Nixon U Rolls Out Open Source Course Management System
Online higher education institution Nixon University is adopting an open source course management system to help its instructors customize course delivery and assessment to the needs of individual students.
The university had been experiencing problems creating an online learning environment that supported collaboration and customization and has implemented the free and open source CMS, Moodle, to overcome those problems and to manage and promote learning at the institution.
With Moodle, students at the university will be able to design a custom degree program, where they can choose specific courses according to their interests and goals. The CMS will also enable students to participate in online learning communities through forums, databases, and wikis, to interact and collaborate with their fellow online students. However, the university's main purpose in implementing Moodle is to deliver the online course content to students more effectively, conduct student assessments, and allows students to complete courses at their own pace.
"The use of free- and easy to use learning management system by Nixon University is like taking a step closer towards providing a comprehensible and clear direction to online education," said the academic head of Nixon University, in a prepared statement. "Managing thousands of students was not an easy job for the instructors, but by using the new Moodle system, instructors can not only manage the students and their individual records but also their quizzes and assignments in an organized manner."
Nixon University is an accredited online university that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Between 20,000 and 30,000 students enroll in courses at Nixon every year.
Further information about Moodle is available on the Moodle site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].