2U, which started off as 2Tor announced in their Q4 results call that they are working on the final steps of their transition off of Moodle as the backbone of their LMS. As previously reported on Moodlenews, 2U started using the open source learning management system early on as they started growing their private label higher education services and partnership business.
2U specializes in providing faculty and students a “classroom-like” experience for their online programs which are created in partnership with well-known universities and colleges nationwide.
From the original coverage,
I had the pleasure of talking with 2tor CTO James Kenigsberg about their platform and aims from a technology standpoint. If you haven’t guessed already, the online classroom platform that its programs use are built upon Moodle and other open source products freely available on the web. I was most curious about the services and setup that 2tor is home-growing and specifically how Moodle fit into its mix of educational technology.
What’s clear is that 2tor is making heavy investments into its technology to facilitate real learning opportunities for students even though they may be taking an online program. Moodle is the foundation of the 2tor educational platform; but the technology that students use goes far beyond the Moodle 1.9 standard modules and activities. In light of its bank account, it’s clear that money is not a factor, which makes the selection of Moodle that much more interesting. According to Mr. Kenigsberg the selection was based on Moodle being easily and readily customize-able. To Moodle has been added a toolbox full of additional (but standardized) educational tools and activities which play upon the 2tor mantra of providing teachers the best way to translate their expertise into online media.
Read more of our coverage on 2U (fka 2Tor) here http://lmspulse.com/?s=2tor.
While it’s unfortunate that 2U couldn’t continue to find a place for Moodle in their tech stack, it’s great to know that an open source system could provide the foundation for a company with a market cap of well over $700 million. Read more about 2U and their 4th quarter results here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2956876-2us-twou-ceo-chip-paucek-on-q4-2014-results-earnings-call-transcript
