Moodle

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Moodleisafreeandopensourcesoftwarelearning
managementsystemwritteninPHPanddistributed
undertheGNUGeneralPublicLicense.[3][4]
Developedonpedagogicalprinciples,[5][6]Moodleis
usedforblendedlearning,distanceeducation,flipped
classroomandotherelearningprojectsinschools,
universities,workplacesandothersectors.[7][8]

Moodle

Withcustomizablemanagementfeatures,itisusedto
createprivatewebsiteswithonlinecoursesfor
educatorsandtrainerstoachievelearninggoals.[9][10]
Moodle(acronymformodularobjectoriented
dynamiclearningenvironment)allowsforextending
andtailoringlearningenvironmentsusingcommunity
sourcedplugins[11]

Contents
1Overview
1.1Plugins
1.2Themes
1.3Translations
1.4Mobile
2Elearningstandardssupport
3Deployment
4Interoperability
5Background
5.1Origins
5.2Pedagogicalapproach
5.3Originofname
6Development
6.1Releases
7Moodleconferences
8Adoption
9Seealso
10References
11Externallinks

ScreenshotofaStudent'sMyhomepagefromthe
MountOrangedemositemoodle.org/demo
Originalauthor(s) MartinDougiamas
Developer(s)

MartinDougiamas
MoodleHQ
MoodleCommunity

Stablerelease

2.9/May11,2015[1]

Writtenin

PHP

Operatingsystem Crossplatform
Type

Coursemanagementsystem

License

GPLv3+[2]

Website

moodle.org(https://moodle.org/)

Overview
MoodlewasoriginallydevelopedbyMartinDougiamastohelpeducatorstocreateonlinecourseswitha
focusoninteractionandcollaborativeconstructionofcontent,anditisincontinualevolution.Thefirst
versionofMoodlewasreleasedon20August2002.NowadaystheMoodleProjectisledand

coordinatedbyMoodleHQ,anAustraliancompanyof30developerswhichisfinanciallysupportedbya
networkofsixtyMoodlePartnerservicecompaniesworldwide.Moodle'sdevelopmenthasalsobeen
assistedbytheworkofopensourceprogrammers.[12]
Moodleasalearningplatformcanenhanceexistinglearningenvironments.[13]AsanElearningtool,
Moodlehasawiderangeofstandardandinnovativefeatures[14]suchascalendarandGradebook.[15]
Moodleisaleadingvirtuallearningenvironment[16][17][18]andcanbeusedinmanytypesof
environmentssuchaseducation,traininganddevelopment[19]andinbusinesssettings.[20]

Plugins
Pluginsareaflexibletoolset,allowingMoodleuserstoextendthefeaturesofthesite.Thereare
hundredsofpluginsforMoodle,extendingthefeaturesofMoodle'scorefunctionality.Eachpluginis
maintainedintheMoodlepluginsdirectory.AsofApril2015,thereareover1,000pluginsavailablefor
Moodlewithover7milliondownloads.

Themes
GraphicalthemesforMoodlecanbeinstalledtochangethelookandfunctionalityofaMoodlesiteorof
anindividualcourse.ManyMoodlethemesareavailabledirectlyfromMoodledownloadssite,ranging
fromBigBlueButtontoAttendance.

Translations
Moodlehasbeentranslatedinover100languages,availableforanysiteadministratortoinstall.[21]
Peopleinvariouscountriesmaintainandcontributetothevariouslanguagepacks.[22]

Mobile
ManyMoodlethemes,basedonResponsivewebdesign,allowMoodletobeusedonmobiledevices.A
MoodlemobileappisavailableinGooglePlay,AppStore(iOS),andtheWindowsPhoneStore.

