Acorn

Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: News

Media Credit: moodle.drew.edu Moodle's interface has replaced Blackboard as Drew's online class component.

Drew University is replacing Blackboard with a new learning and management system called Moodle. According to the company Web site, Moodle is a package designed to help educators "create effective online learning communities." That is exactly the purpose that administrators had in mind when choosing this program, according to Instructional Technology Specialist Sarah Ashley. "[Professors] can post material, create glossaries, discussion forums for students to interact, create quizzes, grade students . . . It provides feedback [for students] in that way," she said.

According to the Director of Instructional Technology Services, Gamin Bartle, Blackboard was initiated four or five years ago to see how faculty would react. However, the Blackboard that the University is currently using is "very simple." It does not automatically enroll students into their courses, for example. Moodle does this. Upgrading to a better version of Blackboard would have cost the University $40,000 a year. Moodle is a more affordable option.

Faculty who have used the program have had a positive reaction, Ashley said. Seventy to 80 percent of professors who have used it like the program. "Moodle is an open source software," she said. "Meaning that it can be customized to suit what Drew needs. With Blackboard what you get is what you get."

English Professor Jim Hala admits, however, that his reason for switching to the program is that he knows it will replace Blackboard so he "might as well start getting used to it."

Ashley said she has helped to shape Moodle to become Drew's ideal learning management system. With Moodle, students and professors can link to the K-drive without having to upload material, professors can group classes together into one group that students can access, students are automatically enrolled into their courses. None of this was available with Blackboard.

"I've used it a few times and I think it's more user-friendly and organized than Blackboard," said Katherine Laclair ('10). "It seems to be a generally more intuitive type of program than Blackboard, which is set up more like just a general storage space."

Tara Sullivan ('08), who is required to use Moodle for two of her courses, agrees. "This is my first time using it and it seems like its easy to use. It's easier than Blackboard because I didn't have to sign in for anything or remember a password," Sullivan said. "I also think it's easier because all the links are laid out in front of you like an outline as opposed to Blackboard which makes you look through all the categories to find the link you're looking for.

There are over 330,000 registered users for Moodle, according to its website. The Humboldt University Web site lists Moodle's advantages over Blackboard. For example, 23.1 percent of students somewhat agreed that Blackboard enhanced instruction with zero percent strongly agreeing. As for Moodle, 7.1 percent strongly agreed. Zero percent of students strongly agreed that Blackboard developed problem-solving skills as opposed to the 21.4 percent that agreed so for Moodle. Even YouTube has jumped onto the Moodle bandwagon with videos on how to install it and how to use it. Numerous colleges' technology websites report that YouTube videos can be added onto a Moodle account.

"This is a great help," Ashley said. "We can make [Moodle] do what we need it to do to suit teaching at Drew."

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