Activity Modules
Moodle contains a wide range of activity modules that can be used to build up any type of course.
What is a flash card trainer?
A flashcard or flash card is a card that is used as a learning aid.
One writes a question on a card and an answer overleaf.
Flashcards can bear vocabulary, historical dates, formulas or any subject matter that can be learned via a question and answer format.
Flashcards are widely used as a learning drill to aid memorization by way of spaced repetition.
A widely used method to efficiently use flashcards was proposed by the German science popularizer Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s is used in this flashcard-trainer. In his method, known as the Leitner system, flashcards are sorted into groups according to how well you know each one. This is how it works: you try to recall the solution written on a flashcard. If you succeed, you send the card to the next group. But if you fail, you send it back to the first group. Each succeeding group has a longer period of time before you are required to revisit the cards.
For example, suppose you have 3 groups called Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3. The cards in Group 1 are the ones that you often make mistakes with, and Group 3 contains the cards that you know very well. You might choose to study the Group 1 cards once a day, Group 2 every 3 days, and the Group 3 cards every 5 days. If you look at a Group 1 card and get the correct answer, you "promote" it to Group 2. A correct answer with a Group 2 card "promotes" that card to Group 3. If you make a mistake with a Group 2 or Group 3 card, it gets "demoted" to Group 1, which forces you to study that card more often.
The advantage of this method is that you can focus on the most difficult flashcards, which remain in the first few groups. The result is, ideally, a reduction in the amount of study time needed.
A widely used method to efficiently use flashcards was proposed by the German science popularizer Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s is used in this flashcard-trainer. In his method, known as the Leitner system, flashcards are sorted into groups according to how well you know each one. This is how it works: you try to recall the solution written on a flashcard. If you succeed, you send the card to the next group. But if you fail, you send it back to the first group. Each succeeding group has a longer period of time before you are required to revisit the cards.
For example, suppose you have 3 groups called Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3. The cards in Group 1 are the ones that you often make mistakes with, and Group 3 contains the cards that you know very well. You might choose to study the Group 1 cards once a day, Group 2 every 3 days, and the Group 3 cards every 5 days. If you look at a Group 1 card and get the correct answer, you "promote" it to Group 2. A correct answer with a Group 2 card "promotes" that card to Group 3. If you make a mistake with a Group 2 or Group 3 card, it gets "demoted" to Group 1, which forces you to study that card more often.
The advantage of this method is that you can focus on the most difficult flashcards, which remain in the first few groups. The result is, ideally, a reduction in the amount of study time needed.
Forums
This activity can be the most important - it is here that most discussion takes place.
Forums can be structured in different ways, and can include peer rating of each posting.
The postings can be viewed in a variety for formats, and can include attachments.
By subscribing to a forum, participants will receive copies of each new posting
in their email. A teacher can impose subscription on everyone if they want to.
What is a Mobile Learning Object?
A Mobile Learning Object ("MLO") is a special content created for the MLE (mobile phone application for Moodle), which can only be used on the mobile phone.
A Mobile Learning Object is stored on the local phone, therefore you don't need a internet connection on the phone to use the Mobile Learning Object (otherwise you would have to pay for the download of the content each time you use it).
You can add a great varaiety of content to a Mobile Learning Object:
A Mobile Learning Object is created with a graphical editor (called MLE-Editor). To use this editor you need Java installed on your computer (If you don't have Java please click here to get it for free). Please accept all security warnings (if one may appear) otherwise you won't be able to use all the features of the editor!
If a Mobile Learning Object is marked as an eBook it must contain only (formatted) text, images and links (everything else will be ignored on the phone). The great advantage of using the eBook-Mode is, that the parsing time (the time you need to store the object on the mobile phone) is very very small. Especially if you have a large content (like a book) with hundreds of pages, you might need 15 or even more minutes to store the object on the mobile phone if the eBook-Mode is not activated. With the eBook mode you need only a few seconds.
We recommend you to activate the eBook mode if your content consists only out of text and images (and links) and if the number of pages are greater than 50.
You can add a great varaiety of content to a Mobile Learning Object:
- formatted text with images, audio and video
- Interactive questions (are solved on the phone, without a server connection)
- Long text content (eBook-Mode)
- and more ...
A Mobile Learning Object is created with a graphical editor (called MLE-Editor). To use this editor you need Java installed on your computer (If you don't have Java please click here to get it for free). Please accept all security warnings (if one may appear) otherwise you won't be able to use all the features of the editor!
If a Mobile Learning Object is marked as an eBook it must contain only (formatted) text, images and links (everything else will be ignored on the phone). The great advantage of using the eBook-Mode is, that the parsing time (the time you need to store the object on the mobile phone) is very very small. Especially if you have a large content (like a book) with hundreds of pages, you might need 15 or even more minutes to store the object on the mobile phone if the eBook-Mode is not activated. With the eBook mode you need only a few seconds.
We recommend you to activate the eBook mode if your content consists only out of text and images (and links) and if the number of pages are greater than 50.
Quizzes
This module allows the teacher to design and set quiz tests, consisting of
multiple choice, true-false, and short answer questions. These
questions are kept in a categorised database, and can be re-used
within courses and even between courses. Quizzes can allow
multiple attempts. Each attempt is automatically marked, and the
teacher can choose whether to give feedback or to show correct answers.
This module includes grading facilities.
Resources
Resources are content: information the teacher wants to bring into the
course. These can be prepared files uploaded to the course
server; pages edited directly in Moodle; or external web pages
made to appear part of this course.