Implementing an Online Learning Environment at a HK International School

Abstract

This workshop offers participants hands-on training in how to set up a secondary school course in an online learning environment: Moodle (an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment). It also reviews the process of implementing Moodle at the American International School (AIS), Hong Kong over the past year, and outlines our future plans. Moodle is a popular free software package designed to deliver an online learning environment offering a user-friendly interface, a large online support community of enthusiastic users, developers and educators at www.moodle.org, and open source availability for custom additions. AIS is currently using Moodle to assist in the delivery of 16 courses, support the faculty in another 5 areas, and implement a school Intranet. A recent directive from the secondary school administration asks all of the teachers to prepare for a potential school closing due to avian flu by making their course materials available online using Moodle. One of the co-presenters, Aaron Metz, a recent HKU MSc[ITE] graduate and current IT teacher at AIS, introduced Moodle to the school as a result of his studies. For the workshop the co-presenters, with the help of several PC workstations and Moodle software installed, will demonstrate how Moodle is used and offer opportunities for participants to review the environment on their own. Software operations demonstrated will include: course creation; developing course materials and resources; the initiation and maintenance of discussion forums; the collection of assignments; and the delivery and marking of assessment tools. Expected discussion will include: the background of Moodle development; the criteria for selecting an appropriate learning environment; proposals for administration; web hosting requirements; software setup; teacher training; the pros and cons of an online learning environment compared to traditional education delivery methods; curriculum delivery options; and an overview of the ongoing Moodle implementation at AIS. The implementation of an online learning environment is an important method of delivering education using IT. This workshop will provide participants an opportunity to discuss an ongoing implementation at a HK international school, and get hands-on experience in the use of a popular software package of this type.