Moodle is the most popular and most used learning management system (LMS) in the world with 300 million users worldwide. Moodle is a user-friendly e-learning platform that serves the learning and training needs of people from all types of organisations. Moodle is configurable, highly flexible, and feature rich. It’s also open source and completely free.
And it’s received a massive upgrade and all-new user experience with Moodle 4.0.
Moodle 4.0 introduces a new design language, visual styling and is responsive and consistent across devices.
Moodle’s CEO and founder Martin Dougiamas said: “Our job as makers of Moodle is to ensure the platform is as easy and simple to use as possible while maintaining our commitment to open-source technology and best practices in online learning. There is no platform that compares to Moodle’s deep features, but we know that the way in which people engage with technology has radically changed with the software that now pervades our experience. This release addresses these changes and tackles our community’s most desired enhancements so that we can empower them to do amazing things more intuitively.”
Head of Moodle LMS Sander Bangma said: “Moodle 4.0 is dedicated to Moodle’s global community of educators, trainers, developers, administrators, partners and learners who have contributed to the evolution of Moodle and our mission to empower educators to improve the world. As an open source platform, our community is one of our greatest strengths and we thank them for their contributions over the last 20 years. Over that time we have seen more than 130,000 contributions to the Moodle code base, from 897 developers across 58 countries. Thank you all!”
The new navigation hierarchy is simplified to show what is contextually relevant. Tabbed navigation enables access to the most used items. These improvements are designed to reduce cognitive load and allow educators and learners to easily find what they need when they need it.
The course page and dashboard have been overhauled, with usability taking centre stage. The course page now displays the relevant information and actions required for each activity – these include the description, completion conditions and completion status, and relevant activity dates such as when submissions open and close. An all-new dashboard welcomes the learner and summarises important tasks within a timeline. These enhancements allow learners to anticipate deadlines and manage their time more efficiently.
A key improvement in Moodle 4.0 is the addition of a new collapsible and expandable Course Index on the course page, making it easier and quicker for students and educators to find activities and resources. This new look and feel means less time is spent organising courses and more time is spent teaching as educators are able to use it to drag and reposition activities and even whole sections within a course. Better navigation and new iconography make for easier interaction.
A new “My Courses” area introduces a central point where learners can access all their available courses. This addition signals an improved user experience and gives users greater visibility of user courses.
BigBlueButton has been incorporated into Moodle 4.0 as a standard feature. BigBlueButton is an open-source web conferencing and virtual classroom that delivers the real-time sharing of audio, video, chat slides, screen sharing, a multi-user whiteboard, breakout rooms, polling, and emojis. Having previously relied on third party integrations, BigBlueButton as a standard feature means Moodle users will be able to host online classes without having to configure their platform. This feature offers analytics on user participation, and 25 users per session that last up to 60 minutes at a time, moderator webcam and seven-day non-downloadable recordings.
Accessibility is central to the Moodle 4.0 philosophy. Development practices are aligned with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Moodle 4.0 is therefore accessible to users who may typically have trouble navigating the internet and LMS platforms.
Moodle 4.0 makes communication easier than ever as content creators now have the option of sending alerts to learners via the Moodle app as well as email. This means learners will stay up to date with new or updated content and course requirements.
Report Builder has been incorporated in Moodle 4.0, enabling instructors to generate customised reports to analyse learner performance and progress as well as determine the impact of various courses and learning programmes. Educators can make data-driven decisions when it comes to managing learners and improving engagement.
Moodle 4.0 comes with improved security, and account linking, making it easier and more intuitive for users. It comes with improved in LTI capabilities. Learners can access external content from within a Moodle site. Moodle 4.0 can act as an LTI 1.3 Advantage host, allowing content to be provided to other sites that consume it.
Administrators can save the configuration of their Moodle site, so that they can share it with other Moodle sites or other Moodle users.
Moodle 4.0 helps users quickly acquaint themselves with the platform’s functionality with updated user tours. These will orient newcomers and provide hints on key features.
Overall, the rejuvenation of the Moodle platform is a game changer for educators and learners alike. With a big emphasis on ease of use, Moodle 4.0 offers unrivalled functionality for your e-learning needs.
TTRO is a certified Moodle partner so please reach out to us for all your custom Moodle requirements!
References:
https://edwiser.org/blog/reasons-moodle-is-best-corporate-training-lms/
https://moodle.com/news/moodle-4-is-here/
https://taketwotechnologies.com/moodle4-0-released/
https://www.tituslearning.com/moodle-4-0-is-here-what-to-expect-from-the-new-version-of-moodle/
https://elearning.folio3.com/blog/why-you-need-the-new-moodle-4-immediately/