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Although Packt Publishing’s book on teaching techniques contains specific technical guidelines for use with the open-source learning platform, Moodle, the book is immensely useful for online instructors, designers, and administrators of other platforms. It also helps individuals integrate flash-based products (including Xplana products such as XplanaBook and XplanaVoice) into Moodle. This book helps make Moodle more accommodating to instructional content.

Packt Publishing’s Moodle Teaching Techniques (2007) by William H. Rice, IV, is a welcome addition to course developer and designers’ libraries. For example, it would work well XplanaCourse users. What sets this book apart from other texts that discuss ways to develop courses and to teach effectively online is the fact that it has a heavy Web 2.0 orientation, which means that it incorporates interactive web applications and encourages sharing and interaction, which in turn accommodates multiple learning styles and also facilitates the development of a robust, active learning community.

Schools, not-for-profits, training institutes, and corporations that are turning to Moodle to host their online learning. They have gone to Moodle because they like the fact that it is open-source and very customizable. Many people are finding that if they use a hosting service like Site Ground (http://www.siteground.com) the hosting service is very helpful in getting the user started with exciting user applications.

If one does not have the time an energy to configure Moodle for their server, one can also use a service such as Moodle Rooms (http://www.moodlerooms.org), which exists to help individuals and organizations put together Moodle sites.

Here are the specific areas addressed in the book. Please bear in mind that what appears below is not a table of contents, and the actual content in the book is arranged in a different way. I’ve simply categorized the content along instructional lines.

The book does an outstanding job of connecting the ways to teach with specific instructions of how to do the activities in Moodle. Screenshots and captures help the reader follow what is happening.

Learning Community Activities:

Moodle Forums

Moodle Chat

Content Mastery Activities:

Quiz set-ups, solutions, and deployment

Proctored, Timed tests from Secure Locations

Content Presentation:

Lessons Settings

Lesson Instructional Materials

Sequence of Activities

Wiki: Interactive content

Supplemental Activities:

Glossaries

While the organization and presentation of the instructions is very clear, concise and easy to use, it is possible that the reader will be left asking “why” to a number of the suggestions and guidelines.

For example, in the section entitled, Need for Sequential Activities, the book states: “We don’t want our students to ‘meander’ or wander through course items. We want to enforce a specific order of resources and activities” (Rice, 2007, 88). My immediate question was, “Why? What’s wrong with meandering?”

Such questions would be well answered if the author provided a rationale, and at least two underpinnings from learning theory – one pro and one con- to help the reader gain a sense why decisions are made, and how learning is enhanced.

This book helps course developers, instructors, and administrators put together very effective Moodle-based courses that include asynchronous as well as synchronous activities.

Reference:

Rice, W. H. (2007). Moodle teaching techniques: Creative ways to use Moodle for constructing online learning solutions. Birmingham and Mumbai: Packt Publishing.