Interview with Ian Wild on Effective E-learning: From 3D Immersive Training to Fearless Physics and Math

Welcome to an interview with Ian Wild, AVEVA, who shares his experiences with Moodle and discusses how to design effective, interactive learning experiences that are effective across the board -- from math and physics, to complex immersive 3D training environments. Some of his many publications can be found through his LinkedIn site: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iandavidwild/

Ian and I have an interesting chat about what it takes to be effective when using a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) such as Moodle to work with all kinds of learners and their learning goals. Augmented Reality in Training: Ian specializes in developing plugins to create 3D learning environment that can be used to simulate real-world locations and thus provide authentic training experiences in ways that reduce risk and allow real-time collaboration and training.

There is a link on the "Unified Learning" platform that covers augmented learning (https://www.aveva.com/en/products/unified-learning/) In addition, here is a free plugin that will allow you to experiment with augmented reality in Moodle: Wavefront renderer plugin, https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_wavefront.

Fearless Physics and Math? Ian shows us how this is possible in a completely different type of training and tutoring. Here Ian uses Moodle and Moodle plugins to create an environment where young math students can gain confidence as they work through the levels and successfully pass through the competency frameworks.

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 Just released!! Moodle 4.0 Learning Course Development (Packt Publishing) -available via Packt (subscription) or via Amazon Author interview: Susan Smith Nash for Packt Publishing

Interview with Stephen Downes on E-Learning and Connectivism

Welcome to a conversation with Stephen Downes, National Research Council of Canada. Stephen has been at the forefront of innovative approaches to learning and e-learning for many years, having invented and launched, among other things, the game-changing concept, the MOOC.

Stephen Downes works with the Digital Technologies Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada specializing in new instructional media and personal learning technology. His degrees are in Philosophy, specializing in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.

Today, we talk about where we are with e-learning and how connectivism works in learning.  How and where are connections made that result in learning? We address those questions and more in this video interview. 

If you'd like to read and listen to more, please start by visiting Stephen Downes's website:  http://www.downes.ca . 

Then, be sure to subscribe to the free daily news aggregator and place for helpful insights and opinions: OL Daily https://www.downes.ca/news/OLDaily.htm

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Just released!! Moodle 4.0 Learning Course Development (Packt Publishing) -available via Packt (subscription) or via Amazon. 

For more interview videos, visit Relatecasts: E-Learn Chat and Life Edge (here is a link with data scientist Sashi Gunturu). 

Interview conducted by Susan Smith Nash. 

How will Moodle 4.0 affect Human Logic and other Moodle Partners?

 Moodle 4.0 has been released and it represents a tremendous breakthrough. The upgrade has focused on improving the user experience while keeping the best of the legacy resources and activities, as well as the overall framework. 

The result is a dynamic, revitalized platform that can energize learning programs so that students are more engaged and more likely to succeed. It's also a big "plus" for certificate programs and applied learning because bridging theory and application is easier than ever. 

Moodle 4.0 offers an almost infinite range of new opportunities for interaction, assessment, and commercialization of training and education

What does Moodle 4.0 mean to award-winning Moodle partners such as Human Logic? Human Logic, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has earned a great reputation for corporate e-learning as well as providing integrated solutions for universities and technical institutes. 

The first thing that the new interface assures is that students can more easily keep track of their work, see what is coming up, and to interact with their fellow students, collaborators, and instructors. That is a very important aspect, particularly in highly technical collaborative training for industries such as energy, manufacturing, and supply chain management. 

The new interface and user experience (upgraded dashboards, redesigned mobile interface, etc.), is fantastic for young learners because it makes it easier for them to work with their parents and tutors as well as their core teachers. 

Finally, the fact that Moodle is open source means that it's possible to customize solutions so that they align with the specific goals and mission of the organization and the learners. 

Please stay tuned! This will be one of many articles about the fantastic capabilities in Moodle 4.0! 

Susan Nash

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.