Talk:About Moodle
DRAFT new version:
Moodle is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a social constructionist framework of education.
Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software (under the GNU General Public License). Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but that you have additional freedoms. 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. Read the full license for details and please contact Moodle.com if you have any questions.
Moodle can be installed on any computer that can run PHP, and can support an SQL type database (for example MySQL). It can be run on Windows and Mac operating systems and many flavors of Linux. There are many knowledgeable Moodle Partners to assist you, even host your Moodle site.
The word Moodle was originally an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, which is mostly useful to programmers and education theorists. It's also a verb that describes 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. As such it applies both to the way Moodle was developed, and to the way a student or teacher might approach studying or teaching an online course. Anyone who uses Moodle is a Moodler.
Come moodle with us!
Moodle is a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments and experiences.
Built for learning, globally
Proven and trusted worldwide
Powering tens of thousands of learning environments globally, Moodle is trusted by institutions and organisations large and small, including Shell, London School of Economics, State University of New York, Microsoft and the Open University. Moodle’s worldwide numbers of more than 65 million users across both academic and enterprise level usage makes it the world’s most widely used learning platform.
Designed to support both teaching and learning
With over 10 years of development guided by social constructionist pedagogy, Moodle delivers a powerful set of learner-centric tools and collaborative learning environments that empower both teaching and learning.
Easy to use
A simple interface, drag-and-drop features, and well-documented resources along with ongoing usability improvements make Moodle easy to learn and use.
Free with no licensing fees
Anyone can adapt, extend or modify Moodle for both commercial and non-commercial projects without any licensing fees under the terms of the GNU General Public License, and benefit from the cost-efficiencies, flexibility and other advantages of using Moodle.
Always up-to-date
The Moodle project’s open-source approach means that Moodle is continually being reviewed and improved on to suit the current and evolving needs of its users.
Moodle in your language
Moodle’s multilingual capabilities ensure there are no linguistic limitations to learning online. The Moodle community has translated Moodle into more than 95 languages (and counting) so users can easily localise their Moodle site, along with plenty of resources, support and community discussions available in various languages.
All-in-one learning platform
Moodle provides the most flexible toolset to support both blended learning and 100% online courses. Configure Moodle by enabling or disabling core features, and easily integrate everything needed for a course using its complete range of built-in features, including external collaborative tools such as forums, wikis, chats and blogs.
Highly flexible and fully customisable
Because it is open-source, Moodle can be customised in any way and tailored to individual needs. Its modular set up and interoperable design allows developers to create plugins and integrate external applications to achieve specific functionalities. Extend what Moodle does by using freely available plugins and add-ons - the possibilities are endless!
Scalable to any size
From a few students to millions of users, Moodle can be scaled to support the needs of both small classes and large organisations. Because of its flexibility and scalability, Moodle has been adapted for use across education, business, non-profit, government, and community contexts.
Robust, secure and private
Committed to safeguarding data security and user privacy, security controls are constantly being updated and implemented in Moodle development processes and software to protect against unauthorised access, data loss and misuse. Moodle can be easily deployed on a private secure cloud or server for complete control.
Use anytime, anywhere, on any device
Moodle is web-based and so can be accessed from anywhere in the world. With a default mobile-compatible (soon to be responsive) interface and cross-browser compatibility, content on the Moodle platform is easily accessible and consistent across different web browsers and devices.
Extensive resources available
Access extensive Moodle documentation and user forums in multiple languages, free content and courses shared by Moodle users across the world, as well as hundreds of plugins and add-ons contributed by a large global community.
Backed by a strong community
The Moodle project is well-supported by an active international community, a team of dedicated full-time developers and a network of certified Moodle Partners. Driven by open collaboration and great community support, the project continues to achieve rapid bug fixes and improvements, with major new releases every six months.
To learn more about the key features in Moodle, see Features tour
