This presentation showcases a highly customized implementation of Moodle that addresses the needs of compulsory foreign language education at a Japanese university (6 languages, 700 courses, 200 teachers, and 6,000 students). Originally developed to accommodate online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, our Moodle platform fills a crucial role, offering features that surpass those in Google Classroom while maintaining a simplified user interface.

Our users, comprising largely part-time language teachers who work at multiple institutions, required a streamlined platform that minimizes the learning curve and maximizes instructional time. Recognizing the limitations of existing learning management system options, we embarked on this customization project to develop a tailored solution that strikes a balance between comprehensive functionality and intuitive usability.

In our custom Moodle implementation, student work (text, images, video, and audio) is submitted to six sets of 14 forum discussions over each 14-week semester, with each set allocated to a specific category of task by the teacher. Core features include a forum sidebar that allows teachers to display individual posts and filter by deadline, a multifunctional grade dashboard that allows both teachers and students to navigate quickly to where work is to be submitted or which requires grading, and a multifunctional notetaking plugin. A number of other features will be demonstrated, such as toggling between social and non-social forum formats, labeling task categories, duplicating and archiving lessons, and manipulating class-specific settings on shared quizzes. These enhancements empower educators to efficiently manage their courses while freeing up time to focus on teaching and fostering student engagement.

The reception of our customized Moodle platform has been overwhelmingly positive, with nearly all teachers continuing to use it in their post-pandemic face-to-face classes. Our experience highlights the importance of tailoring LMS solutions to the particular needs of educational environments, providing a blueprint for optimizing course management efficiency and enhancing the overall learning experience. By showcasing the successful integration of Moodle with the requirements of compulsory foreign language education, we aim to inspire other institutions to optimize their LMS platforms for their own contexts.

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Abstract Summary
This presentation showcases a customized Moodle implementation for foreign language education at a Japanese university. Developed to meet the demands of online instruction during the pandemic, our platform offers superior features compared to Google Classroom while maintaining a simplified user interface. Designed for part-time language teachers working at multiple institutions, our streamlined Moodle minimizes the learning curve and maximizes instructional time. Key features include a forum sidebar for post display and filtering, a versatile grade dashboard, and a multi-purpose note-taking plugin. Additional demonstrated features include toggling between social and non-social forum formats, labeling task categories, duplicating and archiving lessons, and adjusting class-specific settings for shared quizzes. Our tailored Moodle implementation has had a positive impact, with most teachers continuing to use it in post-pandemic face-to-face classes. Our aim is to inspire other institutions to optimize their LMS platforms based on their unique requirements, using our successful integration as a model.

Authors:
Nicholas Bovee, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr Nicholas Bovee is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Kyushu Sangyo University in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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