Hi, my name is Kristen and I am a teacher at a private school. My director wants moodle implemented in the classroom and for other uses. She paid for a course for me and I learned about the actual program. But, they never told me how installation was such z headache. I assumed it was a simple website log in system ..I did not know its a whole server. Now, I think I downloaded it but all I get is s black screen when I try to run it. We use lap tops..we are a very small school so I do not have a tech department to help me. I really need to make this work..
Please help.. 
I sympathise if you thought that it would be just like a Windows applications installation! You really have three choices:
- Read and follow the installation documentation here
- Pay for hosting with a hosting service offering easy install of Moodle etc.
- Pay for a professional Moodle company to do the work for you (see http://moodle.com/partners/)
Good Luck!
Kristen,
I am not sure how you are trying to run Moodle, and what you were advised to do in your class. Moodle is really not the "whole server". It can be, but it doesn't need to be. For example, I have my own website with all kinds of webpages, and I put my Moodle installation in as sub-directory. So my website is www.rjerz.com, and my moodle is at www.rjerz.com/moodle.
The advice that John has given to you, although simple, is actually quite accurate. I would agree with what he said.
If you have time, you can learn much about moodle in these forums, including how to install Moodle (the docs are quite good, but a little techy), and people will try to help you. If you are short on time (and maybe patience), you might need to find someone in you town to help you out.