Distance and Open Education Technologies

Distance and Open Education Technologies

This week, I want to introduce Moodle (https://moodle.org/), which is a distance education technology and Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/about/), which is an open education technology.

Moodle is a learning management system (LMS). By using it, it is possible to create fully online courses, but it can also be used for blended learning, to support classroom learning. It has activity modules (i.e. forums and wikis) that can be used to enhance collaborative learning, but it is also possible to deliver content and assess learners’ performances using Moodle. I chose this technology due to this flexibility it offers. It can serve different purposes and it can be used with learners of all ages.

In my professional practice, I would use this technology for blended learning purposes, to support my classroom teaching. For instance, after teaching the past tenses in class, I would use the wikis to encourage my learners to work collaboratively in groups to create a story, using these tenses. By using a wiki, learners will be able to add, edit, and give and receive feedback easily. It encourages collaborative learning. I can also use this technology for my professional development. By following the registered sites link, I can reach the links of the educational institutions and follow their news, upcoming conferences, reach their resources if they are available, and the like. So, in addition to being beneficial for the learners, Moodle can help the professional growth of an adult educator.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization. By using it, people can share their creativity and knowledge legally. A person who publishes his work under a Creative Commons license accepts that others can share, use, and adapt it. By joining Creative Commons, people can have access to a big pool of free materials they can use. I have chosen this technology because it aims at providing people free access to research and education, but while doing this, it does not disregard copyright issues; it respects copyright laws.

I can use this technology in my professional practice to encourage my learners to share their work with others on an online platform and to introduce them to this alternative research method. For example, after learning about how to write a short biography of a person in class, I can ask my learners to choose a prominent figure in history and write a short biography of this person. Then, they can share it on Creative Commons so that others can have access to it. I would ask my learners to read one another’s work and give one another feedback. I can also use it as a research tool. I can ask my learners to choose a topic of interest and prepare a PowerPoint presentation by using the information they find on this site. My aim here would be to encourage my learners to give credit to the work of others, even if it is shared freely on the Internet.