Wikisoba project/Initial proposal

Draft using Template:Technology Project Proposal

Wikisoba is a working title for a project to create a "lite" version of Moodle.

Objective

A course management system that is free software and better adapted to small and medium-sized institutions involved in education and training. To be more specific, where Moodle is not suitable for applications when £40 a week seems like serious money, the idea is to develop a course management system that can mediate between a syllabus and accreditation by a badge system, via enrolment in lessons of mixed text, media and quizzes, and that can be hosted successfully in 1 GB. In line with Wikimedia values, collaborative development of text content, and social interaction, must be supported. Time scale 18 months to 2 years for initial development, of which 12 months would be coding, adaptation of existing GPL code to a schematic worked out in advance.

Goals

A fork of Moodle that reverses its tendency to feature creep, and integrates features available in MediaWiki.

Resources

At least one year of developer time/£100K. Would require strategic alliances or outside grant funding to cover a high proportion of the cost.

Constraints

Avoid trademark infringement.

Outcomes

Reduced hosting and maintenance costs for the VLE. Enable WMUK to offer hosting of courses for other chapters or thematic organisations, at annual costs in three figures.

Risks

Inadequate management of software development. Lack of a way forward to develop the software further.