Encouraging and monitoring students' use of Moodle

To keep modelling and encouraging students to use Moodle, I spent a little time during most classes going into the Academic Reading and Writing course in Moodle, to show them resources or messages. I also held a 30 min. tutorial session 2 mornings p.w. in H121 computer lab, where students could drop in to chat or get help with any course work, including finding their way around Moodle.

I tried to keep the format of the Moodle course clear,and not add too many items. (Last semester I put up lots of useful links - but on reflection, felt it was probably overwhelming).

Even trying to be more restrained about posting content or messages, a student told me recently, he didn't like going in to Moodle because it just made him feel bad about all the things he felt he had to do. On the other hand, some students have commented they like it as it allows them to reread what we covered in class, at their own pace. They also said they liked being able to catch up if they missed class. I guess if something works even for a few students, it's worth persevering.