Overwhelming. Scary. There’s no way. What am I doing? All thoughts that had passed through my mind in the beginning of an assignment for my ETEC565A course, as a part of the UBC MET Program. Creating an introductory module using the learning management system (LMS) Moodle was both a frustrating and rewarding experience.
I then set out to design the course content I would provide in the introductory module (start off small right?); outlines, assessment guidelines, instructor introductions, along with a handful of others. Once the content was created offline, it was time to upload it to the Moodle LMS. Panic sunk in.
Learning how to navigate through Moodle was quite frustrating at times. The barrier in front of me did not want to be broken down. I had attempted to learn how to use Moodle by watching a variety of YouTube videos, such as Getting Started with Moodle and Moodle Tutorial 1: Basic Layout, which helped me with the basics but did not answer all of my questions, nor did they eliminate all of my frustrations. After a few dedicated hours in attempts to conquer Moodle, I came to a realization. A realization that I have a personal learning network (PLN) that I could call on for help and guidance. I replied to a tweet from @qflokstra that another member, @MsVictoriaOlson, of my PLN saw, she then led me to another member of my PLN, @Math_Johnson, for help and support. From here I was able to ask for help and support and learn within a community of educators with a variety of experiences in Moodle. Additionally, I had sent an email to my colleagues in the Adult Learning Center, that are moving to a predominantly online learning environment, inquiring if any of them were familiar with Moodle and were willing to help me in person. I was set! I had two tutoring sessions in person with a colleague and had countless conversations with @qflokstra and @Math_Johnson on twitter.
After countless questions to my PLN, hours of playing around I can now say that I am happy with the product I have created (sorry, I cannot share - it is currently being hosted by a secured UBC Moodle site. In future I will try to remember to share). While I was quite anxious and frustrated during the outset of this assignment, by the end of the activity I found Moodle to be not as frightening as I first thought. With my PLN by my side, I am now looking forward to learning more about Moodle as a LMS.
References
Clarkson, Alexander. (2012, May 19). Moodle tutorial 1: Basic layout. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/8yD3jIyrjNQ
Lynda.com. (2011, August 29). Getting started with Moodle. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/8JJaXJdgxh4
I then set out to design the course content I would provide in the introductory module (start off small right?); outlines, assessment guidelines, instructor introductions, along with a handful of others. Once the content was created offline, it was time to upload it to the Moodle LMS. Panic sunk in.
Learning how to navigate through Moodle was quite frustrating at times. The barrier in front of me did not want to be broken down. I had attempted to learn how to use Moodle by watching a variety of YouTube videos, such as Getting Started with Moodle and Moodle Tutorial 1: Basic Layout, which helped me with the basics but did not answer all of my questions, nor did they eliminate all of my frustrations. After a few dedicated hours in attempts to conquer Moodle, I came to a realization. A realization that I have a personal learning network (PLN) that I could call on for help and guidance. I replied to a tweet from @qflokstra that another member, @MsVictoriaOlson, of my PLN saw, she then led me to another member of my PLN, @Math_Johnson, for help and support. From here I was able to ask for help and support and learn within a community of educators with a variety of experiences in Moodle. Additionally, I had sent an email to my colleagues in the Adult Learning Center, that are moving to a predominantly online learning environment, inquiring if any of them were familiar with Moodle and were willing to help me in person. I was set! I had two tutoring sessions in person with a colleague and had countless conversations with @qflokstra and @Math_Johnson on twitter.
After countless questions to my PLN, hours of playing around I can now say that I am happy with the product I have created (sorry, I cannot share - it is currently being hosted by a secured UBC Moodle site. In future I will try to remember to share). While I was quite anxious and frustrated during the outset of this assignment, by the end of the activity I found Moodle to be not as frightening as I first thought. With my PLN by my side, I am now looking forward to learning more about Moodle as a LMS.
References
Clarkson, Alexander. (2012, May 19). Moodle tutorial 1: Basic layout. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/8yD3jIyrjNQ
Lynda.com. (2011, August 29). Getting started with Moodle. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/8JJaXJdgxh4
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