FIrst Reflection H808

I suppose the most striking thing about H808 so far is the use of an apparently cut down Moodle for forums. After First Class I feel very clumsy here, I like the email notifications but find it difficult to get an overview of the eifferent forums. I am aghast at the lack of scope for personalisation. It seems to me that part of the task in the first instance is to establish an online personality. Of course we can do this with text alone, or perhaps text with a photograph or two. However it seems a shame that it is not possible to change the font or the colour of the font, nor even the size of the font. If my memory serves me right I was able to do this on JANET in 1985 so we are not talking new technologies here. In terms of design of the Moodle interface we see I was wondering who was consulted in terms of potential users since this seems fundamental to good design, providing we might hope some sort of starting point for the process.

I suppose what I am looking for here is an interface that fosters the creation of Personalised Learning Environments and gives a clear space where these can be shared. SO I could log on and see the other members of the course and then enter their personalised environment...almost a la Second life. The Wiki for blogs provides some of this but it is almost completely devoid of personality: compare entries to those on Twitter tor Facebook, where the simple addition of a small picture makes an impact...or am I alone in seeing this.

All in all it is not the course that has impressed and depressed but the Moodle environment. 'E learning' can and should be more interesting than this. Ho hum...the course fotunately seems to be covering ground well outside the OU environment which makes it seem interesting and I anticipate having some fun and games.