Moodle Starter: An Introductory Course to learn how to use Moodle
Next course dates: 01 October 2008 - 30 November 2008
Term: 40 hours over 8 weeks
Fee: € 595

* We also offer face-to-face Moodle training workshops and Moodle hosting packages

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Future course dates:
09 January 2009 - 12 March 2009
01 May 2009 - 30 June 2009

CONTENT
The MOODLE STARTER training course teaches you to set up and use Moodle with learners, in any discipline. The course is hand-on and experiential – from the first week of the course itself you will be setting up and developing a sample course for your own learners, in Moodle. You will add new elements to your sample course as you learn about them each week via tutor support,peer discussion,documentation, and arange of on-line videos.By the end of the course you will have created a sample course for your learners. For the duration of the course you will be provided with your own webspace with your own Moodle installation. At the end of this time you will be shown how to export your courses so that they can be used in your own installation. We use the latest stable version of Moodle.

AUDIENCE
This course is aimed at teachers, trainers, tutors, facilitators, lecturers and mentors from any discipline and any level of education, who are interested in learning how to set up and use Moodle to offer online courses. The course is run entirely online, in Moodle itself.No previous experience of Moodle or of any other online learning environment is required for this course.

The Moodle Starter (introductory) course is for you if :

• you have never used Moodle before (even if you have experience of other VLEs such as First Class, Blackboard or WebCT)
• you have no experience of online learning or teaching but would like to learn more
• you have experience of Moodle as a user, but you’ve never set up activities or functions as an administrator in Moodle before
• you would like to set up a sample course to try out with learners in your teaching or training context, and to take this away with you at the end of the course

TIMETABLE
Our online Moodle Starter training course runs over 8 weeks from 01 October 2008, and participants are expected to spend approx. 5 hours per week on online individual and collaborative group work, including offline reading and reflection. Deadlines for task completion are weekly, and participants can log on at any point during the week to work on the course. There are no 'fixed' times to be online - apart from regular timetabled online chats - these are negotiated to suit everyone.There is a one-week break in the middle of the course.You will receive a detailed study timetable to help you organise your workload effectively once you have enrolled on the course.

You will use our online video conferencing platform for your course chats at least once during the course  - the exact time for this is negotiated with the group. To take part in a video conferencing session you will need a headset with microphone (headsets with a USB plug are the best option), or a stand-alone microphone and speakers. If you have a webcam, you may want to connect that during the video conferencing session, but this is optional—you will be able to see and hear your tutor even if you only have a headset. Video conferencing sessions are always recorded which means that even if you can’t attend, you will be able to watch the recording later online, in your own time. Our video conferencing platform is accessed via a web page—you do not need to download or install anything to use it during the course [see also What you need below].

SKILLS
Experience of email and Web use is required. Some prior experience or knowledge of online tutoring would be useful. No prior experience of using Moodle, or any other VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is necessary.Competence in written and spoken English, whether English is the applicants’ first, second or foreign language: applicants’ levels of competence in English must be of a standard sufficient to enable them to fully understand and complete the course work.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
During the course, you will:

Learn to effectively create and modify courses in Moodle

Learn how to use all key Moodle features (see COURSE OUTLINE)

Learn how to monitor learners' activity and grades online

Look at various Moodle course models

Experience collaborative group work online

Reflect on the skills needed for working effectively with students online

Create a sample course for your own learners in Moodle

You will follow the course entirely online, working individually, in pairs, and in small collaborative online groups, and with constant and timely tutor support and feedback. There is a limit of 15 participants per course.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Getting started with Moodle: Online socialisation; Using the course Moodle; Configuring your own Moodle site (a sample Moodle course for your learners)

Week 2: Generic Moodle skills: Course settings and course formats; Moodle themes; Editing; Moodle blocks

Week 3: Adding Resources: Static material (text pages, webpages, images, links, labels, directories)

Week 4: Adding activities 1: Social material (chat, forum, glossary, wiki)

Week 5: Adding activities 2: Interactive material (choice, assignment, journal)

Week 6: Adding activities 3: Interactive material (survey, quiz)

Week 7: Learner management: Student settings, scales, grades, tracking

Week 8: System management: Troubleshooting; Importing, exporting, back-ups.Project work finished: a sample Moodle course for your learners

Project work finished: a sample Moodle course for your learners

WHAT YOU NEED

• An Internet connection, preferably broadband
• A headset (best is with a USB connection) or stand-alone microphone and speakers
• A webcam is optional
• An up-to-date browser
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• An up-to-date media player (e.g. Windows Media Player or similar)
• A word processing package (e.g. Microsoft Word or similar)

You will use our video conferencing platform at least once during the course; before taking part  in the first session, we advise you to run the online system check here to ensure that you can take part fully in the session.

Note that your webspace and Moodle installation are provided only for the duration of the course. However, full guidance will be given in exporting your materials to allow them to be used in another Moodle installation.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Competence in written and spoken English, whether English is the applicants’ first, second or foreign language: successful applicants’ levels of competence in English must be of a standard sufficient to enable them to fully understand and complete the course work.

CERTIFICATION
The Consultants-E will issue you with a Certificate on successful completion of the course. Successful completion of the course is defined as completing 80% of the course work, and especially the final course project, where applicable.

ENROLMENT/FEES
You can enrol online. The fee for the course is € 595 and covers all tutorials, ongoing tutor support, and feedback on your final project work (a sample course for your learners in Moodle)