Students seek to unmuddle Moodle
Students lead the charge to raise awareness of Moodle
Lisa McMahan
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
Courses at UP are escaping the confines of the classroom and the printed page and making their way to the good old World Wide Web, in part because of a student-driven campaign to raise more awareness about Moodle.
Moodle is the name of the course management system software implemented at the University almost five years ago.
It enables professors to post syllabi, assignments and grades and fosters communication among students through forum posts.
Accessed through PilotsUP, the system is currently known as Learning@UP, but will be officially changed the name to Moodle on Feb. 10.
Currently, over half of the faculty uses Moodle or other online resources to provide their students with basic information like syllabi and office hours, according to Academic Technology Services Technology Training Specialist Bill Bateman.
He is confident that recent efforts spearheaded by Academic Technology Services and students themselves will increase Moodle usage to two-thirds of faculty by next fall.
"Our aim is to increase communication between faculty and students," Manager of Academic Technology Services Jamie Worley said.
The department is working toward this goal by training faculty and providing support to help both students and professors get the most out of the system.
This year was the first time UP's new faculty orientation in the fall had a technology component, including Moodle training.
Academic Technology Services student workers Alexandria Risinger and Martina Sheer are raising awareness about Moodle through flyers and a Facebook profile, "Moodle UP," which has already garnered over 130 friends.
The page provides students with a demonstration video that can help them upload photos to their Moodle profiles.
"The most current drive is student driven," Bateman said.
When a professor does not set up Moodle for his or her class, students are unable to use the online features that might be available to them in other classes.
Moodle is the name of the course management system software implemented at the University almost five years ago.
It enables professors to post syllabi, assignments and grades and fosters communication among students through forum posts.
Accessed through PilotsUP, the system is currently known as Learning@UP, but will be officially changed the name to Moodle on Feb. 10.
Currently, over half of the faculty uses Moodle or other online resources to provide their students with basic information like syllabi and office hours, according to Academic Technology Services Technology Training Specialist Bill Bateman.
He is confident that recent efforts spearheaded by Academic Technology Services and students themselves will increase Moodle usage to two-thirds of faculty by next fall.
"Our aim is to increase communication between faculty and students," Manager of Academic Technology Services Jamie Worley said.
The department is working toward this goal by training faculty and providing support to help both students and professors get the most out of the system.
This year was the first time UP's new faculty orientation in the fall had a technology component, including Moodle training.
Academic Technology Services student workers Alexandria Risinger and Martina Sheer are raising awareness about Moodle through flyers and a Facebook profile, "Moodle UP," which has already garnered over 130 friends.
The page provides students with a demonstration video that can help them upload photos to their Moodle profiles.
"The most current drive is student driven," Bateman said.
When a professor does not set up Moodle for his or her class, students are unable to use the online features that might be available to them in other classes.
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