1.2.1 Include communication opportunities

1. Introduction

The options to setup and run communications within the Moodle platform are numerous. Depending on the personal needs of both learners or teachers, the type of the communication, the course theme and structure, the communication domain, and many other factors, communication in Moodle can be tailored in a different ways. It is even possible to use features that are not primary designed for communication purposes. 

Online learning demands constant and sometimes redundant communication possibilities. When you run an online course (especially if it is asynchronous) you want your students to feel like they can easily communicate and are not missing information, even if they are their attention is intermittent. Course information should be obvious, right beneath the learners nose. 

When one starts to build the communication plan it is good to have a clear vision of all the communication parameters: how many people need to communicate, what is the expected level and frequency of communication, who is communicating with whom. Will teachers communicate to learners one-way, or will communication be both ways? Will learners be able to communicate to other learners? Will there be small group communication? What is confidential? Is there a need for communication filtering (approval of the posts)? What is important to communicate (quick information, timely delivery of resources, quiz results)? Is communication restricted only to Moodle, or will email or other methods be used?

There are several modes of communication inside Moodle which are introduced on the following page.

2. Example

Following are the most commonly used feature/activities offered by Moodle for communication. 

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Forum Activity

Forums are a natural choice for communications (discussions, course information dissemination, submission of assignments, etc.). Forums provide a variety of options and can address different individuals and groups inside the course. Forum posts can be sent in the form of emails as well as read within the Moodle site.  You can read much more on forums in Unit 3.

Chat Activity

Chats are also a common tool for communication. Many learners have significant experience with chats. They can used for real time discussions or briefings. The real time and unmanaged aspect of chat sessions can make it difficult to manage a chat session with large numbers of learners. See more about  Chat also in Unit 3.

Latest News Block

This block is related to the News forum (a default option for any Moodle course) and provides a window on the main page in which the subjects of all the posts from the News forum are visible. Post in the News forum can be sent out exclusively by designated course facilitators, and this forum is normally used only for the one-way news announcements. See 1.1.4 Using blocks to aid navigation for set up information.

This block can not be deleted easily. The trick is to go to: Course settings > Appearance > Number of items to show: this setting determines how many recent items appear in the Latest news block on the course page. If set to "0 news items" then the Latest news block will not be displayed.

Messages Block

This block provides a quick way to see if you have any new messages and to read them at the same. You can also use this block to locate learners to whom you wish to send a message. Also see Unit 3. 

Calendar Block and Upcoming Events Block 

The Calendar block is used to communicate the course schedule. All the events can be listed with a 'standard' calendar appearance. It is customized to a degree. The Upcoming events block provides a window in which the first few incoming events from the Calendar are automatically visible. More about these two blocks read in section 1.1.6.

Comments Block

This is a good way for learners and teachers to write a short comments about either a course as a whole or to a particular activity. The teacher can filter unwanted comments and students can also delete their own comments but not those of others.

Quiz Results Block

If you setup a particular Quiz inside you Moodle course you can connect it to this block in order to communicate a highest or lowest scorers of the quiz. Consider upfront if such block might provoke negative emotions for the learners or could generate positive competition. Also see 1.2.2 Provide learning assessment information.

Random Glossary Entry Block

This block provides a place where the glossary entries can be shown on the primary interface. If you set it to show the most recent entries (not random) to the glossary, and for instance you ask learners to insert most recent interesting weather cases or new terms they are learning as a glossary entries, then this Moodle block can serve to communicate these quickly without having others have to check the Glossary itself. 

HTML Block

This is a block where one can communicate many different kinds of information. With some HTML coding experience one can harvest all HTML functionalities. But knowledge of HTML is not necessary. Text, images, videos and many other elements can be added to this block in order to quickly communicate important information or resources. It can also be used to embed other web pages or to link to other websites (latest weather status from dedicated web page, flight delays, new titles in the online library, etc.) In this course, it is used to provide direct links to the all the Units. 

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As stated previously, there are other features in Moodle that can serve communication purposes. For instance, using the Online users block one can check if learners are logged in. Even the Participant list can be used to send private messages to a different course attendees. Imagination can allow you to invent many other modes of communication in Moodle!

3. Instruction

Instructions for using the communication modes described here are provided in other sections of this module, as well as on the Moodle.org website. 

For blocks, see 1.1.3 Using blocks to aid navigation, as well as:

https://docs.moodle.org/30/en/Blocks

For Forum activity, see Unit 3, as well as:

https://docs.moodle.org/30/en/Forum_activity

For Chat activity, see Unit 3, as well as:

https://docs.moodle.org/30/en/Chat_activity

4. Practice

Now you can go to your practice area and try this:

Consider how many different ways you can communicate to your imaginary course participants that the final quiz for imaginary Group C will be held on 01 April. For practice, try setting them up. 

And do not forget to rely on your imagination, as well as the more obvious features!