moodle- An Open Source LMS

Is Open Source LMS Like Moodle the Right Choice for You

Open source LMS platforms are trending and they have in fact become essential tools for creating successful online training applications for elearning professionals and business organizations. While choosing the best LMS for your organization, there are multitudes of questions that comes to the mind. However, one main consideration that people often think about is whether to choose an open source or proprietary LMS?

The open source LMS trend has dominated the e-learning market for the past few years and Moodle has led the industry pioneers by its advantage of being an open source. It is with an LMS that you can create a robust and versatile program that can accommodate your learning development needs. So before you proceed, it is important to have a clear understanding of the opportunities that an open source model offers and what your organization needs.

The Difference between Open Source LMS and Proprietary LMS:

An open source LMS like Moodle is a software that is freely distributed without any licensing fees and can be run and maintained in house by the users themselves. It has numerous advantages that include the ability to create customized and highly optimized learning programs. In addition to this, the new functionalities can be easily implemented which is for free and this is something that is not covered by proprietary subscription. However, organizations must have their own infrastructure essential to support a fully operational LMS system like Moodle development.

On the other hand, the defining feature of all proprietary LMS platforms is their licensing fees and the closed codes. It is with subscriptions and appropriate license fees that you can gain access to the features and these platforms also have fees related to their maintenance. So, in case you are considering a proprietary platform, then try to find out the subscription and overall fee costs.  The platform itself is maintained by the provider and a technical team is always there to offer support in case of any issues.

 

Also Read: Integration of H5P with Moodle LMS: A Great Match

 

The Landscape of Open Source LMS

While choosing an open source among many, you should understand what makes the solution a sound choice and what are the difficulties that your company might have to face.

An open source LMS like Moodle offers the users immense flexibility to use the best of breed content strategy and incorporate it in your elearning platform. closed source options are often limiting. Open source when used at its best abilities offers advantages like:

High Security:

One most common question that often comes into mind while using an open source is about security. It is a misconception that open source products are not secure. Moodle LMS consistently releases updates around every 6 months and these updates not only incorporate the new user requested features, but also offers the security patches to prevent any potential issue that crops up. And the open code nature helps the Moodle community to find and take care of any security issues also. This means that if there are any security glitches, then they are always recognized faster and the patches are implemented quickly.

Ownership of Data:

Another most important advantage of Moodle LMS development is the ownership of one’s own data. With a closed source solution, you only get the support for your LMS, but with an open source your Moodle developers can do anything with the codes, add to it to enhance the features and in case you are not satisfied with the hosting partner, you can easily move to another. Thus, open source leaves you in charge of how you use your data.

Updated Platform:

With an open source LMS product like Moodle, you can always expect to stay up to date. The users constantly work on it and improve it while ensuring the integrity of the codes which ultimately results in a higher quality solution. Moodle HQ developers are constantly working on the codes to ensure that the product includes the latest technology and features and helps the users to attain their business goals.

 

Also Read:  Tips to Update Moodle LMS On The AWS

 

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