Helping Young People to Learn at Their Own Pace in a Rural Area with Moodle

Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on February 15, 2006

The DfES in the UK has published a short but sweet case study of the use of moodle in distance education in a rural area.

All students completed the course ahead of schedule. The progress of the whole group was three weeks quicker than normal, with one student completing the Process Plant Operations course six weeks ahead of schedule. However, trials would need to be conducted with a larger group to determine whether outcomes could be systematically reproduced. Students' IT skills improved through Moodle, the Pathfinder Co-ordinator referring to participants as 'great thieves of information', skilled at finding up-to-date, relevant information to inform their learning. This approach improved the ability of learners to work independently and direct their own learning. These skills gave learners the confidence to benefit from Individual Learning Plan (ILP) approaches rather than traditional Information, Advice and Guidance system. The Cumbria and East Manchester Pathfinders have shared learning to inform the development of a common electronic ILP, which will be transferable and accessible across their partnerships.

Moodle was developed as a tool to be hosted on school websites in the longer term. Hosting costs between £100-£200 a year. Although initial time commitments are required to install and maintain Moodle in schools, this will decrease once the system becomes established.

Thanks to Josie Fraser.

Stuart's blog
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		Helping Young People to Learn at Their Own Pace in a Rural Area with Moodle Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on February 15, 2006 The DfES in the UK has published a short but sweet case study of the use of moodle in distance education in a rural area. All students completed the course ahead of schedule. The progress of the whole group was three weeks quicker than normal, with one student completing the Process Plant Operations course six weeks ahead of schedule. However, trials would need to be conducted with a larger group to determine whether outcomes could be systematically reproduced. Students' IT skills improved through Moodle, the Pathfinder Co-ordinator referring to participants as 'great thieves of information', skilled at finding up-to-date, relevant information to inform their learning. This approach improved the ability of learners to work independently and direct their own learning. These skills gave learners the confidence to benefit from Individual Learning Plan (ILP) approaches rather than traditional Information, Advice and Guidance system. The Cumbria and East Manchester Pathfinders have shared learning to inform the development of a common electronic ILP, which will be transferable and accessible across their partnerships. Moodle was developed as a tool to be hosted on school websites in the longer term. Hosting costs between £100-£200 a year. Although initial time commitments are required to install and maintain Moodle in schools, this will decrease once the system becomes established. Thanks to Josie Fraser. Josie Fraser \| Moodle \| UK \| UnitedKingdom \| virtual learning environment \| VLE Stuart's blog Login or register to post comments 3764 reads
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