Elearningstandardssupport
Moodlehasadoptedanumberofelearningstandards.
SharableContentObjectReferenceModel(SCORM)isacollectionofelearningstandardsand
specificationsthatdefinecommunicationsbetweenclientsidecontentandaserversidelearning
managementsystem,aswellashowexternallyauthoredcontentshouldbepackagedinordertointegrate
withtheLMSeffectively.Therearetwoversions:SCORM1.2andSCORM2004.MoodleisSCORM
1.2compliant,andpassesallthetestsintheADLConformancetestsuite1.2.7forSCORM1.2.
SCORM2004isnotsupportedinMoodle,howeverRusticiSoftwarehaveaMoodlepluginwhichcan
turnanyMoodlesiteintoafullycompliantSCORM2004LMS.[23]
TheAICCHACPstandardforCMIwasdevelopedbytheAviationIndustryComputerBasedTraining
Committee(AICC)andisusedtocallexternallyauthoredcontentandassessmentpackages.AICC
contentpackagesaresupportedinMoodle2.1andlaterversions.
ExperienceAPI,alsoknownas'xAPI'or'TinCanAPI',wasfinalisedin2014asasuccessortoSCORM.

IMSContentPackagescanalsobeimportedintoMoodle.Inaddition,MoodleBookactivitiescanbe
exportedasIMSContentPackages.
LearningToolsInteroperability(LTI)isastandardwayofintegratingrichlearningapplications(often
remotelyhostedandprovidedthroughthirdpartyservices)witheducationalplatforms.Moodleusesthe
ExternalToolactivitytoactasan'LTIconsumer'asstandard,andwillactasan'LTIprovider'usinga
plugin.

Deployment
UserscandownloadandinstallMoodleonaWebserver,suchasApacheHTTPServer,andanumberof
databasemanagementsystems,suchasPostgreSQL,aresupported.PrebuiltcombinationsofMoodle
withaWebserveranddatabaseareavailableforMicrosoftWindowsandMacintosh.Otherautomated
installationapproachesexist,suchasinstallingaDebianpackage,deployingareadytouseTurnKey
Moodleappliance,usingtheBitnamiinstaller,orusinga"oneclickinstall"servicesuchasInstallatron.
CertifiedMoodlePartnersprovideotherMoodleservices,includinghosting,training,customizationand
contentdevelopment.[24]ThisnetworkofproviderssupportdevelopmentoftheMoodleprojectthrough
royalties.[25]

Interoperability
MoodlerunswithoutmodificationonUnix,Linux,FreeBSD,Windows,MacOSX,NetWareandany
othersystemsthatsupportPHPandadatabase,includingwebhostproviders.
Moodlealsohasimportfeaturesforusewithotherspecificsystems,suchasimportingquizzesorentire
coursesfromBlackboardorWebCT.AsofFebruary2010,MoodlewillnotimportBlackboardcourses,
apparentlyduetochangesinphpcodereleases.[26]
InMarch2012BlackboardacquiredtwocompaniesbasedonMoodle'ssoftwareincludingBaltimore
basedMoodleroomsInc.andNetSpotofAdelaide,Australia.[27]TheRedHatsite,Opensource.com,
reportsthatMoodlewillalwaysbeanopensourceproject,withcleardelineationbetweenBlackboard
andMoodle[28]

Background
Origins
MartinDougiamas,whohasgraduatedegreesincomputerscienceandeducation,wrotethefirstversion
ofMoodle.DougiamasstartedaPh.D.toexamine"theuseofopensourcesoftwaretosupportasocial
constructionistepistemologyofteachingandlearningwithinInternetbasedcommunitiesofreflective
inquiry."AlthoughhowexactlysocialconstructionismmakesMoodledifferentfromothereLearning
platformsisdifficulttoshow,ithasbeencitedasanimportantfactorbyMoodleadopters.[29][30]Other
Moodleadopters,suchastheOpenUniversityintheUK,havepointedoutthatLearningManagement
Systemscanequallybeseenas"relativelypedagogyneutral".[31]

Pedagogicalapproach

ThestatedphilosophyofMoodleincludesaconstructivistandsocialconstructionistapproachto
education,emphasizingthatlearners(andnotjustteachers)cancontributetotheeducational
experience.[32]Usingthesepedagogicalprinciples,Moodleprovidesanenvironmentforlearning
communities.[33]

