Open source software is used by some of the world’s top organizations, like McDonalds, the US Department of Defense, and Google. You don’t have to look hard to find out why, as the benefits of open source software are endless. Open Source learning management systems cost less, they are highly flexible and they are more secure. Despite these positive features, there seems to be some common misconceptions surrounding open source technology. We would like to take this opportunity to debunk 3 common open source myths.

We announced last week that Moodle 2.9 is on its way. The enhancements made in 2.9 are in response to the pain-points expressed by the Moodle community. This new version is coming equipped with over 300 improvements, 9 of which we will go through with you. 

When the learning management system spread from the education market to the corporate sector in the mid-2000s, tech-savvy business professionals were quick to criticize LMS reporting functionalities. Fast forward a few years to 2009, wherein a survey from Bersin & Associates found that 45% of LMS owners described LMS reporting as their number one challenge. Unfortunately, this percentage has only increased in the last six years. Today, according to a research report from Expertus, this number has nearly doubled to 81% leaving many to wonder why organizations have not jumped in to fill the gap.

Reporting for open source learning is one of the top pain points among Moodle and Totara  users. Moodle reporting needs are often complex, and they only increase over time. Unfortunately, many of the reporting and analytics solutions that are available simply do not have the capacity to provide what users need. This can make shopping for a reporting solution a lengthy process, with limited success. We have compiled an easy checklist to help you select a robust LMS reporting solution, perfect for your reporting needs. 

Multitenancy is a topic that is popping up in discussions around learning management systems. Many people are unsure of whether or not they need it, whether the learning management system is a multitenant LMS, and some don’t even know what it is. Multitenancy is when one organization with different groups, each with their own courses, materials, and  needs, uses one central learning management system, but are separated within the system. As an example, if you are an organization with 5 divisions or operating entities (these are what we would refer to as tenants in the LMS), you and each of your customers would use the same LMS, but would remain divided. The alternative to multi-tenancy is to have a separate Moodle or Totara system or installation for each group. This requires a lot of management, and can sometimes be quite a hassle.

Moodle is the leading open source LMS, with a community that occupies regions across the globe. It is used by over 69 million people in 45 thousand organizations worldwide, with registered Moodle sites in 222 countries, including Spain, Germany, Colombia, Australia, Poland, Brazil, Greece, South Africa, and Thailand. Here at Lambda Solutions we are constantly hearing heart warming stories from organizations who have used Moodle to make a positive impact in the world and we want to hear from you!

We announced last month that Moodle 2.9 was released on May 18th. With this new version came the announcement that Moodle 2.6 and lower will still be able to operate, but will no longer be supported. As software experts with a long history of providing Moodle services, we understand how crucial it is to operate on a secure, bug free, and well functioning Moodle site. It is encouraged for Moodle users to upgrade to a safer, more secure version of Moodle. Here is why you should upgrade Moodle 2.6 (or lower) to Moodle 2.9.

When the learning management system spread from the education market to the corporate sector in the mid-2000s, tech-savvy business professionals were quick to criticize LMS reporting functionalities. Fast forward a few years to 2009, wherein a survey from Bersin & Associates found that 45% of LMS owners described LMS reporting as their number one challenge. Unfortunately, this percentage has only increased in the last six years. Today, according to a research report from Expertus, this number has nearly doubled to 81% leaving many to wonder why organizations have not jumped in to fill the gap.

How  Adoptive Families Association of BC Makes a Positive Impact with Moodle The use of Moodle learning management system revolutionized adoption education in British Columbia, particularly for the Adoptive Families Association of BC (AFABC).   Prior to creating online adoption education via Moodle, prospective adoptive parents outside of the main urban centers in BC received inconsistent training, that was often difficult to access. Considering the vast rural areas in BC, some prospective adoptive parents would have to travel up to eight hours to attend a weekend workshop; and in many cases, workshops were not even available.  

How Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Reduced Bullying in Schools by 49% with Moodle The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (CHW) provides eLearning programs focused in healthcare education to students across the state in grades K4-8. Educating over 95,000 students, teachers and parents on Moodle, CHW’s free, fun, and interactive eLearning programs exemplify proven success in decreasing bullying, injuries, obesity and drug use. CHW’s eLearning programs have experienced this success because they are trusted, easy to implement and research proven. One particular program that has gained commendable achievements, is their bullying prevention program, Act Now!

How Luke's Place Makes a Positive Impact with Moodle Luke’s Place is a centre devoted to improving the safety and experience of abused women and their children as they proceed through the family law process. To do this, they have developed the Family Court Support Worker, which is a province-wide initiative funded by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, the goal of which is to help reduce wait times in family courts and improve outcomes for families in which violence is occurring. Internally, their focus is on the development of a specialized response to support abused women in this difficult and challenging process, including providing individual service and group support. For this purpose, Moodle is used to deliver training and provide legal support to workers, as well as deliver a number of professional development services to community workers in Ontario.

