Moodle explained with Lego
Posted by Tomaz Lasic on 30 September, 2008
Like many millions of people around the world, one of my favourite toys as a child was Lego. I spent countless hours engaged in imaginative play with it (I still do, just much, much less these days) and it looks like I have passed the genes. Last week, I played with my son when the similarity between Moodle and Lego struck me. They are not only both tough, light, modular, infinitely open-ended and very popular products worldwide but they also encourage the way of learning I am passionate about practicing and promoting – try, connect, observe, see patterns, share, watch, (re)construct, change and above all immerse yourself in learning and discovery.
This little ‘epiphany’ and the desire to answer frequently answered question ‘What is Moodle?’ with a brief, to-the-point video drove me to spend the last few days playing with digital Lego and creating two clips, answering the question ‘What is Moodle?’ using an analogy with Lego bricks. The idea was not only to show (quickly) what Moodle is but also what it can do and what a popular and useful LMS it is. There are some excellent intro videos out there but here is my take…
There are two versions of the clip – short (length 2:43) and full (featured here, length 5:03). The slideshow and full text used in this video is available on Slideshare. If you can’t see the video or you are having difficulties with clarity (some small text, sorry) please click here.
Oh, and a little anecdote.
While compiling the material for the clip, I wrote down what Jason Cole dubbed as ‘Martin’s 5 laws’ of Moodle (slightly edited but intent preserved – did I ‘get it’ right Martin?). Purely by chance, a fellow teacher who has not really engaged with Moodle at our school walked by. I invited her to look at the five statements on the paper and asked her if she agreed with them.
She looked, paused, thought and said “Of course. They make perfect sense. How else would we….” and on she went about confirming the statements.
When she finished, I simply said “Well, what you have just read are the principles Moodle is built on. That’s what Moodle is about.”
Her reply? “Well, you better sign me up to this Moodle thing then.”
And THAT is how the story begins with Moodle, Lego or anything we see interesting and valuable to learn!
Happy MoodleMoot Australia 2008 in Brisbane to all participants – sorry I can’t join you (watch out next year…)
October 1st, 2008 at 5:25 am
I have to admit that lego and mechano were not my thing as a kid (preferred reading) but your video/slideshow works brilliantly well as an explanation, Tomaz. Added it to my VodPod! Cheers.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Tomaz, many thanks for your videos explaining Moodle with Lego - they’re great
I enjoy playing with Lego too!
October 6th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Hi Tomaz
I loved Lego too. New stuff coming for next year - saw it at ACEC. A nice way to explain Moodle.
I think there is a problem in the link “down Martin’s 5 laws of Moodle”
Bryn
October 9th, 2008 at 10:02 am
North Coast Institute (NCI Tafe) who control our DET NSW school network recently stated moodle will NOT be supported at our college, now or in the future.
Their ‘no moodle’ announcement was that blunt, no discussion, no reasons why, just an emphatic “NO”. Being a mere minnow, what hope do I have against the powers that be? Think I’ll go and play lego.
October 12th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Tomaz, that’s so beautiful… brilliant!
I loved Lego and love Moodle, so they make a good couple IMO. B-)
Thanks!
October 15th, 2008 at 6:11 am
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Hi, there is a free Moodle Hosting at http://www.NineHub.com. Cheers.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:19 am
[...] Tomaz Lasic a créé une très intéressante vidéo qui permet de présenter la plate-forme Moodle avec la métaphore des Lego. [...]
March 14th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Do you have a version of this that is higher resolution? I can’t read the words on the slides that give the examples.
I’d like to send this to some people in my company as part of a petition to start an LMS here, but can’t if it isn’t readable.
Thanks.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:55 am
This is Moodle for dummies! Thanks!
April 9th, 2009 at 1:13 am
Brilliant explanation. Thanks Tomaz
April 16th, 2009 at 6:49 am
This is a wonderful explanation. Do your movies fall under any Creative Commons licensing? I am looking to incorporate this into a course I am writing for 6th graders. As with many, streaming videos can be troublesome so I would like to add the file to our course. Is this possible? Please email me when you have an opportunity.
Thanks!
June 1st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Hi,
Very impressive video. Simple yet elegant. I too would like to know if there is a high def version of this video and whether I can use it via a Creative Commons license?
Cheers and keep up the good tutorials
Andrew