Hi there,
My School is looking to put a VLE in place over the next few months and we are currently researching options.
I am a fan of moodle as I have used it in the past, however, our IT support department seem to be in favour of going with a company called Fronter. I have looked over their stuff and I am concerned that it looks rather inflexible compared with moodle. I need a series of reasoned arguments (other than cost) why moodle is fantastic and why we should be using it rather than another VLE. I have only limited experience (all of which was good) with moodle so I really need some help...
Thanks in advance,
Martyn
PS one of the IT people's big arguments is about ease of uploading material and drop and drag (I feel that they have rather missed the point about what a VLE is for... but I do understand their concerns to a certain extent).
Hello Martyn. Well the first thing you could say is that Moodle has a huge free global support network -such that you posted your query at 8.30 GMT and had your first answer just over an hour later. I would guarantee you that if you or your school had a Fronter query you would not get such fast -and quick - support. I know what you mean about their missing the point re ease of uploading material - and I confess I can't compare Moodle's uploading system with Fronter's - BUT - most non tech teachers have no difficulty uploading their resources Moodle-wise AND there is the facility to webdav =drag and drop if you wish to have it on your moodle. Additionally Moodle has so many extra - and free - modules you can plug into it so you can start with a standard install and then build it up as your Moodle gets more popular. Fronter costs a lot of money; what you can save by using Moodle you can use for training teachers who will, I've no doubt, fall in love with it and want to spread its advantages to other teachers in your school. Depending on who hosts your Moodle you could potentially have a lot more control over it than you would the Fronter set up. Part of my job is to train teachers from schools around the UK in using Moodle and I have had a fair number whose school ,or more usually, whose LEA, have gone with Fronter and they have then decided to go behind their backs and set up a Moodle simply because it is easier to manage, has more possibilities for individual teachers to set interactive activities and offers more power to the admins. So (1) Support and (2) control. If I think of anything else I'll come back!
Hi Martyn
I am a regular Moodle user for teaching and learning, at both second and third level here in Ireland.
In my school (second-level) we use a Moodle Partner to host Moodle and its the ease of use, that makes Moodle work for us.
I have used Fronter to teach a course on behalf of another agency. It was less intuitive than Moodle and some students found that it did not save their work as they went along. That said, I know people who find Fronter to be fine.
I agree with Mary that there is a great community behind Moodle and that issues/ideas/queries are responded to with great and genuine interest.
I am a regular Moodle user for teaching and learning, at both second and third level here in Ireland.
In my school (second-level) we use a Moodle Partner to host Moodle and its the ease of use, that makes Moodle work for us.
I have used Fronter to teach a course on behalf of another agency. It was less intuitive than Moodle and some students found that it did not save their work as they went along. That said, I know people who find Fronter to be fine.
I agree with Mary that there is a great community behind Moodle and that issues/ideas/queries are responded to with great and genuine interest.
One of the challenges of choosing a VLE is that the school goes to IT and IT looks for what will be easiest for them, fits the school budget without ever studying feedback from users of both products. IT will almost always give you the easiest on them answer.
Last year my business partner was in Ecuador teaching an ethics class and used a blended moodle that I put up for them.. The university was in a blackboard contract. After a semester in our class the students designed and conducted a small study (statistically insignificant) where they compared learning systems. Of course moodle won from their point of view. Nothing is going to change of course.
As to asking for answers here and getting immediate response I do it, you do it Mary but there is a certain personality type (maybe the same one that can't ask for driving directions) that will only search the forums for answers, fail to understand that the answer they think they found was from several versions ago, apply the 'fix' and then throw their hands up. I have had jobs where everything wrong in a moodle was from that kind of stuff. As I love moodle I do think IT has little place in choosing a VLE or running it.
I sat on 2 committees at my university to try to harmonize our use of multiple VLE/CMS's. We had limited success, but my division went with Moodle. After about 7 years of Blackboard and WebCT.
Martyn, the most dangerous part of your question is "over the next few months." WAY too soon!
Before your institution puts something in place, all the players need to play. Don't let somebody just demonstrate for your faculty & staff what their VLE will do. Make them let you in to see what YOU can do. See what you can break. See what makes sense to your faculty. Imagine the thing from a student's point of view. Ask your mother to navigate the thing.
Ask questions like
Martyn, the most dangerous part of your question is "over the next few months." WAY too soon!
Before your institution puts something in place, all the players need to play. Don't let somebody just demonstrate for your faculty & staff what their VLE will do. Make them let you in to see what YOU can do. See what you can break. See what makes sense to your faculty. Imagine the thing from a student's point of view. Ask your mother to navigate the thing.
Ask questions like
- "What happens if you go bankrupt?"
- "How do I get my materials out of here when (there is no 'if') we go with another CMS?"
- "When is your next version due and what different hardware will it require?" [Wave paper money while asking this question.]
- "How will your gradebook/recordkeeping/whatnot reduce my teachers' workload?"
- "Who else uses you, and can I call them for a reference?"
- "Are you compatible with IE 8 & Safari? Please show me." (The speed with which someone whips out a copy of either tells you more than their answer.)
- "Which of your users documented their decision to go with you, and can you get me that documentation?"
I agree with that last post! (And I have no knowledge of Frontier)
"How do I get my materials out of here" is critically important.
Using Moodle, I have backups of all my Moodle courses and can recreate my site 100 different ways. I have had the experience a number of years ago of having Blackboard pull the rug out from under me by changing their terms of service.
There is nothing worse in education than spending time, good will and training for teachers who spend many hours building VLE courses only to have it disappear with the next tight budget.
So the bottom line for me is ownership of my course materials.
"How do I get my materials out of here" is critically important.
Using Moodle, I have backups of all my Moodle courses and can recreate my site 100 different ways. I have had the experience a number of years ago of having Blackboard pull the rug out from under me by changing their terms of service.
There is nothing worse in education than spending time, good will and training for teachers who spend many hours building VLE courses only to have it disappear with the next tight budget.
So the bottom line for me is ownership of my course materials.
Also relevant to this discussion is Documents_useful_for_decision_makers.