Thanks to Moodle, our campus has gone digital," says Magali Barkatz, Administrative and Digital Resources Director at IPAG Business School. "Professors, teachers and parents all have their own online space." The platform provides access to the school's calendar, news, alumni directory and of course, class materials.
Developers United
Moodle was founded by an Australian PhD student in 2002. With its open source code and community forum, Moodle allows its many developers to make constant improvements. For Thierry Koscielniak, EdTech Policy Officer at Paris Descartes University, "Moodle's academic origins and its vast international community are key to the platform's popularity with universities." Koscielniak estimates that 86% of French universities use Moodle.
Fees and Feasibility
Barkatz recalls that IPAG "didn't have the in-house skills to make the switch" to Moodle. The school turned to French company Edunao, which offers all-inclusive, Moodle-based platforms for €20 per student per year. There are no licensing fees. Schools can also purchase support services from companies known as Moodle Partners, which donate 10% of their earnings to Moodle.
Educational Evolution
"At first, professors just used Moodle to share lecture notes instead of using Dropbox. That wasn't very innovative," explains Lionel Arnaud, lecturer and researcher at The Tarbes National School of Engineering (ENIT). With the help of Edunao, the university improved the look and feel of its site in 2015.
The Other Moodle
Moodle it is not alone. The University of Paris Dauphine chose Blackboard, "a turnkey tool that is used by over 400 of our professors," says Élisabeth Lacaze, co-director of Dauphine's learning engineering center. What's more, no dedicated staff are needed to manage Blackboard. Total cost? Roughly €10 per student per year.
Learning Through Analytics
Koscielniak believes that higher education is headed toward online learning platforms. "Thanks to learning analytics, we can improve our classes." Barkatz agrees, noting, "The statistics allow us to track students' progress better. This is the education of the future."
