As a new year approaches, we reflect on the past year—a journey marked by learning, success, challenges, and collaboration. We want to take a moment to celebrate the milestones that we achieved this year.
Elevating learning experiences for all
First of all, we are thrilled to share how our products have evolved to better align with your unique needs. With the launch of Moodle LMS 4.3, we have taken a significant step forward in our ongoing journey to provide unmatched open-source learning solutions that cater specifically to educators, trainers and learners like you. Similarly, the launch of Moodle Workplace 4.3 underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in corporate learning, ensuring that the platform is tailored to meet the dynamic demands of your professional growth and that of your learners. Lastly, we fine-tuned the Moodle App to introduce version 4.3, delivering more efficient, secure, and visually engaging features to make your learners’ mobile learning experience even more personalised. Your success in delivering quality learning experiences remains at the heart of our mission.
MoodleMoots – worldwide gatherings of excellence!
MoodleMoot conferences have always been excellent opportunities to network and share experiences with Moodle community members around the world. This year, MoodleMoots have been held in the USA, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Peru, Europe/UK, Senegal, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia, France, Philippines, Ecuador, Africa, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Mexico, Greece, and Italy. We thank our Certified Partners, Certified Integration Partners and active community members for organising, encouraging collaboration and sharing best practices at these important events.
Our annual MoodleMoot Global 2023 was a truly international event where we had the pleasure of meeting over 700 participants from 56 different countries. We had the opportunity to listen to more than 100 speakers from 24 countries. Moodlers from around the world came together to promote lifelong learning and exchange ideas in advancing eLearning with Moodle.
In 2024, MoodleMoot Global will be held in Mexico from 11-14 November, with a pre-conference on the Monday before the formal conference starts. Register your interest, and we look forward to seeing you next year!
Over 30,000 new registered users join the Moodle Academy
We take immense pride in the numerous accomplishments of Moodle Academy. We successfully launched 20 new courses, expanding our curriculum to a total of 73 courses. Our community flourished with the addition of over 30,000 new registered users, contributing to a thriving user base of 58,000. The vibrancy continued with the delivery of 20 insightful webinars, garnering an impressive 115,000+ views on webinar recordings. Recognising the achievements of our learners, we proudly issued over 20,000 course badges and awarded 615 program certificates. Moreover, our global reach expanded with the addition of 49 new translators with 10 new languages onto our platform. We eagerly anticipate the continuation of this journey into 2024, with the promise of more enriching courses, engaging webinars, and collaborative learning experiences.
Moodle App earns Education App of the Year
We are also incredibly proud to say that Moodle and its products were recognised for their commitment to education on multiple occasions this year. The Moodle App was awarded the Education App of the Year at the Australian Access Awards 2023. The award was created on Global Accessibility Day in 2019 to recognise organisations and individuals who are dedicated to providing exceptional support for Australians with disabilities. The Moodle App was chosen for its effortless access to Moodle’s solutions on iOS and Android devices, both online and offline, from any location, making it an exceptional choice for people with disabilities.
Launching Moodle India
After acquiring Moodle Certified Partner eAbyas Info Solutions, Moodle expanded its global influence by launching Moodle India. This move allowed us to tap into the growing Indian EdTech market and expand our social impact. Our Indian customers now have direct access to a comprehensive array of services through Moodle’s local subsidiary for the first time.
The establishment of the Indian subsidiary aims to facilitate faster response times to address issues promptly, fostering stronger and more meaningful relationships with clients. Being close to our clients in India will allow us to better understand their unique market dynamics and cater to their specific needs.
India is currently one of the largest EdTech markets around the world. This growth is driven by the increasing use of digital learning, expanding internet access, widespread mobile phone usage, and a large and continuously growing population of children and young adults in education.
As a leading global learning management solution, India has emerged as one of Moodle’s most rapidly expanding markets, evident from the increasing number of registered Moodle sites. The launch of Moodle India not only signifies a strategic business move but also underscores Moodle’s commitment to serving the evolving educational landscape in India.
Moodle earns prestigious badges and industry recognition
Moodle has earned multiple G2 badges this year for its excellence in education. It has been named a leader in user satisfaction and market presence. The platform has been acknowledged for its easy admin setup and declared a leader in Learning Management Systems (LMS). Also, three leading software research and review platforms – Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice – that collectively fall under the Garnet Digital Markets, recognised Moodle as a leader in training, K-12, and LMS categories.
Embracing AI for enhanced, accessible global education
In 2023, Moodle achieved a pivotal milestone by wholeheartedly embracing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Throughout its remarkable 20-year journey, Moodle has consistently harnessed the power of technology to elevate the standard of global education. A key aspect of this commitment is embodied in Moodle’s approach to generative AI, driven by a dedication to ensuring learning remains safe and accessible for everyone, irrespective of their location or financial circumstances. Under Martin Dougiamas’ leadership, Moodle’s Research Lab has become a dynamic centre for exploring and experimenting with cutting-edge technologies, shaping the platform’s strategic roadmap. Based on the insights gathered from the Research Lab, Moodle envisions key areas of AI that will transform and enhance online learning. The goal is to create an engaging, efficient, and effective educational experience for learners on a global scale.
