Stuck in the "Moodle" with You

By Jeanine T. Joe, Winter 2009

Have you ever awoken in a panic, sweating profusely because you realized that you should have printed out those articles for tomorrow’s class last Tuesday while you were on campus? I have frequently been in the above situation and often wondered if there was an alternative to this straining regularity. Thankfully, I was introduced to Moodle’s magical properties this last summer.

For those not in the know, Moodle is the replacement program for the old Blackboard site Alliant previously used. Moodle is a student and faculty web tool where professors can upload assignments, grades, previous exams, articles, and just about anything else one would need to constitute a classroom, sans the face-to-face contact. For busy graduate students, Moodle allows us the freedom to download assignments, look at grades, collaborate on group projects, view announcements, and much more. Within Moodle, one can see their courses, sign up for tutoring, and watch videos of preliminary exam review sessions.

Moodle is also another avenue by which one can reach faculty and staff. In addition, since Moodle delivers materials to the comfort of one’s personal computer, we can save the 10 cents per page printing cost Alliant charges. All of these attributes also align with Alliant’s mission of going green. By not having to print out 1000’s of pages, Moodle makes costly readers obsolete artifacts of the past. Moodle is an invaluable resource with many advantages for students and faculty.