In today’s technology driven world, there are so many options for schools. Especially in the past year, as schools everywhere were forced to move online and find alternate delivery methods for classes and homework.
Through the Educational Studies Department and as a requirement for my major; last year I took the half semester course, educational technology. In that class with Professor Michelle Simmons, we learned about how to use technology efficiency in an educational setting. One of the topics we covered was Google Classroom and Moodle and how to operate the two. We got to log in as a student and we also got to log in and see what it would be like as a teacher.
Both formats, Google Classroom and Moodle had their pros and cons. In most K-12 schools in the region, Google Classroom is used for communication between teachers, students and parents. “Instructional Technology director Kyle Martin and I worked together to adopt a Google Classroom a few years ago primarily because the students in the Educational Studies department who are preparing to be teachers need to know how to use it,” said Professor Michelle Simmons. “I use it for my classes also because I find the interface to be easy to use and I appreciate its integration with the other Google products such as Google Docs.
Moodle has more features and more options than Google Classroom, but since I don’t use a lot of the enhanced features of an LMS (learning management system) such as quizzes and threaded discussions, Google Classroom is simpler and more efficient for me. I appreciate Moodle’s many features, and it is a better fit than Google Classroom for instructors who prefer a more robust range of options,” said Simmons.
“I use both Moodle and Google Classroom for my classes since I am an elementary ed major. I prefer Moodle because I used it when I attended Carl Sandburg College, so I am more familiar with it,” said Loren Fox, a now-Monmouth College student.
Personally, I have also used both platforms and I think they are both useful.
Alison Barrington - Staff Writer