Delivering the benefits All resources About this toolkit
About Implementing Hosting models Migrating or Implementing
[Hosting Models] | [Customisation versus configuration] | [Is open source right for you?]
[Adapting to a new model] | [Experiences of technology change] | [Resources]
Is open source right for you?
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If you do want the ability to tailor your VLE to your particular needs then an open source product can offer considerable flexibility. Unlike an in-house development, you will be part of a community sharing expertise but you should not underestimate the amount of resource required to maintain and host an open source VLE. Many institutions choose open source because they feel that it fits with their academic ethos. Increasingly however people are turning to partners to help both with their implementation and for external hosting.
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"We had an open source ethos that I celebrate but a culture had developed that if we could - we did, and this challenged long-term sustainability and planning." David Walker, Head of Technology Enhanced Learning, University of Sussex |
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"We had an open source ethos that I celebrate but a culture had developed that if we could - we did, and this challenged long-term sustainability and planning." Mark Pountney, Head of Business Technology and Innovation, London Business School |
Some universities do however feel that the VLE customisation they have undertaken is essential to the kind of learning and teaching they want to deliver and helps give them competitive advantage. The University of Sussex and the University of York, in particular, have in the past invested heavily in customised assessment workflows.
Working with a Moodle partner
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If you do want the ability to tailor your VLE to your particular needs then an open source product can offer considerable flexibility. Unlike an in-house development, you will be part of a community sharing expertise but you should not underestimate the amount of resource required to maintain and host an open source VLE. Many institutions choose open source because they feel that it fits with their academic ethos. Increasingly however people are turning to partners to help both with their implementation and for external hosting. |
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Understanding and keeping track of the available plug-ins is a major task requiring an extensive and well maintained knowledge base. Moodle partners have told us that even large and prestigious institutions sometimes work on old and poorly documented installations.
Historically Moodle partners have undertaken one-off developments for institutions that may themselves have contributed to the sustainability issues. Increasingly they are offering ongoing support and hosting options that take pressure off in-house teams and reduce the risk associated with this type of VLE.
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"Most of our work is to take legacy installations and version them to something more recent and sustainable with a desirable user experience.." Cyril Bedel, President, EDUNAO |
