Hi Sam,
>I've never bought this.
I've always been suspicious of it too (especially since many WebCT tools
find an exact equivalent in Moodle), but I can back the claim up a little.
Once you look at Moodle in detail you realise that there are little things
here and there which push towards creating an online community, as opposed
to an online content delivery system.
* Each user is encouraged to create an online profile, with a little bit of
blurb about themselves, and a picture they can upload.
* Many of the tools have little constructivist extras - for example,
entries in a glossary can be rated by students, and students can even
contribute new glossary items (these are features which the teacher can
turn on or off btw). Similarly, forum postings can be set to be rated by
students.
* Moodle has a whole module devoted to peer-assessment - conspicuously
absent in WebCT - and also a wiki tool, and a "journal" (which is like a
student's individual learning log).
* A course can be entirely based around a discussion forum.
All of these are features which emphasise learning as a kind of group
conversation rather than a dispensing-of-knowledge. They can all be
activated or deactivated, so in a sense Moodle is "pedagogically neutral"
too. But it does actually allow more dimensions of student contribution to
a course, than WebCT does.
Best,
Dan
At 10:31 17/10/2005 +0100, VLE automatic digest system wrote:
>Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:08:27 +0100
>From: Sam Brenton <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Open Source VLEs: statistics>>
>
>"As Philip says Moodle does come from a constructivism background
>(which existed for some time before Moodle even was a gleam in the
>developers eye.... )"
>
>I've never bought this. PHP content management systems typically have a
>range of modules, and some of the better modules are associated with
>communications. But I cannot see how Moodle is more natively 'social
>constructivist' than, say, WebCT. In both you can have discussions, chats,
>surveys, feedback mechanisms... the balance between comms and content is the
>choice of the designer in both. The navigation and structure are similarly
>flexible. The teaching methods are not constrained by one system more than
>another.
>
>WebCT used to say (maybe still do) that they were 'pedagogically neutral'.
>This is edu-marketing speak for "appealing to the whole market" but is in
>fact closer to the truth of any e-learning system.
>
>I'd be very interested to hear the arguments for the constructivist nature
>of the system, over any others. What can one do in it that is
>'contructivist' that one can't in WebCT?
>
>Hello to list members by the way. I rejoined the other day after BB-WebCT
>takeover was announced so am very interested in all the options.
>
>- Sam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dan Stowell
Faculty Information Support Officer (Life Sciences), UCL
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/is/fiso/lifesciences/
Room G22, Drayton House, 30 Gordon Street, London
Phone: +44 (0)20 7679 5472 (within UCL: dial 25472)
Email: [log in to unmask]
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