Moodle 2.1 for ANTS is coming in Aug 2011!
The past couple of months have been busy for us as we prepare to move the ANTS Web Site to Moodle 2.1. This process started in Nov 2010 with the release of Moodle 2.0, however we decided to wait for Moodle 2.1 to ensure key Moodle Modules were available and stable. The Moodle team has been doing great work and with the recent release of Moodle 2.1 educators have access to great functionally suitable for individual educators through to large tertiary institutions. It is a major step forward from our Moodle 1.9.x
I hope the upgrade will happen without interruption, but it is a big upgrade. If there is an interruption I hope it will be minor.
Moodle is self described as an Open Source Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. Have a look around http://moodle.org and see what the fuss is about.
BUT why are we using Moodle? Can’t we just go and buy a simple web site tool?
As a voluntary organisation the cost of commercial software is prohibitive and too restrictive for ANTS. We can’t go a commercial route even if we wanted to and arguably the use of an Open Source community driven system is not only a pragmatic response it is compatible with our community aims. That said if we wanted a good web site tool we could use something like Drupal (http://drupal.org ) or Joomla (http://www.joomla.org ), both great community driven solutions. So why use an LMS and why Moodle? Some of the reason is that we can’t run multiple systems (cost mainly) so we need one that can be used to do most things and hopefully one that aligns with our core aims.
As an organisation with an education focus there is a self evident link between our aims and the role of a LMS. Prior to adopting Moodle the ANTS web presence was static with very little interactivity and there was a need to host more of our activities online. This change was not to remove our focus on face to face seminars, workshops, etc, rather we wanted this good work to have a wider audience. We wanted our face to face activities to have a long term “presenceâ€. There was a call for forums, discussion groups, blogs, wikis, event management, etc. We wanted to create more online resources and not just a pretty web page. We wanted to give our members the ability to conduct focus groups, surveys, and even conduct online education activities, either for ANTS or to support individual member needs. We have the ability to support research efforts with access to key tools. Used Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com )? You can do the same thing with the Moodle Questionnaire Module, and beyond that you can link the questionnaire/survey to an online discussion forum, you can provide access to key resources, track progress, etc.
Arguably an LMS has become a core tool for educators of all types and we want our members to have an opportunity to explore the use of LMS technology by using the same tools to manage our own seminars, conferences, workshops, professional debates, etc. An LMS centric solution seemed a good fit, although not a perfect fit. Could we make it work? We thought it was worth a try. The reason we picked Moodle rather than other great LMSs, eg ILIAS (http://www.ilias.de ), Sakai (http://sakaiproject.org ), etc, was the significant community support Moodle has achieved, and by the way, it’s based out of Australia!!!
We have been using Moodle since 2009 to mixed acceptance. Some have been put off by the “Course†centric terms used by Moodle, although the main challenge has been the freedom it has given ANTS as an organisation and indeed the freedom it has given our members. We have struggled to get our event coordinators to use an LMS approach to our events. We are still not capturing events in a way that provides content, both informative and pretty. Some of this is because we are all so busy to learn yet another thing. Some of it is because we need to view the “administration of events†as secondary to the “educational†value of the event. We have at our disposal a great LMS being used by individual educators in private and public practise, area health services, commercial training organisations, universities, and vocational institutions. There is a good chance that some of your children will be able to teach you how to use Moodle as it is being adopted by many secondary and primary schools. Not sure about something? Visit the Moodle site, Google it, YouTube it, or just ask another ANTS member by posting a question.
Want more pictures on the site – then get out the digital camera at the next event. Want a different colour, learn how to develop a Moodle theme and see what people think.
Moodle 2.1 will provide ANTS with great functionality, remove some existing restrictions. Yes it can do online registrations, online payments, online etc if that what is required. I think it can support our efforts to encourage professional debate and the exchange of ideas in a way that helps us achieve our aims as an organisation as well as helping everyone understand the role of LMS technology as a tool for educators. You have the freedom to learn how to use Moodle and you have the freedom to use Moodle. Moodle 2.1 will give you more to learn about, but it also will give you more to use.
We aim to have Moodle 2.1 deployed by the end of Aug 2011.
Do you have a view on the subject or not sure where to start? I am happy to help and I am sure other ANTS members are also happy to help.
Regard
Stuart Taylor
Mob: 0409128819
Email: forstaylor@bigpond.com (error in original post)