As the Dubai night set in and brought a much welcomed cool breeze, the first Middle Eastern MoodleMoot, aptly renamed MoodleMajlis, came to a close on Monday, April 17th.
We are starting in few moments, be ready to embark on the 1st #majlis17#moodle#edtech#moodlemoot
Sponsored by @Etisalat #etisalatdigital pic.twitter.com/C0YP1iiPgW— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 16, 2017
Here’s a recap of what went down.
محلقا على @SalamAir من مسقط إلى دبي للمشاركة في #مجلس_مودل #majlis17
نتطلع إلى لقاءالمهتمين بالبرمجات الحرة ومفتوحة المصدر خصوصا نظام #مودل pic.twitter.com/RhyOTwQslH— م҉.҉ ҉غ҉ا҉ل҉ب҉ (@GhalibAlabri) April 15, 2017
Day One
It all started with a speech by Moodle Founder and CEO, Martin Dougiamas. The leading Moodler shared some scoops on what the HQ team is working on, as is customary whenever he talks at a Moot.
For Moodle 3.4, we should expect a “focus on usability” and an improved calendar, among other things.
A lot of usability improvement in Moodle 3.4 @moodler #majlis17#moodle#edtech#moodlemoot
#etisalatdigital pic.twitter.com/pWUQU8cUnr— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 16, 2017
After the “Moodler” keynote, the forum embarked on the first of a 3-session master class on Analytics.
#Majlis17 : The second session is talking about #analytics and how moodle can takle this approach durin Moodle Majlis 2017 in Dubai pic.twitter.com/JS2G4Oa0xV
— Dr. Ahmed Dabbagh (@ahmed_dabbagh) April 16, 2017
Gavin Hendric provided several insights on the use of analytics in the Moodle classroom. He advocated for a broader data collection practice, asking the critical question, “How are you going to track your students if you don’t measure them first?” Then, he discussed recent research on how analytics seem to help at-risk students most of all.
2/2 in our view too much of L. Analytics is on diagnosing at risk students. All students, at risk or not, should benefit from LA. #majlis17
— KhalifaUni_CTL (@KhalifaUni_CTL) April 16, 2017
The afternoon kicked off with a talk on blended learning by Mark Russell.
. @samerfaissal announcing the start of "Blended Learning" by @MarkRussell & @leigh_p from @KhalifaUni #majlis17#moodle#etisalatdigital pic.twitter.com/FCw74bKgwR
— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 16, 2017
. @MarkRussell starting a group activity on the differences of learning environment #majlis17#moodle@SmartWay_me#EtisalatDigital pic.twitter.com/4zPHS9R9JR
— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 16, 2017
Attendees got a look at some serious new Moodle insight.
. @leigh_p from @KhalifaUni_CTL hands on workshop on blended learning cluster scenario #majlis17#moodle#etisalatdigital pic.twitter.com/vgHVazXaPP
— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 16, 2017
Day 1 of #Majlis17 done! "The hardest part is making things simple"
— eamaanrabbat (@eamaanrabbat) April 16, 2017
Day Two
Day 2 introduced Mobile. For presenter Gavin Henrick, mobile devices aren’t just another useless tool, they empower individuals to exchange information.
اليوم الثاني في #Majlis17 حافل بتجارب مودل
– سهولة استخدام مودل
– تبني برمجيات مفتوحة المصدر في التعليم العالي
– التعلم النقال#مجلس_مودل— Rafed (@Rafedco) April 17, 2017
#majlis17 @ghenrick showing the potentials of a mobile app in impowering the user information exchange#moodle#moodlemoot #EtisalatDigital pic.twitter.com/gr9AJOMz46
— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 17, 2017
Moving on to the afternoon, Dr. Ali Abureesh dealt with an always pertinent question:
#Majlis17 : @drabureesh Dr. Ali Abureesh is presenting "Why Moodle ?" at Moodle Majlis 2017 in Dubai pic.twitter.com/I14OrO4qok
— Dr. Ahmed Dabbagh (@ahmed_dabbagh) April 17, 2017
Fortunately, the volume of responses never disappoints.
منصة النقاش #Majlis17 ركزت استخدام مودل في التعليم العالي
– لماذا مودل؟
– الاعتماد الأكاديمي#مجلس_مودل pic.twitter.com/FLiyzoS4Vz— Rafed (@Rafedco) April 17, 2017
Moodle David Scampton shared his take on what makes content great:
#Majlis17 great presentation David Scampton below is the summary of how to creat content for #moodle #mobile friendly pic.twitter.com/MFtwhpT6fI
— ANJU DE ALWIS (@anjudealwis) April 17, 2017
The evening got a little contentious with the title of Rajeev Sathyadevan’s talk: Moodle v Blackboard.
Adopting open source solutions in higher education with @AlqudahAyman #moodle vs #Blackboard with Rajeev Sathyadevan#majlis17#moodlemoot pic.twitter.com/J4UiwEhuBq
— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 17, 2017
But soon it all settled down.
The #Moodle closing panel about to begin #majlis17 pic.twitter.com/YIZwey6c9Z
— Gavin Henrick (@ghenrick) April 17, 2017
#Majlis17 #MoodleMoot panel discussion pic.twitter.com/sPi6tNEgFq
— ANJU DE ALWIS (@anjudealwis) April 17, 2017
Despite a young field, the region’s attendees demonstrated sophisticated expertise on Moodle, LMS, and EdTech. The area looks well-positioned to become a hotbed of learning innovation for years to come.
من الجلسات أيضا في #Majlis17
– إعادة ترتيب المحتوى في LMS
– مقارنة بين @moodle و @Blackboard
– ملامح من استخدام مودل#مجلس_مودل pic.twitter.com/NRpfwuXOXV— Rafed (@Rafedco) April 17, 2017
Congratulations were in order.
#Majlis17 thank you Smart-way great job pic.twitter.com/hDyHrw0SHR
— ANJU DE ALWIS (@anjudealwis) April 17, 2017
Group photo of the panalist at the end of the session of #moodle in higher edu#majlis17#moodlemoot
Sponsored by @Etisalat #etisalatdigital pic.twitter.com/Q0avlIYfcG— Moodle Majlis (@moodlemajlis) April 17, 2017
And it was a wrap. From now on, the Moodleverse will not take its eyes off the Middle Eastern EdTech arena.
See a Twitter Moment for MoodleMajlis here, courtesy of the Emirates’ Moodle Partner Smartway, sponsor of the event.
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