This article was written before schools commonly used learning management systems. The material below is still relevant; however, I now use my school’s learning management system instead of Moodle.

Moodle helps me quickly and easily meet many of the accommodations often required by IEPs and 504 plans. Since most of the accommodations require no additional work per student, I can offer those that are appropriate to all of my students.

All of my assignments are posted on Moodle along with written instructions and due dates. This is often a more than satisfactory alternative to signing agendas for students to ensure that homework and due dates have been accurately recorded. Posting assignments online benefits all of my students. It also ensures that I have all assignments available for future years in a form that allows me to tweak whatever I want without repeating work done in previous years.

I also collect most of my assignments on Moodle. Students, parents, and special services teachers can check whether each assignment has been turned in, when it has been turned in, and to what extent the submission has met the requirements. Students who are permitted to make revisions to their work can do so quickly and easily, and I receive automatic notifications when they do so. Collecting assignments online benefits all of my students. It also ensures that I have examples of student work to use in subsequent years for demonstrations and to improve my instruction.

Nearly all of my quizzes and tests are administered online. Students who need extra time can return to Moodle during their study hall or study skills classes and complete the assessments. I no longer need to ensure that paper tests get to students’ special services teachers and that they get back to me in a timely manner. Teachers who do not have computers in their classrooms can take advantage of computer labs for more significant assessments while continuing to administer some assessments on paper. Administering assessments online benefits all of my students. It also enables me to compare results from different years and dramatically increases the options for discouraging cheating.