By Nancy K. Hoke Partner Edu Alliance Group October 12, 2020. Last week I spent several days participating in MoodleMoot US online, where over 450 educators, learning technologists and developers from the Moodle community came to together in this outstanding virtual event. As always, the Moodle community was on board with excellent techniques and new ideas for working within Moodle – especially during the pandemic. I want to share my 5 top items from the event.
1. Moodle Upgrades – the current latest version of Moodle is 3.9, which was released in May 2020. 3.10 will be released in November 2020, and 3.11 will be released in May. This schedule allows for Moodle HQ to maintain their six-month release schedule. Moodle 4.0 is scheduled be released in November 2021. The developers are focusing on user experience and working on navigation, workflow, and course creation. The student experience is being simplified, and the goal is to make the courses more transparent.
2. Moodle for Workplace – this new option for Moodle is based on Moodle LMS and is designed and marketed to corporations and large non-profits. It allows for the creation of multi-tenancy. This concept allows large companies to break out their departments and separate companies under their umbrella using one installation. Workplace multi-tenancy allows for each department to have its own branding and content. Programs (like courses) provide the learning pathways. Workplace features include: certifications, migration features, dynamic rules to set conditions, a report builder, and a Moodle Workplace App. Workplace is only available through a Moodle partner.
3. Moodle Educator Certification Program – this is a new program offered through Moodle partners. The course consists of 6 core areas and takes about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. Badges are awarded for each of the core areas, and Moodle HQ will award the final certificate at the successful end of the course. Designed for teachers, instructors, and trainers, this program uses leading research on curriculum development and digital competency standards to provide educators with transferable knowledge and skills that impact teaching and learning practice. Please note that the certificate program is available through Moodle partners and is fee-based. To get additional information go to Moodle Educator Certification Program.
4. Big Blue Button – this open-source activity has been available for several years, but with the pandemic, there has been more focus on the ability to interact with students. The Big Blue Button provides a vast selection of tools to be used during a session, including a shared whiteboard, chat, video, require attendance, completion of an activity, and the ability to edit and publish recorded sessions. The developers are focusing on integration, application, and analytics.
5. H5P– While I have been in Moodle for over 12 years, this activity is new to me. With Moodle 3.9 H5P is now a part of the core Moodle LMS. H5P allows for the creation and integration of interactive content. H5P is a free, content authoring plugin that is integrated with Moodle. It lets you easily create and share rich, HTML5 interactive content, such as videos, quizzes, games, and presentations – for learning activities, enrichment, and recall testing. With H5P, a faculty member can create a collage, dialog cards, dictation, drag, and drop, find hotspots, flashcards, image sequencing, and many more.
Over the last 12 years I have seen Moodle grow and develop into a significant engaging LMS while remaining open source that matches any other commercial LMS. I am very proud to be a part of the Moodle community which is committed to serving educators and students globally. If we can provide you with training or support within Moodle please contact me at Edu Alliance.
Nancy K. Hoke is a partner of Edu Alliance and member of the Board of Directors. Her expertise is online instruction, instructional design, instructional technology, and digital video/audio production. With over 40 years’ experience Ms. Hoke has worked in higher education, K-12 and non-profit sectors. Her expertise is in training, designing, and producing instructional media that assists in providing quality instruction and successful learning outcomes. In addition she served as a public broadcasting executive and was responsible for broadcast program for K-12 instructional television.
Nancy worked in the United Arab Emirates for 8 years in higher education and K-12 providing expertise in online and blended learning. During her tenure at Khalifa University she managed the learning management system and the instructional technology. As a part of the start-up for Khalifa University, Ms Hoke provided research and recommendations for the learning management system and the technology to be purchased and implemented in the classroom. Ms Hoke is recognized as a expert in online learning and learning management systems and has presented and trained in Europe, South Korea, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska and a Masters from Michigan State University.
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