Moodle Academy August Highlights

Moodle Academy August Highlights

Richard Lefroy-mit -
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Find out what's new and upcoming on Moodle.Academy, the learning hub for the global Moodle Community.

Moodle Academy offers free, online Moodle training for educators, workplace trainers, administrators and developers from Moodle experts around the world. Attend live webinars, watch past webinars, complete courses and enrol in programs.


What’s coming up?

Webinars

User Tours: Your Moodle Tour Guide - Tuesday 12th August, 08:00am UTC
User tours in Moodle help you guide learners and staff directly on screen, reducing help desk queries and improving confidence. Whether you want to support onboarding, highlight new features, or provide timely guidance for specific tasks, user tours offer a flexible way to enhance the user experience.
In this webinar, Aurélie Soulier will show you how to design and manage effective tours in Moodle, for different audiences and needs.
Learn how to:

  • Create clear, engaging tours.
  • Customise tours for different users and contexts.
  • Make your Moodle site more welcoming and easier to navigate.

Ideal for Moodle administrators, course designers, and anyone who wants to make their site more supportive and user friendly.
→ Register for the webinar

Virtual Exchange webinar - Wednesday 20th August, 08:00am UTC
The International Virtual Exchange Project (IVEProject) started in 2004 by Professor Eric Hagley has used Moodle from its outset. Since 2015, when the IVEProject became large-scale, more than 60,000 students from 30 countries have participated.
The ways that Moodle and the IVEProject have made both large-scale International Virtual Exchange as well as the Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) achievable for many around the world will be showcased.
→ Register for the webinar.

Moodle Database activity webinar - Tuesday 2nd September, 08:00am UTC
This webinar is in support of the currently-in-development Moodle Academy course, "Getting Creative with Moodle Database Activity," set to be launched in early September. In addition to reviewing the powerful Database activity, participants in the webinar will learn how to customise their Database activities in Moodle using JavaScript and CSS by learning about different use cases and examples. In addition, other methods for assessing Database activities will be showcased and discussed. 
Details for registration for this webinar will be announced shortly.


What’s new?

Programs and courses

Introduction to Moodle Coding Standards
This beginner level course is designed to help you learn to write clean, consistent, and compliant code for Moodle. Master the coding standards that ensure your plugins are ready for core contribution and easy collaboration.
→ Enrol in the course.

Working with Moodle Development Kit (MDK)
This intermediate level course for developers is designed to help you fully leverage the Moodle Development Kit (MDK) to boost development efficiency, minimise manual tasks, enforce best practices in plugin creation, and establish more consistent Moodle development workflows both individually and collaboratively within a team.
The course will launch later this month.

Moodle Admin Skills and Moodle Teaching Skills
The Intermediate level Moodle Admin Skills program and related YouTube playlist is now updated to Moodle 5.0. The intermediate Moodle Teaching Skills program and playlist will be updated to Moodle LMS 5.0 by mid-August.
→ Enrol in Moodle Admin Skills.
→ Enrol in Moodle Teaching Skills.

Get Creative with Moodle Database Activity
In this course, learners will study and practise advanced techniques and methods using the Moodle Database activity. By understanding templating, CSS, HTML, and simple JavaScript, educators will be able to construct interactive Database activities to enhance learner engagement and help to increase learner autonomy. In addition, alternative methods of assessing Database Activities will be explored.
This course will launch in September.


Moodle Qualifications

Moodle Qualifications, including the new Moodle Educator Qualification (MEQ) and Moodle Administrator Qualification (MAQ), validate advanced skills for digital education professionals. While educator qualifications are mapped to the established European framework DigCompEdu, the MAQ is based on DigCompLMSAdmin, a framework defining the distinct "LMS Admin" role. This month, we'll clarify how this role differs from "Site admin" or "Manager" and why this distinction is crucial for digital education quality and innovation.

Why not just "Admin" or "Manager"?

Why do we refer to "LMS Admin" rather than simply "Admin" or "Manager"? The answer lies in understanding how modern educational technology administration transcends traditional role boundaries.

  • Admin is often ambiguous and could refer to IT or system/network administrators overseeing back-end server maintenance, which is distinct from the pedagogical and site-management focus of an LMS site administrator.
  • Manager in Moodle refers to a specific role with defined permissions, such as category / course management, but does not necessarily have the broad, site-wide authority or the technical focus that the LMS Admin embodies.
  • LMS Admin derives from the standard Moodle Roles and pinpoints the unique set of skills, authority, and responsibilities necessary for those who operationally manage the learning environment, but who are not responsible for infrastructure outside the LMS (e.g., server hardware). They work within the Moodle interface to implement, maintain, and innovate the digital learning experience. The term "LMS Admin" represents a comprehensive professional profile that goes beyond technical permissions to encompass strategic educational technology leadership.

Why is "LMS Admin" distinction important?

This distinction is crucial because:

  1. Unlike traditional administrators who might focus on technical maintenance, LMS Admins must understand both technical infrastructure and pedagogical implications. They bridge the gap between IT operations and educational delivery.
  2. While a Site Administrator has system permissions, an LMS Admin thinks strategically about how system configurations support institutional goals, learner success, and teaching effectiveness.
  3. The four thematic areas of the DigCompLMSAdmin framework demonstrate a holistic system understanding, as illustrated in the eight areas of the the graphic below.

DigCompLMSAdmin

So, while traditional administrators often focus on "how" to complete tasks, LMS Admins understand "why" certain approaches serve educational goals better than others, understand learning design principles, assessment strategies, and accessibility requirements that inform their technical decisions.

Ready to start your Qualification journey?

To ensure you're prepared, start by taking the pre-placement quiz on Moodle Academy for the:

If your quiz results indicate you're ready, you'll be directed to a contact form. Complete the form, and we'll connect you with a Moodle Certified Partner or Service Provider in your area to guide you through the Qualification process.

If you need additional preparation, the quiz results will recommend you  take some more training, either self-paced courses through Moodle Academy or facilitated training from our Moodle Certified Partners and Service Providers.


Find out more and register for free at Moodle Academy!