Moodle: Using Learning Communities to Create
an Open Source Course Management System


Martin Dougiamas
National Key Centre for Science and Mathematics Education
Curtin University of Technology, Australia
martin@dougiamas.com

Peter C. Taylor
National Key Centre for Science and Mathematics Education
Curtin University of Technology, Australia
P.Taylor@curtin.edu.au


Abstract: This paper summarizes a PhD research project that has contributed towards the
development of Moodle - a popular open-source course management system (moodle.org). In
this project we applied theoretical perspectives such as "social constructionism" and "connected
knowing" to the analysis of our own online classes as well as the growing learning community
of other Moodle users. We used the mode of participatory action research, including
techniques such as case studies, ethnography, learning environment surveys and design
methodologies. This ongoing analysis is being used to guide the development of Moodle as a
tool for improving processes within communities of reflective inquiry. At the time of writing
(April 2003), Moodle has been translated into twenty-seven languages and is being used by
many hundreds of educators around the world, including universities, schools and independent
teachers.


Introduction

The research described in this paper is a PhD research project conducted by the first author (Martin), under the
guidance of the second author (Peter) at Curtin University of Technology. This project has been in progress for
several years, and is due to be completed in the first half of 2003, however, the success of the resulting software
has already ensured that the processes of research and development described here will continue in the
foreseeable future.

There are many research questions that we are trying to answer, with new ones emerging all the time, but the
major question is: How can internet software successfully support social constructionist epistemologies of
teaching and learning? More specifically, what web structures and interfaces encourage or hinder participants
engagement in reflective dialogue within a community of learners - by reading openly, reflecting critically and
writing constructively in a way that engages their personal experiences? We explain these terms in the next
section.

Our aims in answering these questions are, firstly, to improve our own skills at using the Internet to facilitate
distance learning, secondly, to improve the pedagogical skills of other teachers by making our software tools
freely available under an Open Source license, and thirdly, to facilitate a supportive community of software
contributors. We hope this will help us improve the capabilities of the software for stimulating reflective
practice in not only students, but also in teachers and developers like ourselves.

Theoretical perspectives

The past few years have seen a marked increase in research around online learning and the use of educational
technology. There are now more than 40 academic journals specialising in these topics. After the early years of
forays into computer-mediated conferencing and Web-based learning (Amundsen 1993; Mason & Kaye 1989), it
is becoming clear that pedagogical use of the Internet should be informed and appraised by clear theoretical
perspectives.

Online pedagogy

The most prevalent theoretical perspectives in research on online learning are those related to constructivism,
particularly social constructivism and social constructionism. These epistemological positions privilege a focus
on collaborative discourse (Amundsen 1993; Bonk & Cunningham 1998; Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson 1999) and
the individual development of meaning through construction and sharing of texts and other social artefacts
(Ernest 1995; Gergen 1995; Papert 1991). From these perspectives, learners are apprenticed into "communities
of practice" which embody certain beliefs and behaviours (Lave & Wenger 1991).

The theory of 'ways of knowing', originally from the field of gender research (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, &
Tarule 1986) provided us with a framework to monitor the quality of discourse within a collaborative
environment. It highlights the existence of two distinct learning styles: separate knowing and connected
knowing. Connected knowers tend to learn cooperatively, and are more congenial and more willing to build on
the ideas of others, while separate knowers tend to take a more critical and argumentative stance to learning.
These styles are independent of intelligence or learning capacity, and independent of each other: each of us can
may use both styles at different times (Galotti, Clinchy, Ainsworth, Lavin, & Mansfield 1999; Galotti, Reimer,
& Drebus 2001). In our online discourse we try to encourage students to engage as connected knowers in order
that productive educative relationships are more readily established amongst the students.

We find Habermas' critical theory of communicative action (Habermas 1984) another useful way to think about
discourse, in terms of strategic or communicative actions, and the intersubjectivity of the mutual understanding
of intentions . Likewise, his theory of emancipatory knowledge explains how critical self-reflection can lead to a
transformation of perspective and realisations of how the horizons of one’s professional ontology (or social
reality) are shaped by historical, political and economic contingencies. Thus, our pedagogical intention to enable
teachers to develop the skills of transformative professionals capable of appreciating the need to complexify the
culture of learning in their own educational institutions so that the interests and aspirations of all students are
met. Interwoven into this is the theory of transformative learning (Mezirow 1991), which call on educators to
help the learner examine the assumptions that underlie their beliefs, feelings and actions, then assess the
consequences of these assumptions, explore alternatives and test their validity through effective participation in
reflective dialogue.

Interestingly, we have found almost no published research that explicitly encourages meaningful engagement of
students in connected online dialogue as defined by these multiple referents. We intend to continue developing
this theoretical framework while maintaining a critical self-reflective attitude towards our own pedagogical
assumptions.

Research methodology

Our research in general employs an interpretive research methodology (Denzin & Lincoln 2000) in which we
combine elements of participatory action research (Kemmis & McTaggart 2000), virtual ethnography (Hine
2000), and software design (Carter 1999). In order to optimise credibility and transferability, we use multiple
data sources, prolonged engagement and member checks (Guba & Lincoln 1989). We proceed in an evolutionary
manner, similar to Cook's (2001) approach of theorising about dialogical processes, in that we iteratively: (i)
apply theory to software design; (ii) put design into practice; (iii) collect and analyse data; and then (iv) use the
results to revise our theoretical perspective before embarking on the next study cycle. The results of this
approach are evolving theory and evolving software.

We monitor key aspects of the online learning environment throughout the courses using two survey
instruments. The Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES) was designed to help
teachers assess, from a social constructivist perspective, the quality of their online learning environment (Taylor
& Maor 2000) by obtaining convenient measures of students’ perceptions and preferences. The instrument
exists in two forms (actual, preferred), and each form consists of 24 questions arranged into 6 scales:

1. Relevance - how relevant is online learning to students' professional practices?
2. Reflection - does on-line learning stimulate students' critical reflective thinking?
3. Interactivity - to what extent do students engage online in rich educative dialogue?