Students of the Regent University College of Science and Technology will soon benefit from an innovative e-learning platform called Moodle as lecturers of the faculty go through comprehensive workshop aimed at equipping their knowledge and expertise on e-learning.
The workshop which is in collaboration with E-learning Innovative Technologies and Educational Solutions (ELITES) is also to innovate and improve on the traditional system of teaching and learning.
A participant at the workshop Dr Stanley Moffatt, who is also the Vice President for Institutional Advancement of Regent University College, is already relishing the impact the moodle e-learning would have on his students.
“If you break the moodles down and you come very close to a student who is IT shy and make the person feel that it is not that difficult and that it is malleable, you can easily do it, the person embraces it,” he said at the sidelines of the workshop.
The two week comprehensive course which ends on Wednesday has among other things, taken the over 70 participants through the e-learning moodle process with emphasis on how to organise course content online and how to enhance communication between students and teachers.
A facilitator at the workshop, Chili Leung who is also an IT Specialist with George Brown university in Canada said “participants are being taken through how to upload files and how to use the communication tools to engage with the students on a deeper level”.
“The moodle e-learning platform in many ways provides a more refreshing and more exciting way of teaching and learning vis-a-vis the traditional form of learning”, Leung noted.
She further indicated that the Moodle e-learning platform is also very interactive and would allow for lots of participation from students who may be originally shy and do not contribute in class.
The IT Director at Regent, Mr. Ebenezer Sowah said the workshop is part of efforts by the university to reach out to people who may find it challenging to be physically available in the traditional classroom.
“The purpose of the moodle is particularly to help extend teaching and learning from the traditional classroom environment to reach out to those who cannot even attend it.
“A lot of people wish they could acquire much more knowledge so they can improve upon their service delivery in their various offices but do not have the time to do so.
“The e-learning allows the people who cannot attend lectures in traditional classrooms to benefit from the very same course content and take exams in the same way” he indicated.
Mr Sowah said Regent University since 2007 had already been doing this but was quick to add that the collaboration with ELITES opens new frontiers as new technologies have been introduced.
The university is expected to begin online programmes soon to cater for the needs of the growing number of prospective students who may find this platform as convenient given their peculiar needs.
Credit: Regent University College