The document discusses using Moodle Books to organize course content in a virtual learning environment. It describes how Moodle Books allow instructors to create multi-page resources with embedded multimedia and a table of contents. The author used Moodle Books to collate and narrate learning resources for an asynchronous online course and a regular course with recorded lectures. Student feedback indicated the book format provided a clear structure and easy navigation of course materials, making it an effective learning resource.

1. Using Electronic “Books” in a
Virtual Learning Environment
to
Collate Learning Resources and Provide a
Narrated Course Journey
S Waqar Nabi
School of Computing Science
syed.nabi AT glasgow.ac.uk
SICSA Education Workshop:
Lessons from Lockdown
April 29, 2021

2. Using Moodle Books
for
Collation and
Narration
Origins
Moodle Books and I
Anaysis & Discussion

3. Origins

4. Virtual Learning
Environments
• VLE’s have been around since the mid-1990s.
• Common uses:
• Content management – creation, storage, access to
and use of learning resources
• Curriculum mapping and planning – lesson planning, assessment and
personalisation of the learning experience
• Learner engagement and administration – managed access to learner
information and resources and tracking of progress and achievement
• Communication and collaboration – emails, notices, chat, wikis, blogs
• Real time communication – live video conferencing or audio
conferencing
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

5. Pre-pandemic
Moodle*
A file sharing tool
• In the typical case, the course landing page would contain:
• Lecture notes/slides
• Lab/tutorial handouts
• Links to texts/reading list
• Usually divided into topic-wise sections
• But also common to simply have a numbered list of
handouts:
• E.g Lec1, Lec2, ...
*in the context of Content Management only

6. Then...

7. (Vanilla)
Post-pandemic
Moodle*
A file + video
sharing tool
• In the typical case, the course landing page would contain:
• Lecture notes/slides
• Lab/tutorial handouts
• Links to texts/reading list
• Usually divided into topic-wise sections
• But also common to simply have a numbered list of
handouts:
• E.g Lec1, Lec2, ...
• Now also contained:
• Links to recorded lecture videos (or
embedded videos)
*in the context of Content Management only

8. Designing a “self-paced”
course on Moodle in
a locked-down world
• Plan was simply curate third-party resources
(text, video)
• BUT: I wanted to create some kind a
NARRATION that connected all these resources
→ Moodle books
• Later, used for a regular course with recorded
lectures (2 different cohorts)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

9. The Moodle
Book(s) and I
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

10. What are Moodle
“Books”
“Books allow teachers to create multi-
page resources with a book-like format
and table of contents. Multimedia may
be embedded and books may be
printed entirely or by chapter.”
https://docs.moodle.org/310/en/Book_resource

11. How I am
using Moodle
Books
Collation
Narration

12. Use Case # 1:
A self-paced, online, asynchronous
course
Curate → Collate → Narrate
...

13. To Note:
• Organization of course into Units
• Link to the “book” for this Unit
• Progression test for this unit, for this self-paced on-line only course.

14. To Note:
• Table of contents (chapters and sections) on the right
• Narrative text on the page (including a hastily drawn diagram)
• Link to external learning resources (web pages and videos)
• Link to an external self-test (could be link to your own moodle self-
test as well)
• “Deep dive” content, clearly signposted (videos in this case, but can
be articles, podcasts, research papers, etc).

15. Use Case # 2:
A regular course, flipped
classroom, recorded lectures
Create → Curate → Collate →
Narrate
...

16. To Note:
• “Original” content (link to recorded lectures and slides).
• Narrative text
• Link to relevant section in (online) recommended text book
• “Deep dive” content

17. What I used Moodle books for
(or, Why I found them useful)
Collate
Collate multiple
resources:
• My own lecture videos
• Lecture slides/notes
• Links to 3rd party
videos, articles, self-
tests, etc
• Links to relevant
sections of text
Provide
Provide resources
for a wide spectrum
of students
• Links to basic
definitions, background
concepts
• Links to deep dives,
more advanced and/or
peripheral content
(articles, podcasts,
videos)
Create
Create a narrated
journey through
these resources
Add
Add pre/post notes,
comments around
my videos
• (things I wanted to say
but forgot to, or didn’t
have time to, or want to
retrospectively add
based on student
feedback)
Tell
Tell the occasional
dad joke...

18. If I had more
time...
• Create self-test quizzes for each chapter
• Add edited versions of auto-generated
captios of my video lectures*
*possibly as a link to a separate page below each video lecture

19. Analysis &
Discussion

20. What did the students think?
Use case 1 (self-paced, no lecture videos, only curating 3rd part content).
In response to an open-ended question about experience in the course.
“Really Enjoyed unitX, really good and accessible lay out”.
“The book is a nice format to work through as there's a clear start and finish to it which I like.”
“The unit book was a good refresher and was easy to follow. It contained a lot of info which I think would be
useful for beginners”
“I liked the resources and the flow of the learning”
“I enjoyed the logical layout of topics, each one building off of the previous one.”

21. What did the students think?
Use case 2 (regular, recorded lectures + other learning resources).
In response to a question specifically about the Moodle Book format.
“Fantastic format and makes navigating it very easy, No idea to improve it as i feel it is already very well done.”
“This has definitely improved my learning experience and I really enjoy this format - it is clear, easy to work through and
many useful links are provided throughout - really enjoy this format”
“Really easy to follow and find material.”
“The book format is excellent. I dont think there would be a better way of organising the amount of information ... ... (in
college!), I wish they had used the book format there.”
“I like the book format. This makes it easier to navigate through topics and go back to certain areas that I feel needs
improving.”
“I find it difficult to go to specific sections of the moodle book...”

22. How the students found Moodle Books as a learning
resource, compared to other features
(Use case 2 – cohort 1, 14/30 students)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Lecture videos and slides
Tutorial/lab sheets in general
Solving tutorial problems with peers in zoom breakout rooms
Lecturer's discussion of tutorial/lab solutions in live classes.
Online Quizzes
"Deep dive" content
The moodle "book" format
Effectiveness of learning resource
(Higher is better)

23. How the students found Moodle Books as a learning
resource, compared to other features
(Use case 2 – cohort 2, 32/45 students)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Recorded lecture videos and slides
The utility of tutorial/lab sheets in general
Solving tutorial problems with peers on gather.town
Solving tutorial problems _on your own_
Lecturer's discussion of tutorial/lab solutions in live classes
Preparing for and attempting the Class tests
The "three-slide" review in live sessions
Short quizzes
"Deep dive" content
The moodle "book" format as a whole.
Effectiveness of learning resource
(Higher is better)

24. Moodle Books vs ...
Moodle “Lessons”
“The Lesson activity allows teachers to create 'branching'
exercises* where students are presented with content and
then, depending on their responses, are directed to specific
pages. The content may be text or multimedia.”
• Can be linear too, but either way, you are “progressing”
along a path, back and forth is not convenient.
• Instructor can have more control over the student’s
journey (e.g. conditional progression through lessons),
and also easier to keep track of their progress.
• I haven’t used them as an instructor though... if you have,
what do you think might be the better option?
(Head here for a discussion thread on Moodle Books vs Lessons:
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=207365&parent=910023#p910107 )
MOOCs
• Different audience and context.
• Still many similarities.
• Well known platforms are better organized.
• Also, typically little or no text narrative or link
to external resources.

25. Moodle Books:
A effective way to
organize content
A new feature (for me), used for collating
and narrating learning material for an
online-only self-paced course.
Then used for a conventional course
(recorded lectures, labs, tutorials)
Personal experience and student feedback
indicate this is can be a very effective way
to organize courses in a post-pandemic
world.

26. Questions and
Comments?