Moodle
If you’ve been big into the eLearning community for a while, you’ll already know the name “Moodle.” This eLearning tool is gaining a lot of popularity across the world with more than 86,000 registered sites and almost 8 million individual courses. The ease of use, as well as comprehensive program, is essential to the set-up of an online learning tool.
While many of our reviews deal with open-source software that caters mostly to individuals, Moodle is all about bringing education itself to people, no matter where they are.
Moodle’s ease of use is another great point in its favor. We love the way teachers can modify the software as much as they want, as well as the way students can learn in a variety of fashions.
We Love Moodle, so we ranked it #1. See why for yourself at Moodle
- Moodle eLearning Tool: Summary Overview?
Moodle is a great tool for teachers who want to teach in a variety of ways, but may not have many resources for teaching. It’s fantastic for distance learning, as well as students who don’t learn well in traditional classroom environments for education.
The ease of use is by far the most exciting thing about Moodle. Not that there aren’t great other features, but some of the assignment settings and setup features really stand out as far as its uniqueness.
- Moodle: Who It’s For
Moodle is for teachers and students. More specifically, it’s for teachers and students who are already going to engage in a traditional-style class, with assignments and due dates and lectures, who want to move the entire module to an online classroom instead of a physical one.
Sometimes this works very well for online and distance learning, but it can also be used for a group in close proximity that exists outside of a traditional classroom. Sometimes it can even be used to augment an existing, traditional-style class, for better ease of training and recording.
- Moodle: Core eLearning Features
Moodle is available pretty much anywhere. This might sound rather like a facetious or fatuous claim given the spread of the Internet, but consider that Moodle is registered in 237 countries. Moodle has registered well over a million teachers, and over 70 million users total.
This kind of reach really goes to show what kind of reach a product like this can have. The scope of this knowledge extends past traditional learning methods and into fantastic new ways of learning.
In just the U.S.A. alone, there are over 14,000 registered sites with Moodle—and that’s just one of 237 countries.
Once you’re logged into a Moodle site, you’re shown your current open courses, whether you’re a student or a teacher. They’re grouped by time, on a weekly basis. You can also look at the other participants on the website, but only those also registered to your courses.
At any time, you can check your grades. This doesn’t just mean your entire class grade, but every item upon which you’ve been graded, all aggregated and presented neatly to each and every student. This helps students keep track of what they’ve done, and how much they’ll have to do in order to maintain or achieve a good grade.
Students can also earn badges for good behavior, create a site profile, and connect with other students at almost any time.
- Moodle Review: What’s Great About Moodle
The nature of Moodle’s open source language means that it’s a great way to share eLearning with anyone at any time. At least, it’s a great way to share things with anyone at any time that happens to be part of your structured, pre-arranged class.
Some of the things we love about Moodle are the fabulous programs it has available for teachers. For example, most sites involve a long and complicated upload process for any documents, videos, and files. Moodle, however, does not require an uploader. Teachers can simply drag and drop just about anything to their Moodle page, and get it ready for the students to process and work on within seconds.
This saves valuable time for teachers, which translates into more quality assignments and a better status of living for the students and teachers alike.
We also love the fact that Moodle is available in pretty much any language we can think of. Every version of Moodle available for download comes with an increasingly larger language pack. All of them are available to download for free on the Moodle website at any time.
We also like the philosophy of Moodle. The fact that it isn’t licensed for sale, but instead is deliberately made available for free speaks well to us of the quality of work put into making education as free and accessible as possible to a variety of locations.
Usually, academia-based software costs a bundle of change that is usually difficult to procure from the powers that be, but Moodle gets excellent reviews for being so good for free.
- Moodle Review: What’s Not So Great About Moodle
If this is your first time using eLearning software to design and distribute a course, Moodle might be slightly confusing. While the actual software itself is very intuitive, getting it exactly the way you want it is rather an involved process at first.
The website from which you can download Moodle, moodle.org, is well-designed, but too reactive. Each drop-down menu is also a link, and it handles more clunkily than we would expect from technology that works so hard to be forward-thinking.
The other thing is that tech support is not so good—but then again, from a free website that’s somewhat to be expected.
- Moodle Pricing / Cost Explained
One of the best things about Moodle, according to any educator and student, is that it’s entirely free. It’s free to download, free to modify, and free to distribute to students. The fact that it’s open source software means that at any time, anyone has access to Moodle without having to purchase or license anything.
This is partly because Moodle has a strong commitment to putting out the philosophy of education being available in many forms to everyone. Moodle subscribes to a social constructivist philosophy, which is part of the reason they want to make the software and the system available to everyone free of any charge.
- The Final Word: Moodle Conclusion
If you’ve never made a lesson plan online before, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by Moodle. It makes designing and implementing a lesson plan a breeze, and is simple enough that students will have no trouble using it. Of all the Academia-based plans we tried out for eLearning, this was by far the most intuitive one we tried.
