Minimum pedagogical standards for Moodle courses – Recommendations

Introduction

Standards for the use of Moodle, the central learning management system at the University of Primorska (UP), comprise both technical and pedagogical aspects. This document was prepared by the InoTeZ project group and it outlines our recommendations for the implementation of minimum pedagogical standards only.
The minimum pedagogical standards for Moodle courses aim to ensure a consistent learning experience for all students and support for teachers in designing the structure, contents and didactic properties of Moodle courses. Teachers are responsible for the implementation of these minimum pedagogical standards while pedagogical support is provided by members of the pedagogic IT support at the individual faculties.
The minimum pedagogical standards for Moodle courses comprise the following standards:
1.    Moodle courses are clearly structured and designed in time.
2.    Moodle courses contain key course information.
3.    Copyrights are respected in Moodle courses.
4.    Moodle courses encourage active and collaborative learning.
5.    The learning process is monitored and assessed in Moodle courses.
These standards are defined in greater detail in the following chapters.

Moodle courses are clearly structured and designed in time

To allow easy navigation (with as few clicks as possible) and facilitate understanding of the sequence of course contents as well as course obligations, Moodle courses are clearly structured and designed in time.

• The course provider imports their course from the previous academic year or designs it from scratch. The Moodle course is ready before face-to-face classes start.
• In the introductory section of the Moodle course, a greeting message is provided to the students and course instructions.
• Course activities and resources are organised in a meaningful and clearly structured manner, following either a chronological or topical sequence.
• Course sections and subsections are clearly labelled with headings and accompanied by a short overview.
• For greater accessibility and a better learning experience, the number of colours and fonts used is limited.
• Visuals used in Moodle courses are meaningful and related to the content of the section.
• Resources (i.e., files) associated with a particular topic are grouped into folders.
• Documents in Moodle courses are in a PDF format unless a different document format is required for learning purposes (e.g., Word or Writer for text editing, program codes, statistical data, etc.). PDF documents are suitable for viewing and printing independent of the devices used by students.

Moodle courses contain key course information

Key course information helps students to plan their learning and fulfil their responsibilities.

• Moodle courses provide basic information about the course and its implementation. Course information can also be provided as a link to the syllabus or the course implementation plan if these are separate resources (i.e., files, pages, Moodle books). The following course information is required:

o    course description: learning objectives and learning outcomes, topics, compulsory and supplementary readings,
o    course teacher(s),
o    course timetable,
o    feedback that students can expect from the teacher,
o    methods of assessment and assessment criteria,
o    course responsibilities, assignments, exams and other participation requirements for course completion,
o    information on plagiarism detection.

• Information is offered about the way face-to-face teaching is combined with the Moodle course, teacher expectations regarding the use of the Moodle course, as well as compulsory and optional course activities.
• Information is also provided about the communication channels between students and the teacher (e.g., preferred communication channel, office hours, etc.).
• The teacher's profile in the Moodle course has a brief description and a picture, as well as other information relevant for students.
• There is a news forum in Moodle courses for teacher announcements and at least one forum for general use where students can ask questions.
• The purpose of each discussion forum is clearly defined.
• Learning resources and activities are appropriately named with descriptive titles. Their names reflect the purpose of their use is (e.g., Instructions for…, Course materials on...) and they are marked with appropriate and meaningful labels or icons. This will help students understand the meaning and structure of the Moodle course more easily.

Copyrights are respected in Moodle courses

Moodle courses are models of good copyright practices.

• All the resources, visuals, data and documents used in Moodle courses have been either created by teachers or are openly-licensed (e.g., open education resources) or copyright-cleared.
• Copyright information is provided for resources, visuals, data and documents created by others.

Moodle courses encourage active and collaborative learning

Moodle courses encourage active independent and collaborative learning.
The structure of the Moodle course and the activities encourage active learner participation. They help students to focus on contents based on their knowledge and previous experiences, and they encourage students to reflect on their learning and acquisition of new knowledge, skills and attitudes.

• Course activities enable students to work in various forms: individually, in small or large groups. Students are informed about the forms of work in advance.
• Active learning and student collaboration are encouraged with interactive activities such as quizzes or discussion forums.
• Discussion forums provide instructions for active participation (content, discussion methods, rules of argument, etc.).
• Teachers are expected to get involved in the discussion when learning processes need to be managed and additional content or suggestions need to be provided.
• The online activities in Moodle courses are closely connected with face-to-face teaching and students’ independent learning.

The learning process is monitored and assessed in Moodle courses

• Written student-teacher communication related to course contents takes place in the Moodle course.
• Assessment and activity completion requirements are clearly outlined including content criteria and expectations.
• All coursework (e.g., homework, assignments, etc.) is submitted by students in the Moodle course.
• Student performance is monitored in the Moodle course via the gradebook, activity or course completion, attendance, etc.
• Feedback on student coursework (e.g., commentary, grades, etc.) is provided by the course teacher.