I chose Moodle based on costs. I hope I'm right, but doesn't BlackBoard have a fee, while Moodle is free. I would love to get our admin onboard and try going totally free apps for the year. I wonder how much could be saved. I could be wrong on that. If money were no object, then probably BlackBoard. Everything seemed to be on the left side navigation bar and could easily be found. You had to do some searching to find what you wanted in Moodle to match what was on Blackboard. And I thought Moodle did grade the assignments also.
Instead of comparing the two, I couldn't help comparing them to our current system, SISK12. It has a number of problems. Like I posted earlier, I have to go back and recheck the gradebook to see if the scores entered. That gets frustrating, and we pay for it.
I didn't fiddle with the two very much. I didn't want to mess up what was in them. I took the math quiz in Moodle. Seemed easy enough, and the feedback was immediate. The Blogs, announcements, and disscussions seemed pretty much the same.
I went back and looked at the test formatting in BB. It does have a lot to offer. It would take a while to figure which question to use, but once you got it down, it would work pretty good. And you can upload questions from a file you have.
Still, since money seems to be the key driver at this time, I would have to go with Moodle, if it can integrate with admin and all.
Great post, I agree I would use Moodle over Blackboard simply because it is free and works well enough to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteI was just amazed at all the formatting you can do in the testing with both Moodle and Blackboard!
ReplyDeleteI took that math quiz as well, the only feedback I got was whether it was write or wrong.
ReplyDeleteAgree! The free part is a big plus, but I still think I like BB better. It might just be beacuse I am so used to it though.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is definitely a big plus for Moodle with its price tag. I would be interested in having us use Moodle for class from here to the rest of the semester and then re-evaluating how we feel about BB vs. Moodle. I bet the results would be different than they are now.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with free software is what happens if it no longer continues to be free or if it starts using advertising. What is also great about BB is that there are a lot of textbooks companies that are making a lot of interactive tools that integrate with blackboard and provide instructors/students with many tools. I just went to a seminar on Friday by McGraw Hill demonstrating a lot of the features that are available with their books. The assignments and study aids will even enter grades into BB for you. So while Moodle may be free, there is something said for purchasing a system that can do so much more.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Now, is free really free?
ReplyDelete