is that human learning does not involve the passive reception and rote memorization of isolated facts. Instead, learners actively integrate new information into an existing body of knowledge, constructing a new understanding of the whole. For example, memorizing isolated historical dates in a world history course may be devoid of personal meaning. However, if the learner can integrate those dates within a context of existing knowledge-possibly art history-the world history dates are easier to retain. Not only does this create connectedness between units of knowledge, it also brings personal relevancy of the knowledge to the learner. This process requires personal reflection and interaction with others. This is especially true of interaction that exhibits “connected” behavior-that which seeks to understand another’s point of view through empathy and through inquiry that encourages others to elaborate on their insights (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, Tarule, 1986/1997). In a sociology course, students may be asked to reflect upon factors that influence the roles of women in society. Many students have personal experiences and insights that bring value to the discussion, but for that value to be realized, other students must be open to really hearing what is said.
Moodle was specifically designed to accommodate socially constructed learning. When a Moodle site is in edit mode, the instructor can add resources or activities to a specific week. However, it is through the thoughtful selection and facilitation of learning activities that social capital develops. Included among Moodle’s standard set of resources and activities are local or external text or web pages, assignments, chats, choices (one-question polls), forums, glossaries, journals, lessons, quizzes, SCORMs, Surveys, Wikis, and Workshops. The most popular of other LMSs include asynchronous discussions, synchronous chats, and quizzes, and they provide the ability to create and edit web content in the web browser, but that is all-they do not approach the scope, variety, or technical reliability of the features that Moodle provides.
With such a variety of options, instructors may not fully appreciate these built-in features, or they may use them indiscriminately without understanding their pedagogical purpose. Khalsa and Hildreth (2000) propose a method for categorizing course activities across two dimensions-the focus of the activity and the source of the activity. In the focus continuum, either an individual or a group may be the focus or beneficiary. In the source continuum, either an individual or a group may be the source of activity. These two dimensions can intersect to form a quadrant, and activities can be categorized accordingly.
Activities that have an individual as the source and the focus create the least amount of social capital, although such activities may prepare students for other activities that do create social capital. Independently completed quizzes, exams, and assignments have little value with respect to creating social capital. Moodle’s Journal activity is completed independently, only seen by the instructor. However, it can encourage self-reflection that is useful preparation for dialog with others in group activities- activities that do create social capital.
Books, lectures, lessons, and announcements posted by the instructor are examples of activities that originate from an individual-the instructor-and have the group as a focus. While a necessary part of a course, these do not generate social capital either.
Moodle also has activities that are the product of a group and have focus or particular benefit to individuals, such as asynchronous discussion forums, synchronous chats, and workshops. Khalsa and Hildreth (2000) define these types of features as concurrent activities. Asynchronous discussion promotes reflective thought and intimacy between learners, is a powerful tool for developing community and social capital, and is an example of group focus learning (Hudson, 2002). Synchronous discussion or chat provides varied benefits. Because of the necessity that participants be online at the same time, the group is usually substantially smaller, and the real-time, harried pace of chatting does not contribute much to reflective thought.
Moodle’s forums provide an additional opportunity to develop social capital through the process of peer review. Instructors can configure forums so that they may be rated or graded according to numeric or verbal scales. An alternative to a numeric scale is one that draws from the Ways of Knowing framework (Belenky, Clinchy, Golberger, & Tarule, 1986). In this model, “separate ways of knowing” refers to a student’s preference for approaching knowledge analytically and objectively. Learners tend to defend their position and identify weaknesses in opposing positions. “Connected ways of knowing” refers to a student’s preference of approaching knowledge subjectively and seeing things from another’s point of view. Williams (2005) suggests a third category, “constructed ways of knowing,” in which a person is able to apply either method, as appropriate for the situation and subject matter. He also indicates that a healthy amount of connected behavior is necessary for a learning community to prosper. Peer review is an effective source of formative assessment, and it improves the overall quality of student work (Reese-Durham, 2005).
Another sophisticated peer-review activity is Moodle’s workshop feature. In this module, students can assess each other’s projects, as well as example projects. The instructor may also grade the assignment itself and/or grade the peer assessments. The grading strategy may be set to Accumulative, Not Graded, Error Banded, Criterion, or Rubric. The instructor may also specify the allowable number of submissions and assessments.
The fourth type of activity-group activity with group focus-provides the most opportunity for building social capital. Khalsa and Hildreth (2000) define this as collaboration, through which a group produces a common product or makes collective decisions. While this may be accomplished through any type of group project, such as a group-authored multimedia presentation, Moodle has two built-in collaborative features: glossaries and wikis. The Moodle glossary is a list of terms and definitions to which students contribute. The instructor may configure the glossary so that entries publish immediately or first require approval. If configured as such, students may also rate other students’ entries, providing an added dimension of peer review. Wikis are editable online documents to which multiple people may contribute and edit. Iterations are viewable and retrievable. Because the contributions of many students affect a common product, students should understand that contributions must be accurate and reflect academic excellence. Collaboration is more manageable and effective in small groups, and Moodle easily allows the formation of groups to apply to activities such as assignments, forums, chats, wikis, quizzes, and workshops.
Both concurrent and collaborative activities are essential for developing community and trust in an online learning environment. Due to its open-source architecture, Moodle exceeds the capabilities of the most popular of LMSs. Those who are new to Moodle find it easy jump right in and start teaching with it. However, don’t take its ease of use to mean that it is limited in its functionality! This tool is extremely sophisticated and is ideal for creating social constructivist learning environments.
References
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986/1997). Women’s ways of knowing: The development of self voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books.
Griffiths, D., Blat, J. (2005). The role of teachers in editing and authoring units of learning using IMS learning design. Retrieved on April 22, 2006 from http://dspace.learningnetworks.org/bitstream/1820/586/1/griffiths_atl_2005.pdf
Hudson, B. (2002). Critical dialog online: personas, covenants, and candlepower. In K.E. Rudestam & J. Schoenholtz-Read (Eds.), Handbook of Online Learning (pp. 77-85). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Khalsa, D., Hildreth, S. (2000). Finding a Place for Everyone: Creating, Maintaining, and Evolving Optimal Online Learning Communities for Students in Online Teaching & Learning Courses. Retrieved March 31, 2006 from http://www.wholelifeed.com/placeforeveryone.html.
Imel, S. Stein, D. (2003). Creating Self-Awareness of Learning that Occurs in Community. Retrieved March 31, 2006 from http://www.alumni-osu.org/midwest/midwest%20papers/Imel%20&%20Stein–Done.pdf.
Sirianni, C. & Friedland, L. (1995). Social Capital. Civic Practices Network. Retrieved on March 31, 2006 from http://www.cpn.org/tools/dictionary/capital.html
Reese-Durham, N. (2005). Peer Evaluation as an Active Learning Technique. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 32. Retrieved April 30, 2006 from http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:140412147&ctrlInfo=Round19%3AMode19b%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=.
Williams, B. (2005). Moodle 1.4.3 for teachers, trainers, and administrators. Free Software Foundation, Inc. Retrieved on April 28, 2006 from http://download.moodle.org/docs/moodle_1.4.3_for_teachers_and_trainers.pdf