Moodle vs. Blackboard
What is Moodle? What is Blackboard? Coming to
college I had heard of neither, but had both at my disposal. Moodle is a
software package for producing Internet-based
courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a
social constructionist
framework of education (Moodle). Blackboard is also a software package in
particular a learning management system founded in 1997 (Wikipedia). Blackboard
may be older than Moodle, but that does not mean it has fell asleep at the
wheel. Blackboard has made many strides to stay up to date with modern
technology and made it easier for students to get access to schoolwork, grades
and collaborative assignments.
Educational IT at the college level has been
growing and improving on a yearly basis.
Some colleges use Blackboard and other universities
such as the one I attend, University of North Carolina at Charlotte are moving towards
a more functional and student friendly programs like Moodle. My freshman year
at UNCC we were in the transition from Blackboard to Moodle and have been using
it since.
Moodle offers an easy an ideal way to post grades,
forums, notes etc. Teachers are more in touch with students needs and students
are more connected to their professors. Moodle was recently voted best Course
Management System in Top 100 Tools for Learning in 2012 according to Centre for
Learning and Performance Technologies (C4LPT). There are nearly 12 thousand
registered sites in the United States alone, with over 62 million users
worldwide (Moodle.Stats).
Moodle offers a secure login
(https) which enables the software to be able to present grades from teachers
to students without having to worry about other students seeing the grades of
others and compromising privacy laws. Many students are very familiar with the
benefits and working operation of Moodle, because we have been using the
software for years, but if we were incoming freshman and we had to choose which
software we would prefer to use it would be best to know what all Blackboard
had to offer as well.
Blackboard offers many platforms for multiple
Markets such as:
- · K-12, Higher Education
- · Career Colleges
- · Corporations
- · Associations
- · Government, Military
Blackboard Learn for Career Colleges creates a rich, active
learning environment, which increases student engagement and content retention
for better learning. Learn program offers access from virtually anywhere at
anytime. The accessibility of discussion boards, wikis, blogs, journals, and
group workspaces enables social learning and interaction with peers and
professors (Blackboard Learn).
For
professors Blackboard Learn 9.1 offers a new way to stay in touch with students
and keep up with their rising needs of posting grades, online assessments,
interactive rubrics, active collaboration, and student activity reporting to
see which students could use a helping hand in some topics. The platform also
lets the professor see where they can put more time and energy in class information.
The semester is only so long and Blackboard helps keep everyone on track and up
to date on assignments due and topics to be covered (Blackboard).
In
the end both programs are great and contribute a lot to the universities that
use them.
To me choosing between them comes down to preference, Moodle is ideal for me and most seniors at UNCC because we have used it for years now, but that does not mean Blackboard could not take its place in years to come. The university will choose the software which best fits the needs of students and staff.
To me choosing between them comes down to preference, Moodle is ideal for me and most seniors at UNCC because we have used it for years now, but that does not mean Blackboard could not take its place in years to come. The university will choose the software which best fits the needs of students and staff.
References:
https://moodle.org/stats/ (Moodle.Stats)
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