I recently wrote about the Hippobytes PD that I’m piloting at AISB, based on KIS’ fishbowl model of professional development. Some of the first sessions I led were about how to use Moodle’s activities and quizzes. I’m currently enrolled in HRDNZ’s MoodleBites/MCCC course, and the more I learn about Moodle the more I find out how many features it has. There’s enough to create a fully-delivered online class (which, of course, is the point) but also so many features that teachers who are only looking to develop a blended-learning environment can get overwhelmed. I think most secondary teachers are looking to deliver content and maybe accept assignments electronically, but there’s so much research out there about the importance of movement and face-to-face communication that we want to be affirming human interaction, not replacing it with a screen. So in these, I’ve tried to focus on Moodle as it’s relevant to the secondary classroom teacher:

• Moodle activities for the secondary classroom teacher
• Moodle quizzes for the secondary classroom teacher

One of the most useful things I learned was that Moodle hosts a fully-populated demo site with several completely-articulated courses so you can see best practices in action. One thing I found very helpful was logging in as a teacher and seeing how their more-complicated activities and assessments, like Lessons, had been created.