Welcoming our new Partners!
Our Moodle Certified Partners and Service Providers play a crucial role in ensuring that our users can maximise the potential of Moodle platforms. In 2023, they have provided customisation, hosting, support, learning design, security and scalability services in over 63 countries that cater to customers’ unique requirements.
This year, we welcomed onboard our new Moodle Certified Partners – ModernLMS (the first partner in Malaysia), Videa EdTech (Vietnam), Eiffel Corp (South Africa), and Exducere Online (Ecuador) – Moodle Certified Premium Partners – LIIP AG (Switzerland) and Kaptiva (Brazil) – and Moodle Partners with new territory – WIDE Services (Albania), e-learning co., ltd. (Singapore), and Vextur (Estonia).
We are also excited to introduce our latest Moodle Certified Integrations, which include TinyMCE (featuring advanced premium features), SMOWL (a reliable online proctoring software developed by Smowltech), and MathType (a leading formula and equation writer developed by Wiris). Also, Tutoom has joined us as our newest Certified Integration Partner, contributing to the diverse range of tools available on the Moodle platform.
We are thrilled to have such great partnerships that reflect our dedication to providing users with a diverse and engaging learning experience. We are also excited to welcome new integrations and partners onboard in 2024, as we continue to expand our offerings and provide even more value to our users.
Global Partner and Certified Integration Awards
At MoodleMoot Global this year, we announced the winners of the Moodle Certified Partner Awards and congratulated them for their impressive achievements! Since 2019, these awards have been recognising the great work of Moodle Certified Partners, Moodle Premium Certified Partners and more recently, Moodle Certified Integrations. This year, we recognised our Partners with 16 awards, including our Global Certified Partner of the Year, Catalyst IT and Global Certified Partner Outstanding Growth Award of the Year, Edupan, as well as various product, community and regional awards. Our Certified Integration Partner Outstanding Growth Award was awarded to BigBlueButton, while the Newcomer of the Year Award was awarded to ReadSpeaker.
A big shoutout to our partners for their dedication to helping education institutions and organisations improve their eLearning platforms!
Check out the full list of winners!
A new chapter in leadership!
And as every year brings new encounters and fresh horizons, we are thrilled to welcome our new CEO, Scott Anderberg. Scott will be succeeding Moodle Founder Martin Dougiamas, who, after an impressive 24-year tenure as CEO, declared in July 2023 his intention to transition to Head of Research. In this new capacity, Martin will focus on harnessing transformative technologies in education. Martin will continue to serve as CEO until the conclusion of January 2024 while also maintaining his role as a shareholder and Chairman of Moodle’s board of directors.
As the incoming CEO, Scott Anderberg will report directly to Moodle’s Board of Directors. In his role, Scott will be tasked with sustainably delivering Moodle’s long-term growth strategy, overseeing operational performance, providing team leadership, ensuring product excellence, and strengthening relationships with global stakeholders, including Moodle’s network of Certified Partners.
Engaging with our community
In 2023, our engagement with community members resulted in the creation of insightful podcasts and videos, along with the introduction of engaging Community Stories. Our podcasts explored a spectrum of topics, including discussions on inclusivity in eLearning with Oakland University, the potential impact of AI on education with Chad Outten, and the future of Moodle through the eyes of the Moodle Experience Lab. We also delved into the importance of Moodle translations with Koen Roggemans, the Moodle Translation Coordinator.
In our Community Stories, we showcased the inspiring journeys of individuals such as Nicolas Martignoni, who leveraged MoodleBox to enable offline learning, and Administrator Catalina Vieru, who shared their insights as a self-taught Moodle specialist. Joseph Rézeau passionately discussed Computer Assisted Language Learning with Moodle LMS, and we celebrated the contributions of longtime Moodler, Visvanath, whose charity facilitates online classes in Sri Lanka.
One of the greatest strengths of Moodle is the community that has grown around Moodle LMS. We thank you for your ongoing involvement through code contributions, QA testing, translations, documentation, or sharing new ideas and best practices.
As 2023 draws to a close, we celebrate a year of remarkable achievements and global collaboration. Grateful for the support of our global community, we anticipate another year of collaborative learning and achievement in 2024. Together, we remain dedicated to reshaping the landscape of education for learners worldwide!
Thank you for being an integral part of this remarkable journey. Here’s to another year of collaborative growth and success!
Source: this article was first published at: https://moodle.com/news/a-year-in-review-looking-back-at-2023/
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