2023 is the year of Moodle 4.X – to borrow a term from the world of iPhones, it’s an upgrade super-cycle! Although Moodle LMS version 4.0 first appeared in April 2022, it’s really only with the release of Moodle LMS 4.1, the Long Term Support (LTS) version, that many institutions will be ready to make the move. While Moodle 4.0 only receives official security support until November 2023, version 4.1 is fully supported by Moodle HQ until November 2025. For those using Moodle Workplace, similarly the launch of Workplace 4.1 in January 2023 makes now the ideal time to upgrade.

What’s New

Across Moodle LMS and Moodle Workplace, there are plenty of new features for those moving to 4.1 from prior versions. The good news is that although the new features are powerful and offer improvements for Students, Tutors and Administrators, they are intuitive and easy to use, making the rollout of the new platform a straight-forward prospect. 

User Experience

If you’ve been following Moodle 4 and eagerly awaiting the LTS version so you can move from Moodle 3.x, you probably already know that the main theme of 4.x has been a new more modern user interface. The more contemporary interface, with tabbed navigation and a redefined course experience makes it easier to create and edit courses, whilst also reducing distractions.

Since 4.0 was released, the team building Moodle 4.1 LTS has also managed to add Database and Gradebook enhancements, Assignment and Quiz updates along with TinyMCE 6 editor support.

Combined with further behind-the-scenes improvements in reporting, integrations and interoperability, and the expected performance and security updates, Moodle 4.x is a compelling proposition for users still on Moodle 3.x 

Server Setup

Moodle 4.1 brings several new minimum version requirements for your Moodle Server environment. The minimum PHP version has been incremented (to 7.4.0), as have most of the recommended database versions across SQL Server, MariaDB, Postgres and Oracle. If you’re hosted with Enovation, we’ll take care of these as part of your upgrade but if you’re self-hosted, make sure you checkout the full release notes and version dependencies here.

What’s Next

Inevitably, as we discuss upgrades, attention is already turning to what’s next for Moodle beyond 4.1. The roadmap for 4.2 that’s already been shared with the global Moodle community (and with input from the community) shows a focus on improved messaging within Moodle, with the exciting integration of the Matrix platform. At Enovation, we’re constantly looking at what’s coming so we’ll keep you posted on developments as they happen. If you’re super-keen, checkout the development tracker here.

Upgrade with Enovation

At Enovation, we help educators harness the power of Moodle, the world’s leading LMS and we’ve developed a unique selection of customisations to further extend Moodle to meet the specific needs of individual institutions. The power to build on Moodle’s formidable feature set to meet your learners’ needs is an efficient and effective approach to learning. 

Time to Upgrade?

Get in touch with Enovation to discuss scheduling your upgrade or to explore how our customisations to Moodle offer even more flexibility and opportunities for enhancing learning.