6/18/2007 -- I'm constantly on the hunt for examples of technology being implemented in ways that make me have an "Aha!" moment. I like it when someone does something that no one else has thought of, or uses a particular expertise (be it an operating system, an application, a piece of hardware or almost anything else) in a key way. When that solution happens to be open source, it makes me take notice and think that there truly is a sustainable possibility here.

Such an "Aha!" moment came to me recently when I started delving deeper into a tool I first heard about around a while ago: Moodle (http://moodle.org/). If you've taken classes at a university recently, the odds are good that there was an online component to it. The odds are also good that said course was administered through proprietary software known as a Course (or Learning) Management System (CMS/LMS) such as WebCT, Blackboard or Scholar360. Such software is expensive for universities, and not as flexible as many would like.

Enter Moodle. An acronym for "Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment," Moodle was started as an open source solution by a former WebCT administrator. It has everything going for it that an open source success story should have:

• It's free.
• It runs on every popular operating system.
• It's widely supported and constantly being refined.

While each of those points is meaningful, what's more important is that Moodle is every bit as good as any other CMS/LMS product on the market -- and better than many. Just being available, supported and free is not enough to be compelling; being all of those things and being better than the alternatives is.

Creating a course is remarkably simple in Moodle. You begin by assigning variables (as shown in Figure 1). The format can be changed to give a by-topic view, a weekly view, etc. You can choose to limit class enrollment, require a key, allow groups and configure a number of other course features.

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Figure 1

Figure 2 shows the basic configuration screen for a topics-based class. For a time-based class, the numbers in the outline would be replaced by the weeks in which assignments are given or due.

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Figure 2

Once you turn on the editing tool, you can add resources (such as text pages, Web pages, links, directories, IMS content packages or labels) and activities (such as assignments, chat, choice, database, forum, glossary, lesson, quiz, SCORM/AICC, survey, Wiki or workshop) for each of the topics.

When it comes to creating a quiz, Figure 3 shows but a few of the choices Moodle offers. You can set a time limit, choose to use adaptive testing, pick from a number of different grading methods and so on.

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Figure 3

Not shown in the figure is the ability to specify what feedback to give each student based on the student's score. For example, a score of 100 percent would receive something like, "Great job!" A score of 50 percent would yield, "Try reading the book next time."

Figure 4 shows the many types of questions that can be chosen and created. If you pick multiple-choice -- arguably one of the most popular types -- you can choose to have one or more answers correct and award a different percentage for each correct answer.

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Figure 4

For example, suppose the test includes a 10-point question about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with eight possible ingredients listed. You can award 33 1/3 percent of the 10 points for choosing peanut butter, 33 1/3 percent for choosing jelly and 33 1/3 percent for choosing bread. Conversely, you could award 40 percent for choosing peanut butter, 40 percent for choosing jelly and 20 percent for choosing bread. This is a psychometrician's dream! It's almost impossible to imagine a course management system more powerful and intuitive.

Moodle is an example of open source done right. While I've touched on only a tiny portion of what this tool can do, I hope it's enough for you to understand my "Aha!" moment. Nothing would make me happier than experiencing such a moment on a regular basis, so if you know of similar open source successes, I'd be delighted if you a posted them below.