ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

Athabasca University, often called the “Open University of Canada” (with 32,000 students worldwide), has moved to Moodle for its online course provision.

Moodle is a software package for producing internet-based courses and websites. It is open source software, which means that it has no licensing costs and is available for modification by users and developers. It offers students easy access to course content and online resources such as the library, digital reading rooms, and forums for online discussions between instructors and students.

“Moodle’s great strength is that it provides all the functionality and features of sophisticated, expensive, learning management systems, but it has a user-friendly, intuitive interface that requires only a gentle learning curve,” says Dr. Derek Briton, a member of the Moodle evaluation committee. “Also, student reviews of Moodle are exceedingly positive, and for a University that is student-focused, that is important.”

For more information see the Athabasca press release dated March 31, 2006. (Note: Not news anymore, but just for the record in my space.)