The School of Research Science (SRS), Dubai was founded in 1998, and currently provides a high quality education to over 3,000 students from both local Emirati and non-Emirati families.

Representatives from the school initially met with Titus Learning at the annual GESS conference in Dubai to discuss their plans for providing a best-in-class learning platform to their staff, students and parents.

“We first came across Titus Learning at GESS, and made the decision to work with them principally on quality and price, as well as viewing Moodle as an excellent VLE.”

Margaret Haynes & Neil Owen, School of Research Science

From that meeting, we arranged a more in depth consultation which enabled the Titus Learning team and representatives from SRS to collaboratively draw up a list of requirements for the new platform. We agreed on a managed Moodle installation, which would be integrated with the School’s SIMS management information system.

Key project stages

Theme design

We created a bespoke theme for the new SRS Moodle platform, tied in with the School’s brand guidelines. The layout of the new theme was designed primarily for ease of use, to ensure that staff, students and parents alike would have clear access to the most relevant elements once logged in. The design is also responsive, adapting automatically to fit desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone screens while remaining easily navigable.

Configuring Moodle

The new Moodle was installed and configured on a server located on-site at SRS. The main reason for this setup was the improved performance and reliability of the platform when used in school (the majority use case) as well as the improved integration with SIMS. Although the Moodle is hosted on site, Titus Learning have continuous remote access for the purposes of monitoring and managing the system, allowing them to apply updates and patches as necessary.

“The process has been very easy. The Titus team are very responsive, and their technical team have excellent knowledge.”

Neil Owen, Leader of VLE, School of Research Science

Integration with SIMS

During the installation phase we also set up integration of the Moodle Platform with SIMS, allowing sharing of attendance, behavioural or assessment data between staff, students and parents in real time, as well as automating administration tasks such as enrollment of students or updating of gradebooks.

“One of the most important aspects is the ability to have all resources and student information in one place that is accessible to all interested parties.”

Margaret Haynes, DHT, School of Research Science

Implementation

Prior to launch, we delivered 3 days of bespoke training, held on-site, to ensure all key staff were confident in using the new platform from day one. We also put in place a tailored implementation plan to support the launch of the new platform and ensure adoption and engagement from all user groups.

Ongoing support

Following the launch, we put in place a proactive support programme, providing guidance and advice to SRS on an ongoing basis.

As well as reviewing the Moodle to ensure it’s meeting the school’s needs, we stay in regular contact with teachers and administrators to suggest alterations, improvements or adjustments on an ongoing basis.

We continually monitor the platform, looking at performance, speed, availability and user activity, and keep in touch to let SRS know if there are things they should be doing to keep activity and engagement high.

Results

Following the launch of the new Moodle, we’ve received positive feedback from staff at the school about the qualitative and quantitative effects on day-to-day teaching and learning at SRS.

“The new platform is excellent for homework and communicating with parents.”

Neil Owen, Leader of VLE, School of Research Science

“Things are going well. Home school communication, homework setting and recording and the sharing of resources are all much easier. Teaching and learning resources can be created easily and hold student attention.”

Margaret Haynes, DHT, School of Research Science

We continue to work closely with the team at SRS, and look forward to collaborating on the next stage of e-learning at the school.

“In future we’re looking at further integration with our SIMs system; development of the gradebook for ease of use by teachers and ease of understanding for parents”

Margaret Haynes, DHT, School of Research Science

To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your school or organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.