Originofname
TheacronymMoodlestandsformodularobjectorienteddynamiclearningenvironment.(Intheearly
yearsthe"m"stoodfor"Martin's",namedafterMartinDougiamas,theoriginaldeveloper).Aswellas
beinganacronym,thenamewaschosenbecauseofthedictionarydefinitionofMoodle[34]andto
correspondtoanavailabledomainname.[35]

Development
Moodlehascontinuedtoevolvesince1999(since2001withthecurrentarchitecture).Ithasbeen
translatedintoover100differentlanguagesandisaccessibleinmanycountriesworldwide.[36]
InstitutionscanaddasmanyMoodleserversasneededwithouthavingtopaylicensefees.TheOpen
UniversityoftheUKcurrentlyusesaMoodleinstallationfortheir200,000users[37]whiletheUK
governmentusesaMoodleinstallationfortheirCivilServiceLearningplatformservinghalfamillion
employees.

Releases

Branch

Original
releasedate

Version

Version
releasedate

SupportModel

1.0

20August2002

1.0.9

30May2003

1.1

29August2003

1.1.1

11September2003 EOL

1.2

20March2004

1.2.1

25March2004

1.3

25May2004

1.3.5

9September2004 EOL

1.4

31August2004

1.4.5

7May2005

EOL

1.5

5June2005

1.5.4

21May2006

EOL

1.6

20May2006

1.6.9

28January2009

EOL

1.7

7November2006 1.7.7

28January2009

EOL

1.8

30March2007

3December2010

EOL

1.8.14

EOL
EOL

1.9

3March2008

1.9.19

9July2012

EOL(MaintainedfromMarch2008to
June2012.Thirdpartyextendedsupport
untilDecember2013)[38]

2.0

24November2010 2.0.10

9July2012

EOL(MaintainedfromNovember2010
toJune2012)

2.1

1June2011

2.1.10

14January2013

EOL(MaintainedfromJune2011to
December2012)

2.2

5December2011

2.2.11

8July2013

EOL(MaintainedfromDecember2011
toJune2013)

2.3

25June2012

2.3.10

11November2013

EOL(MaintainedfromJune2012to
December2013)

2.4

3December2012

2.4.7

11November2013

EOL(MaintainedfromDecember2012
toJune2014)

2.5

14May2013

2.5.9

10November2014

EOL(MaintainedfromMay2013to
November2014)

2.6

18November2013 2.6.11

11May2015

EOL(MaintainedfromDecember2013
toMay2015)

2.7

12May2014

2.7.9

13July2015

Active(MaintainedfromMay2014to
May2017)

2.8

10November2014 2.8.7

13July2015

Active(MaintainedfromNovember
2014toMay2016)

2.9

11May2015

13July2015

Active(MaintainedfromMay2015to
November2016)

3.0

9November2015 3.0.0

9November2015

Plannedrelease(Maintainedfrom
November2015toMay2017)

Legend:

Oldversion

2.9.1

Olderversion,stillsupported

Latestversion

Moodleconferences
AMoodleMootisaconferenceforMoodlecommunitymembers,heldtolearnaboutMoodle,share
experiencesofthelearningplatform,discussresearchinrelatededucationaltechnologiesandcontribute
ideastofutureMoodledevelopment.Heldaroundtheworld,MoodleMootsareorganisedbyuniversities
orotherlargeorganisationsusingMoodle,MoodlePartners,MoodleassociationsorMoodleHQ.

Adoption
Inthehighereducationmarketasoffall2013,Moodleisthesecondlargestproviderwith23%market
share,followingBlackboard(41%)andDesire2Learn(11%)andInstructureasnumberthreeandfour
providers.[39]Inthecorporatemarket,thesixlargestLMSprovidersconstituteapproximately50%of
themarket,withSuccessFactorsLearning,SabaSoftware,VonizIncandSumtotalSystemsbeingthe
fourlargestproviders.Vendorsfocusedonmidsizedcompanies(200+employees)includeHalogen
Software,ADP,andWorkday.[40]

Seealso
Educationaltechnology
StudentInformationSystem
ListofapplicationswithiCalendarsupport
Onlinelearningcommunity
Listoffreeandopensourcesoftwarepackages