There’s also the fact that as far as money goes, there’s little that can beat “free.” While other companies may have a slight edge when it comes to providing extremely comprehensive campus solutions (like BlackBoard), Moodle does what it does beautifully, and for a price no one can beat.
unfortunately i have to give moodle a negative review, it really wasn’t useful for me at all, the only good thing about it is that it is free
compared to other free sites i have to say that this one REALLY gave my content a boost! i am really happy to be able to use this program and get my courses out there
this is not a good software. it is insanely buggy, has a lot of downtime, and generally i had nothing but complaints from my students. i will never use it again!
a DECENT elearning platform but i could name at least a dozen others that are better than moodle. i have kept using this because it is free at least.
this deserves a great rating as far as i am concerned! i have been using this for my course content for awhile now and i have had absolutely no complaints
I read up on moodle with a bunch of other reviews and I really think that it is the greatest program for me. It does a great job for my classes.
A REALLY SOLD ELEARNING TOOL! I recommend that everyone at least try this once and see how it works for you, it’s free and you have nothing to lose!
this almost passed my test of excellence but it just fell short by a bit. mostly because it is buggy and sometimes the site is down. otherwise pretty good!
as far as elearning platforms go this is all right. moodle has its own set of issues that i have to deal with from time to time but i really think it works for others.
NOT good if you are comparing it to a dozen other elearning programs. pass on this and find something that you even have to pay for, it will be better
an A+ review for moodle from me. i really have no issues with it and i think that it does a great job of organizing my course content. recommended!
compared to a lot of other elearning programs this one takes the cake! i will not use anything else. it is easily accessible and makes it easy to set up too!
a decent software for elearning and i will probably keep poking away at it. it does a good job of managing my content though sometimes i have some formatting errors.
NOT a good platform at all, you should REALLY look around and try some things other than moodle before committing!!! even if it is free that does not mean it is good!
unfortunately this earns an F rating on my end. i had a lot of upload issues and the site is just too buggy for me to consider expanding with it.
MOODLE DESERVES ALL THE POSITIVE REVEIWS! it is a GREAT program especially for free! you can’t beat the customer support, either! highly recommended to all my clients!
i have had NOTHING but positive experiences with this tool and i will continue to use it until i simply can’t anymore! it has done a great job of organizing all of my classes!
this one passed the test! i really enjoyed using this and i think it is a great course management software. that being said there are bugs and site downtimes.
for most elearning platforms i have higher standards and with moodle there is no exception. with that in mind, it is just ‘okay’ for me and i will probably try others.
elearning really has taking a downward spiral, i am not impressed with this at all, i will be trying a dozen other sites before i even consider this one again
A++ review. i really enjoy using moodle because it consistently is an easy and concise way of getting all of my courses together. highly recommended!
compared to elearning sites i have used in the past, this one is a REAL STAR. i will never go back, i am committed to this site for life and have had amazing results with all of my classes!
the productivity with this software is great but i still am having a few issues. the site tends to be buggy and i have seen a lot of downtime in my short stay here.
a decent enough platform but that doesn’t mean it’s the best. moodle sometimes has spotty customer service and i have observed this on more than one occasion.
nothing but a positive rating from me. i really enjoy using this site becaues it’s painless and easy to upload absolutely everything for my courses in one go!
unfortunately i have to roll my eyes at all the rave reviews for this just because it’s free. moodle is NOT good and it is so buggy that it’s useless
a REALLY solid elearning tool that i keep coming back to again and again! i will not use anything else now because i love this so much!
went on this site to just test it out and i have decided that i really like it! no complaints, it is just a solid program that really gets the job done, albeit simply
not one of the best elearning platforms, it doesn’t have many different features and moodle can definitely be quite buggy, i will keep looking around before committing
elearning has a low standard these days if people are really enjoying moodle. it might be free but that DOES NOT mean it is any good! very buggy!
i have to leave a positive review for moodle because it honestly has saved me and my coursework! i think that i have reached a GREAT number of new customers!
compared to other elearning materials, i think that this one is one of the easiest and most painless to use! i will not use anything else from now on!
i have used a LOT of elearning software and while i am satisfied with this one, i think there could be some tweaks. customer service can be hit and miss and so can uptime
a solid platform but a fantastic one moodle is not. it is sometimes just down and you will not expect it. this is not good for business obviously and can be challenging for your students to work around
F- rating. i will never use this site again, it ate all of my material and spat out a bunch of unformatted messes. what a waste of my time and energy
I WAS SO STOKED TO FIND OUT THIS WAS FREE IN REVIEWS! moodle is an amazing hub for elearning with that in mind and i have had NO issues
a solid tool! i really love this site because it is so easy to set up and get started. you are in charge of all of your own advertising but once you get going it’s great!
went on here just to test it out and i am mostly satisfied. i think that there are some things that could be changed and updated but overall it is pretty good
elearning platforms are not impressing me anymore and i feel it is because they are all mimicking moodle. it’s just not good. i will not use this one again.
one of my favorite elearning sites! it is so easy to use and get started with your own content. it helps you organize it and you will be started in no time!
