Using Moodle and Multimedia Elements for Online Course Delivery at Land Grant Institutions in the Western Pacific

Moodle is the current course management system used for online course delivery at the University of Guam. Currently, courses in the Tropical Agricultural Science Program are being developed for online delivery in the Western Pacific. Some islands in this region have limited internet bandwidth making the development challenging. For remote regions, Moodle can be set up to load files from DVDs. Initially courses with labs were developed for hybrid delivery which includes weekly face-to-face meetings. The use of multimedia is very useful for expanding the students' course experiences. Multimedia formats used include images, podcasts (m4b for lectures) and videos. The podcast format is an efficient method for delivery of powerpoint slides synchronized with audio. Multimedia elements can be used by the instructor for lectures, quizzes, lessons and assignments. Students can use multimedia elements to submit assignments that enabling them to share their experiences from off-campus lab activities.