Moodle at North Carolina State University: Report of Two Instructors’ Experiences
WARNING: This report is (NSFMD), Not Safe for Moodle Disciples. Read at your own risk! 
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~n51ls801/MoodleTwoNCSUCoursesFall2010Web.pdf
This is a “must read” report for anyone in a decision making position considering adopting Moodle as an institutional Learning Management System (LMS).
The very first line in the Introduction section of the 61 page report should serve to alert any reader that this is not your typical “I’m a blind Moodle lover and can’t see the flaws” type report that is prevalent on moodle.org.
Our experience with using Moodle as a Learning Management System contrasts sharply with the faculty experiences described in Vista to Moodle: Everybody’s Doing It2
I don’t think you will see this report showing up in the moodle news section over in moodle-land anytime soon…all the more reason you should read it! I’m highlighting some of what I think are the more interesting points in the report, but to get the full impact, you really must read the report for yourself. It chronicles months of first hand experience with using moodle.
Moodle suffers from flaws (bugs and deficiencies in design) that directly affected our and our students’ ability to use the system efficiently and effectively. Some of the bugs affect Moodle modules used in grade determinations, and this raises concerns about the university’s legal liability.
This is not the first time flaws in Moodle have raised concerns about an institutions legal liability…remember the porn issues and multiple security vulnerabilities that still plague an untold number of moodle sites throughout the world today.
There is good reason to doubt that it is feasible to repair Moodle’s flaws.
There is such a thing as something being “broken beyond repair”. I’m not sure I agree this “technically” applies to Moodle, but given the track record of Moodle developers under current leadership, and the complete disaster Moodle 2.0 has turned out to be, I can certainly see how a lack of confidence in the vision and competence of moodle development could lead many to draw that conclusion.
Some (not all) Moodle developers exhibit an almost evangelical attitude toward this open-source product, and thus tend to take a dismissive or hostile attitude towards some of the concerns noted herein – “kill the messenger” as some moodle.org fora participants have characterized responses to questions about some flaws and design decisions – but that of course does not invalidate the concerns.
I think they are being nice by using the qualifier “almost” when describing the evangelical attitude…there are some in the moodle “community” whom, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if they have things like “Here lies the Moodleman” carved on their tombstones one day
If Moodle is flawed, why is it so well regarded and widely used?
While this question is strictly speaking outside of this report’s scope, it is so likely to be asked that a preliminary answer sketch might be of some interest. So here are four conjectures: (i) Moodle may be the least bad open-source alternative without being a good one. It might even be the least bad LMS. [It’s not for example unusual for technically sophisticated Windows users to express serious reservations about Windows, a product that has enjoyed considerably greater support and popularity than Moodle.] (ii) The vast majority of users rarely if ever avail themselves of the capabilities proffered by LMS’s, and individual sections are typically under the 60 or so beyond which the worst problems become more obvious. (iii) Antipathy towards commercial products and open source over-enthusiasm can foster the evangelical attitude mentioned above. (iv) Once on a large, heavy bandwagon, it can be difficult to jump off.
Very good points about Moodle being the least bad open-source product. While compared to open source PHP/MySQL software like WordPress, Moodle does look like something from the 1990′s that’s about one step ahead of pong in development and sophistication. However, when compared to other open source LMS’s like ATutor or even SAKAI, it does hold it’s own. However, that landscape is starting to change. I believe the recent announcement of Instructure’s Canvas LMS being released as open source is just the first in a new wave of real web 2.0 competitors we will see enter the LMS market in the next few years. Once thing is for sure…Moodle will not enjoy the empty playing field in the open source LMS game much longer–the field is going to get a bit more crowded, so Moodle had better get it’s game face on…and if Moodle 2.0 is it’s game face, it’s in for a very rough future
Finally: If you have made it this far and found the journey disheartening and numbing, imagine the effect on those who have been through the process described. Now, when I hear the term “workaround,” I naturally think of “death of a thousand cuts.” What all of us need is a system “around” which we don’t have to work, and that is designed for its users (not its developers), one that works reliably for students, faculty and staff.
Now, if that’s not an indictment of the pure mess that is dressed in orange and called Moodle, I don’t know what is.
