April 2008 — Web 2.0
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Got Moodle?
Moodle is server-based. This means that there must be a local server where the software can be installed, or that storage space must be purchased from a vendor. Users need training and ongoing support, which, whether provided by a staff member or consultant, are not free. Maintenance is minimal, but upgrades are required, and users often decide to install new modules or plug-ins to enhance Moodle's capabilities. Again, such services inevitably have related costs. But if the costs can be managed, as you'll see in the experiences of Bainbridge Island and Empire Union school districts, the benefits of Moodle are well worth the implementation and maintenance efforts.Money Matters
The costs of operating Moodle at Empire Union School District are estimated at about $7,000 since the program's launch in 2004. At Bainbridge Island School District, those costs have reached about $4,000 since 2005.
Discovering a Range of Possibilities
Randy Orwin's search for an affordable, computer-based course management system brought him to Moodle in March 2005. After testing the software on his home server, Orwin and a few Bainbridge Island teachers decided to launch a Moodle pilot, housing the software on a newly purchased district server.
With Moodle securely installed, Orwin, an admitted "open source junkie," invited interested teachers to attend trainings in the summer of 2005. "Their teaching assignments vary, but each of them has discovered Moodle features that support instructional and administrative tasks," he says.
As an example, Bainbridge Island's math and technology specialist, Paul Sullivan, is using Moodle to help bring some order to a technology class he teaches for homeschoolers in grades 5 to 8. The class presented him with unique obstacles.
"I would get 20 or so kids who were all over the map with their technology skills and their attendance," he says. "I had to organize the class so that kids could work at their own pace, sometimes from a distance."
With Moodle, Sullivan's students now complete coursework and assessments by accessing class notes, assignments, and quizzes online. The system automatically notifies Sullivan when student work is completed. He grades and posts scores online, and students are sent e-mail updates.
Orwin also mentions a high school biology teacher who is using Moodle to take a new slant on assessment. His students create and update a database of questions he uses to build class exams through the system's Quiz module.
Bainbridge Island teachers are now discovering the full extent of Moodle's capabilities. Adam Rabinowitz, a fifth-grade teacher at Sakai Intermediate School, says he makes frequent use of the Choice, Quiz, Glossary, Journal, and Forum modules for activities such as online poetry writing and book-talk forums. He hopes to launch an online collaborative science project with a high school class in the near future. "I love that Moodle is free, easy, extremely flexible, and powerful," he says. "And that it is constantly being improved and updated with new modules."
