Moodlerooms Releases New CMS Based on Moodle

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 11/03/09

Moodlerooms has released Joule, a new course management system built on Moodle, an open source CMS.

The new platform is extensible, according to the company. Organizations that adopt it will be able to use open-source and third-party applications to create courses, for example, that integrate Web conferencing functionality from WebEx, Turnitin plagiarism tools, and a portable e-portfolio solution from eFolioWorld, a product of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Joule features include:

• Content management: Course designers can streamline course creation by developing useful tags for learning objects that are catalogued in a federated repository;
• Classroom activities such as online quizzes, assignments, resources, and forums that are linked to outcomes and standards;
• Reports and notifications to let institutions monitor student activities and provide notifications to promote successful learning behaviors;
• Authentication and enrollment to automate administrative tasks;
• Themes so that the courses are branded with the institution's look and feel;
• In-program help that includes tutorials and frequently asked questions from within the application; and
• Course conversion utilities that will enable faculty to transfer courses and content from other systems.

"We have taken great care to listen to the needs of our customers and develop solutions to meet those needs and ensure effective, successful learning management," said Moodlerooms CEO Martin Knott. "joule delivers requested features like [student information system] integration, enhanced reports and notifications, better content management, a portable e-portfolio, customizable design, and integrated synchronous conferencing tools to provide a higher level of sustainability and value."