Moodle, the current Learning Management Solution (LMS) for Southeast Missouri State University, is an open-source, powerful, and free learning platform that should be kept at the benefit of students here and elsewhere.

"In March 2019, a Task Force was created to review the capabilities of the Moodle LMS in comparison to other leading LMS solutions in higher education. The campus LMS is a primary component of the student experience and facilitates teaching and learning at Southeast. "

Yet the LMS Evaluation Report does not even include Moodle in its comparison of other Learning Management Solutions. The report also highlights pros of Canvas and no other LMS. It also fails to highlight a very important note: "There was also some discussion regarding the cost of a commercial LMS when budgets are so constrained." We don't need ANOTHER reason to raise tuition do we?

 

Open Source: The real reason Moodle should be kept.

Open Source software exists not for the benefit of a corporation or stockholder- but for the benefit of the people who use it. Open Source means that the code that powers Moodle is available for anyone to browse, study, and most importantly edit.

Don't like how Moodle works? You can help change it- whether that means writing a plugin or working with the current development team to create patches. Have no idea about how to code but you still want to make a difference? Checkout the Moodle forums.

Since Moodle is Open Source, a change you make to Moodle doesn't just benefit us here at SEMO, it benefits students worldwide. Open Source software goes beyond LMS, and has a massive potential for change. Browsers like Firefox and Chromium (the basis of Chrome) are pieces of Open Source software that you might be familiar with.

 

Powerful:

Don't you hate it when Moodle is slow, or even worse, down? Did you know that since Moodle is Open Source, it's hosted here. That's right, when Moodle is down "Moodle" isn't at fault. SEMO's Department of Information Technology is. This also means they have the power to fix it when it goes down- which is a plus and a minus.

Moodle is as powerful as you want it to be. If Canvas or Blackboard was adopted, when the server's down, we can't do ANYTHING. The server is far away from campus. When Moodle goes down, we have control.

 

FREE:

Oh, sorry, did I mention that Moodle is free! You just have to pay for the server to host in on and the people to run it. Not only are you training locals to learn new skills, you're keeping your money in Southeast Missouri. Not sending it far away to stuff the pockets of stakeholders in a city far from here. Doesn't get more "small business" than that.

Also, I like my tuition low.

 

In conclusion, why would anyone want to get rid of a Learning Management Solution that's Open Source, powerful, and FREE.