>“Anytime Pearson and Google are used in the same sentence, it’s going to get people’s attention,”
Yeah, even when apparently this isn't a collaboration between the two, but just launching through Google Apps. It certainly doesn't sound that exciting either, sounds like a press release for a costly new service. Moodle is open-source already and is running many good services on campuses.
I'm wasn't too impress by Moodle for having used it. I also used Blackboard at my first Uni and while moodle is a step up, there definitely is some work to do. On the admin side I don't think it's any easier to manage than Blackboard. Also Blackboard integration was much better with other campus services. Single sign on and things like that.
But just to be clear Blackboard is a horrible app. UI wise it's like 1999 all over again and it's dog slow (and not for lack of hardware, I knew some of the sys admins at my Uni personally, I worked in the same place as them, it's a bitch to manage). Anything including pen and paper is better than that thing. Teachers making their own HTML file has higher usability than blackboards interface. And rare are the teachers that use it for more than posting pdfs of slides and announcements. I bet their interface is worse.
It's exciting to me, because I'm forced to use Blackboard and I hate it (for reasons eloquently described by others in thsi thread). I wanted to get excited about Moodle, and it's OK, but it's not all that. Face it, when you have such a derivative-sounding name, then your offering is likely to be shallow. Google and Pearson are among two of my favorite firms, and I know enough people connected with both to think their commitment to quality is more than skin deep.
Yeah, even when apparently this isn't a collaboration between the two, but just launching through Google Apps. It certainly doesn't sound that exciting either, sounds like a press release for a costly new service. Moodle is open-source already and is running many good services on campuses.