MoodleMoot Global 24 Conference Notes

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Last week, I attended MoodleMoot Global 2024 in Mérida, Mexico. It was an intimate gathering with 371 attendees and offered fascinating insights into new directions for Moodle under CEO Scott Anderberg, now eight months into his tenure.

Good vibrations

LMS conferences tend to be upbeat, celebratory events where people reconnect and reflect on the past year’s achievements. MoodleMoot Global was no different, but there was also a palpable tension throughout the event, assuaged on my part by scarfing down a lot of the excellent food and refreshments provided.

The tension lay between Moodle’s established identity and the changes needed to secure its future. It revolved around the role of the community in governance, the values it embodies, and the tough decisions Moodle must make to remain a relevant LMS in the years ahead.

This tension was especially apparent in CEO Scott Anderberg’s keynote. He emphasized his experience as an educator and commitment to Moodle, reassuring the community that things would remain familiar. Yet, as the conference progressed, this message seemed increasingly at odds with the themes of change and evolving strategies discussed in more focused sessions.

Behind the scenes improvements

The heart of the conference was Marie Achour’s product keynote, which centered on improvements to Moodle’s core infrastructure. These updates aim to make Moodle more secure and better aligned with user expectations—whether or not users seek open-source solutions.

Achour outlined the work Moodle HQ has completed over the past year, including input from more than 70 stakeholder sessions and 300 users involved in UX research. Key improvements include back end modernization, accessibility upgrades, and enhancements to assignments (see these videos for more color on these).

This backend focus will continue into Version 5, positioning Moodle for long-term sustainability. Upcoming updates will integrate LTI directly into Moodle Core, reducing reliance on plugins for basic functions. Improvements to web services will simplify integration with other systems, and the adoption of the Open Badges 3.0 standard will give students greater control over their learning records, though it will require significant refactoring of the platform.

I think the backend changes are meant to change not just core features but also to eventually enable a changed user experience. Just as Anthology’s Blackboard Learn and D2L’s Brightspace could not have made the usability improvements we’ve seen without first making architectural changes, Moodle appears to be taking a similar two-step move, albeit fairly late in the game.

While these infrastructure upgrades are necessary, the lack of specific timelines or details about usability improvements was frustrating. As Moodle matures, it would be helpful to have clearer information on upcoming changes and when to expect them.

Workplace, a lost opportunity in higher ed?

One area where feature announcements were more detailed and forward-looking was the keynote section on the Workplace product, particularly the enhancements to the Catalogue. Recent and upcoming features will strengthen support for programs (beyond individual courses), enable centralized management of offerings, provide custom URLs for individual organizations, and offer new visual insights through the report builder.

This kind of functionality reflects needs we frequently hear from clients frustrated with the noncredit and continuing education systems commonly used in higher education. I predict these needs will become increasingly important as institutions look to expand noncredit programs in the future. However, in my discussions with Moodle leadership, they seemed skeptical, suggesting that the non-credit and microcredential trend may be overhyped.

While the noncredit market is fragmented and difficult to navigate, that does not mean that higher education institutions are not implementing new initiatives and trying to figure out solutions.

The fact that Moodle is developing Workplace for corporate clients—while addressing needs that could be significant for higher education—highlights an underlying tension. This tension lies between offering a premium product that generates revenue (through partners) and maintaining Moodle Core as a free, open-source platform for anyone to use. Further, the core out-of-the-box usability of Workplace represents so much of what academia needs in Moodle Core.

At its heart this is a tension is between what Moodle could become if they developed a premium product for higher education (alongside an open source Core). I don’t know the best solution for resolving this tension, but the current approach could be a missed opportunity.

AI

No LMS conference would be complete without a discussion of AI. Before the event, Moodle announced a new AI subsystem that allows users to integrate the large language model (LLM) of their choice. At the conference, they expanded on the philosophy behind this approach, emphasizing Moodle’s goal to offer a consistent interface, workflow, and choice of AI providers.