Every time i see a positive review for moodle I just shake my head. Everyone loves the fact that it is free, but they do not bargain for the amount of downtime this site has!
COMPARED TO EVERYTHING ELSE THIS IS AMAZING. I WILL NEVER BE USING ANOTHER ELEARNING SITE AGAIN, THIS ONE IS FREE AND DOES THE SAME THING EVERYTHING ELSE DOES!
solid software and a pretty good start for you if you are getting into making new online courses. this site will help you out though it is somewhat buggy at times
a decent platform but not the best. moodle can be hit and miss and sometimes they can really mess up your content so be careful when you upload
A++ rating on my end, i have NEVER had any issues with this site especially when it comes to getting my coursework up and running! fantastic when you are starting out!
NO GOOD REVIEWS OVER HERE. MOODLE IS HONESTLY AWFUL! i have never dealt with such a lazily put together site in my life. the backend is crap and you will never be able to do anything properly
one of the quickest and easiest set ups i have EVER experienced with an elearning tool. i am so happy to be able to use this and for free at that!
this was meant to just be a test but i REALLY did like it i did notice some slowness and lagging but otherwise this is a great site and i will probably use it again.
platforms like this aren’t really any good and i will probably not use moodle consistently. my courses do not do as well here and i do not attract as many students.
for elearning everyone seems to know the name of this site but they don’t realize how bad it really is until they start doing courses on it…buggy and unreliable
compared to other sites i have used in the past, this is AMAZING. i will not go anywhere else and i am so happy to give moodle a positive review!
i can’t even begin to start making this be compared to other websites, this is amazing. and i am SO happy to be able to consistently use it, i will not use any other elearning tool.
a solid software for elearning but i think it is a bit buggy online. i will have to keep shopping around, but this seems like a valid choice for my courses
NOT the best platform. moodle has consistently been okay for me but not amazing, and i am mostly annoyed about the downtime i have seen on the online website.
this gets a D rating at best from me. i have had a lot of issues in uploading my course content, and my students have consistently not been able to access things.
ALL OF THESE REVIEWS TALKING ABOUT GREAT MOODLE IS…YOU’RE RIGHT! I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT A GREAT EXPERIENCE IN USING THIS PROGRAM AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO WITH ALL OF MY COURSES IN THE FUTURE!
viva la elearning! this is a great tool and i LOVE being able to just get my students going right away on it. super easy to put your content up and use it immediately!
you can’t beat that this is free but in my test run, i did have a lot of weird, buggy issues. overall it seems pretty good and i will give it a shot for my courses.
i have used a lot of platforms for elearning and i think moodle is just sort of mediocre. i have never had HUGE issues with it, just minor irritations, but those build up.
i am not happy with using this for elearning. overall it is just the lazy man’s way out of doing a lot of extensive course material work online and i am not satisfied with the results.
no good review from me for moodle. i do not think it does a good job of managing my content at all and generally messes up formatting everywhere i go. i have to change so many things!
compared to other elearning sites i think this one is the best. i have never had any issues other than minor downtime and that is SO predictable! it’s just a great site!
software like this is a dime a dozen but i did enjoy this particular elearning site. i think that it will work well for all of my courses in the future so i will keep at it!
moodle is a SOLID platform but not a great one. there are a lot of downtime issues that i struggle with and that’s the crux of it all, working around that!
F rating. i can’t dislike this site enough, it really is just not good and i have had so many issues between formatting, customer service, and unannounced downtime.
any reviews that really talk about how awesome moodle is completely deluded and mostly just obsessed with the idea that it is free. it is NOT a good elearning site!
a GREAT tool and one i will continue to use over and over again! my courses always look laid out so nicely in this site and i have never heard complaints from my students.
as an educator it is hard to do a test run with all the time we spend on other things, but i took the time here and i am glad. it is a pretty decent site overall.
as far as elearning platforms i think this one is pretty decent, moodle just has some uptime issues they need to work on and maybe update some of their layouts
if you want subpar elearning then jump on this boat. otherwise, find a site you have to pay for and that has some REAL QUALITY TO IT!!
A+ review and i am SO happy that i found moodle for my courses. i can direct so many of my students here with confidence and be proud of the way everything works.
compared to every other elearning site i have ever attempted to utilize, this one really gets the job done in a way that is easy to use and fast to get up and running!
pretty decent software. i will be using it again after i check out a few other sites, but you can’t beat the fact that this one in particular is free!
NOT A GOOD PLATFORM. SAVE YOUR TIME AND USE SOMETHING OTHER THAN MOODLE. you are not paying for quality, and that is why it is free!
lowest of the low ratings for me on this one…i just cannot get behind a site that has such low uptime and generally is a buggy mess. a giant pass with no recs.