We’ve talked a lot about how education is an important cornerstone and foundation of Moodle. Indeed our mission is to “empower educators to improve our world.”
Our Founder and CEO, in his keynote addresses also talks about making quality education accessible and a basic human right for all people.
Our Education team grows with the recognition of this importance (we’ve introduced you to Tom Murdock, Bob McDonald and Brent Parkin) and we are pleased now to go behind the scenes with another one of of our new Education Advisors, Solange Lalonde.
Moodle HQ: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today Solange. We’re excited to have you on board. For those who are not familiar with your work and passion in education, can you give us a brief background as to your experiences and special fields of work?
Solange: Thank you, it means a lot to me to be a part of the Moodle HQ team!
My passion in education is fuelled by a sense of wonder and inquisitiveness as to how education can serve our communities and how we can contribute to making our world a better place to live and learn.
I’m a fifth-generation educator in my family and I’m especially aware that the history and legacy of education has marginalized many populations worldwide. I like to think about what education looks like when we consider it as a basic human right. Moodle’s mission to “empower educators to improve our world” resonates with my belief that education plays a fundamental role in our collective future.
I’m a teacher, I’ve taught preschool to high school. I’m also a curriculum developer for professional learning and a program designer for higher education graduate programming.
In my graduate research, I presented the Relational Model for Teaching and Learning (RMTL) (Lalonde, 2017) as a qualitative narrative approach to articulating achievement and as a praxis for transformational pedagogy.
My research has provided me the opportunity to bring Indigenous methodologies together with principles which guide leadership and professional learning.
I look forward to bringing some of this thinking to the important work that Moodle is embarking in with the Learn Moodle program.
Moodle HQ: What is your experience to date with the Moodle platform?
And how do you think your role within the education team will play a role in making Moodle even more powerful and accessible so we can empower our educators to improve our world?
Solange:Even though my experience using the Moodle platform began 11 years ago, I always feel like I am one of those teachers who only use a small fraction of what Moodle is capable of.
Apart from K12 classrooms, I have also used Moodle in a large-scale professional learning project where it was important to be able to be provide open access to a large library of resources.
In my role within the education team, I find myself asking the following 2 questions: “Whose voice is this? Whose voice is missing?”
I believe empowering educators means providing educators a voice in defining what success is as well as providing educators a voice in articulating what support looks like in teaching and learning.
I think it’s important that we role model the possibilities of what Moodle can offer as well as showcasing exemplars of what it actually looks like in educational programming.
It’s exciting to see how the RMTL and how the voice of the Moodle community are coming together to inform the next steps of the Learn Moodle program in considering how we can empower educators to improve our world.
Moodle HQ: Are you able to share some of the projects that you will be working or contributing on within the Education team at Moodle HQ?
Solange: I’m very excited to share that we have been working on the Learn Moodle curriculum. The Moodle community has been integral in informing the focus and implementation of our program as well as the next steps we need to consider in program development.
I’ll be in Mumbai for the #MootIN17 along with the Education Manager, Tom Murdock, where we’ll be present some of the new developments that the Moodle Education team have been working on.
Moodle HQ: We recently celebrated Moodle’s 15h birthday! It was in 2002 that Martin Dougiamas launched Moodle 1.0. Where do you see Moodle in another 10 and 15 years time from an education and educator’s perspective?
Solange: When I look ahead to where education is going and what education can offer, I think about the Moodle values and how they will be embodied in the work we do together.
The values of education, respect, integrity along with openness and innovation are guiding principles which inform our approach and our intended outcomes.
I like thinking about the infinite possibilities that are within reach when we collaborate, communicate, and co-create our next steps together.
I like thinking about the strength of the Moodle community and the generosity of Moodlers to share their expertise and resources.
Most of all, I like thinking about the collective impact this will have on improving our world.