Since Scott Anderberg became CEO, Moodle founder Martin Dougiamas has focused on research, particularly AI. I expected his keynote to offer a bold vision for AI in Moodle. I must admit, however, that I generally find futurist AI presentations shallow and cringeworthy. My reaction to Dougiamas’ presentation was more confusion than inspiration.

His vision for AI in Moodle sounded similar to features already offered—or soon to be—by platforms like Blackboard, D2L, and Instructure. This feels like a missed opportunity, especially given Moodle’s presence in developing countries, where higher education faces challenges that while not unique, are significantly amplified.

With Dougiamas focused on AI, I hoped to see ideas for solving practical but critical problems, such as identity verification and academic integrity—issues that, while often the subject of moral panics, need fair and affordable solutions to help education scale to underserved populations. And there is another real opportunity here, with Moodle’s massive reach to hundreds of millions of learners.

Partner relationships

On a positive note, I spent much of the conference speaking with partners to understand how their relationships with Moodle HQ are evolving. Overall, these conversations were encouraging. Partners reported smoother relationships, increased transparency, and better collaboration—particularly around responding to RFPs and tenders to position Moodle during LMS reviews. These developments are promising for Moodle’s future.

That said, I did hear occasional grumbling about governance being time-consuming and frustrations around getting changes into the Core product. This reflects an ongoing tension between maintaining Moodle’s culture and the need for speed and rigor in decision-making.

What to watch

Prior to the conferences, we shared the questions we are tracking regarding Moodle.

• With Martin moving to research and Scott taking over as CEO, are there tangible shifts in strategy or product direction?

  I sense a stronger and more focused emphasis on education—whether K-12, higher education, or workforce development—along with a more explicit acknowledgment that change is essential for Moodle's evolution. However, this shift is shaped by the tensions described above, and there is a risk that strategic changes could be derailed by community pressure (whether intentional or not) to revert to the status quo.

• Last year, Product Manager Marie Achour’s product vision presentation emphasized the need for more intuitive design. What improvements have been made since then? If progress has stalled, what changes will ensure this work happens—and happens faster?

  There have been some improvements, such as enhancements to Activity cards and the addition of sections and subsections in courses. However, usability improvements are taking a back seat to the essential backend work that needs to be completed first. But this issue will need to be addressed more thoroughly in the near future.

• Are the issues with the Certified Partner model being addressed, and if so, how?

  As discussed above, there have been improvements with greater transparency and collaboration between Moodle and its partners in implementing changes and responding to RFPs. However, this will need to remain an ongoing focus.

• Moodle recently introduced an AI subsystem in Moodle 4.5, enabling integration with large language models (LLMs). However, the initial functionality is limited. What are the next steps? How does Moodle plan to balance the benefits of AI with concerns about cost and environmental impact, given its ongoing commitment to access and the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

  As mentioned above, I was disappointed to not learn more about concrete next steps for AI in Moodle beyond the evolution of the AI subsystem. There was little discussion of cost or environmental impact, aside from the ability to rate-limit access to the LLM within the subsystem to manage costs. On the plus side (and this may be a controversial take), I wasn't subjected to excessive lectures on codes of principles governing AI use.

• And, finally: Is Mérida really as delightful as everyone says?

  Yes, Mérida is delightful, though a bit warm and humid, even at this time of year. I explored some of the town but didn’t get to see the surrounding areas. A return visit is definitely in order.

The next year or two will be critical for Moodle, both as a company and as a product widely used in higher education. The challenge will be managing change while keeping the community engaged and making the tough decisions necessary to improve the platform.

Achieving this will require a careful balance of toughness and empathy. Tough decisions are essential to build a stronger, more resilient Moodle, but they must be handled thoughtfully to preserve the community's trust. Ultimately, both higher education and the LMS market will benefit from a thriving Moodle.

Next year’s conference, to be held in the UK, will be a pivotal one to attend. I’m already training in preparation to arm wrestle Phil for the chance to go.

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