The Certificate module allows teachers to award a PDF certificate to
students in a course. It's one of the oldest and most widely used
additional plugins. It's an idea that many people want to apply to their courses.
The plugin is currently maintained by Moodle Core developer, Mark Nelson, but a long-awaited update for this plugin is still coming.
| Plugins survey usage |
31% |
This was one of the most widely used additional plugins in the Plugins Usage Survey (2015). It is often used in workplace settings (54%). It is also widely used by Moodle Partners. |
|---|---|---|
| Supported versions |
2.0 to 2.9 |
There is a recent Moodle 3.0 version, but I haven't reviewed it. |
| Update frequency |
Every six months |
|
| Feedback about plugin |
Requests |
Mostly requests for change in Plugins directory page. Has own discussion forum with a lot of activity. |
| Installation process |
Git, Zip |
|
| Documentation and help |
OK |
|
| Usability |
OK |
Configuration of certificates at site and course level could be improved. |
| Tracker issues |
A few open bugs |
Needs some love |
| Translations | Lots |
Catalan, Chinese (Simplified, Traditional), Czech, Dansk, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Galego, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Spanish - Mexico, Welsh, |
| Dependencies | Completion |
To restrict access to the certificate, activity restrictions need to be used. |
| Error messages |
None |
|
| Coding style |
Errors |
When run through the Code Checker, there were a number of issues. |
| Themable |
No |
|
| Backup/restore |
Yes |
|
| Performance |
OK |
|
| Security |
Concerns |
Can email arbitrary addresses |
| Tests |
No |
Has a generator, but no tests |
| Accessibility |
OK |
Produces PDF certificate. How accessible is that? |
I've reviewed this plugin the past and, although it was widely used, the configuration made it horrible. There have been some updates since and the plugin is now usable. The Certificate module is working and does produce certificates that can be awarded based on activity in the course (through activity restrictions). At least it doesn't require file changes on the server any more. It has limitations, such as configuration of images being limited to the site level.
The Simple Certificate module doesn't seem to be much better and has issues of its own. I would recommend this Certificate plugin over that one still.
General recommendation: The Certificate module is working, but it needs some work.