Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.

Moodle is a full-featured learning management system with many features. Most people use just the few things that are most effective for their discipline and teaching style.  Below is a quick table of the features that are available and what they might be used for, to help you find the tools you need for your course.

Modules

Module Name Description
Assignment Enable teachers to grade and give comments on uploaded files and assignments created on and off line
Attendance Allows teachers to keep detailed records on attendance and participation
Chat Allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion
Choice A teacher asks a question and specifies a choice of multiple responses
Database Enables participants to create, maintain and search a bank of record entries
External Tool (LTI) Allows participants to interact with LTI compliant learning resources and activities on other web sites. (These must first be set up by an administrator on the site before being available in individual courses.)
Feedback For creating and conducting surveys to collect feedback. Similar to Questionnaire, but allows for anonymous feedback.
Forum Allows participants to have online discussions to complement class
Glossary Enables participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary
Lesson For delivering content in flexible ways
Questionnaire Allows the teacher to design survey questions for students, such as mid-term evaluations
Quickmail A block that allows the teacher to email the whole class, a group, or select students.
Quiz Allows the teacher to design and set quiz tests, which may be automatically marked and feedback and/or to correct answers shown
Scheduler Allows participants to sign up for time slots created by the teacher
SCORM Enables SCORM packages to be included as course content, sometimes SCORM modules are available from textbook publishers
Survey For gathering data from students to help teachers learn about their class and reflect on their own teaching using pre-loaded surveys, including COLLES (Constructivist Online Learning Environment Survey) and ATTLS (Attitudes to Thinking and Learning Survey)
Wiki A collection of web pages that anyone can add to or edit
Workshop Enables peer assessment

Features

Feature Name Description
Gradebook Allows teacher to collect and calculate grades, with the option of allowing to students to see their only grade calculations for the course
Restrict Access Available on any activity, resource or section, this feature allows the professor to restrict access by date/time, group membership, user profile attributes, or completion status of previous activities
Completion Tracking Allows teacher to set criteria that marks an activity ‘complete’.  Used in conjunction with access restriction, teachers can create modules that ‘unlock’ when students finish other activities. There is also a complete tracking block that can help students know what they have completed and what they still need to do.

Some of the most useful Moodle features:

Try the demonstration: Demo