2. Overview
o My Context
o My Puzzle
o Pedagogical Consideration in response to my
puzzle
o Online platform with Moodle
o Pedagogy in practice with Moodle
o Further thoughts
3. My Context
Private university
Large class
Mixed ability classroom
Teacher centred classroom environment
Exam-oriented activities
Lack of proficiency in productive skills
Non-use integrative technology
4. My Puzzle
How could students be engaged in out of
class activities along with face to face
traditional classroom format that would
facilitate them with opportunities for
collaboration and active learning, generate in
them confidence in language use and enable
them to get individualised feedback?
5. Response to my puzzle
Blended Learning
Social Constructivism
Collaboration
Formative Assessment
6. What is Blended Learning?
Combination of face-to-face teaching and learning
with online teaching and learning “It is a design
approach whereby both face-to-face and online
learning are made better by the presence of each
other” (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p.5).
“Thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online
experiences” (p.5).
“Combines the properties and possibilities of both
to go beyond the capabilities of each separately”
(p.6)
7. Online activity/discussion
Online activity/discussion
Online activity/discussion
F2f activity/discussion
F2f activity/discussion
F2f activity/discussion
F2f activity/discussion
Collaborative
wiki tool,
forum, Blog
External specialist
websites,links
E-resource
Demonstration,
PPT
Lecture
Books
Wrapping around F2f activity Wrapping around online activity
8. Social Constructivism
This learning theory defines the acquisition of
knowledge as a social process.
Learning is done in a social context with other
learners.
Vygotsky, the father of social constructivism,
believed that social interaction was a very
important part of learning. Social constructivism is
based on social interactions of students combined
with their own critical thinking (Vygotsky, 1962,
p.93).
9. Social Constructivism (cont.)
Social
Constructivis
m
Philosophy How to learn Electronic Support
Knowledge as
socially
constructed
meaning
Learning is
experiencing
and
reflecting
relative to a
social context
E-Learning: Set
of manageable,
content-rich
tools and
Knowledge sharing
and
collaboration
tools (e.g. wiki,
blogs, forums)
Instructional approaches and their consequences for e-learning (Walker & Baets,
2008:245)
10. Collaboration
The principal tenet of social constructivism is
collaboration.
Beatty (2003, p. 102) defines it “as a process in
which two or more learners need to work together
to achieve a common goal, usually completion of
a task or the answering of a question”.
Collaboration helps the weaker students to
develop through the assistance of able peers.
Vygotsky (1978) calls it ‘the zone of proximal
development’ (ZPD)
12. Formative Assessment
Formative assessments are assessments that
are used during the learning process. These
assessments can be marked, but the marks
usually do not contribute to the final mark of
the learner.
It is unlike summative assessments that do
contribute towards the final grade.
13. Formative Assessment (Cont.)
Cauley & Mcmillan (2010:2) found four reasons why students learn
more through formative assessment:
• Frequent, on-going assessment allows both for fine-tuning of
instruction and student focus on progress.
• Immediate assessment helps ensure meaningful feedback.
• Specific, rather than global, assessments allow students to see
concretely how they can improve.
• Formative assessment is consistent with recent constructivist
theories of learning and motivation.
14. Online Platform Moodle & Why
Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic
Learning Environment) is my preference for the
online platform for my students.
It is a CMS
It is a open source software
15. CMS
A course management system (CMS) is a
Web based software system that is
specifically designed for teaching and
learning. (Morgan, 2003).
“CMS allow non-technical individuals to set
up and maintain a Web site where students
can log in, access course information,
interact, share and teach others” (Rowe,
2005).
16. Open Source Software
Open source software is software “whose
source code is available to the general public
for use and/or modification from the original
design free of charge. It is typically created
as a collaborative effort in which programmers
improve upon the code and share the
changes with the community” (JAHA, 2006).
17. Why Moodle?
The design of Moodle is rooted in social
constructivist pedagogy, which emphasizes
interaction between students and the use of
student-generated content as a learning resource’
(KnowMoodle, 2006).
Open Course Software, cost effective in my
context.
Institutional look ( secure log in, personalisation,
privacy, monitoring)
34. Reference
Beatty, K. (2003). Teaching and researching computer-assisted language learning. Harlow:
Longman.
Cauley, K. M., & Mcmillan, J. H. 2010. Formative Assessment Techniques To Support
Student Motivation and Achievement. The Clearing House, 83(1), 1-7. [Online], Available:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ862818, [2011, March, 11].
Garrison, R., & Vaughan, H. (2008). Blended learning in higher education: Framework,
principles and guidelines. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
JAHA Design (2006). Web Glossary. Retrieved March, 2011, Web site:
http://www.jahadesign.com/glossary.htm
KnowMoodle (2006, November 11). What's Moodle?. Retrieved March 18, 2011, from Use
KnowMoodle Website: http://knowmoodle.ca/moodle1.7/mod/resource/view.php?id=742
Morgan, Glenda (2003, May). Faculty use of course management systems. Retrieved March
11, 2011, from ECAR Web site:http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS0302/ekf0302.pdf
Rowe, Joe (2005, August 29). Building Educational Web Sites with Moodle. Retrieved March
2011, from TechSoup Web site:
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page4814.cfm
Peter Rich, P. The Current State of Instructional Technology Retrieved March 2011, from
Web site: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/ITFoundations/index.php?title=Present
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of
TechnologyPress.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological process.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Walker, R & Baets, W. 2008. Instructional Design for Class-Based and Computer-Mediated
Learning: Creating the Right Blend for Student-Centered Learning, in Donnelly R. &
McSweeney, F. (eds.). Applied E-Learning and E-Teaching in Higher Education. Hershey:
Information Science Reference.
