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Information technology (IT) is an inseparable, invaluable part of our lives. IT can help us, among other things, to provide equal educational opportunities to people from various backgrounds all over the world. This book has been primarily written to serve this purpose. This OER resource delineates the affordances of the learning management system (LMS) MOODLE for second language education (SLE). Throughout the book, I have tried to explain the theory, the process of course design, and the ways in which one can use the technology to deliver engaging, hence effective, instruction.
More specifically, I wrote this book from a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) perspective. CALL is a sub-field of SLE which aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning languages through the use of computer technologies. This resource serves as a handbook to provide pre- and in-service teachers with a thorough guide to the process of online course design in MOODLE. Throughout the book, I have tried to provide and explain the theory that underlies the design of the LMS and its elements, provide examples of supporting language learning through different tools that the LMS provides, and illustrate how to use the, to design engaging tasks.
As the book is in Farsi, I have used it in the context of Iran while teaching pre- and in-service English language teacher development courses, and received positive feedback from all my classes. For instance, one in-service teacher shared with me how "informative" and "facilitative" she had found the book in supporting language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), components (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation), and strategies in teaching and learning online. Likewise, I had a colleague who taught science courses at the university. He shared with me how this book had helped him organize the courses around a social forum where, in addition to teacher-led discussions and comments, all the other students had provided their classmates with feedback, making the learning a student-centered process.
Although the present book has been written from a CALL perspective, the content is by no means specific to this area per se, but it can be used in other educational settings. Teachers of other disciplines, using the theory underlying the technology, can use this book to help them design their own theory-driven courses. Likewise, approaches and methods which are explained in this book can be placed under the umbrella of macro-educational developments, which can be relied on for a more eclectic teaching methodology.