Interview with Eric Clarke on Moodle and Its Implementation in Medical Learning Environments
Eric Clarke began working at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as a member of the technical staff in the anatomy section. Since 1989, he has been involved in the development of information and communication technology at the College. Throughout the last fifteen years, Eric has also been closely involved in the RCSI compulsory laptop scheme. He has undergone formal training in computer science and was awarded the degree of MSc in Healthcare Informatics in 2000. Eric has been involved in the use and implementation of Moodle to support postgraduate surgical training since January 2004. He is also a member of the team that extended the use of Moodle to the schools of medicine, physiotherapy and pharmacy.
OEB: Mr. Clarke, could you please briefly describe what you see as the main advantages of Moodle? How does it distinguish itself from other virtual learning environments?
Eric Clarke: RCSI had used Moodle for a couple of years to support postgraduate surgical training and RCSI, so we were familiar with it. Initially we just downloaded the platform from the Moodle website, and it worked straight away, allowing a large number of staff to get a feel for the software quickly and to test various requirements. Two of these requirements were online examinations and assignment handling; however, we needed to make some slight adjustments. With Moodle being open source, we were able to make these easily and rapidly. This was seen as the biggest advantage over commercial products. We also wanted to develop ideas we had, one of which was the integration of mobile phone text messaging into Moodle. We did this and then released the code to the Moodle community.
It may sound a little odd, but I really do not think there are any major differences among the main players in the VLE market. They all do pretty much the same thing, and no one feature set is obviously different. The open source model suits us, but as my talk at the conference will reflect, open source does not mean entirely free!
OEB: You say that Moodle - over the past five years - has entirely changed the delivery of education. Could you give us some examples of that?
Eric Clarke: In the case of RCSI, Moodle quickly has become a core system. All staff and students now use it for basic communications regarding examinations. We are now looking into ePortfolios and other developments. In a wider context, I think that Moodle has highlighted the availability and use of virtual learning environments to a wider audience. It has allowed many organisations to get involved in e-learning who might not have done so if they had had to pay for a product to “experiment” with.
OEB: In what way does your university make use of Moodle and what is your role in this process?
Eric Clarke: Moodle is used throughout the organisation and in multiple locations. RCSI currently runs medical schools in Dublin, Penang and Bahrain, with a school opening in Malta next year. All of these locations use Moodle. As I mentioned above, typical uses are basic distribution of learning resources, communication and discussion, online examinations and assignment uploads.
Other uses for Moodle quickly came to the surface. Small communities have facilitated the development and use of areas for examiners to develop question banks and staff to change research ideas. We also use Moodle to handle all applications for transcripts and standard letters. It has also been used to collect survey data such as course assessment feedback from students.
There are also many social elements in Moodle. Students use the instant messaging function to a great extent, and there are several forums where students organise and discuss social events. Moodle has also been used to run student elections and other ballots.
Initially, I was a member of the team that successfully made the case to the medical faculty to implement Moodle. In the early days, I spent a lot of time in darkened rooms convincing staff that it was a good idea. Today, I am glad to report that people are increasingly dedicated to the project.
OEB: You mentioned that one question to be raised in your presentation will be, “Moodle may be the future, but is the future really free?” What is behind your thinking here?
Eric Clarke: Two old phrases apply here: "there is no such thing as a free lunch" and "there is nothing for nothing". I am proud to be part of the open source community that supports Moodle, but the reality is that a core system needs investment to keep it running. Also, in our experience, Moodle has been so successful that it now affects other systems and processes in RCSI.
Adopting Moodle has been good for RCSI, but keeping it running with all the associated demands is a complex task.
OEB: What future perspectives does Moodle have from your point of view?
Eric Clarke: The future looks very bright indeed. The user base grows month on month and it would appear to be making its presence felt in the USA.
OEB: Mr. Clarke, many thanks for your time!
November 19, 2007
The interview was conducted by Nina Wittrock.
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