I've recently been discussing a new project with some of our people regarding ICDL (International Computer Driving Licence), in Europe known as the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).
We already have authorised ICDL courses for Microsoft Office using Moodle. These are actually the only ICDL authorised courses in Moodle in Asia-Pacific. Perhaps the world? (I'm sure someone will correct me on that?)
So... our decision...
Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 are out in the marketplace, and in general both receiving a rather lukewarm reception - that's just my opinion based on feedback from those I know who use them - I'm sure some other people like them a lot.
We are now discussing internally whether to discontinue with our ICDL Moodle courses for Microsoft Office, and instead create ICDL authorised courses for Open Office using Moodle.
It seems some materials and resources exist for learning and teaching Open Office, and even a few specifically focussed on using Open Office for ICDL.
The new ICDL curriculum (ICDL Syllabus 5) is released region by region this year, and we are discussing the merits of creating commercial level ICDL authorised Moodle courses for Syllabus 5 (a syllabus update is a natural point for us to review and revise our provision).
I'd love to hear feedback from the community on this:
- What would be the demand for a Moodle-based Open Office ICDL offering?
(We are essentially talking about a site licence scenario - where a client would be able to buy the materials, install on their own Moodle server, and then chop and change as much or as little as they want).
- my 'gut instinct' is that demand for ICDL using Open Office is (sadly) still very low. - Is it just too early for this?
- in reality is everyone still using Microsoft Office for ICDL?
- we want to support open source such as Open Office - but is the environment ready? - What level would the ICDL authorised Open Office Moodle courses be priced at?
- I am conscious that those using Open Office for ICDL may be doing so because of financial considerations. It follows that any course materials would have to be very competitively priced. $50? $25? $10? (sorry, completely free is not an option for us on this project ...although I would like it to be one day!) - Any other comments that you want to make that can help with our decision-making process on this?
Naturally if this project does progress, I'd be interested in hearing from Moodlers who would be interested in a project role working on this. It probably goes without saying you would be an advanced/experienced Moodle teacher, very familiar with ICDL/ECDL, and competent with applications such as Wink, eXe, and have some graphic design skills such as GIMP.
Look forward to hearing some other perspectives...
Stuart