MOODLE?
Describe your experiences with Moodle. Are there any other "open-source" LMS programs that schools are using? If yes, what are they and how do you rate their quality?
Margaret,
What specifically do you see as the advantages of using Moodle for nursing programs?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Our school use Moodle and it works very well for nursing.
There used to be a really ugly purple theme, but the new orange one seems even worse. We just switched to D2L, and I'll miss the open source possibilities, but not the theme!
Phillip,
What other software have you considered and evaluated?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
I really think that Moodle has come a long way. I'm actually in the process of developing an open source software myself. I really feel that it is too much information/steps in this platform which makes it very difficult to navigate. Online platforms should be simple and have a nice design that will grasp the student’s attention every time they log in.
We are using Moodle for about six months too and as Lyanett said, it is a real headache when you are working on Math or Science. Isn't there another system easier to work with this subjects?
Before I became the online specialist at my campus, which happened to coincide with our first online classes , Moodle was just a tool that seemed to be foriegn to students. Now that we are offering online classes, the delivery of the Moodle instruction has taken on a whole new life. Students will actually understand what they will be prepared for. Very good tool!
Lianett,
Math formulas are tricky in all types of print and online publishing. There are some newer programs (apps) that help with this.
Linda Scharp
We have been worked with Moodle for about six months, and I think that is a friendly and flexible system. The only problem is when we need to write mathematical formulas, then we have to use a language that is hard to learn.
We have been using the Moodle for about one year know and are approaching 1 million hits. It has been very effective in giving us the flexibility we needed to start our online program and was budget "friendly". We do not see the need to move to another LMS at this time. We have budgeted support staff to assist with running the Moodle and all the classes we are running at this time.
The only drawback to the Moodle is that publishers do not have instructor resources "Moodle ready." The process to convert test banks is very time consuming and clumsy.
Does anyone know of any good Moodle themes that may be available? I like Moodle and it seems to do what other very expensive LMS systems offer, but it looks well, it looks less professional. Am hoping for a professional looking theme that makes this problem go away.
My University just started it's online classes, and we chose Moodle. So far, I am very happy with it, it's very user friendly and the helpdesk is always very efficient. I also have some experience with Blackboard, and Moodle seems to be the easiest to use for students.
Hello,Jan,
I'm glad you have such a good experience with Moodle. I'm sure your experience with other management systems informed your success. The paypal inclusion is new to me, but I can see how that would be a convenient feature.
We are not a school, but we use Moodle exclusively. It is fairly intuitive and there are courses that one can take through the host company (in my case Remote-Learner). I like the modules that are available and some of the plug-ins (many free). For me it is convenient that PayPal is a plug-in. The help desk has been very responsive to my questions and I can answer most questions that come from students. The issues are usually that they don't have the browser plug-ins they need.
My team has also had experience with D2L and eCollege and Moodle definitely measures up quite well to these proprietary systems.
Chris, thank you for being so generous with your time and sharing your expertise.
I really like moodle. I have used it for some courses that I facilitated for a local company, I have used it as an extension of a classroom in a hybrid type environment and found it quite stable. I really like some of the modules that are available.
The Open University (who I do not work for) in Australia relies heavily on moodle and has 1000's of users. Size of student body does not appear to matter as long as the infrastructure is available.
I am not aware of any others in use.
