If students and faculty take the time to noodle around with Moodle, they will see the change is beneficial.

The biggest reason that I support the change to Moodle is because it is cheaper than Blackboard.

Moodle costs significantly less than Blackboard,  said Julianne Miranda, senior director of academic technology.

Being one who pinches pennies, I appreciate the school trying to conserve students’ tuition dollars.

The student’s educational experience is most important.

But if there are two comparable academic programs, Butler should choose the cheaper option.

“As we started to do apples to apples, Moodle was clearly the better tool,” Miranda said.

In the case of Blackboard versus Moodle, Moodle is the one that is cheaper and performs better, making it the all-around winning choice.

Administrators changed to Moodle because of the broader spectrum of academic tools it provides to its students.

Moodle is more user-friendly and offers wikis and blogs, among other components, that Blackboard never fully offered, Miranda said.

Moodle is an open-source learning platform. Which means anyone can add enhancements to it.

Students, faculty and administrators all have the power to create an enhancement for everyone on the server to use.

Hackers beware: the Information Technology department scans all the applications before they are posted for general use, said Chad Miller, the systems engineer who managed the transition to Moodle.

Any attempt to try and shut down Moodle for a day or two would fail.

The school is encouraging professors who teach lower-level classes to utilize Moodle because freshmen will be required to use it for the rest of their academic careers.

Many upper-level classes are being taught with Blackboard to ensure a consistent learning experience for upperclassmen.

Although people may not like change, this one is definitely for the better.

Once students and faculty learn the ins and outs of Moodle, they will appreciate the change.