e-Learning Blog

1. About the Moodle and OpenAI Chat Block Plugin

1-1. What is Moodle?

Moodle is a learning management system (LMS) equipped with features for supporting face-to-face classes or conducting e-learning. Moodle was developed in Australia and is distributed under the GNU General Public License, being community-based in its development. It supports 210 languages and is used by over 400 million people in 239 countries around the world.

1-2. Differences from General Text Translation

This is a ChatGPT plugin for Moodle developed by Bryce Yoder. It is offered for free. By having Moodle administrators subscribe to OpenAI's paid API account and setting the API key in the plugin, each user will be able to utilize the AI chat service. Since prompts can be pre-set for each block, if instructors set the prompts in advance, students can use ChatGPT with minimal input.

2. Conversation

2-1. Greetings

ChatGPT is ideal for practicing English conversation as it can respond in natural English. First, set up the OpenAI Chat Block as shown in the image below. In the "Completion Prompt," input "You are an English teacher. Please practice English conversation with the student. The exchanges should be in both English and Japanese. If there are any mistakes in English, please point them out and explain."

By setting up the OpenAI Chat Block, a chat box will appear on the right side of the Moodle page. When students type "Hi." in the text field, ChatGPT will respond. You can continue the conversation to practice English conversation.

2-2. Role Play (Cafe)

You can perform a role play with ChatGPT assuming an order at a cafe. In the "Completion Prompt" of the OpenAI Chat Block, set it to "You are an English teacher. We will do a role play. You are a waiter in a cafe. The student will play the role of a customer. Please write in English and then the translation in Japanese. Check the student's sentence for any grammatical mistakes or misuse of English and explain it in Japanese if found." The reason for setting the prompt in English this time is that the accuracy of responses is higher in English than in Japanese.

Let's have the student input "I would like to order a coffee, please." and see how ChatGPT responds as the shopkeeper. You can learn useful expressions for asking about the menu and placing orders, which will be helpful in a real café.

2-3. Role Play (Airport)

Role-playing in airport-specific situations, such as check-in and boarding procedures, is also possible. The "completion prompt" of the OpenAI Chat Block includes: "You are an English teacher. You play the role of a check-in agent. Your student plays the role of a traveler. Write the exchange in English and the Japanese translation of it. Check your student's writing for any grammatical errors and misuse of English, and explain in Japanese if you find any."

Students can input phrases like "I need to check in for my flight to New York." and have ChatGPT act as an airport counter staff. This allows them to practice English expressions used at the airport.

3. English Composition Assistance

3-1. English Proofreading

You can have your English writing proofread by ChatGPT. In the OpenAI Chat Block's "Completion Prompt," set it to "You are an English teacher. Check your student's writing for any grammatical errors and misuse of English, and explain it in Japanese if you find any."

Students will enter English sentences in the chat box. For example, if you enter the English sentence "I would like to order a coffee, please." used in the role play above, you will receive a response like the one below, confirming that the English sentence is correct.

3-2. English Thesaurus

If you want to know synonyms of a word, you can ask ChatGPT to provide you with a variety of synonyms. Example sentences are shown along with the synonyms, which helps you understand how to use them in context and contributes to improving your vocabulary.

Set the "completion prompt" of the OpenAI Chat Block to "Show the thesaurus for the following words. Create example sentences using the synonyms. Example sentences should be accompanied by the Japanese translation."

Students will enter the word for which they want to look up synonyms. For example, even words that are not listed in a thesaurus, such as "learning management system," will display synonyms and example sentences as shown below.

The overall response is as follows.
"Thesaurus for 'learning management system': - e-learning platform - educational technology software - virtual learning environment
Example sentences: 1. The university uses an advanced e-learning platform to deliver online courses to students worldwide. - The university uses an advanced e-learning platform to deliver online courses to students worldwide.
The school district implemented a new educational technology software to enhance student engagement in remote learning.
The school district implemented a new educational technology software to enhance student engagement in remote learning.
The company's virtual learning environment allows employees to access training materials from anywhere at any time.
The company's virtual learning environment allows employees to access training materials from anywhere at any time."

3-3. Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is the expression of the same meaning in different words, but it requires not only replacing words but also changing parts of speech and the structure of sentences. Paraphrasing is an essential skill in English essays. By honing paraphrasing skills in English tests such as IELTS, TOEFL, and TOEIC, you can improve your speaking and writing scores. Additionally, as your comprehension of texts improves, you can also expect an increase in your reading and listening scores.

Set the "completion prompt" of the OpenAI Chat Block to "Paraphrase the input sentence. Show three examples in English." When a student types "I would like to order a coffee, please." in the chat box, three paraphrased examples will be displayed as follows.

4. Summary

This article introduces a method to enhance English learning by combining the learning management system Moodle with the AI chat service ChatGPT. With ChatGPT, learners can directly engage with native English, which is expected to improve their English skills. By combining Moodle with the OpenAI Chat Block plugin, students can utilize ChatGPT without the need to input prompts.

Human Science has been providing Moodle services since 2008 and became an official partner of Moodle in 2017. We have accumulated know-how and a wealth of implementation experience (over 700 projects, more than 80 cases with companies, schools, and organizations). We offer total solutions from the introduction of Moodle (including content creation) to operational support. We also provide Moodle support services via phone and email, ensuring peace of mind for maintenance and operation. Please consult Human Science when using the open-source LMS Moodle.

Human Science | Moodle Implementation Support and Operation Services