CL+Moodle

The associated Moodle course, Cooperative Learning in a Digital Age, has been created to help teachers make the change from presenter, master of the content, to facilitator of the learning. This will not be an easy transition for any teacher, but it will be extremely worthwhile and rewarding for both the teacher and her students. Primarily, teaching will be more enjoyable as educators gain a greater understanding of the learning process and a better realization of the learner's needs and desires. Additionally, learning will be more dynamic with more knowledge gained and shared while many more skills will be mastered. All those involved will be engaged and motivated because the learning will be meaningful/authentic.

The "Cooperative Learning in a Digital Age" Moodle course is a tool that will evolve. We are committed to making additions and further embedding a variety of cooperative and collaborative tools placing them where they make educational sense. We will continue to provide resources here in the wiki and in the Moodle course to assist teachers in the planning process. Using Moodle's features, teachers can adjust this course template to work best for them personally. Generally speaking, all that needs to be added to the Moodle course is an "essential question" and "guiding questions" to focus the learning. Internet resources and teacher created activities can be easily added to customize the learning experience. Teachers can include more suggested cooperative and collaborative tools as student gain the necessary personal and technological skills important to these processes. Resources in the course and this wiki will provide teachers with suggestions, information, and personal contacts to support this proven educational approach.

Truly, our goal is to make a difference in the educational world by sharing our Moodle course and this wiki with all who will read and/or listen. We intend to promote this approach and the related theories to teaching in every way possible. Hopefully there will be enough interest so we can plan and conduct professional development opportunities Training sessions can be scheduled face-to-face, virtually, and by viewing digital resources. This wiki will be the primary resource to those interested in our efforts.

This Moodle course is free to educators who wish to put it on their Moodle server. The zipped file for sharing and use is available at [|this link] in Section 12 of the Moodle course.

Please contact us and enlist our support as you build and launch your personal course. It will help us improve our resources and the Moodle template.