About a year ago, I took the lead in an evaluation of the College’s satisfaction with Moodle and a quest to discover which features we find most important. This evaluation included surveys, focus groups, a poll, and analysis of the Moodle database itself. Other learning management systems were investigated to compare and contrast. In September, an LTC presentation titled “Moodle Data, Designs and Decisions” highlighted some of the overarching results of the evaluation. Armed with this information, attendees brainstormed possible next steps. (A more complete summary of the study results is now posted on the Moodle Documentation site.)
After exploring these data, and considering the current campus technology climate, it became clear that there were no compelling reasons to move away from Moodle at this time. There was significant concern over the amount of work — for both faculty and ITS staff — to go through product evaluations, pilot testing, and decision making conversations. We have also experienced a lot of change in our foundational technologies in the last year, and changing one more major campus technology at this time seems ill-advised. For now, our community seems to favor making the most of Moodle.
In particular, faculty seem interested in how Moodle can increase effective teaching and learning. Addressing that issue, I created a number of “Moodle Recipes,” quick ways that Moodle can help improve student learning and engagement, and presented them at the FLTG Winter Workshop, “Beyond 9 ½ Weeks.” We are also looking at ways to help faculty use Moodle to increase their efficiency with administrative aspects of their teaching, another area highlighted in the evaluation. Other issues of note include improved documentation and changes to the user interface of Moodle. You will hear more about these improvements in the coming weeks and months.
I am eager to find new ways to make Moodle work better for everyone. Please contact me (cborn) with your thoughts and ideas on how Moodle could work better for you.