A New Knowledge Sharing Network for Moodlers
A Community of Practice Responding to Your Needs
Moodlers in the anglophone community of college professors are cordially invited to share their views and experiences in order to sharpen their skills on using Moodle in a pedagogically sound manner. When several hundred teachers in the network share the same digital tools, there is a defacto community, but until now, this community did not have a place to exchange information. This situation has been remedied by the DECclic Corporation, following discussions with the IT Representatives’ Network.
Although the birth of this virtual space housing our new community of practice has been slightly overshadowed by our recent server problems, more than 70 teachers and pedagogical advisors of the francophone cegep network have been exchanging more than 175 messages in forums on the use of Moodle in recent weeks.
Of course, there has always been a community of practice at Moodle.org, the site of the international community. Here users and developers around the globe exchange views in several languages, but the technical level of some exchanges is daunting. As well, there was a need for a space here to address local needs.
Moodle community of practice
A Community of Practice Responding to Your Needs
Technically, using learning tools interoperability standards (IMS LTI) and Moodle tools, we simply created a course in our Moodle site called Portal and made it available to all colleges. There is no account to create and no new password to remember.
Rather than responding to a question in private, the coordination team or any member of the community will answer in the community, so everyone can benefit. Over time, by accumulating expertise, our space will become a solid reference for the use of all.
We have also created a forum to gather suggestions for additions and improvements. Moodle is very flexible and has hundreds of add-ons. We are inviting our users to offer suggestions for improvement through this forum. An evaluation system will allow all participants to vote on the relevance of suggestions, which will then be reviewed by our board.
Our community is now open to college members and other interested parties. Just send us a membership request.
A Website That Has Proven Its Worth
Another valuable resource from DECclic is our website for the anglophone college network. An official virtual community space for English speaking Moodle users in Quebec colleges was created to assist professors by providing effective tools for quiz making and grading, guiding students for social constructivism and generally discovering the Moodle universe.
Blog for the english community of practice for Moodle
The website of the english community of practice for Moodle users has been online for a year now. The site is a great tool to go for newcomers to Moodle as well as for experienced users. One can learn about different approaches on using Moodle in pedagogically sound ways through useful links and video tutorials. As well, this website provides access to an FAQ for teachers and Moodle administrators as well as the general public interested in this learning management system (LMS).
Through forums you can ask Moodle-related questions and see what others have to say. Moodle online workshops are offered twice weekly in different time slots to meet professors’ needs. They can go directly from this website to the virtual classroom where they can learn new features and activities available in Moodle. The entertaining online training experience with a knowledgeable Moodle Administrator, makes learning Moodle unforgettable. Support and Training for English college professors using Moodle is always available, and this service is provided by DECclic. Users may contact the advisor right away from the website and expect a response within 24 hours. Link to the new website for the Community of Practice for English Moodle users at http://moodlecegeps.ca/.
