EDUMECENTRO 2023;15:e2529

Six simple methodological actions for the use of the Moodle platform

Seis acciones metodológicas sencillas para el uso de la plataforma Moodle

Xenia Mónica Aguiar Santiago^1*https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3846-1502
Lourdes Rodríguez Pérez¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1417-8064
Blanca Rosa Pérez Obregón² https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1924-2419
Dionisio Roberto Rivero Ortega¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5107-0840

¹ Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas. Faculty of Physical Culture. Villa Clara. Cuba.
² University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara. Language Department. Villa Clara. Cuba.

*Author for correspondence. Email: xaguiar@uclv.cu

ABSTRACT

To develop a course or subject through distance learning using the Moodle platform, it is necessary to master the resources that it offers; although without knowledge of the content, pedagogy and a practical experience of traditional teaching of the subject, it is not possible to achieve it with any chance of success. It is the purpose of the authors to socialize some simple methodological actions, formed by them and already applied in their teaching practice, which can be useful to those who are starting out in the virtualization of the teaching-learning process.

MeSH: education, distance; information technologies and communication projects; students, education, professional, education.

RESUMEN

Para desarrollar un curso o asignatura a través de la educación a distancia utilizando la plataforma Moodle, es preciso dominar los recursos que esta ofrece; aunque sin el conocimiento del contenido, de pedagogía y una experiencia práctica de impartición tradicional de la materia, no es posible lograrlo con posibilidades de éxito. Es propósito de los autores socializar algunas acciones metodológicas sencillas, conformadas por ellos y aplicadas ya en su práctica docente, las que pueden ser útiles a los que se inician en la virtualización del proceso enseñanza aprendizaje.

DeCS: educación a distancia; proyectos de tecnologías de información y comunicación; estudiantes, educación profesional, educación.

Submitted: 02/11/2022
Accepted: 20/12/2022

With the introduction of distance learning through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) the traditional paradigm of the teaching-learning process was transformed, providing pedagogical alternatives never dreamed of. Interactive platforms emerge; among them, Moodle is perhaps the most popular among Cuban teachers.

How to implement a course on the Moodle interactive platform? This is a question frequently asked by teachers and its answer is not easy. It is not just about carrying out the resources offered by the platform, which have proven to be easy to master, but without knowledge of the content of the course or subject, of pedagogy and practical experience of traditional teaching of the subject, it is not possible to have success. It is the purpose of the authors to socialize some simple methodological actions, formed by them and applied in their teaching practice, to form a course or subject from this platform.

Action 1. Study of the characteristics of the platform

It is necessary to study the platform and its facilities so that the teacher is convinced of its usefulness; to do this, you can consult other courses already implemented in order to familiarize yourself with the resources and activities that it offers. Some of its options, visible from the starting page, are:

• A label that allows writing the presentation of the course or subject, important clarifications, invitation to the student to interact with the platform, etc.
• Allows you to link a file with others already placed by the teacher.
• It makes it possible to edit a web page: an .html document can be written to make it available to the student, either a study guide, or the content of a topic.
• Shows a directory or folder: there you can place the bibliography; this way, the student accesses only the relevant one according to the content of their interest. Videos, images, e- presentations, etc. can also be archived.
• Questionnaires: make it possible to form different types of questions: link, multiple choice, true or false, sentence completion, which can be evaluated and qualified immediately while providing encouragement messages to motivate them to continue.
• Task activity: allows extra-class tasks, integration tasks and course completion projects to be uploaded to the platform in their initial, development and final versions, without limits of teacher-student interactions, which guarantees final success.
• Forum: online seminars can be placed, or a topic or aspect can be discussed for students to participate without necessarily being all connected at the same time. The topic must be novel and a trigger for debate.
• Chat: like any chat service, it is necessary to be connected to the platform at the same time, any necessary matter can also be discussed at the teacher's discretion, exchange opinions, clarify doubts, offer help.
• Wiki: Allows participants to add and edit a collection of web pages. A wiki can be collaborative, where everyone can edit it, or individual, where everyone has their own wiki. They have multiple uses, for example:

- Make class notes for the group
- Plan a strategy or team building meeting for teachers or students
- Work in a team using an online book, creating content on a topic chosen by their tutor
- Write a collaborative narrative or create group poetry, where each participant writes a line or a verse
- Create a personal diary for exam notes or review of bibliographies

• Lesson: allows the teacher to provide content and/or activities in an interesting and flexible way. The teacher can use this option to create a linear set of content pages or instructional activities with a variety of student options. In either case, teachers can choose to increase interactivity and ensure learning by including variety in questions. Depending on the student's response choice, and how the teacher develops the lesson, students may progress to the next page, be returned to a previous page, or redirected to a completely different path. The results can be graded and saved in the so-called "grading book". The lessons can be used to:

