Edmodo and Moodle | Quick Review for HS/MS

Looking at the feature sets of both Edmodo and Moodle both services offer similar functionality.   When looking at the two options at the 5-12 grade range it looks like Edmodo may have the upper hand. So what is Edmodo you may ask?

www.edmodo.com

First off: Is it available on IOS devices, ipod, ipone, ipad?

* Edmodo | Has IOS iphone/ipad app
Moodle does not currently work on these devices (third party app is buggy)

Which has the better interface for HS and/or MS Level?

*Edmodo interface is a copy of Facebook = easier for both Staff and Students to navigate and use.
Moodle is solid but more complex and may require more staff training and more time to get good use out of it.

Edmodo does not win in every category here are a couple things I notice where Moodle has the edge:

*Moodle is used by more universities and is or is closest to the structure of many online college level courses – Edmodo is not really widely adopted or used in College setting
*Moodle allows local hosting and data control (Open Source :)) = easier bandwidth management, will remain free and can be customized per school.

* One note the only potential scary issue with Edmodo is its business model Рalthough it claims it will always be free, this does not prevent the company from selling itself Рwith the new owner not being bound to continue in a free mode.¬†¬†¬† Remember Ning.com?¬† Free now costs money.

Despite these advantages of Moodle, overall I still have to give Edmodo the edge, students and staff can easily use this service Рit close resemblance to Facebook helps it functionality.¬† The truth is with very busy teachers Edmodo is a quick and effective way to take bring an online element to a course.