MINNEAPOLIS, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Laptops and charger cables in tow, hundreds of educators and academic technologists are expected to converge on Minneapolis next week, as the University of Minnesota hosts the nation's largest meeting of experts focused on improving Moodle, the academic technology platform used by teachers and students around the world.

Called MoodleMoot US 2015, the national conference will be held August 4-7 at Coffman Memorial Union on the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus. It will give more than 300 "Moodlers" from across North America the opportunity to share best practices and build new technology solutions for the popular, open-source learning management platform.

"We are happy to host this collaboration for the dedicated developers and users of Moodle," said Scott Studham, vice president and chief information officer, University of Minnesota. "It is an excellent opportunity for higher education institutions, including the University of Minnesota, to actively participate in the continued development of this platform."

One of the largest Moodle installations in North America, the University of Minnesota uses the platform to enrich the academic experience of more than 100,000 students and faculty across its five campuses. It maintains approximately 15,000 active courses in Moodle.

MoodleMoot to engage both education, corporate stakeholders

MoodleMoot US 2015 is for Moodlers from K-12 to higher education -- as well as those in the corporate sector -- who use this learning platform. The three-day conference consists of presentations, workshops, case studies and demonstrations with dedicated sessions available for Moodle roles, including educators, administrators, developers and researchers.

Throughout the conference, attendees will have the unique opportunity to contribute to the future of Moodle by participating in working groups focused on selected topics determined by the MoodleMoot survey and forum discussions. A dedicated Hackfest on Friday, August 7, will allow developers to brainstorm future Moodle improvements based on specifications from these working groups and other sources.

Moodle founder and CEO, developers to use University's state-of-the art usability lab

Australian-based Moodle founder and CEO Martin Dougiamas will be on campus as the featured keynote speaker Tuesday, August 4. Dougiamas continues to lead the core team behind the Moodle project. His presentation will reinforce his vision for the future of Moodle to be a world-class, flexible learning platform for educators across academic and workplace learning.

While on campus, Dougiamas and Moodle developers also will join leaders and staff from the University of Minnesota's Information Technology team to test Moodle's new features in the University's state-of-the-art usability lab. While participants complete assigned tasks, observers will be able to see and hear their actions through video/audio recording equipment while eye-tracking technology captures where participants look at the computer screen.

Additional speakers at the event will include University of Minnesota's David Ernst, chief information officer for the College of Education and Human Development, and Charlie Reisinger, IT director for the Penn Manor School District in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Other speakers and facilitators chosen for their educational inspiration and Moodle expertise will cover educational technology topics with a focus on encouraging innovation and overcoming challenges.

About Moodle

Moodle is an open-source learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalized learning environments. Visit moodle.org to learn more.

About Information Technology at the University of Minnesota

Information Technology at the University of Minnesota comprises more than 1,300 technologists and others across the University system who work collaboratively to provide academic and administrative technology services and support to nearly 100,000 students, faculty and staff. Visit IT@UMN to learn more.

Media Contact:
Ann Wasik
awasik@umn.edu

PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12480122

SOURCE University of Minnesota