e-learning is defined as ...... "Learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of Information and Communication Technologies."

(Source - Enabling the 21st Century Learning, An e-Learning Action Plan for Schools)

At Sacred Heart Girls' College we have been privileged to have been involved in an early trial of Moodle as our preferred Learning Management System with our Student Management System - Kamar. This has enabled our students to embrace the concept of 24/7 e-learning - anytime - anywhere.

Moodle is a course management system (CMS) - a free, Open Source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities.

Moodle was the creation of Martin Dougiamas, a former WebCT administrator at Curtin University, with graduate degrees in Computer Science and Education. Martin's later Ph.D. studies examined "The use of Open Source software to support a social constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry" and this research has strongly influenced some of the design of Moodle, providing pedagogical aspects missing from many other e-learning platforms.

What is Moodle?

Moodle is an open source online learning system with a large and active support and user community around the world. It provides communication and file sharing help to support courses, whether face-to-face, blended mode or distance. A Moodle site can support groups of students such as year groups or specific interest groups etc. Moodle can help an individual or a group of students to manage their own learning and to support each other. It helps to improve communication and interest.

Who Uses Moodle?

Moodle is becoming the Learning Management System of choice in New Zealand with four of the universities (most recently, Massey) and most of the Polytechnics having now adopted it. Internationally, universities which have adopted it include University of California at Los Angeles, Athabasca Open University of Canada, the Open University of the U.K., Glasgow University, and the University of Southern Queensland.

Where Did Moodle Come From?

Moodle was created by Martin Dougiamas, a WebCT administrator at Curtin University, Australia, who has graduate degrees in Computer Science and Education. Moodle can also be called a 'Virtual Learning Environment' (VLE) or 'Learning Platform'. It provides a range of teaching and learning tools and resources (e.g. glossary, quiz, online assignment, groups, sections for adding resources) including student-focused collaborative learning tools and activities (e.g. discussion forum, wiki, journal). These can be harnessed to provide anytime anywhere student access to learning opportunities by extending the current teaching and learning that takes place in lectures and tutorials/workshops into an online environment.

(Source Canterbury University)

Why has Sacred Heart Girls' College chosen Moodle?

Moodle was chosen as the LMS for the college on the basis of the investigations carried out to choose the best LMS. Moodle has a long history of development and world wide community of free support.

Moodle was also one of the four preferred LMS systems recommended by the Ministry of Education.