I could write pages just commenting on the communications cited in the report, but I’ll leave that for some later blog postings…
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I have no relationship with the authors of this report. To my knowledge we have never met or spoken with each other. I became aware of this report only a few days ago when it was sent to me via email. I contacted one of the authors for permission to post here and received that permission.
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Figaro,
As a long-time Moodle user, I was thrilled to run across your site. Between Moodle’s “trademark” scheme (unethical, if not in violation of GPLv3) and their pompous developer community who can never admit that anything isn’t implemented to perfection, they annoy me to no end.
Simplicity is not in Moodle’s toolbox. Groups, groupings, and now cohorts? WTF? And I was so hoping that the standard 2.0 user UI would apply even a single usability principle. Nope. I am still going to have to record screen movies teaching new users how to unhide sections and find the simplest things. Oh, that’s right – I should just call one of the annointed Moodle Partners.
I am thrilled to see Instructure and Canvas – they look like they are on the right track.
Sorry, BFree, but your comment regarding the Moodle trademark is simply way off base and uninformed though your points on Moodle Devs and usability are accurate enough. Instructure and Canvas are no more LMS than a tricked out classroom. Love or hate Moodle, it is one of the few LMS that actually offer tools for direct instruction.
But to return to the paper, I have to note that a good deal of the grief suffered by the authors can be laid at the feet of the NCSU tech support crew, and therein lies the real tale from my perspective. Moodle’s faults are widely documented (whether or not moodelvangelistas want to cop to them.) But there was arguably no reason for torture those two guys suffered. Nor would I want to deal with passive aggressive users looking to beat a dead horse…. Even Figaro has to pause before climbing on that bus…
What IS remarkable is a recent discussion at Moodle.org in which it was suggested that WordPress is not an appropriate model because of security issues. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Moodle 2′s release was a huge mistake on so many fronts that any real improvements will be lost on most users for years to come. But for those who have successfully been using Moodle, well, sensibly, it is in my opinion still quite a viable LMS.
And while that may be damning with faint praise, I think it a bit more honest that the first impressions that may result from the report….
net-buoy – What should the NCSU tech support crew (which is not the same as the NCSU user support crew) have done that they did not do? How have the practices of “those who have successfully been using Moodle, well, sensibly” for whom Moodle is “still quite a viable LMS” differ from those of the NCSU tech support crew? Thank you.
David Austin as in Dr. Austin, author of the paper in question? ;=}
My note about using Moodle sensibly refers to my position that if one has a comprehensive understanding of what Moodle will and won’t do, what it can and can’t do, etc. then Moodle can be a valuable tool in an educator’s toolbelt. On the other hand, like any dangerous instrumentality, it presents a wide variety of danger to the unwary and uneducated.
As I suggested in the Moodle thread,http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=169706, it appeared to a number of old Moodler hands that the response to the instructors was often circuitous, not to mention erroneous, inaccurate or circuitous. I have to fault the personnel managing the implementation/deployment in that I think they really did not understand the demand that would be placed on staff (Learntech?) on rolling Moodle out. But the staff responding to the instructors had no business offering solutions that were not vetted and fully researched. Staff should not be offering solutions that they have not implemented themselves.
Though I may disagree with all of Austin and Merrill’s conclusions (I think LearnTech is more culpable an that used within its limitations Moodle can offer some value), the following quote echos sentiments that I, Figaro and others have repeatedly expressed, and warrant quoting here.
“‘That is all I ask, to contribute something, anything, not complain and
disappear.’”
“I’m afraid that I’m quite weary of the attitude that a critical evaluation
of something is either unfair or without value unless the critic is
prepared to contribute to the improvement of what is being evaluated.
Certainly in the past I have made such contributions to open source systems
and products, having used them to develop some significant projects and
applications. In this case I am not remotely inclined to do so — because
in this case my experience indicates that the system in question has been
poorly designed, implemented, tested, and modified from the start. There
is an old engineering saying about “brown hands”. If you’re unfamiliar
with it, then you lack a certain degree of experience. If you are
familiar with it, then you know exactly what the situation is. But in any
event, I am not inclined to devote time to attempts at fixing someone
else’s poor fundamental design and implementation that has resulted in what
is demonstrably a house of cards. ”
“It is not my goal — which would be follly in this venue — to convince you
of anything regarding Moodle. In point of fact, I simply don’t care who
uses Moodle and who does not. Those who are happy with it should continue
to use it. Those who want to improve it should continue in their attempts
to do so. If I were faced with needing a good LMS on a continuing basis,
I would very likely sit down and write one — using contemporary design
principles and implementation technology. But I do not face that need,
and life is too short. None of that, however, is relevant to the
observation of facts and the objective reporting of experience — neither
of which induce an obligation to repair or replace someone else’s mistakes.”
