The following chart provides a comparison of the various administrative tasks for our use of a Proprietary system and Moodle. I recognize that we may not be representative of many institutions who are discussing this topic; but, on the other hand, maybe some folks look similar! We are a small institution (1400 students, 75 faculty, 135 courses on the system per semester) with no automation/integration with a SIS (I have always created and archived all courses manually; we do use flat file enroll to create student accounts). I find the hardware costs to be equivalent (a $3000 box will do it for us). The big cost savings is in software/licensing fees.
|
Task |
Proprietary |
Moodle |
Results |
|
Server side |
Security, Operating system, Reliability 1 hour per week |
Security, Operating system, Reliability 1 hour per week |
Equal effort |
|
Software installation |
30 minutes, self contained |
30 minutes. 1 hour additional attention needed for cron, aspell, xlst |
Proprietary easier, but any competent sysadmin can handle a Moodle install easily. Mandrake supports RPM. |
|
Database maintenance |
Possible repair |
Possible repair |
Equal effort |
|
Backup procedures |
Set to backup to a remote server; automated; no individual course backups |
Set to backup to USB drive and daily course backups reside on the server; automated |
Equal effort; Moodle has more types of backups for selective restore |
|
Customization of code |
Not possible |
Usually a matter of dropping files into selected folders; occasional code editing required. 2 hours per semester |
Moodle allows for code customization, but certainly does not require it. Well worth the effort. |
|
Creation of student accounts and passwords |
Flat file 1 hour per semester |
Flat file 1 hour per semester |
Equal effort |
|
Site look and feel |
Limited selection of themes, content, and layouts. Difficult to add custom text to front page. 2 hours, one time only |
Limited selection of themes. Easy to customize layout and add custom text to the front page. 2 hours, adjusted content throughout semester |
Moodle is easier to customize and update |
|
Administration options for user roles, allowed activities |
Major functions in place and easily accessed by menus. Many features greyed out as unavailable unless purchased separately 1 hour, one time only |
Major functions in place and easily accessed by menus. 1 hour, one time only |
Equal functionality |
|
Create, remove, or recycle courses each semester |
Courses can be restored with selective content; instructors must be added in a separate step 10 minutes per course (archive and recycle), occurs each semester |
Courses can be restored with selective content; instructors must be added in a separate step 10 minutes per course (archive and recycle), occurs each semester |
Equal effort |
|
Keeping faculty members informed |
Communication is possible by email or a system wide announcement that appears on course pages 2 minutes per post, 30 posts per semester |
Communication is possible by email or a notice appearing on the front page of the site. 2 minutes per post, 30 posts per semester |
Equal effort |
|
Providing training and support |
Workshops, telephone support, office visits 10 hours per semester |
Workshops, telephone support, office visits 10 hours per semester |
Equal effort |
Based on
the best estimates provided by the people involved, we estimate that our level
of the Proprietary system and Moodle administration and support require 55-60 man-hours per
academic year, most of which are borne by the Moodle/Proprietary system administrator. At $25 per hour, the support costs are approximately $1,500 annually.
The costs for migrating a single course
from the Proprietary System to Moodle would likely be something like 1 hour (or less) to
convert/adjust the course and up to 14 hours to learn the basics of course
construction, user management, and the use of activities, calendar, and
grading. The estimate, assuming $30 per
hour, is $4,500 ($30 x 150 courses converted) plus $22,500 (50 instructors
taking the full 15 hours to learn the system at $30 per hour).
atw
(Edited by Yu Zhang - Wednesday, 19 April 2006, 03:15 PM)
. I would LOVE to send it somewhere it could be helpful. Let me finish getting my references together. . .