Latest Moodle News

Hi Everyone,

We’re pleased to announce the release of Moodle LMS 5.1, packed with updates that simplify course building, give teachers more control over AI at the course level, and reduce admin complexity. This release builds on the momentum of 5.0, with improvements designed to save time, reduce clutter, and make Moodle LMS easier to use every day.

Behind every new feature, improvement and fix are the efforts of our amazing Moodle community, our partners, and the Moodle LMS team. We deeply appreciate everyone who helped bring Moodle LMS 5.1 to life.

Here’s what’s new in Moodle LMS 5.1:

🧭 An expanded Activities overview page
The Activities overview page now works across all major activity types, showing teachers what needs grading or follow-up and giving learners a clear view of upcoming tasks and completed work.
Why this matters: One organised view of all course activities helps teachers take action and learners stay on track.

🛠️ A redesigned Activity chooser
The Activity chooser has had a makeover! Activities are now grouped on separate tabs by teaching purpose - assessment, collaboration, communication, resources, and interactive content - with related tools suggested for each
Why this matters: Teachers can build with their learning goals in mind, choosing tools based on purpose - and admins can customise the Activity chooser to fit their institution’s unique course-building needs.

🧠 More options and control over AI
Teachers can now easily switch AI on or off at the course level and configure AI settings per activity - no more wading through permissions pages! Meanwhile, with new support for DeepSeek, admins can choose from a broader range of AI providers.
Why this matters: Educators gain real flexibility to decide where AI tools add value in their courses, while institutions retain control over which providers best fit their policies and needs.

In addition to these new features, Moodle LMS 5.1 includes a range of improvements that make everyday teaching and site administration easier:

• Better course creation tools: Richer media handling in TinyMCE and clearer course settings.
• Course enrolment & management: Options to set enrolment start dates, choose groups, and track assignment feedback downloads.
• Platform simplification: Retirement of older blocks and settings for a cleaner interface.
• Security: CAPTCHA added to password recovery page.

Moodle LMS 5.1 also includes many more updates across course creation, enrolment, and administration - each designed to save time and simplify daily workflows. You can explore the New features documentation for a full overview.

A special note around upgrading your instances for this release: As part of our continuing efforts to modernize and update the architecture of Moodle LMS, we’ve made a change to the code structure that will require you to reconfigure your web servers as part of the upgrade process. Please read this linked documentation prior to upgrading. 

Thank you for being a valued members of our Moodle community!

Warm regards,
Matt Porritt
Product Director, Platform Solutions

We're pleased to announce the start of regular meetings, run by Moodle community members for Moodle community members. These meetings will take place monthly in the BigBlueButton meeting room which is in the Moodle in English community space.

The first meeting will be on Tuesday 23 September at 13:00 UTC. To learn more about the meeting content, about this new initiative and about how other languages can be supported, read the post New meeting format Moodle Community Meetings.

We hope to see you there!

Learn how to develop clear, Intended Learning Outcomes for your courses and programs in this webinar led by Karen Shackleford-Cesare, from University College London (UCL).

Intended Learning Outcomes are short, clear statements that help students understand what they can expect to achieve at various stages throughout their learning journey. They enable course designers to ensure summative assessments test the desired learning has been achieved. Creating effective Intended Learning Outcomes is an important prerequisite in the design of learning activities and assessments, including within the ABC Learning Design process, which is used to develop short courses for Moodle Academy, as well as many other educational programs worldwide.

→ Register at Moodle Academy.

Hello Moodle community,

We're excited to announce that our Moodle 5.1 QA cycle begins today, September 1st, and will run for five weeks until the release date on October 6th.

About the QA Cycle
The QA cycle is a key part of our development process. This is when our community helps test Moodle's next version to ensure it's of the highest quality, reliability, and usability.

How You Can Help
Here's how you can get involved and make a difference:

• Exploratory Testing: Try out the latest Moodle features on our QA testing site. Experiment, explore, and share your feedback with us.
• Issue Reporting: If you find any issues, big or small, please report them on the Moodle Tracker. Your input is crucial to improving Moodle.

For detailed instructions on the QA testing process, please check out the QA testing guide. If you have any questions, feel free to post in this forum or join our Moodle QA chat on Telegram or Matrix.

Thank you for being such an essential part of our testing process. With your help, we’ll make Moodle 5.1 a fantastic release! 🚀

Learn how to use the Moodle Database Activity creatively! During this webinar, presented by Thom Rawson from Moodle Academy, you will learn a few advanced techniques and methods for using the Moodle Database Activity. Through templating, CSS, HTML, and simple JavaScript, educators will be able to construct interactive Database Activities to enhance learner engagement and help to increase learner autonomy. In addition, a few alternative methods of assessing Database Activities will be discussed.

