Moodle is a learning management system (LMS) – a platform that enables us to provide learning content online, organise courses, and support collaboration between learners and teaching staff.
What we particularly appreciate about Moodle is that it’s open source and backed by a huge international community. This is precisely what makes the LMS so robust and well thought-out. Because countless educational institutions, companies, and developers worldwide work with it, the system is incredibly well structured and technically mature.
For virtually every area there is extensive documentation, clear guidelines, and step-by-step instructions, whether the users are students, teaching staff, or developers. This solid foundation ensures that Moodle runs reliably while still being flexible enough to adapt to our needs.
In short: we like Moodle not just because it works, but because it’s supported by a global community that shares knowledge and upholds quality.
The Moodle Opencast plug-ins were originally launched at the end of 2017 and have since been actively maintained and further developed by the University of Münster. Over time, thanks to many dedicated developers, the plug-ins have grown continuously and become an integral part of the Moodle–Opencast integration.
We at elan e.V. are also part of this story. Since August 2019, we have been actively involved – contributing new features, technical improvements, and numerous bug fixes. Some of our enhancements have significantly simplified and expanded the use of the plug-ins.
For around four to five years now, we have also been maintainers in the official Opencast Moodle organisation on GitHub, helping to coordinate ongoing development and ensure code quality.
In short: we’ve been supporting the project with great enthusiasm for years and are delighted to help continually improve this important interface between Moodle and Opencast beizutragen.
With the Opencast plug-ins, Moodle becomes a fully fledged video portal. The plug-ins consist of several components that work together to ensure that videos from Opencast can be managed, displayed, and used directly within Moodle — without users having to switch between systems all the time.
Essentially, the plug-ins mirror almost all of the core functions that Opencast itself offers. This means videos can be uploaded, edited, shared, or embedded into courses directly in Moodle. Here’s a brief overview:
Thanks to this integration, teaching staff and learners can work with videos without ever leaving Moodle. Everything — from uploading to playback — happens within a familiar environment. This saves time, reduces technical barriers, and makes the use of video material in digital learning significantly easier.
You can find further information on moodle.org or in the official Opencast documentation..
Behind the Moodle Opencast plug-ins, there is more than just code — there is a vibrant community. This community brings together people from all over the world: system administrators, developers, teaching staff, and everyday users who work with the plug-ins or simply want to stay up to date.
The community is diverse and incredibly active. We share experiences, help each other with technical questions, and discuss new ideas for further development. Many improvements thus arise directly from practical experience — from the real needs of those who use Moodle and Opencast every day.
Being part of the community means receiving regular updates on new releases, gaining insights into current developments, and having the opportunity to ask questions or join discussions. You stay close to the pulse of the project and can even have a say in the future direction of the plug-ins.
It’s simple: there’s a public Element channel where the community comes together:
> Moodle Opencast Community Channel on Element
In addition, an open online meeting takes place every first Wednesday of the month at 3:00 pm (Europe/Berlin), where everyone is welcome. More information can be found here:
> Opencast Webmeetings
