Moodle Help Desk Support and Manual Production for Educators
"Response time reduced to one-tenth"
Reduced the response time for inquiries from 100 hours a month during peak periods to 10 hours a month. By localizing manuals into English and introducing video manuals, we were able to organize the content and achieve a significant reduction in the number of inquiries.
Tokyo University of Science
Academic Information Systems Department, Information Systems Section
Manager Matsuda, Sakuma
- Implementation and Operation Support
- Educational Institution
- Improvements
- : Moodle Operation Support
・Inquiry Support
・Usage Seminars
・Improvement and Translation of User Manuals for Instructors
(Japanese, English versions)
・Video Manual Production
Customer Requests
Human Science (hereinafter HS): Please tell us about the background of your inquiry to our company.
Tokyo University of Science (hereinafter TUS): Due to the pandemic, the format of classes changed, and especially from immediately after the pandemic in 2020, classes were changed to 100% online. Asynchronous classes using an LMS (Moodle) increased, allowing students to learn assignments, materials, videos, etc., regardless of class time.
Since 2011, we had been implementing Moodle, but at this timing, there was a significant increase in inquiries from faculty members who were using Moodle for the first time, and the responses were being handled by the staff on campus.
However, including basic inquiries, there were over 100 inquiries per month, making it difficult to handle them solely on campus.
Therefore, we ended up looking for a company that could provide help desk support, and we found Human Science, a Moodle partner company, on the Moodle homepage and reached out to them.
Academic Information Systems Department
Information Systems Section
Mr. Sakuma
Key Points of the Proposal
HS: Please tell us the reasons why you chose our company.
TUS: We contacted three Moodle partner companies, including Human Science, and conducted a comparative review.
In the niche business of Moodle operation and maintenance,
・It is a company of a reassuring size.
・They have dozens of achievements in operation and maintenance at universities.
・They offered a price that met our budgetary conditions.
Based on these points, we have decided to adopt Human Science.
Furthermore, not only do we provide help desk support, but we also have strategies to reduce inquiries themselves, such as:
・Usage seminars (online training)
・Improvement and translation of manuals (Japanese and English versions)
・Video manual production
・Moodle server setup and performance investigation
It has become a key point for our clients that we can handle these services in a one-stop manner.
Head of the Information Systems Division, Academic Information Systems Department, Mr. Matsuda
Customer Feedback from Clients
HS: Were there any reductions in man-hours or feedback from the instructors?
TUS: During busy times, the response time for inquiries has decreased from 100 hours/month to 10 hours, significantly reducing the workload.
The responses from the Human Science help desk were very good as they not only answered inquiries but also included suggestions that delved into the content of the classes.
Regarding the manuals, in the past, there were voices saying they were "difficult to understand" and "hard to read," but those issues have been resolved with the improvements made.
Originally, the Moodle manuals were in PDF format, making it difficult to find information among the vast number of pages. However, after the revisions, they were restructured using Moodle's book feature. As a result, the format has been improved to be more user-friendly and accessible online through a browser, leading to better usability and a decrease in complaints from faculty.
There have been requests for the English version of the Moodle manual for some time, but we had not been able to address this properly until now. This time, by providing the English version of the manual, it was our first response to this request, and it was very well received as it had been a long-standing demand.
Additionally, video manuals are being effectively utilized. I believe that having a well-prepared set of content for faculty to review and the resulting decrease in inquiries is a significant benefit.
HS: Please share your feedback and requests regarding our company.
TUS: This time, we held a seminar on how to use Moodle via Zoom. It was a long seminar lasting nearly two hours, but since you cannot search for specific parts in the video, it was difficult to effectively utilize it as an archive for review after participation.
For this reason, we had short videos of a few minutes created for each function of Moodle. When requesting the seminar, it might have been better to communicate the plan for archiving and receive suggestions considering future use.
From Human Science representatives
In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing demand for utilizing online learning through Moodle, both for existing and new users.
As part of this, services like the current "Inquiry Support" are being sought to operate Moodle more efficiently and effectively.
Our company leverages its experience and knowledge as a Moodle Partner to provide implementation and operational support services that "generate results."
If you are having trouble with Moodle operations, please feel free to consult with us.
Published on September 16, 2021
