In 2020 the Methodist Church made the decision to upgrade their open source learning management system (LMS) from Moodle to Open edX. We at ABC Online Courses are proud to be chosen as the Open edX service partner to the Methodist Church to manage this upgrade. The decision to upgrade from Moodle to Open edX was based on the growing need for a more modern and user-friendly user experience for learners and instructors. User experience is one of the many advantages of using the Open edX LMS software compared to using older legacy LMS software.

We will be installing and hosting a custom branded Open edX platform to cater for the diverse worldwide audience of learners. The platform will include all the built-in features of the Open edX software, plus numerous custom plugins and integrations in order to create a truly world-class LMS for the Methodist Church online and blended learning programmes. These include, but are not limited to:

Custom Domain

A new custom domain name will be purchased for their Open edX platform.

Custom Theme

The custom theme will be designed to match the existing branding of the Methodist Church. This will include a fully-customised home page with extra static pages to display important information and FAQs about the Methodist Church and their new Open edX platform.

Languages

The platform will be available in numerous languages including English, German, French, Spanish and more in the future.

Authentication

Microsoft Single Sign-On will be configured in order to make user authentication seamless for Microsoft users.

Discussion Forums (public)

The Open edX discussion forums feature will be enabled and configured in order to provide a safe space for public communications and academic debate between learners and their instructors.

Vide and Chat Rooms (private)

Private chat rooms using a brand new 3rd party software named Riff Analytics from the USA will be implemented in order provide a means for private video and text discussions to take place. 

Video Conferencing

The Zoom video conferencing tool will be installed to enable 1-on-1 and group video calls.

E-commerce

This custom Open edX platform will include an online payments technology (e-commerce) to facilitate the sale and purchase of online courses and programmes offered by the Methodist Church to the public. We have chosen Oscar and Stripe as the technologies to power the e-commerce feature.

Image: A screenshot of the first two courses planned for the Methodist Church’s Open edX platform.

Our mission at ABC Online Courses is to be the best Open edX service provider in the UK and worldwide. By gaining the trust of clients such as the Methodist Church with over 80 million members, we have taken another major step towards becoming the largest and best Open edX service provider. Do you need your own custom Open edX platform? Contact us for a free demo today.