Blackboard and Moodle are both types of a LMS, and I have a good amount of experience with using them, though not with creating one.
Blackboard can be a great tool to use in the classroom, being accessed by teachers, students and their families. The teacher can upload homework, what's happening in class, class photos and resources. It is also a great tool to connect home and school life.
The following is a PMI of the use of Blackboard/Moodle:
Plus:
- Contain a lot of infomration, orgainsed in a logical way and easy to find.
- Many people can use the tool at one time.
- Connects home and school life
- Online resources can be stored by the teacher for later use.
- Parents can keep up with what is happening in their child's class if they are really busy during the day.
Minus:
- Privacy might be an issue; although a password and username is needed to get access
Interesting:
- Sometimes there can be too much information uploaded, with students ignoring some, or not getting time to look at it all.
Overall I would love to set up a Bclackboard program (Virtual Classroom) to help engage my learners, share a wide range of resources and enhance the involvment of families in the learning.
What do you think of Blackboard? Is it a valuable ICT learning and teaching tool? Let me know!
Hi Teagan,
ReplyDeleteI feel Blackboard is an appropriate tool to use with young learners, however Moodle is a free software that is a lot more user friendly than Blackboard. I have previously used Blackboard for some of my University years, and yes it was engaging yet now that I look at both the digital tools from a learning managers perspective I realise Moodle is the way to go.
I made up a list of ways to use Moodle into the classroom, if you look at my blog page.
I agree with your PMI about LMS's, they are very effective. A big minus that the mentor teachers at my prac school believed was that it takes up a lot of your time when you have to keep up-to-date with it. I believe they are a valuable tool for parents, students and teachers!
What about Moodle or Blackboard in relation to use by learners? Are they both user friendly for our young students? I know that Blackboard can be created this way, but does Moodle have the same abilities?
ReplyDeleteTime management would be major issue of these tools, especially as they are required to be regularly updated. Although if you were to use it as a mode of setting homework and communicating with families, you would be doing this anyone.