To put it simply, Khai El Baba Jones is a good communicator — and in his work, that makes all the difference. As the Partnership Associate at Kialo, Khai is genuinely interested in bridging the gap between good communication and a good debate. He spends most of his days at the intersection of education, connection, and helping students and educators make sense of complex discussions.
Khai says that good communication is about clarity — how you express yourself, stand your ground, listen to others, and also build on ideas.
“Communication skills help with personal development — in your life, or your interpersonal relationships, or being able to convey your position clearly on something, being able to listen to what others have to say in a clear and rational way.”
It’s a belief that shapes how he approaches his work. In a very interesting conversation, he explained the importance of meaningful dialogue in the classroom, and also why he is super excited about talking at MoodleMoot Global.
The problem with online discussions
If you’ve been a part of an online debate or even scrolled through a comment section, you know how easily discussions can lose their direction. They spiral, repeat the same points, sometimes get combative…now imagine all that mayhem in a classroom!
For Khai, the problem isn’t the student’s shyness or unwillingness to engage, it’s how these conversations are structured. He also explained that the classic “reply-stack” forum can lead to uneven participation.
“Particularly in higher education, when students participate in forums outside of class, it often becomes more of a box-ticking exercise than a meaningful discussion.”
Real conversations are inherently messy, complicated, and intuitive; they can deviate from the main topic. Some forums might also reward quantity over quality, and students might fall into repeating opinions rather than constructing arguments.
Why is good communication important?
Khai expanded on how at Kialo, constant progression towards skills-based education that focuses on reasoning, critical thinking, collaboration, and clear communication is a central theme. He believes that these transferable skills are crucial for academic and career development, especially now that classrooms rely on AI.
Instead of a chaotic stack of replies, students can build a branching map of pros and cons. This structure makes it possible for everyone to participate at once, even shy students or second language learners who might find it difficult in oral discussions.
“Every student can participate simultaneously. That means far more participation, because 20 students can all be writing at the same time, but each contribution is still in context, tied to the specific point they are addressing.”
Sponsoring at MoodleMoot Global 2025
This will be Khai’s first year presenting at MoodleMoot Global, and he is eager to share his perspective with a broad mix of educators.
“From my own university days — and from talking to people now — discussion forums haven’t really advanced. That’s why I wanted to talk about Kialo as an alternative, where you can have real, meaningful, deep discussions between classes that can then improve the quality of in-class or tutorial discussions.”
He is also looking forward to meeting some of the Moodle team members he has known online, as well as all the certified partners. He believes that he’ll develop some fruitful partnerships throughout the conference.
“My advice is to go with an open mind, have those conversations in between sessions and at the edges of the conference, because you never know where they might lead.”
Want to know more about Khai’s talk at the conference? You can check it out.