How BC Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital Makes a Positive Impact with Moodle Training is essential for professionals working in the healthcare sector. This is something that the BC Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital knows firsthand. Moodle learning management system (LMS) has allowed them to reach an audience of over 10,000 health care providers, keeping them up-to-date with learning and development materials to help them continue to provide the best possible health care to women and children in BC.

What is Moodle LMS? Moodle LMS is the world’s most popular and most used learning management system. Why? Because the Moodle Learning Management System is a flexible, open source, and free to download learning management solution. With 68 million users and 55,000 Moodle sites deployed worldwide, Moodle is a user-friendly eLearning platform that serves the learning and training needs of people from all types of institutions.

We are pleased to now have the capability to integrate content from OpenSesame into Totara LMS.  In an industry where content development is a large pain point for organizations, OpenSesame opens the doors for Lambda Solutions to offer some amazing course content for customers. OpenSesame isn't a content provider, it is a content marketplace. What does that mean exactly? They are the largest library for eLearning with close to 25,000 courses from 400+ sellers. Similar to the model of companies like Uber and Airbnb, they provide a venue for buyers and sellers to exchange and sell eLearning courses. 

With 68 million users worldwide (larger than UK’s population!), Moodle is hands down the most-widely used learning management system (LMS) by organizations of all shapes and sizes. But Moodle is not the world’s best LMS just because it’s so widely used—Moodle is the world’s best LMS because it is user-friendly, highly-configurable (flexible), and feature-rich. Did we also mention that Moodle is free? Moodle's newest version, Moodle 3.0, is on its way! To see which new and improved features Moodle 3.0 will come equipped with, sign up for our next webinar. 

When Moodle learning management system launched in 2002 for K-12 and Higher Education institutions, many did not foresee the popularity it would gain in the corporate world. Designed to help people learn in private and collaborative environments online, organizations around the globe quickly came to realize the business applications of this open source learning management system.

Just as Moodle has seen adoption in the corporate world (from education), the open source learning management system has quickly gained popularity in the Healthcare sector.Used by hospitals such as the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Clinical Difference; Moodle has helped many in this industry increase the standard of care by providing healthcare professionals with consistent training.

Research from the Brandon Hall Group highlights the fact that LMS Reporting is the number one reason why organizations replace their LMS. We are in the era of data and analytics so it is increasingly the case that eLearning Managers need to report on the value of their online learning and training programs. Specifically, Training and Development Managers need to show how their efforts impact business outcomes. In addition to this, the top three reasons why people are dissatisfied with LMS reporting capabilities are:

Moodle was originally designed with higher education environments in mind, but it has quickly expanded to encompass the entire range of educational institutes. Moodle has become an intuitive, and supportive environment for every level of the education system. How is Moodle used in education? We are going to demonstrate how it can be used by Moodle administrators working in both K-12, and higher education - but keep in mind that each of these components can be used in any level of the education system.  

We all know that Moodle is a compatible LMS for education, healthcare, government, and corporate sectors, but not everyone is aware that Moodle is a great tool for nonprofit organizations as well. Here are 4 ways to use Moodle for nonprofit organizations.

How Saylor Academy Makes a Positive Impact with Moodle A strong, and well-informed community is the core foundation of any non-profit organization. Thanks to Moodle’s open source model, Saylor Academy has been able to open up their services to an unlimited number of learners, allowing their community to grow, and strengthen. As a non-profit organization, it was important to them to be inclusive of anyone who wished to learn, participate, and help their cause.

If you find that your business needs extend beyond what Moodle offers, Totara LMS is the LMS for you. Totara is an open source distribution of Moodle built specifically for the modern needs of businesses today. While Moodle suits the needs of the education sector, Totara was designed with the corporate world in mind; hence why it is sometimes referred to as the corporate version of Moodle. With Totara LMS, you receive all the same benefits from Moodle, with talent and performance management feautures built on top. Here are just 7 of the many extended features Totara provides.

A manual Moodle LMS installation is the recommended method for small to medium Moodle implementations; or in other words, those organizations who plan to use Moodle for small projects. It should be noted that Windows is not the recommended platform for large Moodle LMS installations, as it does not have the storage capacity to hold the data from your Moodle site. If you plan to hold more than 2 billion records in your Moodle databases, we recommend considering an operating system with 64-bit support. The following steps for installing Moodle are intended for skilled IT professionals. If you do not have technical skills or Moodle experience in-house, we recommend reaching out to a Moodle Partner to have your Moodle site implemented for you.

Before getting started with your Moodle learning management system installation for Mac ensure that your computer meets the following system requirements: