PHP Programming Language - Cultural View

Moodle 137
show, it has been cited as an important factor by Moodle adopters [9] [10] . Other Moodle adopters, such as the Open
University in the UK, have pointed out that Learning Management Systems can equally be seen as "relatively
pedagogy-neutral" [11] .
The wiki part of the software was forked from ErfurtWiki. [12]
Pedagogical approach
The stated philosophy of Moodle [13] includes a constructivist and social constructionist approach to education,
emphasizing that learners (and not just teachers) can contribute to the educational experience. However, there are no
peer-reviewed studies comparing Moodle to other learning management systems, such as Sakai or Blackboard, that
find that Moodle provides a more constructivist environment than any other system. Moreover, a comparison of
features between Moodle and other comparable systems shows that Moodle does not provide substantially different
tools or functions from other open-source or commercial learning management systems.
Moodle does not necessitate a constructivist teaching approach. Constructivism is sometimes seen as at odds with
accountability-focused ideas about education, such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in the United States .
Accountability stresses tested outcomes, not teaching techniques, educational value, or pedagogy. Moodle supports
an outcomes-oriented learning environment.
Origin of the name
The acronym Moodle stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, although originally the
"M" stood for "Martin's", named after Martin Dougiamas, the original developer. [14]
The word "Moodle" can also function as a verb which describes the improvisational process of doing things as it
occurs to you to do them, an enjoyable tinkering that often leads to insight and creativity. As such it applies both to
the way Moodle was developed, and to the way a student or teacher might approach studying or teaching an online
course.
"Moodle" is a protected trademark. Only Moodle partners get the right to use the trademark to market their services
like Moodle Hosting, Moodle Customization etc.
Moodle statistics and market share
• By 9 January 2010, Moodle had a user-base of 46,624 registered sites with 32,464,992 users in 3,161,291 courses
in 209 countries and in more than 75 languages. [15]
• The site with the most users, moodle.org, has 63 courses and 838,109 users. Following a £5 million investment in
2005, The Open University, UK is the second-largest Moodle deployment by user-base, with 607,536 users and
4,731 courses. A comprehensive list of the top ten Moodle sites (by courses and by users) is maintained at
moodle.org. [16]
• In Australia, Moodle is used by numerous Universities, including the University of Canberra, the Australian
National University, UniSA, the Central Queensland University and the University of Southern Queensland, and
is scheduled for release in 2011 in La Trobe University, the University of Ballarat and the University of New
England. Moodle is also used by the largest vocational training institute in the Australian Capital Territory, the
Canberra Institute of Technology.
• Birmingham City University has used Moodle as a university-wide VLE since 2004. The Robert Gordon
University, Aberdeen adopted Moodle for all taught programmes across its 12,790 member student body, in
2007. [17] It has more recently been adopted by the University of Kent [18] for its entire campus, replacing WebCT.
• In Argentina, it's used by Universidad de San Andrés.