Blogs, Moodle, and the Future Debate
I’ve seen some recent posts on the topic of Moodle incorporating weblog features into its smorgasbord of options, and a discussion thread on whether or not this is a good idea. The root of the issue lies in the fundamental distinction between centralized and decentralized models of learning online, what Siemens calls a ’substantial future debate’. He writes:
Both approaches are needed, depending on intended tasks/outcomes. The concept of learning management systems (LMS) is a good example of this debate. Certain aspects of learning should be centralized (particularly enrolment), and others should be decentralized (interaction, content exploration, learner-created content (blogs, wikis), etc.). The problem arises when LMS vendors try to centralize processes (namely learning itself) that are best served in a decentralized model.
Having just finished up a semester-long EFL class in which we combined the use of Moodle with weblogs, I don’t see a pressing need for Moodle to incorporate them into its structure. Moodle was a base from which we organized our class activities and took weekly quizzes on content relevant to our language learning, which for us meant sentence combining, paragraph formation, word choice, expression, and editing previously posted work. This centralized space provided a ‘home-base’ from which learners interacted with the decentralized ‘world out there’ via their sharing on Flickr and Livejournal.
What I found through this experience was that although both models can co-exist in a harmonious relationship should the need for that be present, it doesn’t imply that one should try converting the other to fit its model. By incorporating weblogs, Moodle would have stripped my students of the far more developed social networking features of Flickr and Livejournal, not to mention the thriving communities that already exist there. The whole point of getting them to publish their thoughts on Livejournal and photos on Flickr was to take advantage of the social networking tools there to meet other people and use English in personally meaningful ways. Unless students are blogging on a Moodle install with thousands of diverse users, the conversation on those weblogs will most likely be limited to the classmates and teacher, in which case, the social forum feature would be a better choice. However, as social networking tools and methods become more sophisticated, along with the growth of international educational communities who support and celebrate decentralized, open, P2P learning, perhaps these issues won’t be as problematic.
We also should be aware that another important reason for getting students involved in using webpublishing and social networking tools is to provide them with the knowledge and skills to continue these activities on their own after the semester is finished. If they are enjoying their interaction with people from different cultures and countries, then they will naturally want to maintain those relationships and, more importantly, they will have learned the means for doing it. Can you imagine students wanting to continue publishing to their school Moodle blog after they move on? That’s unlikely due to the close association with the institution and all the emotional baggage that comes with it. Besides, do you think your educational institution would be interested in the longterm hosting business? Steer them toward decentralized, outsourced sites for hosting their publications and encourage them to engage in the open, self-directed, peer-to-peer form of communication.
CLT » Blog Archive » Blogs and VLEs - do they really fit together? on 08 Jun 2006 at 11:16 pm
[...] I stumbled across an interesting debate on whether it’s best to encourage the use of established blog sites such as blogger.com rather than try and create course-centric blogs within the institution (and the VLE). This question was one that was already going on in my head, as to how blogs can work as part of a course - after the novelty wears off, is there enough of a community to maintain such an isolated course only ‘blogosphere’? Also, does it really have time to mature sufficiently in the concentrated time-span of a term length course? [...]