Module 5: Designing an Online Course

I have never had to use the Moodle LMS until working to complete this module. Canvas is the only LMS I have had significant experience with. Moodle is quite a bit different than Canvas. It was a pretty steep learning curve for me to have to figure out the Moodle interface while also designing the online lesson.

For example, in Moodle, if you want to edit something, there is no handy little “Edit” button. You have to locate the “Update” button. There are many other examples of differences in nomenclature.

I solved problems as they came up by reading and viewing the tutorials about Moodle. The tutorials weren’t always helpful, and at times it seemed as though they referred to an earlier version of Moodle because the interface didn’t look the same. I also googled my Moodle questions and sometimes got some good help that way.

I have created one other online course (using Canvas, of course) and after creating that one and teaching it as a hybrid one quarter, and then designing an online lesson on the topic of tutoring, I realized that open educational resources abound on some subjects and not on others. There were lots of web sites about tutoring and tutoring programs, but I couldn’t find any interesting interactive, or even just digital, materials to use for my assignments. Much of the available materials are heavily text-based, which doesn’t lend itself to the online environment- at least, not to a quality online classroom environment.

The most rewarding aspect of this project was that I was able to complete it! I stuck with it, and figured out some of the inner workings of Moodle!