I bet while you read this you will get three or more emails from professors about changes to Moodle. You may be that very student that has to scroll down past two semesters of classes just to find your current class assignment. When you open your class in Moodle you probably arrive at a complex, overloaded page with very little organization at all, ironically designed by someone with a masters or PhD degree.
Moodle, while helpful, has become the student nightmare in lecture management Long gone are the days of syllabus with a schedule of events. Instead, it’s Moodle that leads the painstaking way for students with hard to identify benchmarks for assignments or due dates. To make matters worse, those same professors that embrace all this new technology are the very ones that dislike laptops, cell phones, PDAs and iPads in the classroom, but usually will end a class by shouting, “don’t forget to check your Moodle!”
Professors must come to the realization that all students learn differently. As an engineering university, we should be the leader in technology in the classroom. Instead, UNC and Duke are leading the way with mandated computer usage in most of its classrooms. If a student wishes to surf Facebook or something other than what’s covered in the classroom, then it will surely reflect on their individual grade. Those that successfully use technology in the classroom should be allowed to continue to do so. Educators strive to reach diverse learning needs, but curtailing classroom technologies, such as laptops or other electronic means sends a mixed message. Some students use traditional books while some rely on e-books. Yet the standards are unfair for those that use e-books if professors won’t allow electronic means
Another problem is that instead of Moodle, some professors use commercial web portals such as Pearson or other software brands. These licenses cost students an additional $40 or more per class. Perhaps professors should consider using that PhD they earned and create their own Moodle course and save students costly license fees.
Don’t get me wrong; Moodle isn’t a terrible learning tool. In time Moodle may become very successful. However, many professors failed to attend Moodle workshops that may have been beneficial in how curricula is distributed and managed. Collaboration tools, such as Elluminate, may be included in Moodle to reduce the number of emails in your inbox. Newer technologies are omitted or rarely considered because professors are committed to antiquated and inefficient means.
Technologies used by students in today’s classroom must increase – but also must be planned and designed carefully to be beneficial in effective learning. Professors must integrate and adapt to varied technologies and devices – not just Moodle or other outsourced for profit software. As an engineering university we have great student talent right here on our campus – but sadly that talent is overlooked.
Sure, there are challenges with technologies. Most students have learned to embrace it and professors have forcefully migrated with painful complaints as voiced by students early in this semester. Perhaps now is the time for professors to learn a bit from tech-savvy students so the classroom of the future is reflective of their ideas and feedback of today.
