Moodle Review

PROS: I like open source software in general, but I am rarely this impressed. Moodle went beyond my expectations, because it delivers power in a balanced and logical manner.The structure is modular, the control is sound (especially by the backend admin and the developers), and all tools are in place. My IT experience gives me the confidence to claim that structures like this one are made to improve. That's exactly what I'm expecting!

CONS: Moodle is PHP based, so I'm a bit concerned about scalability. It has been awesome for the number of users we have, but one can only wonder what would happen if the number increased. For what I know, they have some speed issues, especially when multitasking. I wouldn't take configuration for granted either, I'm sure some of you won't like it.

PROS: I used Moodle as a student, and it honestly made my life easier. You'd say i'm a lazy student, but why would I spend time looking for something when I have a single homepage for all classes and assignments (and I could see my grades there!). I followed assignments as they turned it, and sent submissions online instead of waiting for the class. Uploading was really a piece of cake! What was really awesome was communication with teachers-we established a friendly relationship, and I felt more free to say what I thought, or to make a suggestion. I think that every school should use this system.

CONS: I was unable to update it. Once the semester was finished, I had to wait for classes to be automatically removed. But I can't blame Moodle for the slowdown, I think it is teachers who have to close their classes on time.There were even few cases where it proved useful, browsing for old materials, for instance.

PROS: OK, so the pros are as follows: Online submission and grading of papers, easy set up (organization is ready in 2 weeks), creative themes, admirable storage and quick upload, admirable view on performance, and finally, solid Turntin integration (we use it to check plagiarism). The gradebook is solid, but I think there are too many unnecessary features. Interaction with students is a huge benefit.

CONS: That would be the gradebook, I think it is really clunky. You see only parts of the page, and you can't scroll the rows and the columns because the scrolling tool is simply not visible.

PROS: I switched to Moodle from Blackboard-frankly, one of my best decisions! The Blackboard version we had was old, but the main differences are still visible. As you probably know, and LMS is either functional or not, there is no middle solution. Then, LMSs are different in terms of feature coverage, and that's what distiguishes good from great ones. Moodle is a great one (with a couple of flaws).

CONS: I think integration is an issue, I can't access the same number of book publishers' resources as I did on Blackboard. I wouldn't change the current features, but I'd add new ones instead: an improved PDF grading tool, commenting tools, Google Handout-like tools, or simply enough features to stop you from using third party software overall. This may sound exaggerated, but a 'Like' and a 'Comment' button like the ones on Facebook could be awesome, especially in terms of grading. You're not completely deprived from this right, you have a red and a green flag to indicate results, but up-to-date, I'm not sure whether students see this or not. I even wondered if they saw my comments, nobody responded so far. Or (just maybe) I'm one of those grumpy old teachers that students are afraid to talk to.

PROS: Think of it as a student's dream coming true, because every student is looking for a shortcut when getting things done. You get your Moodle, and everything goes smooth, from checking schedules and receiving tasks, to submitting papers and having them scored. Education as it is, but transfered on the web, and web can definitely remember past tasks better than I do! Overall, enjoyable!

CONS: I'm still standing in favor of that fact that it's easy, but I can’t stop myslef from mentioning that it is slow. Maybe we're just used to light-speed social networks, still, I'm sure there is an internal problem that needs fixing. Everything else is fine.

PROS: I read complaints on complexity, and I'm writing this review to explain the true value of Moodle. It is quite logical for a program like this to be complex, after all, it has all the features you can imagine. I am, and I will recommend it in future, because I understand how important it is to have all administrative features and customization issues covered.

CONS: Let's get a bit grumpy now! As you know for yourselves, this is advanced software. Only experts can break administration at the beginning, other would have to learn first. For instance, if you're a teacher with limited IT knowledge, you're likely to quit quite soon. I mean, even experts are struggling to push large systems through, and it happens because Moodle can't optimize personal databases. The only way to do it is to use 3rd party customization, at least that's what I did.

PROS: The LMS is solid to organize classes, especially if you didn't have one before. That was our rational to buy it, and we were positively surprised by the fact that it stores work and unites resources on a single website. I've used programs with similar storage capability, and I always hoped I'll get an LMS that works that way. It is relatively easy, and good to have for quizzes and grading.

CONS: During one of the courses I organized, Moodle did the mistake of associating my posts with my email address, so I was getting plenty of spam messages without any sense. OK, that was one time only, but it annoyed me. Then, I am not that good at arts, but I really think the team didn't hobnob appearances, I would change the dull presentation palette if I was in charge. What concerns me more is date arrangement, I would like to have quick access to particular courses instead of scrolling to find them.

PROS: What I like about Moodle is their tool suite, and the fact that they obviously considered every requirement of higher education institutions. We use it for teaching students, training staff, and collaborating between different groups and departments. I would go as far as calling it a treasure coffin, not just because of what it has, but because of its potential to improve. The backup team is very responsible, and I expect them to deliver excellent updates in future.

CONS: The disadvantage I am going to mention is internal, and it doesn't refer to Moodle, but I'd still mention it in case some of you are facing similar problems: When you use Moodle, use it in every department. We made the mistake of leaving Tech Support out, and I'm going through epic struggles to explain them how to deal with my problems. It's not their fault, they've never seen the program before! I feel bad each time I contact them, but what else could I do? At least I'm trying to make things easier for them, even if research takes precious time.

PROS: Moodle was my working LMS while I was teaching in Pennsylvania, where I had the chance to use it for several years. As an instructor, I thought it was the most user-friendly platform I could possibly use, and the students' opinion was quite similar. We all liked it because it was customizable and simple to use. Back then, it used to be free, I think it is the same now.

CONS: Moodle was still developing at the time, and they weren't paying special attention to customer support, at least not as one would expect from older LMSs, Blackboard for instance. I am confident this has changed nowadays. Another thing I'd like you to be careful about are HTML codes, they know to be tricky sometimes. Still, if you know what you're doing you won't mess up.

PROS: Moodle is open source, and you don’t have to pay anything for it. I think that makes it the most popular Learning Management System in recent years! It is recommended by many outstanding companies and satisifed users, which is how I decided to get it at the first place. For more experienced among you, the software is mySQL and PHP based, which makes it more functional and customizable than many other LMSs you might be considering now.

CONS: It is perfect for me, but it took me a while to learn how to use it. Wasn't user-friendly at the beginning, but that changed, to my relief. No, I can't say it is easy at all...unless you're an expert, get ready to spend hours contacting strangers and watching YouTube tutorials!

PROS: If I had to choose a single reason why I like Moodle, it would be top security. Each user of the system (students included) has his own password to access resources, even when browsing from his mobile phone. Overall, both me and students are less stressed, and we manage to do more work in less time.

CONS: I think the program is cumbersome, not because of its looks, but the way how it guides you through different procedures. There are too many steps even for simple tasks, so I couldn't say it saves time from an administrative point of view. The most complicated part is grading, it looks like a simple spreadsheet, but it doesn't work like one.

PROS: I perform IT-related tasks and got hands around it fast, but I claim that Moodle is fair for IT-savvy users too. It is easy and friendly, with an interface you'll enjoy using every day. Besides, I support young and ambitious projects, and I'd choose Moodle over its competitiors, even if I wasn't this sure of its qualities. Missing on it it's such a terrible lost, I think everybody should consider it.

CONS: There were features I've never seen before, and I had to dedicate time to learn them. Back then, it was more difficult to find a guided tour or a good tutorial, but you shouldn't have any problem by now. A lot of other things improved in the last 2 years as well.