Practical Teaching Platform Construction Based on Moodle—Taking “Education Technology Project Practice” as an Example

doi:10.4236/cn.2013.53B2113

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Communications and Network, 2013, 5, 631-633

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/cn.2013.53B2113 Published Online September 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/cn)

Practical Teaching Platform Construction Based on

Moodle—Taking “Education Technology Project Practice”

as an Example

Ruonan Xing

Communication School, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China

Email: mary209@21cn.com

Received May 2013

ABSTRACT

Moodle platform is the international popular course management system. Based on the project practice of education

technology course as an example, this article has set up a platform of experimental teaching based on Moodle platform.

It mainly illustrates f rom the course management, self-regulated learning test, to procedural evaluation and so on. This

platform gives full express to the advantages of double main teaching model in which the teacher is dominant while

students are the main body, and it has significance on reference to the practical and experimental curriculum.

Keywords: Moodle; Teaching Platform; Practical Teaching

1. Introduction

The project practice of education technology is a required

course for educational technology, and it is the course

that facing the educational technology professional stu-

dents’ comprehensive intensive training about practice

project actual design and development ability. This cur-

riculum is based on project practice form of an open la-

boratory environment, under the guidance of students in

teacher’s timing, independent practice and to complete

project tasks. This article sets up an exp eriment aided by

teaching platform based on Moodle platform, trying to

improve the students’ learning initiative and the ability to

practice. It is hoped that the effect is obvious through

teaching practice.

2. The Experiment Teaching Current

Situation

The project practice of the education technology has been

opened for more than four years in our university. Cur-

rently we adopt the task driving teaching method based

on constructivism, every two to four weeks for a task,

alternating between theory teaching and practice with a

task for two to four weeks. Although it has obtained the

certain teaching effect, it also has the following main

problems.

2.1. Lacking of Learning Initiative

Students’ initiative in the process of experimental learn-

ing is not enough, as they don’t p review bef ore the ex pe-

riment, lack summary practice after class, and not have a

good command of experimental theory knowledge, which

is bad for students to further improve the ability of course-

ware, film and television and web site development, etc.

2.2. Lacking of Real Time Monitoring

A lot of causes content need to complete after class, be-

cause it lacks of real-time monitoring of the teachers. It

relies heavily on the students’ autonomy. Once students

haven’t enough self-discipline will make teaching diffi-

cult to achieve the expected effect.

2.3. Lacking of Practice

For fewer exper iment less ons, stud ents lack r ep eated prac-

tice, failed to achieve proficiency. With the time passed,

a lot of skills will be rusty.

3. Construction of Network Experimental

Teaching Platform

Experimental teaching platform of choice network teach-

ing breaks through the traditional teaching time and space

constraints, which has become a kind of brand-new edu-

cation ways and means. Along with the network tech-

nology, continues to change, Sharing, timeliness, interac-

tivity, pertinence of network teaching growing characte-

ristics such as rich teaching resources, network teaching

has become one of the most important teaching mode in

R. N. XING

632

colleges and universities [1]. As the project practice of

education technology, this practical course based on an

appropriate experimental teaching platform, and it will

help teachers and students interact better, conducive to

the students’ self-regulated learning, and then master

relevant skills.

3.1. Process Design of Experiment Teaching

In the experiment teaching, preview before class and sum-

mary after class directly affect the effect of the experi-

ment as well as the students master the knowledge and

skills. The majority of students learning initiative are poor,

however, there are a lot of students don’t prepare ahead

of time, can’t achieve the desired effect. Preview the re-

port was found that many are copying each other, if, check

them one by one for each and number is many, set of

experiments on time does not allow.

It can not only realize students prepare inspection, but

improve the working efficiency Combined with the net-

work teaching platform. Meanwhile it can solve some

problems of traditional experiment teaching, for example

teachers can only guide most of the students, and can’t

take care of poor students’ learning basis for the sake of

time and space. It is difficult to treat all students one-on-

one tutoring alone communication problem [2].

In view of the above situation, the whole experiment

link for extension in time and place, the real experimental

environment and the network teaching platform to com-

plement each other, promote each other, the whole expe-

riment is divided into three stages.

1) Before the experiment stage: The learning guide is

accomplished mainly in the network teaching platform.

With specific tasks as the theme, teachers release relevant

experiment content and learning resources in the network

teaching platform course management and resource mod-

ule to, and to design the experiment before the test is

used to monitor the preparation of the students; Students

to arrange the exp erimental task, learn ing related to teach-

ing resources, design experimental procedure, understand

the matters needing attention, and accept online tests at

last, through testing the students practice ability is quali-

fied in the experiment.

2) The experimental stage: It was conducted in lab, first

of all, the teacher through the network teaching platform

to test results to determine the experiment’s list, lead the

whole experiment process, supervise students complete

experiment, timely feedback to the student reviews; On

the experiment class, students complete the experiment,

and then fill in test report and record experimental

process.

3) After the experiment stage: On network teaching

platform, the teacher use Moodle statistical analysis of

the students’ preview and test situation after class, com-

prehensive given to student’s evaluation, reconsiders one-

self in the teaching problems, also can through the net-

work platform for further communicate with students,

answer questions; Students can through the network teach-

ing platform at any time chat, have BBS module group

discussions on the problems in the experiment.

3.2. Main Module of Experimental Teaching

Platform

Combining with the experimental process of the above

mentioned, experiment teaching based on Moodle plat-

form mainly includes the following functional modules.

1) Experiment task management: Using Moodle plat-

form of curriculum management, resource management

system with task as the theme, released subtasks imple-

mentation experiment, experiment content, experiment

purpose, learning materials (documents, pictures, video,

etc.) sharing, etc. It can configurate activities flexibly

during the course management, BBS, test, resources, pro-

ject discussion, questionnaire survey, homework, Students

self-study could be easily before class and can be easily

exchanged and discussed after class. Mor eo ver , students

participate in the adjustment of experiment contents, expe-

riment teaching closer to the actual content more actively

through voting and the questionnaire survey.

2) Self-regulated learning, test and summary: Provid-

ing a preview and test preparation resources for some

students of learning initiative poorly, preparing and check-

ing problem difficultly. At the same time, using the Moodle

platform of automatic test system to evaluate students’

preview and experiment preparation before the experi-

ment. Only the students passed the test can enter the la-

boratory and complete the test, or they must be review

until passing the test to obtain the status of the experi-

ment. Students can use the BBS or panel discussion and

other activities to discuss and summary the common prob-

lems in the experiment and summary, which help students

to master relevant knowledge and skills better.

3) Process-based assessment in stages: We can eva-

luate students combined quantitative evaluation with qua-

litative evaluation. Experiment process in stages consists

of three aspects: Pr epare readiness before exp eriment, Ex-

perimental operation process and Experimental summary.

Teachers can design good test to quantitative evaluate

student’s Prepare readiness before experiment. The teacher

gives a qualitative evaluation on the student in the process

of experiments, and then feedback to students at the same

time, students can conduct mutually the experimental sum-

mary stage [3]. The Moodle test and evaluation system

can help teachers realize automatic quantitatively evalua-

tion. This reduces the teacher’s work strength, and makes

the evaluation more realistic.

R. N. XING

633

Before the experiment

Module of the

experimental

teaching

platform

Experiment

task

management

Tested

and

summary

Formative

Assessment in

stages

Learning