Supporting Problem-based Learning in Moodle using Personalised, Context- specific Learning Episode Generation

Providing learners with a list of disparate search results is not always conducive to learning. In particular, this approach lacks learning structure, and learners have to sift through lists of resources in order to make sense of them and to find the level of detail they require. In this paper we outline the Moodle Help Block, a Moodle block plug-in that provides learners with Just-In-Time context relevant learning material using a defined pedagogical strategy. The Moodle Help Block uses a combination of Semantic Web, Social Web and learning composition technology to generate learning episodes as needed by learners. The Moodle help block conducts a dialogue with the learner to extrapolate where a given learner’s knowledge gaps lie and generate learning episodes with learning material to help the learner overcome their knowledge deficit. It is thought that the Moodle Help Block can assist learners with targeted help when a teacher is not available.