- A self-directed learning towards a new topic or theme
- Scenarios or exercises of simulations and decision making
- Differentiated review guides, with different sets of review questions depending on the answers given to the initial questions

Action 2. Design of a topic for a course or subject on the platform

• To design it, it is necessary to select it bearing in mind its characteristics. It begins by defining the general objective and the specific ones, how to introduce the content, the motivation to use it, how the student must apply the content to their reality so that they deepen and reflect on it in practice, internalize it and approve it for the utility it gives them. In this action, the didactic and pedagogical aspects that must be in the professional domain of teachers will be applied.

Action 3. Implementation and teaching of a topic of the course or subject on the platform

• The teacher must implement a theme of the course or subject to be the first version of what will be its final design. There he will apply the Moodle resources and activities and will place the bibliography, study guides, support materials; everything that facilitates the student's work and will make up the questions or teaching tasks that allow the content to be evaluated frequently.

Action 4. Modification of the program of the course or the subject after the experience of teaching a topic.

Action 5. Implementation and teaching of the course or subject

• During the implementation of the course to subject, the teacher will be continuously exercising his work as a facilitator of the teaching-learning process and applying, with timely pedagogical mastery, the necessary attention to the individual differences of his students, both from the point of view of the contents as platform domain. In this case, one of the forms of interaction that it offers is used.

Action 6. Modifications to the design while the course or subject is being taught.

• Even when the distance learning modality has been implemented, any situation or criteria of the students or the teacher must be observed in practice to make modifications to the theme, course or subject designed. And if it is necessary to redesign it to make changes that contribute to the motivation and application of the contents in practice, creatively perfect the teaching tasks, the forms of interaction, the evaluation system and other necessary aspects to achieve significant learning and development.

There are numerous articles published in national and international magazines that contain experiences of using the Moodle platform. Maury-Sintjago et al.⁽¹⁾ found that the formats most used by health sciences students at a university in Chile were: powerpoint, text, and videos. Pérez-Pérez et al.⁽²⁾ found that Moodle has been used by most teachers and students to organize content and update bibliography, but there is limited knowledge of other tools. Pomares Bory et al.⁽³⁾ applied an evaluative innovation with satisfactory results using Moodle and Aguiar Santiago et al.⁽⁴⁾ showed that the use of the Task Activity tool facilitated the execution of the course completion work and thus its review by the teachers. Its use favored the obtaining of positive results in gradual ascent until reaching outstanding evaluations; Use these experiences to continue researching and training about its advantages in the teaching- teaching process, since it has been shown that there are more limitations than use in its usage.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

1. Maury-Sintjago E, Pereira-Centurión T, Labbé-Gibert M, Sepúlveda P, Valdebenito C. Caracterización del uso de la plataforma MOODLE por estudiantes de ciencias de la salud. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2015 [citado 27/10/2022];7(1):[aprox. 13 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.revedumecentro.sld.cu/index.php/edumc/article/view/512/html_19

2. Pérez-Pérez S, Expósito-Gallardo M, Ortiz-Romero G, Castro-Pérez M, Soto-Santiesteban V, Mustelier-de-León R. Utilización de la plataforma Moodle en la disciplina Informática Médica de la carrera de Medicina. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2020 [citado 27/10/2022];12(2):[aprox. 11 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.revedumecentro.sld.cu/index.php/edumc/article/view/1416/html_557

3. Pomares-Bory E, Barrios-Herrero L, Vázquez-Naranjo O, Arencibia-Flores L, Lastayo-Bourbon L, Pérez-Yero C. Percepción estudiantil sobre una innovación evaluativa utilizando la plataforma Moodle. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2020 [citado 27/11/2022];12(2):[aprox. 17 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.revedumecentro.sld.cu/index.php/edumc/article/view/1469/html_560

4. Aguiar-Santiago X, Rodríguez-Pérez L, Milán-Ernis E, Aguila-Pérez D. La herramienta Actividad Tarea de la plataforma Moodle aplicada a trabajos de terminación de curso. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2022 [citado 27/11/2022];14:[aprox. 18 p.] Disponible en: http://www.revedumecentro.sld.cu/index.php/edumc/article/view/e2462/html

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contribution of the authors

Xenia Mónica Aguiar Santiago and Lourdes Rodríguez Pérez: they conceptualized the actions and applied them in their educational context, they also analyzed the bibliography to adapt them to the notes in the text.
Blanca Rosa Pérez Obregón and Dionisio Roberto Rivero Ortega: analyzed the bibliography to adapt it to the notes in the text and wrote the final report.