While email may be the main technology tool used to date for communication among students and faculty members, Moodle provides additional technologies for more effective interaction. There are two main types of communication tools, those that allow live interaction with students (synchronous) and those that do not require the participants to be online at the same time (asynchronous). Each type of communication tool can be used for different purposes and serve different course needs. Some of the communication tools are:

• Email
• Chat
• Messages
• Forums
• Web Conferencing
• Blogs

Technology tools enhance students' learning experiences and performance and provide immediate feedback on instructional effectiveness. This is true of both face-to-face courses and those using Moodle. There are three ways to assess student learning:

• Diagnostic assessment is used to determine learner's knowledge and is carried out before or after learning activities
• Formative assessment takes place while the course is in progress and provides ongoing feedback that can be used to improve teaching and learning
• Summative assessment is carried out at the end of a course or at specific points in time for grading purposes

There are two major types of technology tools for assessment:

• Online Quizzes and Tests: Questions and tests are used to assess and encourage student progress and to provide the instructor with feedback on the presentation of instructional materials. Quizzes and tests are usually short exercises that consist of questions that students can answer simply by choosing an option, filling in a word, or providing a written response


• Performance Assessment: This form of assessment takes multiple forms. They can be difficult to define, however, all of them provide a rich picture of the learning achieved by students and approach assessment as an ongoing dynamic process. Performance assessment is an alternative to traditional testing and provides a multidimensional way to assess students continuously throughout the learning process. Unlike a true-false or multiple choice test, where students select answers from a given list, performance assessment requires students to make, do, or create something. Performance assessments require reasoning about recurring issues, problems and concepts that apply in both academic and practical situations. Students actively engage in generating complex responses requiring the integration of knowledge and strategies, not just the use of isolated facts and skills

Some assessment tools are:

• Online Group and Team Design: Assignments and activities designed in a way that divides work among students, requiring them to collaborate
• Online Portfolios: Folder containing a student’s work over a period of time. In addition, the portfolios usually include students' reflective learning/outcome analysis statements
• Tests, Quizzes, and Surveys
• Virtual Labs and Simulations: Whether it is a Flash simulation or a game, students can practice experiments and course concepts hands-on
• WebQuests: These are inquiry-oriented activities. Learners focus on researching a topic rather than just spending time reading about it

Games and simulations allows faculty members to increase the level of student engagement in the learning process. As James Paul Gee notes (2003): “Computer and video games have a great deal to teach us about how to facilitate learning, even in domains outside games”.
Some websites allow faculty members to create educational games rather than merely searching for ones that meet their needs. Some of these websites are:

• https://segue.middlebury.edu/index.php?&action=site&site=gaming
• http://www.yoyogames.com/make
• http://rvb.roosterteeth.com/home.php

Microsoft Word offers advanced features to improve the writing process. Features like tracking changes, comparing Word documents and many others can help faculty members to offer feedback and strengthen the writing skills of students. Some of these features include:

• Inserting comments
• Tracking changes
• Comparing and combining two documents

PowerPoint is an easy-to-use application that helps faculty members in the delivery of course content. Like any other technology tool, however, one must know how to use it effectively. Learning design and presentation tips can make it easier--and not just more interesting--to create a presentation, while also increasing student interest in the subject matter.

It is becoming more and more common for video and audio to be used in PowerPoint presentations. The FREE YouTube PowerPoint Add-in is an easy way to embed YouTube videos into PowerPoint presentations instead of using a link to the YouTube website.

Some multimedia tools include:

• Podcasts / Audios
• Videos
• Images

As part of the curriculum, many students spend time in laboratories to apply what they have learned. With virtual labs, experiments can be performed online students needing to be physically present in an AUB lab.

A sample of a virtual lab can be found on the following website:

• http://ilabcentral.org/

Student Response Systems

• Clickers are easy-to-use technologies/devices that resemble TV remote controls. They are mainly used to record the students’ answers to questions asked during a lecture.With this technology, instructors can prepare questions in a specially-designed PowerPoint presentation and students use their clicker devices to respond to these questions. Student responses can be saved, aggregated and represented in charts for immediate or future analysis.
  
  
• Mouse Mischief add-in allows teachers to work with Microsoft Office PowerPoint to make interactive presentations that engage every student in the classroom. With Mouse Mischief, teachers can create multiple-choice, matching, and drawing question slides that students, each with their own mouse, can answer on a shared screen.

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