Moodle is an open-source learning management system (LMS) that is used by educators around the world. It has over 150,000 registered users on its main site and is used by universities like UCLA, UC San Diego, and Smith College. Moodle was designed to help foster online learning communities following social constructivist pedagogy. It has a variety of features that allow for online collaboration, including forums, wikis, quizzes, assignments and more. Moodle provides these features freely as open source software and has an active development and support community.

1. An Open Source Learning Management SystemAn Open Source Learning Management System
It’s Free! (Like Free Kittens)It’s Free! (Like Free Kittens)
Ken RonkowitzKen Ronkowitz

2. Moodle was designed to help
foster online learning
communities. It has an active
development and support group
(very important for open-source
projects) and has users in over
150 countries.
Moodle was built following social
constructionist pedagogy as a
virtual learning environment.
150,000 registered users on moodle.org
moodle.org/stats/
Humboldt State Moodle has 12,288
courses and 42,121 users.
The Open University (OU) in
the UK has converted their
courses to MOODLE for their
250,000 students.
UCLA, UC-San Diego & Smith
College are now using Moodle,
and many are piloting it (Lafayette,
Bennington...) SEE MY BLOG

3. http://moodle.org/sites/

4. Moodle?
verb - the process of lazily meandering through
something; doing things as it occurs to you to do
them; an enjoyable tinkering that often leads to
insight and creativity.
If you’re writing a proposal, say it means:
Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning
Environment
Either applies to both to the way Moodle was
developed, and to the constructivist pedagogy
that guided the original users group.
Anyone who uses Moodle is a Moodler.

5. What is Social Constructivism?What is Social Constructivism? Briefly...Briefly...
People actively construct new knowledge as they interact
with their environment.
Everything you read, see, hear, feel, and touch is tested
against your prior knowledge
Knowledge is strengthened if you can use it successfully in
your wider environment.
You are not just a memory bank passively absorbing
information, nor can knowledge be "transmitted" to you just by
reading something or listening to someone.
Learning is particularly effective when constructing something
for others to experience
Social Constructivism extends the above ideas into a social
group constructing things for one another, collaboratively
creating a small culture of shared artifacts with shared
meanings.
More at http://docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy

6. Moodle is provided freely as Open Source
software (under the GNU Public License).
Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but
that you are allowed to copy, use and modify
Moodle provided that you agree to:
provide the source to others;
not modify or remove the original license and
copyrights,
and apply this same license to any derivative
work.

7. ?

8. Welcome to Moodle Support
Planning
2 full semesters prior to launch
Transfer of current CMS courses
Moodle accepts IMS course packages with some
caveats
System Admin
minimum 2X current admin
User Training (3 semesters)
creation of training materials (including courses)
simultaneous with initial course transfer
faculty training during two semesters prior to
launch and ongoing during subsequent
semesters.

9. http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL
Moodle Project developers

10. Commercial Support
moodlerooms.commoodlerooms.com
support
hosting
customization
instruction
training for a single class, school or university.

11. Is there some system administrator in you?
Moodle runs without modification on Unix, Linux,
Windows, Mac OS X, Netware and any other system
that supports PHP 4.3.0+
Designed in a modular way - allows flexibility to
add/remove functionality at many levels.
Upgrades easily - has an internal system to upgrade its
own databases and repair itself over time.
Requires only one database, generally SQL, and can
share it with other applications if necessary. (MySQL
4.1.16+).
Includes comprehensive database abstraction that
supports many major brands of database.
Emphasis on security - forms are all checked, data
validated, cookies encrypted etc.

12. Log InLog In authentication using LDAPauthentication using LDAP

13. The Moodle interface can be displayed in either Weekly,
Topic or Social format.

14. Quick Tour of Selected Features and Tools

15. The Calendar allows you to enter events in
various categories (User, Course and Site).
You have the option to also show upcoming
events, assignments etc., and recent activity
in the course.
CalendarCalendar

16. The Chat feature in Moodle will facilitate real time
conversations between users. It can be logged.ChatChat

17. SETTINGS - teacher

18. Editing and Student View
The EDIT view allows the
teacher to add content, edit
content, add activities and
resources, rearrange content,
and “hide” content from
students.

19. A ForumForum is a posting area where students can create or
contribute to a topic with their own comments (AKA bulletin board
or discussion)
OPTIONS
include:
Grade posts,
set
open/close
date, no
reply, one
reply only
etc.

20. Lessons, similar to learning objects, represent a means of
delivering structured learning through Q & A sessions that are
drawn from embedded content.
LessonsLessons

21. QUIZ tool

22. QuizQuiz
InformationInformation
andand
GradesGrades

23. A Workshop allows peer assessment of documents and self-
assessment activities, while providing the teacher with
opportunities to both manage and grade material.
WorkshopsWorkshops

24. The Journal feature will allow every student to have a personal
journal that only they and their teacher will be able to access.
JournalJournal

25. The Glossary feature in Moodle acts as a definition resource -
entries can be set to create highlighted hyperlinks within the
course itself.
GlossaryGlossary

26. Assignments (online, offline) can be delivered to students,
and they can upload files which you can grade online and
give feedback.
AssignmentsAssignments

27. ReportsReports User activity on Moodle can be monitored
using the Logs option. This features levels of
detail from module, to student details,
grouped by date and time

28. Activities (tools)
 Blogs
 Wikis
 Quizzes with different
kinds of questions
 Database activities
 Surveys (not fully featured now)
 Chat
 Glossaries
 Activities
 Data field types (for the
database activity)
 Peer assessment
 Multi-language support
(over 60 languages are
supported for the
interface [2])
 Moodle is modular, can
be extended by creating
plugins for specific new
functionality.
 Graphical themes
 Authentication methods
 Enrollment methods
 Content Filters

29. Customizable Themes (branding)

32. Moodle Community Discussion
http://moodle.org/course/
Using Moodle by Jason Cole
Moodle: Learning Course Development
by William Rice IV

33. Ken Ronkowitz ronkowitz@njit.edu
Manager of Media & Instructional Technology
University Web Services, NJIT
Check my March 22 Serendipity35 blog entry for this session to
find the links mentioned today and more information.
http://devel2.njit.edu/serendipity/
NJIT Moodle Pilot http://www.njit.edu/tlt/cms/