Moodle
"Welcome to the Moodle community and discover the value of an open, collaborative effort by one of the largest open-source teams in the world." (Moodle, 2016).
Moodle, unlike GAFE, Edmodo and Schoology, is an open-source LMS. This confers both advantages and disadvantages as discussed by Wright, Lopes, Montgomerie, Reju and Schmoller (2014).
Advantages include the fact that it can be changed and enhanced to suit to needs of the user (unlike Proprietary based LMSs, discussed on the upcoming Blackboard page). Updates are constantly available due to the fact that they are being worked on by a team of individuals who are passionate about their open-source project. It is easy to use at the teacher level and does not require technical administration support, which also means that it does not suffer from the same amount of administration control as proprietary LMSs.
There are disadvantages to consider, however. For example, because the same level of technical administration is not required, technological support may not be as good as with proprietary LMSs. Further, resources are required if the LMS is to be integrated with existing admin systems (this feature is often build into proprietary systems). It is also possible that when the team of open-source developers feels they have done all they can on their current project it is possible for them to simply move on to something else, resulting in the LMS becoming stagnant.
If you have not used Moodle previously and would like to check it out follow this link to the Teacher's Quick Guide or to Moodle's Demo page. Further, a list of available plugins for Moodle can be found in their plugins directory (including any compatible Google tools).
Moodle, unlike GAFE, Edmodo and Schoology, is an open-source LMS. This confers both advantages and disadvantages as discussed by Wright, Lopes, Montgomerie, Reju and Schmoller (2014).
Advantages include the fact that it can be changed and enhanced to suit to needs of the user (unlike Proprietary based LMSs, discussed on the upcoming Blackboard page). Updates are constantly available due to the fact that they are being worked on by a team of individuals who are passionate about their open-source project. It is easy to use at the teacher level and does not require technical administration support, which also means that it does not suffer from the same amount of administration control as proprietary LMSs.
There are disadvantages to consider, however. For example, because the same level of technical administration is not required, technological support may not be as good as with proprietary LMSs. Further, resources are required if the LMS is to be integrated with existing admin systems (this feature is often build into proprietary systems). It is also possible that when the team of open-source developers feels they have done all they can on their current project it is possible for them to simply move on to something else, resulting in the LMS becoming stagnant.
If you have not used Moodle previously and would like to check it out follow this link to the Teacher's Quick Guide or to Moodle's Demo page. Further, a list of available plugins for Moodle can be found in their plugins directory (including any compatible Google tools).
Why choose GAFE?
While many of the open source software programs available are free, Moodle does require financial investment for full access. GAFE, however, is entirely free. Further it provides 24/7 support and while Moodle has been described as "clunky" by teachers who use it due to the amount of button pushing and navigating required to complete a task, GAFE is streamlined. It allows for anywhere, anytime learning and is an example of what Doherty (2016) refers to as a Personal Learning System rather than a Learning Management System in that it puts the student and their learning experience front and centre. It is designed to allow students to create ePortfolios (difficult to do with Moodle) and as such is focused on developing the 21st century skills our students will require.