In a world full of acronyms, when it comes to learning platforms, two are leading the way.
Moodle Security: How to keep your LMS safe
Keeping Your Moodle Platform Secure: Why It Matters
At Titus, we understand that trust is paramount when it comes to securing your learning platform. With a proven track record of safeguarding digital spaces, we offer solutions that prioritise your peace of mind.
Is Moode safe?
Moodle platforms store a lot of data. From email addresses to messages, your platform will quickly build up plenty of information on the people who use it, which is why Moodle security is so important.
This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, a Moodle platform is expected to contain this information. But what is essential is that you have the correct security measures in place so that your platform’s data can’t be hacked or disrupted by malicious parties.
We work with educational institutions that hold sensitive information on students through to large organisations with platforms containing information on tens of thousands of users. And in each case, we take careful consideration to make sure their platforms are entirely secure.
In this article, we’ll explain the importance of security for your platform, the security features that Moodle already has, as well as some tips and tricks to make your platform as safe as possible.
“Moodle Security” - features to keep your platform secure
1. Security by design
From its early development through today, Moodle follows a strict development process called ‘security by design’. This means that any development or change that Moodle introduces has the platform’s security at its forefront. A full list of these security by design processes can be found here.
2. Data protection
Moodle will never collect, use or monetise any data you store on your Moodle platform. Which alongside the various policy documents and data request tools accessible here means your platform will be fully GDPR compliant.
3. Plugin Security
We’ve often spoken about the benefits of Moodle Plugins (such as H5P), and because they’re usually made by third party sources, we’re often asked how secure they are. Moodle requires all available plugins to implement a Privacy API to make sure they’re GDPR compliant.
4. Proactive Testing
Finally, Moodle deploys a proactive security testing and vulnerability disclosure program. Moodle collaborates with Bugcrowd, which allows global security researchers to test Moodle constantly. Beyond this, Moodle also has the benefit of its massive user base. At any one time there are millions of administrators and security experts monitoring any potential vulnerabilities and reporting them through the vulnerability disclosure program.
Moodle’s recommended top tips for security
Moodle also has recommendations you can implement to add an extra layer of safety. Here’s what you can do:
Register your Moodle site
Doing this means you’ll be alerted immediately when new Moodle versions are released, allowing you to stay on top of the latest security features.
Back-up your site regularly
You can make a save of your platform so that if any issues do occur, you can restore to a version before it happened.
Follow the principle of ‘least privilege’
A hierarchical structure meaning the few at the top, such as administrators, will have access to the most information. Whilst the many at the bottom, such as learners, have access to the least information. It’s also important to make sure that users only have access to the content which is relevant to them.
Report any issues
Use the security reporting forum to inform Moodle of any potential vulnerabilities you see. Once they’re brought to Moodle’s attention, they can be resolved ASAP.
Why you should work with a certified Moodle partner
Choosing a certified Moodle partner offers specialised expertise and reliable support. Certified partners undergo rigorous training, ensuring they possess in-depth knowledge of Moodle’s functionalities and best practices.
With a certified partner, organisations gain access to tailored guidance for implementing new features, resolving technical issues, and optimising platform performance.
Partnering with a trusted, certified Moodle provider ensures quality service and ongoing support, maximising the potential of the Moodle platform while minimising risks.
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What are the latest features and updates in Moodle?
Titus Roadmap
See what's coming up in the Titus product roadmap. For an overview of the dashboard watch the adjacent video from Product Lead, Edd Clementson.
FAQs
It’s important to keep your Moodle installation up to date with the latest security patches and updates to ensure that known vulnerabilities are addressed. You should check for updates regularly and install them as soon as possible, ideally within a few days of their release.
You can secure your Moodle site by staying updated with the latest versions, implementing strong password policies, enabling HTTPS, restricting access to sensitive information, and monitoring for suspicious activity.
If you suspect that your Moodle site has been hacked, it’s crucial to take immediate action to limit the damage. This may include disconnecting the site from the internet, changing all passwords, and restoring a recent site backup. You should also investigate the cause of the security breach and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Yes, Moodle can be integrated with antivirus software to detect and remove malware and other security threats. There are several antivirus plugins available for Moodle, including ClamAV and Kaspersky.
To secure your Moodle installation, you should regularly update the LMS and its plugins and remove unused add-ons. Other best practices include choosing a reliable hosting provider, using HTTPS, restricting access to sensitive files, enabling firewalls, and regularly backing up your data.
Ready to get started?
To find out how Titus can get your organisation up and running with Moodle, get in touch.
