Moodle’s top four killer features which support and evidence quality teaching and learning

Moodle learning management system (LMS) provides a great online space to support quality teaching and learning but it is often under-utilised with most of its ‘killer features’ unknown by educators and trainers, and therefore left unused.

As an online system, Moodle LMS provides tools to track and monitor effective online education and training which is not possible in traditional learning and assessment settings.  This information can then be used to improve learning outcomes.

The information can also be used to provide the evidence needed by regulatory bodies, such as ASQA, TEQSA, professional accreditation/registration agencies, to demonstrate that your organisation is delivering quality teaching and learning programs which meet learners’ needs.

Here are Moodle LMS’s top four killer features which support and evidence quality teaching and learning:

1. It provides tools to create educationally sound and engaging learning experiences

Moodle LMS provides a great space for housing content (text, audio, video etc), however, Moodle LMS’s top killer feature is the range of tools on offer which support effective learner interaction and engagement, such as:

• Lesson / Workshop activities which enable learners to either interact with content in interesting ways (beyond the scroll of death or just reading and clicking) or interact with each other through peer reviews/assessment
• Forum posts / Chat activities which allow learners to participate in group discussions, debates, reflective dialogue etc, either synchronously or asynchronously
• Collaborative tools which allow learners to build glossaries and databases of information, or collectively create checklists, taxonomies etc using the wiki tool
• Formative learning can be supported through online quizzes and choice (aka poll) activities
• External content (aka LTI – Learning Tools Interoperability) or SCORM learning objects allow the importing of ready-made and/or professional content and activities

2. It provides useful learning analytics and ways to motivate learners

Moodle LMS’s second killer feature, and least utilised feature, is its ability to provide useful learning analytics to monitor learner progress and provide ways to motivate learners, through:

• 

  Checklists, which are an Moodle LMS add-on (or plugin) feature, which allows learners to check-off and monitor their own progress

• Logs, Activity Reports and Course Participation data which enables educators to monitor their learner’s progress and participation
• Grade book which provides learners and educators with a one-stop-shop for monitoring how much work has been completed, as well as, learner results and educator feedback
• Badges which provide gamification motivation opportunities where learners collect visual backpack of badges of their achievements
• Outcomes which provide descriptive categories of the competencies or learning outcomes learners have achieved

3. It provides an effective way of storing and retrieving past learners’ work, feedback and results

Moodle LMS’s third killer feature is its ability to allow a course or unit of work to be used over and over again for each new group of learner.  This saves educators lots of setup and prep time.  Through Moodle LMS’s backup and restore feature, educators can quickly and easily store and manage past learners’ work, feedback and results for moderation, contested results and audit purposes, and then open their course for the next group of learners without the clutter of previous participants’ input.

4. It provides an easy way to gather feedback from learners for continuous improvement

Moodle LMS’s final killer feature to support quality teaching and learning is the survey tool which allows educators to collect feedback from their learners about their learning experience.  The survey results are then stored within the Moodle LMS course so they can be easily retrieved to support and demonstrate continuous improvement.

As you can see, Moodle LMS is a much more powerful online learning space than simply a content repository.  Moodle LMS also provides a gamut of plug-ins or add-ons which can further enhance and support quality teaching and learning.

Could your Moodle LMS better support and evidence quality teaching and learning? Check out our:

• Evidencing quality training and assessment (SNR 15 / AQTF Standard 1) using Moodle Workshop in Adelaide on 13 May 2014
• Manage quality training and assessment program requirements (SNR 15/AQTF 1) through Moodle webinar on 29 April 2014, or
• Contact us to run this workshop and/or webinar for your organisation or for a Moodle – Quality Teaching and Learning Health Check

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