Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction: From policing to process Since the release of ChatGPT to the general public in late 2022, large language models (LLMs) have progressively blurred the lines between authentic student writing & ‘LLM assisted’ writing. Such writing is not entirely the student’s own work & does… Continue reading Making the student writing process transparent: Version control as a practical & pedagogical response to LLM enabled academic misconduct
Category: Moodle
Ensuring success for adult EFL students
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction In Spain & in many other countries, English language academies play an important role in supplementing the instruction pupils receive in schools. For children & adolescents, academies function largely as after-school “top-up” lessons. Since school-based English classes often amount to only 2-4 hours per… Continue reading Ensuring success for adult EFL students
What does “going FOSS” look like for the average user?
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction “Going FOSS” (using free & open source software) isn’t hypothetical or in the distant future. It’s making practical changes for all of us here & now. You’re definitely already using FOSS whether you’re aware of it or not, e.g. almost all of the internet… Continue reading What does “going FOSS” look like for the average user?
Online is already flipped: Transforming the flipped classroom with online learning
The idea of flipping the classroom has gained a lot of popularity in the press & among proponents in recent years. In principle, the “flipped” classroom is no different to traditional homework tasks of assigning readings before the next class: The teacher gives learners an assignment, a reading, a video to watch, &/or exercises to… Continue reading Online is already flipped: Transforming the flipped classroom with online learning
Online ELT & CALL activities in Moodle
Great news! For those of us who use Moodle to create online English language learning/teaching (ELL/ELT) activities & courses, things just got better. Previously, I’ve held off from writing about H5P because, although it is very useful & has great potential, I found the Moodle integration problematic & difficult to manage, but with the latest Moodle upgrades I think that we can take online ELL/ELT to a whole new level.
Monitoring & supporting students during online synchronous lessons
Introduction In this article, I have a suggestion for ways to improve the quality of English language teaching (ELT) via webinar apps, e.g. BigBlueButton, Blackboard Collaborate, Adobe Connect, Cisco WebEx, or Zoom, while making minimal changes to learning & teaching as they are currently being practised as emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic… Continue reading Monitoring & supporting students during online synchronous lessons
Enabling web conferencing in Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu Linux and other distributions like Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu have come in leaps and bounds in recent years and are becoming more fully featured and easier to use. I think they are now getting to the stage where they are potential replacements for Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s OS X for elearning. Well, almost…… Continue reading Enabling web conferencing in Ubuntu Linux
Free and low-cost Moodle hosting options
Every year, web hosting and installing web apps becomes less technically demanding, quicker, and simpler and it’s getting to the point nowadays where it’s a consumer level endeavour. Here’s a few of the easiest low-cost options for hosting Moodle that I’ve seen so far. [Please note: This article is now out of date & Moodle… Continue reading Free and low-cost Moodle hosting options
Update: Do you want to get started with Moodle?
Back in 2012 I wrote the article, Do you want to get started with Moodle? which turned out to be one of the most read and most cited articles on this blog. A lot has happened with software and web tools in the following two years so I’ve decided to write an update to it.… Continue reading Update: Do you want to get started with Moodle?
Using chat to facilitate more interactive classes
Here’s how you can make your face to face lessons more inclusive and interactive quickly and simply by using a chat session during class, and open up a range of benefits that aren’t immediately apparent. How does it work? Before a face to face lesson or lecture begins, the tutor/teacher/TA opens or schedules a chat… Continue reading Using chat to facilitate more interactive classes