TAMING MOODLE : FROM THE NEED, TO THE APPROPRIATION, STEP BY STEP

There is an increasing trend in business schools to incorporate Learning Management Systems (LMS) to support and improve learning within their institution. The LMS are designed to automate many of the pedagogical tasks including: distribution of course materials (ie. the syllabus, assignments, etc.), collection of student work products (ie. reports, etc.). LMS are frequently used in this manner initially. The evolutionary process allows time for faculty to adapt to this new way of learning as well as developing new understandings of how LMS can be used to both aid in course delivery and improve student learning outcomes.
What is not well researched is the process by which faculty adopt LMS and develop an understanding of how this tool can enhance course delivery and outcomes. This article will demonstrate how the faculty at one French business school moved toward the adoption and integration of LMS into their pedagogy. We will examine how little by little faculty discovered how the tools within the LMS addressed pedagogical issues and how new problems led to the emergence of new understandings about the use of LMS beyond the distribution and collection of course documents. I will focus on three pedagogical issues and can be addressed through the use of LMS: First, to evaluate student’s preparation for a course. Second, to evaluate students’ knowledge acquisition from the course, and third, to assist students by providing developmental feedback allowing students to learn from their own mistakes and correct their own work. This research will report the results of a series of interviews with both current users and non-users of LMS and present the results of two experiments that demonstrate how LMS can be used to address these three pedagogical issues.
A common complaint among faculty is that students come to courses lacking the appropriate level of preparation. This presents an issue for the faculty who then must take time to teach preparatory material prior to beginning course material. In seeking a solution to this problem, faculty began to examine the possibility of using Moodle the adopted LMS for the business school.
The second pedagogical problem faced by faculty that we will discuss is understanding student’s knowledge acquisition from the course. The faculty were presented with the challenge of evaluating student’s learning in an off-campus training. The faculty once again looked to the LMS, Moodle to assist in developing a set of assessment instruments that would provide the necessary information. The same faculty who participated in the prior experiment related to pre course preparation took part in this experiment as well. In order to assess student knowledge acquisition a set of tools were employed including: quizzes, forums, assignments, etc.
The final pedagogical challenged faced by the faculty is the difficulty in presenting formative assessments to the students. Often when faculty assess student understanding of course material it is not done in a formative manner. The student takes the assessment and then receives feedback some time after the completion of the assessment. Often students’ are not provided the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and correct their answers to develop a deeper understanding. The faculty over time learned that the tools within Moodle allowed for this type of formative assessment to be developed. Thus assessments become a learning opportunity for students.