Delivering Blended Legal Learning by Open Source Methods

E-learning in legal education has increased substantially in recent years, leading to concerns that traditional teaching is being phased out. This paper proposes a blended approach, combining appropriate e-learning with traditional methods to achieve a coherent and effective approach. The use of e-learning has been associated with high costs and high levels of specialised support. The Oxford Institute of Legal Practice (“Oxilp”) has made extensive use of Moodle, an open source virtual learning environment which delivers high quality facilities at low cost. The software is free to download and is now used by over 8,000 registered sites worldwide. MoodleMoot, the annual conference for Moodle, was founded by Oxilp’s IT Systems Manager in 2003, with assistance from the author. The MoodleMoot conference is to be hosted by the Open University in 2006. The Open University has recently adopted Moodle as its e-learning software, an endorsement of its quality and its ability to compete with commercial packages. The paper considers the use of e-learning to support traditional lectures and interactive group work by means of preparatory and follow up exercises, web and podcasting. The paper also considers the use of multiple-choice questions which can be marked by the software, providing instant, detailed feedback to learners. The paper also reflects on the possible use of portfolios in legal education and training in the light of issues considered by the Law Society of England and Wales in its recent training framework review.