Hi Liz,
I have been reflecting on whether we think the same or something different when talking about working within acontext such as a Virtual learning Environment than when we're just systematically managing learning content?
When I consider the constructivist approach that Moodle developers and end users are trying to promote and practise creatively from experiemntation and knowledge sharing about how to use the tools that exist, or ask for more details in development, I find it pretty much different from just "putting" your (perhaps already existing) course material and a given structured procedure online. I feel strongly that Moodle provides a potential environment for those who are able to change their ideas according to what is possible; not that this is always what is actually happening. But there exists the opportunity to allow "students" to create and edit material, for example, as part of the interactivtiy.
After all, it does take quite a while before your fumbling laboratory experiments are ready to become published and reproduced by others.