Open source e-learning applications

There are various open source e-learning applications that can be installed easily, have a wide user community & offers a complete system. Here are 7 of them which you will like:

eFront

eFront is a complete e-learning software with a good looking Ajaxed interface. It enables admins to create & manage lessons easily with various tools like:

content editors (has a flexible visual content editor and support for pictures, sound, video, flash or java) file manager & digital library (for file sharing) test builders abiity to assign projects creating surveys & more.

The system is multilingual & modular. It requires PHP & MySQL to run.

Moodle

Moodle is one of the most popular open source e-learning system. It is built with PHP & uses MySQL or PostgreSQL to store data. It has powerful course management features that covers creating lessons, assignments, quizes, documents & more. There are various modules that help students & teachers to interact with each other like chat, forum, survey or workshop. It is used in 1000s of websites, has a detailed documentation & a wide community.

Dokeos

Dokeos, besides the standard course management features, offers Flash based videoconferencing which enables you to organise live training and meetings remotely. Powerpoint presentations can be imported and converted in to SCORM courses. The system has a "coaching" feature to interact with the learners through agenda, forums, chat, videoconference, open questions-answers and assignment feedbacks. It requires PHP & MySQL to run.

Claroline

Claroline is an open source e-learning and e-working platform that allows teachers to create effective online courses and to manage learning and collaborative activities on the web. It has a wide user community & already translated to 35 languages. You can create online exercises & track the result of them, define a learning path where students can follow one-by-one, add group works, assignments & more.. It is possible to interact with users via chat or forums. The application requires PHP & MySQL.

Ilias Learning Management

Ilias is a powerful web-based learning application where every user has a comprehensive personal desktop to use the system, keep notes, bookmarks, etc. It offers a cooperative learning environment where user can create working groups, or groups of certain interests. Ilias has a flexible test system where time based tests can be created with multiple choice, single choice, allocation questions, cloze questions (free text, select box), ordering, matching, hot spot and more question types. You need PHP & MySQL to run the system.

Sakai Project

Sakai is a powerful yet flexible solution that supports not only teaching and learning but also research and administrative collaboration. Using the application, you can create courses, manage assignments, share documents, prepare exams. And, as a result, grade informations can be calculate, stored and distributed. Sakai offers modules for announcements, chat, discussion forums & more. P.S. The application is Java based.

Olat

Olat is a Java-based, Ajaxed & multilingual & open source web-based learning management system. It is possible to create flexible courses with tests, wikis, forums, documents, tasks & more. There is an integrated Ajaxed instant messenger for easier communication. The application comes with a 1-click installer that configures the server.