Moodle is the most popular learning management system (LMS) in the world. It has more than 443 million users, 51 million courses, 10 billion quiz questions, and is used in over 230 countries at the time of writing. It is loved and used by many people. But what makes it so popular, and what do real users say about the LMS? Let us find out.
A quick overview: what is Moodle and why is it so popular?
Let us start with a quick recap about Moodle. Moodle began with the vision of Martin Dougiamas, who had a unique experience with distance learning as a child in the 1970s.
“As a young boy, Moodle’s Founder and CEO, Martin Dougiamas, lived nearly 1000 kilometres from the nearest school in a remote area of the Western Australian desert. (…) To pursue his education, Martin’s family registered him into the School of Air – learning delivered through shortwave radio, the best available technology at the time.” Source
Martin realized that distance learning had remained largely the same since the 1970s and that it caused many problems for people without direct access to schools. So, he began working on a project that eventually became Moodle 1.0 in 2002 – and the rest is history. Moodle has since become the most popular LMS and continues to empower millions of students.
If you want to learn more about Moodle, check out these articles:
- Moodle Pricing: Costs to Run Your Free LMS
- Moodle Features For Better E-Learning
- Moodle Implementation: Unlocking Learning
- Moodle Customization Essentials: Tailored Learning
Moodle LMS reviews from real users and educators
It is fair to say that Moodle is not only widely used but also deeply appreciated by millions of educators and students around the world. On Capterra, one of the most trusted websites for software reviews, Moodle holds an impressive rating of 4.3 out of 5, based on 3370 verified reviews at the time of writing. This is considered exceptionally high for an LMS.
To give you a better idea of what users typically think about Moodle, here are a few examples highlighting both the pros and cons of the platform.
“Easy to use and organize. It is great for managing lessons and student progress with good automations.” – Marco, marketing manager at a restaurant Source
“Moodle’s feature-rich platform, exceptional user experience, and commitment to empowering educators and learners make it an outstanding choice for educational institutions and organizations worldwide.“ – Gauravi, learning designer. Source
“Back then we were looking for a budget solution for implementing e-learning in the company I was working for. It was a fun experience and community support was great.“ – Alex, HR consultant. Source
“Overall, I love using moodle and require all employees to take training courses on this platform. Moodle has been the most successful platform for Early Childhood Educators to take trainings on. It is extremely easy to navigate, even for our elderly workers. Moodle is self-paced, meaning if there are four modules and a staff member only has time to complete 2/4, they can stop and then pick up where they left off as time allows. You are also able to go back and print certificates at a later time, if needed. The only con we have experienced is that although the work is self paced, if you are in the middle of a module and loose connection to the internet, it does not save where you were within that module and you have to start from the beginning.” – Carli, director at child day care service. Source
“I had an overall positive experience. Moodle was not hard to learn, it’s easy to navigate and allows for a positive user experience. (…) I wouldn’t say I like orange colours. I feel like orange is too much” – Anne, research assistant. Source
If you would like to see even more Moodle LMS reviews, you can find them on Capterra. Source
Moodle reviews from experts
While feedback from real users is arguably the most important aspect, we should not overlook expert opinions either. William Fenton, a Teaching Fellow and Director of the Writing Center at Fordham University Lincoln Center, and a journalist at PCMag.com, gave Moodle an impressive rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
In his Moodle review, he highlighted the following strengths:
“Free.
Open source.
Modular, plugin-based design enables administrators to add or create features as needed.
Supports myriad activities, including peer assessment workshops, real-time messaging, and wiki forums.
Generous progress tracking and reporting options.
Unparalleled language support.”
Source
However, he also noted that the setup process can be technically challenging and that the user interface could be improved in some areas.
The bottom line: is Moodle good?
After going through all the Moodle LMS reviews, here comes the million-dollar question: Is Moodle good? Based on our experience of over a decade, the answer is an absolute yes. Our clients consistently praise Moodle for its ease of use, customizability, user interface, and robust set of features – and they are highly satisfied with the platform.
Ready to get started with Moodle? Get in touch with us today!
