Moodle Expert Speaks!

I recently interviewed a Moodle expert to help RTOs maximise their Moodle LMS capability. 2019 is coming to an end, and I think it’s an excellent time to improve your LMS to bring efficiency in managing students progress! What do you think?

Here is the interview 🙂

Michelle: Please introduce yourself to our audience.
Jerry: Hi, I am Jerry Stefik, and I am the co-founder of Celox Group for Education. We focus on delivering a Learning Management System (LMS),  systems integration, and systems migration for all the education sectors. Our primary focus has been reducing operational costs while improving the efficiency of work for clients. Our biggest client has around 18,000 students, and the smallest client has under 300 students.

M: What is the essential function that Higher Educations require from the LMS?
J: Higher Education requires data, the data to analyse the progress of students. For example, attendance reports and grades reports that can show which students are at risk. The LMS should be able to produce a page where the administrator can view student progress and generate reports. Additionally, an LMS should have the ability to create interactive video quizzes, assessments, and check plagiarism to assist with students’ learning. These are all possible to customise in Moodle.

M: What is the essential function that vocational colleges require from the LMS?
J: VET colleges can offer one-third of their courses online. Therefore, providing an online study for vocational colleges is essential in reducing operational costs and bringing the flexibility of learning for students. But to do that, you need to monitor the time spent by students online. The LMS is a tool that supports student learning through online participation so students and the college must be able to see the progress such as the time spent online and grades.

M: What is the essential function that ELICOS providers require from the LMS?
J: An ELICOS LMS requires flexibility to change the levels and courses for each student every week. It’s because a lot of ELICOS providers have weekly intakes. That means, each week, new students are completing and enrolling in an ELICOS program. When an LMS is well-structured to suit this flexible environment, a huge headache can be lifted from both the administrators and the academics of the operation. Also, students can participate in weekly assessments through the LMS, and all the learning resources can be on the LMS. This can help colleges save a considerable amount of photocopying. Also, this can help colleges archiving academic records. The ELICOS LMS can assist students’ journeys from the very beginning, a placement test to the completion of a level or course. I strongly recommend colleges to adopt ELICOS LMS for both compliance and academic management reasons. We are releasing ELICOS LMS on the Moodle platform in January 2020.

M: What are the common mistakes colleges make in LMS?
J: The first mistake is believing there is ‘No Maintenance’. Some clients are coming to us and are still using Moodle from 2001! Please know that using outdated Moodle comes with numerous security vulnerabilities. If you have any student data, especially from European countries, you need to comply with GDPR. That means the data need to stay safe! So, please make sure you update your LMS to eliminate those vulnerabilities!

The second major mistake is removing student data or failing to maintain records correctly. Most colleges, before they come to us, delete student progress by reusing the same course for every intake. The problem is that by deleting alumni progress information, you run unnecessary risks. Please don’t put your college at risk by removing student data.

The third major mistake is archiving or, shall I say, not archiving data.  I highly recommend archiving data annually. If you don’t archive data, your LMS will slow down, and it could take ages to generate reports. When you don’t archive on a regular base, accumulation of student data can use up storage and ultimately it can use up your wallet!

The final major mistake is utilising third-party functionality. Moodle comes with additional functionality that colleges depend on. Colleges feel stuck with an older version of Moodle because the new Moodle does not support the functionality they need. However, this is where colleges should rely on experts. We can help you use the same functionality by talking to the developers or help you utilise a similar functionality that achieves the same result.

M: How much does it cost for a college to seek your assistance?
J: Millions!! Just kidding! We assist colleges from hosting to backend support. Most colleges have someone inhouse to do the front-end work of adding course content, enrolling students and setting a grade book. We come in as backend support, assisting colleges with Moodle upgrades, server performance configuration, migration and data back-up. Additionally, colleges can contact us for any frontend enquires. All of this support can start as little as $450 per month and it includes hosting!

M: And tell us about the special offer for CRICOS Consultancy audience. 
J: Sure, we will be providing FREE Moodle review for the first 10 clients. To make a booking, please contact me.

M: How can colleges contact you?
J: You can call me directly at 02 9194 3342 or send me an email at