Faculty Perspective on Using Moodle

After the reading the article, I have the same reaction to Moodle. I don't any experience to Blackboard to compare it to, but I think Moodle is very easy to set up and start using. Dr. Ulasewicz's comments from a non-technical perspective, where interesting. I thought the experience that some of her students were concerned about the workload that Moodle forums add was something I had not considered. It is work to formulate a response to a forum topic, but as the article pointed out, it gives students who have a difficult time responding in a group environment a thread to express their input on any given topic. I think it's a great assessment tool for any teacher to find out where their students are and how they are absorbing the content in a lecture or lesson. I thought the group class in using Moodle was a good idea, it tends to take the mystery out of technology and encourages more participation.

Dr. Beatty comes from a technical background and his impressions were understandably different. I agree that the flexibility of Moodle makes it a great alternative. That can save a bunch of money and time. I have found that most software houses are rather slow in making changes. In Moodle, there are thousands of developers all over the world working on new modules. And as is pointed out n the article, the spellcheck plug-in was implemented overnight.

Here are the questions I would ask:

1. How would rate Moodle in it's ability to enhance traditional face to face classes?

2. How many courses are strictly on-line classes? Do online classes at SFSU follow a normal semester schedule? 

3. How has using Moodle changed the way your traditional class flows in content and schedule?

Interesting article, although I thought it was limited in it's scope. Most of the article seemed to be centered around forums and discussion posts. At least Moodle has increased the edit time from 15 to 30 minutes on posts.