23 Apr What is the difference between Moodle and Moodle Workplace?

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: ‘What is the difference between Moodle and Moodle Workplace?’

So, let’s explore this further!

Moodle is one of the most popular open-source learning platforms on the planet, with hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Founded 21 years ago in Perth, Western Australia, Moodle quickly became one of the most popular learning management systems on the market and a firm favourite with educators.

In 2019, Moodle introduced their highly-anticipated ‘Moodle Workplace’ offering – the corporate distribution of Moodle.

Moodle Workplace is a scalable and flexible learning solution developed to support effective organisational training for businesses of all different shapes and sizes.

But which specialist features are included in Moodle Workplace, and how do you know if it is the right platform for you? Let’s take a closer look.

Audience and Availability

Moodle Workplace is aimed at an enterprise-level audience, while the Moodle LMS (Learning Management System) is geared towards schools, higher education establishments, and micro-SMEs.

Moodle LMS is open-source and can therefore be downloaded for free. This allows smaller businesses to host their own training platform affordably – providing they have the internal resources and technical expertise.

Moodle Workplace is only available from Moodle Premium Certified Services Partners and cannot be downloaded for free. Accipio are one of four companies in the UK that offer Moodle Workplace services. Partnering with an approved Moodle Workplace provider ensures organisations have a much smoother implementation journey, with technical expertise available at every stage of delivery.

Multi-tenancy

Moodle Workplace features multi-tenancy functionality, which allows organisations to split their platform into departments, teams, or divisions, and provide different learning experiences on a single installation. These multi-tenancies can be managed by system administrators as independent entities. Administrators can also control custom themes, permissions, and learning content, to provide tailored learning environments and experiences for different audiences.

Report Builder

Moodle Workplace features an intuitive report building tool for organisations, allowing line managers, HR personnel, and senior management to easily track learners’ progress and performance. Reporting can also be set up across multiple tenancies to compare the training performances of different teams or divisions. These reports feature advanced filtering and sorting, allowing a breakdown of information based on demographics, departments, job titles, and much more.

Dynamic Rules

Moodle Workplace features dynamic rules and automated workflows, to help save time, unburden administrators, and boost productivity.

Automations can be established based on user profile details, including departments, job titles, and much more. This also enables automated enrolment, where learners are auto enrolled into courses based on specific demographics that can be chosen by the system administrators.

Organisation Structure

Moodle Workplace allows organisations to set up their learning platform to completely mirror their organisational structure. Administrators can assign Managers or Departmental Leads and create the same lines of reporting within the learning system that exists within the organisation. Each member of an organisation can be assigned a job title or position, and automated workflows can then be created to deliver tailored training experiences.

Programs and Certifications

Many organisations need to deliver mandatory work-based learning or compliance training. Moodle Workplace takes this a stage further, by offering Programs and Certifications out of the box.

Administrators can create one-off programs to support the on-boarding process of new staff, or recurring certifications can be created to ensure all members of staff are regularly kept informed, upskilled, and safe. Employees can even be automatically alerted, should they need to take a course, or if they have missed a key deadline.

Moodle Workplace features an advanced notification system, with powerful alerts that help administrators to contact learners and keep them updated with key deadlines or other important information.

Event and Appointment Management

Many organisations offer internal webinars or training events, and Moodle Workplace has an Event Management feature, which helps L&D staff or senior managers to organise, track, and manage face-to-face-training activities.

Ready to upgrade to Moodle or Moodle Workplace?

So, that concludes our breakdown of some of the more advanced features within Moodle Workplace, which aren’t included in Moodle LMS.

We are one of four organisations in the UK that exclusively offers Moodle Workplace, and we provide a fully end-to-end service, which includes fast and secure hosting, unlimited rapid support (provided on average in less than ten minutes), advanced theming, next-generation plugins (including Accipio Shop – The world’s most advanced native shop for Moodle), and implementation and training.

If you have any further questions about Moodle LMS or Moodle Workplace, then please get in touch.