“In a video presentation shown to audience members, Martin Dougiamas--founder of Moodle, an open-source course management system (CMS) for schools--said one of the key benefits to using an open-source solution as opposed to a proprietary one is that users can customize the program to meet their specific needs.” “Dougiamas said he based Moodle on a sound pedagogical principle: that people construct new knowledge as they interact with each other. He said he found he could not use Blackboard, a leading commercial CMS, in a way that permitted him the freedom to manage online courses as he wanted.

Dougiamas said Moodle, in contrast, gives educators and students the chance to collaborate in the construction of online learning environments.

Moodle, Dougiamas explained, is based on open standards, which means that it is completely interoperable with other systems, works by a set of common protocols, and has a defined workflow structure with a well-explained sequence of activities that permits the user to build and modify community web sites. The proprietary Blackboard model, he said, locks the user out of such opportunities for collaboration by not allowing access to the base code.

‘Administrators need to be convinced that they can take the money they save from having to pay for a proprietary system like Blackboard and use it toward support,’ he said, addressing concerns about how schools can support open-source technology platforms.

Dougiamas said there are about 20 companies right now that pay him for the right to build training and services around Moodle, and ‘those companies are making money as well. And there are more of them every day. I've got over 200 companies from around the world requesting to provide a Moodle-related service. I take a lot of care in making sure the services that will be offered are good ones’” (eSchool News, March 17, 2006).