canada moodle moot 2009
DESCRIPTION
A sampling of what was done when confronted with a class of ESL or EFL learners using Moodle. Blocks are a powerful means of facilitating on line and blended sessions as their visual characteristics allow easy location.TRANSCRIPT
impetusMoodle Majilis presentation in Oman
by Stuart Mealor
http://www.elearning.org.nz/login/index.php
provide the students withmore organizationvarietyconsistency in learning
Background - Budget
“Zero”developed at home in evenings
Tech Support
“Nil”
StudentsEFL learners in a foundations
program
Course3 hours each that focus on: writingsafety vocabularytechnical vocabulary
plus3 additional hours per day
studying English grammar
(none of this content is in Moodle)
Modesblended (in the face-to-face
classroom)
on-line used by students at home
Topics areaQuizzes
Glossaries
PowerPoints
PDFs
Directories
Hyperlinks
Text documents
Standard BlocksStandard Blocks include ……
Calendar
Upcoming events
Search forums
Random Glossary Entry
RSS Feeds
Random Glossary Entry Block
a random single visual and text item that provides environmental reinforcement of the week’s technical & safety vocabulary
Drawn from the course glossaries
Random Glossary Entry Block
Student of the day
Random rotation
motivational tool
student has special responsibilities in the class
Random Glossary Entry Block
Glossary Creation Block
students input their assigned terms to a Moodle glossary
great activity
Remote RSS Feeds Block RSS feed subscription… ”ESL
worksheets”
extra tasks
Remote RSS Feeds Block BBCLearning - ESL/EFL dedicated
current events site
Non standard blocksHTML Blocks only
None from Moodle.org - Modules and plugins
Reason: no dedicated support and erratic upgrades
HTML Blocks creationAcquire the embed code from the
web2.0 site
Open a new HTML block
Toggle HTML source
Paste <EMBED> code
Information postercontact details about the instructor
yes, a phone number is a good idea but……
Translation tool launches English to Arabic Google translation
tool
used as a bridge for terms
alternative as some of the students could not afford mandatory digital translators
Safety Word postera colourful visual that provides
environmental reinforcement of the week’s safety vocabulary
it can be printed to be used as a search and identify activity (Wordle.com)
Technical Word postercan be printed for classroom
display
Wordle.com
Another “Wordle” usevisual of course participants
Esthetic collage displayanimated sequence of student
portraits
a result of a digital picture taking activity
Slide.com
Internet SearchException: Moodle.org
quick access to Google search
launches a full Google search window
Basic web linkBasic web linka link to the sponsor’s website
Job search skillsextension of basic job search skills
Interviewing
Resume
Cover letter
Web2.0 skills….. registering channels RSS uploading
TeacherTube videos
TeacherTube the site - not the channel
targeted lessons
played within the block
Visual thesauruscreates word relationship diagrams
ESLVideo Quizzesnice resource of videos
with a quick quiz
sometimes resources cannot be wedged in!
problem in block due to dimensions
embed as a separate ”weblink” in the topics section of the course
Focused PronunciationForvo for listening to discrete items
and pronunciation
Links to visual datagraphs through Swivel
create or read a graph
Step by step proceduressequencing for writing or speaking
eHow.com
Quick access to presentations
Slideshare.com
sharing of presentations
“Tool Presentations”
Animated screen tutorialsScreenCast.com
provide required tutorials for computer based tasks
Hot Potatoes Contentexternal Hot Potatoes Content
Building an avatarbody attributes using nouns and
adjectives
Charting the weatherchart vocabulary (trends)
weather terms
Visitor’s mapClustrmap.com
Not very successful due to “closed” Moodle
Personality & Description
http://www.41q.com/
Your personality type: Warm-hearted, popular and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.
Pollscreate polls for external community
Ask500people.com
Non standard blocks add variety to this course
consistency/routines
visual appeal
ease of location for ESL learners
seemingly unlimited potential
Stuart’s course employs:Wordle
Linked In
Slide
Delicious
Flickr
MySpace…..
Thank you