This webinar is part of the course 'Moodle Academy webinars'. You have to be enrolled in this free course to register and join the webinar.

→ Register at Moodle Academy.

Hi Moodlers,

I’m really looking forward to MoodleMoot Global this 16–18 September in Edinburgh — it’s always such a special time to connect with our community and share what’s coming next.

In my keynote, Shaping the Future of Moodle, I’ll be opening up our product roadmap — new solutions we’re working on, how we’re improving the user experience, and the features we know will make a real difference for learners, educators and organisations.

I’d love for you to be there, so you can share your thoughts with us and help shape where Moodle goes next.

Get your ticket today

Hope to see you in Edinburgh!

Marie Achour

Chief Product Officer, Moodle HQ

P.S. Some big announcements are in store at the end of the event - don’t miss out on being the first to hear exclusive Moodle news! 

Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) has become quite the catchphrase of late in both secondary and tertiary institutions. For teachers of Foreign Languages (FL), this takes place by ensuring students are able to use the FL in real world situations with peers in different countries. This method of teaching a FL, by ensuring your students are linked with peers in other countries during their learning journey, is known as “Virtual Exchange” (VE).

The best companion an educator can have on their VE teaching journey is Moodle. The International Virtual Exchange Project (IVEProject) started in 2004 by Professor Eric Hagley has used Moodle from its outset. Since 2015, when the IVEProject became large-scale, more than 60,000 students from 30 countries have participated.

The numerous reasons Moodle is the chosen platform will be outlined in this webinar, in particular Moodle’s ability to be customised. Custom modules will be showcased and information on how the IVEProject has influenced some parts of Moodle core code will also be outlined. The ways that Moodle and the IVEProject have made IoC achievable for many around the world will also be shown.

This webinar is part of the course 'Moodle Academy webinars'. You have to be enrolled in this free course to register and join the webinar.

→ Register at Moodle Academy.

User tours in Moodle help you guide learners and staff directly on screen, reducing help desk queries and improving confidence. Whether you want to support onboarding, highlight new features, or provide timely guidance for specific tasks, user tours offer a flexible way to enhance the user experience.

In this webinar, Aurélie Soulier will show you how to design and manage effective tours in Moodle, for different audiences and needs.

Learn how to:

• Create clear, engaging tours.
• Customise tours for different users and contexts.
• Make your Moodle site more welcoming and easier to navigate.

Ideal for Moodle administrators, course designers, and anyone who wants to make their site more supportive and user friendly.

This webinar is part of the course 'Moodle Academy webinars'. You have to be enrolled in this free course to register and join the webinar.

→ Register at Moodle Academy.

We are delighted to announce that the program for MoodleMoot Global 2025 is now live!

This year’s MoodleMoot Global program is packed with exciting opportunities to connect, learn, and grow alongside educators, technologists, and learning leaders from around the world.

MoodleMoot Global 2025 program.

The program also includes a variety of social and networking events, such as the Moodle Party on Wednesday 17th September, and much more! 🥳

Book your ticket now and build a better future with us at MoodleMoot Global 2025.

We look forward to welcoming you to the event in September!

Unlock the potential of AI to boost productivity, creativity, and learning! Join us for an interactive session where you’ll discover practical strategies for using AI tools to organise your thoughts, accelerate your work, and support your studies. If you’re an AI beginner, this webinar blends real-life tips, hands-on examples, and open discussion. Bring your questions, experiences, and curiosity as we explore how to make AI your trusted assistant - not your replacement - for smarter, more effective work and study.

This webinar is part of the course 'Moodle Academy webinars'. You have to be enrolled in this free course to register and join the webinar.

→ Register at Moodle Academy.

The early bird deadline for saving on your MoodleMoot Global 2025 tickets is coming up quickly - be sure to secure your tickets by Monday 30th June to save £200.

This year's theme, Learning to Shape Tomorrow, reminds us that the future is something we shape together every day, with every decision we make about how we teach, what we share, and who gets to participate.

MoodleMoot Global has always been more than a conference. It’s a global community of people who care deeply about learning and believe in its power to shape something better for all of us. And we’d love you to join us and be a part of this!

The MoodleMoot Global ticket includes access to the Moodle Party on Wednesday 17 September, access to all the event spaces, sessions, talks, workshops and networking events, as well as lunches and refreshments during the conference, and more!

Don’t miss your chance to book your place by the early bird deadline of 30th June.

We look forward to seeing you in Edinburgh!