References
1. "Releases".Moodle.Retrieved11May2015.
2. "MoodleLicense".
3. "TFDEncyclopediaMoodle".
4. TheEncyclopediaofDistanceLearning,Vol1.
5. https://docs.moodle.org/en/Pedagogy
6. https://dougiamas.com/archives/edmedia2003/
7. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680513.2013.856289#.VT22fa2qpBc
8. http://research.moodle.net/mod/data/view.php?d=1&rid=154
9. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/ITSE0720120019
10. http://www.catspyjamas.net/wpcontent/uploads/2010/05/MoodleToolGuideforTeachers_May2010_JS.pdf
11. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/wellington12/2012/images/custom/mcneil,_margot_
_a_pedagogical.pdf
12. http://opensource.com/life/15/4/howmoodlemanagescommunityfeedback
13. "Technologythatputstheclassroominstudents'laptops".AdamStanley,TheGlobeandMail.
14. http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.11120/ndir.2013.00009
15. http://elearningindustry.com/onlinegradingmaketeachinglifeeasier
16. "OpenUniversitiesVLE/LMS".
17. "2014SurveyofTechnologyEnhancedLearningforhighereducationintheUK".UCISARichardWalker,
JulieVoce,JoeNicholls,ElaineSwift,JebarAhmed,SarahHorriganandPhilVincent.
18. http://elearningindustry.com/topopensourcelearningmanagementsystems
19. "Elearning".http://www.cpcepolyu.edu.hk/itu/new/:InformationTechnologyUnit(itu).Retrieved
20110301."Moodleisawellknownelearningplatformintertiaryinstitutions.Manyuniversitiesand
collegesuseMoodleastheonlinelearningsystemintheirdailyteachingandlearning.Moodleisafreeopen
sourcesoftwareitmeansdevelopercanmakemodificationbasedontheirneeds.CPCEdecidestouse
MoodleasaelearningplatformforHKCCandSPEEDfrom2009/10academicyearonwards."
20. http://www.elearnity.com/ekcMoodle.html
21. http://www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJALEL/article/view/1451
22. "Languagepackmaintainersandcontributors".
23. "SCORMCloudMoodleIntegration".scorm.com.
24. "ListofMoodlePartners".Moodle.
25. "HowdotheMoodlePartnerswork?".Moodle.
26. "Blackboardmigration".moodle.org.
27. "BlackboardmakesMoodleacquisitions".bizjournals.com.
28. "Moodlewillalwaysbeanopensourceproject".opensource.com.

28. "Moodlewillalwaysbeanopensourceproject".opensource.com.
29. Weller,M.(2006)."VLE2.0andfuturedirectionsinlearningenvironments".ProceedingsofthefirstLAMS
Conference,Sydney.
30. McMulli&Munroe(2004)."VMoodleatDCU".
31. Sclater,Neil(2008)."ALargescaleOpenSourceeLearningSystemsattheOpenUniversity".Educase.
32. MoodlePhilosophy(http://docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy)
33. "OpenSourceLearningManagementSystem".Moodlerooms.
34. "Moodledefinition".AllWords.
35. "Thechickenortheegg".Moodle.orgLounge.
36. https://docs.moodle.org/en/Language_packs
37. CasestudyinLinuxPromagazine(http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/Online/News/SimplytheBestCase
StudyforMoodleatOpenUniversity)
38. Marsden,Dan(2April2012)."Moodle1.9LongTermsupport".Moodle.Retrieved27May2013.
39. AProfileoftheLMSMarket(page23)(PDF),CampusComputing,2013.
40. Bersin,Josh."TalentManagementSoftwareMarketSurgesAhead".Forbes.Forbes.Retrieved13April
2015.

Externallinks
Officialwebsite(http://moodle.org)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moodle&oldid=683461949"
Categories: Crossplatformsoftware Freeeducationalsoftware Freelearningmanagementsystems
Freelearningsupportsoftware FreesoftwareprogrammedinPHP Learningmanagementsystems
Freecontentmanagementsystems Virtuallearningenvironments
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