Moodle open source learning platform*
At Nazareth University, my Instructional Technology SpeciaIist role included serving as the Moodle LMS Adminstrator. In addition to providing training and technical support on the system, I was also responsible for course and user enrollment feeds, updating plugins and publisher LTI's, and liasing with MoodleUS support on server maintenance.
During the 2024-2025 academic year, I managed a major system upgrade for the entire Nazareth campus. An overview of this project is provided below.
Project Overview
My Roles and Responsibilities for This Project
The Moodle LMS Upgrade involved several milestones through the 2024-2025 academic year. As the project manager, I needed to first work with our Moodle vendor support to set up a testing environment and schedule to minimize disruption on users and course activity. I engaged with colleagues to develop an upgrade timeline that would accommodate sufficient testing, training, and regularly planned communications to faculty, students, and staff.
Moodle 4.5 Upgrade Process and Resources
High-Level Upgrade Worksheet
New to the LMS administrator role, I created a high-level overview that would encompass all essential tasks and considerations as I began managing the process. The goal was to have a set standard operating procedure to ensure a successful Moodle upgrade.
Upgrade Testing Checklist
Setting up a Moodle 4.5 testing environment and schedule with a select group of faculty, students, and staff were very important parts of the upgrade process. We needed a sufficient amount of time for stakeholders to try out new features and common tools in a safe, 'sandbox' space. We had all testers document their experience and provide feedback so we could assess any potentional support issues or bugs.
Moodle 4.5 Testing Video
A crucial task for the the LMS upgrade was to provide training and create support materials for faculty, staff and students. This involved updating existing resources as well as creating new ones, including special training videos for our faculty and staff testers. I also developed a special Moodle 4.5 upgrade page to centralize resources and helped manage the revamp of our faculty and student support sites.
*The word Moodle and associated Moodle logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Moodle Pty Ltd or its related affiliates”