LMS Analytics – A practical guide to making data-informed decisions
Working with LMS analytics doesn’t have to be intimidating. You can power up your decision-making processes with just a few new skills and propel yourself towards success.
I’ve worked with analytics for over a decade as a Digital Marketer, and although I’m far from a data scientist, I’ve picked up skills that help me use data to reach my goals some of which I’m sharing with you in this article.
Why LMS Analytics Matter
Analytics help you make better-informed decisions.
Picture this: you’ve just launched a cutting-edge learning platform. Now, the crucial step is to drive user engagement and ensure your learning materials are being used.
Here’s the scenario: you could rely on anecdotes and intuition to gauge progress. When asked about your platform’s performance, you might shrug and say, ‘Seems to be going well.”
But hold on.
There’s a better way: leveraging analytics to unearth insights.
Beyond progress reports, LMS analytics serve as your compass, guiding you towards enhanced engagement levels, identifying potential hurdles, and providing invaluable insights to craft a thriving LMS.
Later in this article, I’ll delve into specific examples of the insights you can glean and practical methods to apply this data. But, before diving into its application, you need establish how to capture data.
Enter Analytics: Seamlessly Integrated
with Your LMS
There are various options to choose from when gathering data, but I’ll focus on Google Analytics, because there are no costs involved and it can work on any web-based platform.
Google Analytics stands as the tool of choice for tracking user behaviour online. With its user-friendly interface, effortless installation, and cost-free accessibility, it emerges as a great option for your learning management system.
It’s worth noting that Google Analytics mainly provides quantitative data. If you aim to dive into the performance of specific individuals — such as the courses they’ve completed—you’ll need to turn to your LMS’s reporting functionality, like those found in Moodle or Totara.
Google Analytics offers a treasure trove of data about user engagement, interaction patterns, and platform utilisation metrics, offering invaluable insights into your LMS’s performance landscape.
How to install Google Analytics on Moodle
We create Learning Platforms based on either Moodle or Totara, I’ll provide a quick guide on how to install Google Analytics using Moodle as an example, but the steps should be similar for other systems.
1. Create a Google Account
Firstly, if you don’t already have a Google Account, you need to set one up. You can do that for free by visiting this link and following the steps provided. Once you’ve got your account set up, head over to Google Analytics.
Installation Steps
The dashboard explained
At first, navigating Google Analytics can be confusing. But once you become familiar with the basics, it’s possible to get a wealth of information.
On the furthest left hand side, you find the main navigation menu. Here you can choose to explore the dashboard or build a custom report, if there’s something specific you’re looking for.
When you click into the dashboard, you’re given more options, which hold different types of insights.
Real-time: What’s going on with your traffic right now?
Acquisition: Where’s your traffic coming from – Google, direct, an email etc
Engagement: How people are interacting with your LMS – the pages they visit, where they land, how long the spend on site etc.
Monetisation: This dives into any conversion points you’ve created, in the traditional sense it’s talking about lead generation or ecommerce sales, but it’s possible to reframe this and set up conversion points such as course completions or other conversion points you may have.
A quick process to help guide you through using data - what questions do you want to answer
There’s power in keeping it simple when it comes to data, after all we’re looking to complement our already busy workloads.
With a simple process that doesn’t take lengthy planning or hours of work you can gain useful insights.
Step 1: Start with a question or problem
Having a question that you want to answer from the get-go will frame the rest of your work and keep you focused.
Example
“How can I get more people to use the learning platform?”
Step 2: Explore different reports.
Insights are the stories and nuggets of information that will guide your future actions. When I start looking for insights, I start off with my objectives in mind and simply look through my different reports with an open mind, playing with filters and reporting fields until I find something useful.
The visualisations that Google Analytics provides make it easy to spot trends and anomalies, these are usually the types of events that I want to interrogate a bit further.
Once I identify an insight, I jot it down,
Example Insights:
Reviewing the sessions over time graph, I can see that the number of people coming to the platform has been declining slightly over the past three months.
There was a spike in traffic at the start of the month
Learners came to the platform most through an email newsletter we sent out.
I noticed that after lunch on a Wednesday is the busiest time.
Step 3: Take Action
Once you’ve got insights to hand, take what you’ve found and create a set of actions, designed to help move towards your goal.
Example:
Based on the insight that people naturally visit the LMS after lunch on Tuesdays and that we observe a spike in traffic after sending emails, we can formulate an action plan.
This month, we will schedule our email newsletters to be sent 10 minutes before the peak time on Tuesdays to capitalise on this trend. By doing so, we aim to increase the number of users accessing the platform during these periods.
Step 4: Review your results
Reviewing results is the next step after we’ve taken action – it’s where we see if our creativity has paid off. By reviewing the results of your experiments, you can see what was a hit and what was a miss.