Gary Merrill http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=169706&parent=746049
@net-buoy
Yes, but you have to consider that over in moodle-land and in the mind of a moodle disciple, the only thing that exists is “Moodle”. They live in the forums, feeding off the each other’s praise and can’t comprehend the fact that most people (even those who use moodle) don’t even know that little religious sect (community) exists. Disciples like Colin can’t comprehend the fact that in a real work environment, people deal with dozens of technology applications everyday. So, following the narrow minded view of the disciples, I guess a person would need to be involved in fixing every piece of broken , malfunctioning, or just plain bad, technology they may be forced to use on a daily basis or they have no right to point out how hard it makes their job. Of course, disciples over in moodle-land are the first to bash things like Blackboard, IE, or any product from the evil Microsoft empire–doubt you will see many moodle disciples in the BB or MS help forums
Any true businessman (business person) would tell you they would rather hear one person who is critical of their product/service than 10 who praise it…the critic tells you where your flaws are and what you need to address–if, you’re smart enough to listen. Moodle leaders have proven time and time again that they’re not that smart…and it has cost them and will continue to do so.
@figaro
[quote] Any true businessman (business person) would tell you they would rather hear one person who is critical of their product/service than 10 who praise it…the critic tells you where your flaws are and what you need to address–if, you’re smart enough to listen. Moodle leaders have proven time and time again that they’re not that smart…and it has cost them and will continue to do so.[/quote]
That is because we only learn from our failures (serendipitous successes only lead us astray.) However, I don’t know that Colin is a “disciple” in the sense you typically use it (i.e. those unwilling to acknowledge Moodle’s flaws.) I don;t know if developing the religious analog is worth the bandwidth – lol, but there are quite a few folk over in Moodledum who are very familiar with Moodle’s issues, but are still committed to using and improving it (sensible usage, as I suggested previously, by sensible people.) Of course the history of religious “reform” is all too often the history of religious violence as we see in the story of yet another Martin, Martin Luther – though I don’t think Colin is going to be involved in genocide any time soon ;=} I do believe that Moodle is more than just a “house of cards”, though how much more is I suppose subject to debate and Moodle 2 complicates the subject incalculably.
Once upon a time I thought that wisdom comes invariably with age. Unfortunately it seems that the callowness of youth is often followed by the callousness of experience. Youthful self-assurance becomes brittleness and blindness. Hubris is a contagion that cold well end our race.
is Moodle really free?
@tauranga
Sure…go to moodle.org and grab yourself a copy. But remember…most places you can get puppies for free as well…but if you decide to take care of it properly, just wait until you get that first vet bill
While I’m not an extensive Moodle Fanboy, currently we’re using Buddypress mostly, but most of the criticisms seem to be:
a). Improperly setup Moodle installation (training of tech personnel or incompetence).
b). Gradebook – It does work well, actually, but it’s hard to setup and configure. However that’s true of many online gradebooks.
c). Mass changes to Moodle – There is a lack of support for this in Moodle, but it’s relatively easy to write your own apps to handle this. I for example have written an app which synchonizes Powerschool & Moodle and now with groups/courses/enrollments/users it’s an autopilot system.
d). Lack of support – This is more of a responsibility of their tech dept
With open source projects you trade cost of application for ease of use. You end up paying more for local technical skills/team members and less for the application. The advantage is that it’s more customizable and often, even with the need to hire more local tech people, it’s cheaper.
Moodle 2 does have a lot of flaws, it wasn’t rushed out the door, but the Moodle developers are not particularly talented web programmers. The system is cludgy and complicated, but so is Black Board, and StudyWiz is so crippled it only has basic functionality. We will see how much Moodle changes in the next year to meet it’s flaws.
Have to agree that with open source projects on the end you are paying more for local programmers.
Thanks for the information!