Running head: Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

ChyNa Nellon
EDU 541
Strayer University
February 15, 2015
Dr. Lori Brooks Wijbrandus

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

This paper is a review of three course management systems Moodle, Edmodo and
Schoology.
CMS Vendors
Moodle
https://moodle.org/
Moodle is a Australian based company that has created online software as a learning
platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure
and integrated system to create personalized learning environments (Moodle, n.d).
Edmodo
https://www.edmodo.com/
The article Edmodo The Gift that Keeps on Giving written by Jesse Gates describes it as
a safe and secure social learning network. its a Learning Management System (LMS), like
Moodle, Blackboard, or Web CT, combined with a social network like Facebook. The end result
is a powerful LMS that enables the easy sending and sharing of all types of files and the ability
to connect and share ideas with other students or educators from all around the world (p.13).
Schoology
https://www.schoology.com/
Schoology is a learning management system that allows teachers to easily create a
webpage for students to communicate and turn in assignments (Schoology, why schoology
section).
Purchasing and Maintaining
Moodle
Moodle is a free and therefore of no cost to teachers or students. Moodle is provided
freely as Open Source software, under the GNU General Public License. Anyone can adapt,

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

extend or modify Moodle for both commercial and non-commercial projects without any
licensing fees and benefit from the cost-efficiencies, flexibility and other advantages of using
Moodle (Moodle, about section). There are some purchasing options open to the user once the
program is downloaded but no purchase is needed to use the program. According to the website
Moodle has frequent free updates. Moodle software is easily downloaded from their website.
Edmodo
Edmodo is a free website created with the K-12 learning environment in mind. The
websites states that it is dedicated to using teacher and student feedback and creating adjustments
and updates in a timely manner (Edmodo, classroom section).
Schoology
Schoology is free for individual instructors but once if used as a district there are charges.
Effectiveness, Advantages and Disadvantages
Moodle
From a few students to millions of users, Moodle can be scaled to support the needs of
both small classes and large organizations. Because of its flexibility and scalability, Moodle has
been adapted for use across education, business, non-profit, government, and community
contexts. The major advantage of Moodle is that it is free, it provides several translations and it is
customizable (Moodle, about section).
Several of the comments for the article Moodle Review: Is this eLearning Platform
Useful or Useless? had mixed opinions of the website. The major complaints were downtime,
bugs and customer service. Some of the comments went so far as to say the system was down
more than it was up. Additionally many stated there was generally no warning for when the
system would be down therefore if you were using it with a classroom one would need
flexibility. Many of the comments referred it as extremely buggy. Bugs are generally

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

undetectable images that send private information such as email address and purchasing
preferences to a third party. Bugs can cause unwanted emails, pop-up ads and other distractions
to occur a computer. The comments also referred to issues with customer service. None of the
comments were specific but conjecture leads one to presume that due to Moodles non-profit
status a particular budget has to be kept for IT and customer service operating hours (Moodle
Review.., comments section).
Edmodo
According to their website and reviews there are several advantages to using Edmodo
specifically ease of access. The programs major feature is its similarity to social networking tools
such as Facebook. These are activities that many students are already engaged in therefore the
format is easily learned and used effectively. Edmodo also has an easily accessible mobile
feature which allows students to work on the go or use their smartphones in the classroom to
access lessons, homework assignments, grades and quizzes (Edmodo, classroom section). The
major drawback was workflow on the newsfeed could become overbearing a lot of information
for students to scroll and sort through. There also seemed to be some issues for users of ipads.
Schoology
According to their website Schoology allows instructors to create unique web course
pages, aggregated calendars, webpages, documents, text blocks and secure and configure
messaging/email along with many other features. Overall teachers can easily create a diverse and
interaction online learning experience for students to be completed at school or oat home. The
major disadvantage is that the program must be purchased for large scale collaborative use such
as districts.

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

Meeting Needs and Expectations of Online Instructors and Students

Moodle
If you are on a budget, Moodle is the correct option. Because it is f open-source, free,
software it can be downloaded and used immediately in the classroom. As mentioned before
there are some drawbacks such as unexpected downtime so teachers would need to be flexible in
their lesson planning.
Edmodo
Overall Edmodo seems to cater to the needs of students and teachers by offering an easily
accessible learning environment where teachers and students can communicate through
discussion, video and various other formats.
Schoology
Schoology appears to meet the needs and expectation of teachers particularly on an
individual basis because it is free to the instructor and allows access to most of features.

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors

References
Gates, J. (2012). Edmodo The gift that Keeps on giving. Florida Media Quarterly, 37(2), 13.
Get Secure Account. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from https://www.edmodo.com/
Moodle - Open-source learning platform | Moodle.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from
https://moodle.org/
Moodle Review: Is this eLearning Platform Useful or Useless? (2013, September 26). Retrieved
February 15, 2015, from http://bestelearningplatforms.com/review/moodle/
Schoology: The Top CODiE Award Winner of 2014. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from
https://www.schoology.com/home.php