When one of your experiments works as you expected, ask yourself whether you can commit it to process. Remember that it’s important to keep things fresh, and sometimes the impact of a particular activity will reduce, so keep being creative and trying new things when something gets stale.
Example:
After implementing the revised email scheduling strategy, we monitored the platform’s traffic patterns. The results were promising, with a noticeable 30% increase in platform usage during the targeted time slot.
This indicates that aligning our email distribution with peak user activity has positively impacted engagement. Moving forward, we will continue to analyse data and adjust our strategies to maintain momentum and adapt to changing user behaviours.
In Summary
Using LMS analytics doesn’t have to be an intimidating endeavour. By harnessing the power of tools like Google Analytics and following a structured approach to data analysis, you can unlock valuable insights that drive informed decision-making and propel your learning platform towards success.
Throughout this article, we’ve explored the importance of analytics in gauging platform performance, understanding user behaviour, and optimising engagement levels. From installing Google Analytics to interpreting data and implementing actionable strategies, each step is a building block towards a more data-driven approach to managing your LMS.
Remember, the key lies in collecting data and asking the right questions, exploring different reports, and continuously reviewing and refining your strategies based on insights gained. By adopting this iterative process, you can stay responsive to evolving user needs and ensure the long-term success of your learning ecosystem.
So, whether you’re a seasoned digital marketer or new to the world of analytics, I encourage you to embrace the journey of leveraging data to elevate your LMS. With curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to learn, you’ll find that working with data becomes not just a task, but a rewarding opportunity to drive meaningful impact and achieve your goals.
5 Unmissable LT24 Seminars: on the topic of innovation (Day 1)
The Learning Technologies Conference and Exhibition is fast approaching, marking a significant milestone in your L&D calendar.
With over 200 FREE seminars, 200+ exhibitors, and the latest in learning technologies, this 25th-anniversary event is not to be missed!
But, with so many on offer, it can be overwhelming to decide which seminars to prioritise. Fear not. Here’s our roundup of 5 seminars that we’re most excited about.
Our seminar picks from Day 1
Scaling Personalised Learning: Development vs Distraction
- Speaker: Jordan Rodger, Director of Behavioural Science - Ezra
- Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024
- Time: 10:15 - 10:45
- Location: Seminar Theatre 8
Uncover the five factors that create personalised development experiences and drive organisational impact at speed and scale with Jordan Rodger from Ezra. Gain insights into balancing personalised learning with organisational goals effectively.
The 3 Laws of Attraction: Creating a “pull” approach to serious learning
- Speaker: Ceri Jones, Lead Cyber Security Specialist - LEGO Group
- Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024
- Time: 11:00 - 11:30
- Location: Seminar Theatre 6
Join Ceri Jones from The LEGO Group as she shares the guiding principles behind creating engaging and human-centred cyber security training. Learn how to attract learners to serious topics using positive language and interactive approaches.
10 Behavioural Skills for the Future Human
- Speaker: Adam Lacey, Co-Founder - Assemble You
- Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024
- Time: 11:45 - 12:15
- Location: Seminar Theatre 9
Join award-winning author Liggy Webb and Assemble You‘s Adam Lacey as they explore ten core behavioural skills essential for thriving in the 21st century. From resilience to innovation, discover the key traits needed to navigate future challenges successfully.
Learning with Impact: Delivering outcomes in a changing world
- Speaker: Lars Hyland, CLO - Totara
- Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024
- Time: 13:15 - 13:45
- Location: Seminar Theatre 8
Lars Hyland, CLO at Totara will delve into the essential strategies needed to align learning, feedback, and collaborative practice to drive real business outcomes. Discover how to break down silos within your organisation and harness AI and assistive technologies to enhance productivity and performance.
Future-Proofing Business Success: Building Critical Skills for Tomorrow
- Speaker: Dr Essam Elhalhuli, Head of Solution Consulting - Coursera
- Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024
- Time: 14:45 - 15:15
- Location: Seminar Theatre 9
Dr. Essam Elhalhuli will reveal actionable strategies to empower your organisation and employees with crucial skills for future success. Gain insights into Coursera‘s latest research on the fastest-growing skills of 2024 and how to leverage them effectively.
Stay tuned for our upcoming guides designed to assist you in arranging your day at LT24 more efficiently. Whether you’re looking for recommendations on must-see seminars, tips for networking effectively, or insights on maximising ROI in learning tech, we’ve got you covered.
And we’d love to catch up with you at Learning Tech! Stop by our booth to discuss your learning platform needs, and enjoy a free coffee on us.
