MOODLE
Martin Dougiamas - MOODLE Founder and Lead Developer
Martin Dougiamas 43, is the founder and lead developer of Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), open-source software project that is a free course management system. The company is based in Perth, Australia and not only manages the Moodle software but also manages Moodle Headquarters, the Moodle Community and the Moodle Partner Network.
Moodle Headquarters develops and maintains the core Moodle software and all the official community web sites at moodle.org. The Moodle Community is a network international educators and developers who share ideas, information, support and code. The Moodle Partner Network is the money making side of Moodle providing funding to Moodle Pty Ltd through royalties.
Basically, Moodle’s value propostion is to provide free and powerful learning tools to help teachers teach and students learn.
Martin Dougiama grew up in a remote area of Australia and was educated by correspondence. While employed at Curtin University, the idea for Moodle as open source software came from the frustrations of working with WebCT and the inability to personally customize the software due to intellectual property right restrictions. Dougiamas’s credentials include postgraduate degrees in Computer Science and Education as well as a PhD entitled “Open Source software to support a social constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry.”
Dougiamas appears to be incredibly driven and is recognized by his peers as being highly dedicated to improving the quality of education around the world. He also surrounds himself with an international team of like-minded individuals (with credentials that are not made public).
Looking back at earlier blog posts, it is clear that Dougiamas has worked incredibly hard to realize his idea and make it the tremendous success that it currently is with 65,000 registered sites in 216 countries. Moodle has 57,713,770 users, 1,269,451 of whom are teachers. The enterprise software company, Blackboard, on the other hand, only had 8.5 million users as of 2011. Dougiamas and others like him are successful both as innovators AND CEOs as a result of extreme passion and belief in what they are developing. If we find something that engenders similar passion and the will to realize the dream (as well as the market for the idea!), failure is an unlikely option.
References
http://moodle.udec.ntu-kpi.kiev.ua/martin_dougiamas.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Dougiamas
Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
HJDeW 11:15 am on May 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Danielle, this was an interesting summary. After recently reading an article written by Dougiamas for another course, it brings to light the importance of the underlying philosophies and values of the leader (see some of his writing http://dougiamas.com/writing/) when working in an educational marketplace.
Helen
Danielle 3:19 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Helen,
Thanks for the link! I actually have this one bookmarked from past courses. It is interesting to read his thoughts on constructivism and connectivism and how these learning theories have played a role in the development of Moodle. He is certainly an innovator worth following!
Danielle
Claire Burgoyne 12:05 pm on May 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Danielle, an interesting fact you include is that Dougiamas was educated by correspondence. I wonder how much that childhood experience contributed to his determination to create an LMS designed with social constructionism principles at its core. I teach online courses and have created all my courses in Moodle. I’m moving more and more toward activities that allow students to interact with one another and appreciate the fourms, chats, glossaries, and wikis. While I’m beginning to include other tools that exist outside of Moodle such as WordPress I appreciate that I can create social experiences for students within Moodle rather than being restricted to creating course that are little more than online texts.
Danielle 3:30 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Claire,
I have no doubt that Dougiamas’s early learning experiences played a role in the creation of Moodle. I have only used Moodle for ETEC 565 and I find it interesting that while Moodle has millions of users, most of the institutions I have been connected with continue to be more interested in the more expensive, commercial software for learning management. I suppose “free” learning does not appeal to everyone!
Danielle
mariefrancehetu 6:51 pm on May 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello Danielle,
I too noted that passion is an important element to make an idea fly. Hard work also seems to be an essential ingredient in implementing and marketing the idea!
As Claire mentions, I do believe having been educated by correspondence could have influenced Dougiamas’ educational venture. Following his own experience he found a problem and looked for a solution. This is often how great ideas come to be.
Marie-France
Danielle 3:35 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Marie-France,
I agree. Dougiamas has experienced the “pain point” first hand. I think this has given him a competitive edge, both personally and in terms of product championship. He certainly knows what he is talking about!
Danielle
gregcamp 10:12 am on May 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Great post Danielle, having used Moodle to teach online I can say that Martin has put alot of thought into the design and functionality of the site. I am sure growing up in a small rural community and studying by correspondence has played a significant role in the development of this company as he knows first hand what methods work and don’t work.
Greg
Danielle 3:38 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your comments. Have you ever used enterprise eLearning environments? I have only used Blackboard Vista and it would be interesting to hear one’s thoughts on the differences.
Danielle
gregcamp 8:32 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
No I haven’t.
Greg
Denise 4:28 am on June 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I have expereinced Vista, used a product called Docent and currently an LMS ekp Net Dimensions. In 565 we used Moodle. It had a lot of excellent collaborative tools, but it native user interface is very limited.
Moodle certainly didn’t have the breadth of offerings a few years ago, but over time has really increased its functionality to the point where Unis and other organisations have seriously considered it when looking at LMS change overs.
I work for a small organisation and Moodle would offer an inexpensive option, but there woudl be a lot of training for educaotrs, and we would need to have some robust IT support for customisation that we would want.
denise
gillian 8:12 am on June 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Danielle,
Once again, I find myself thinking about how the story behind the venture is the most interesting part of this activity. As you state in your final paragraph it is ‘passion’ and the ‘will’ of the innovator that seems essential in success.
gillian