In 2019, the Stone Arch Bridge Initiative for Education Resources (SABIER), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting teachers in using Open Educational Resources (OER) on open source tools like Moodle, encountered a critical challenge. Focused on promoting literacy in elementary schools across Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya, SABIER worked tirelessly to create, curate, and source OER content aligned to standards, emphasising translations and adaptations for local languages. However, their reliance on a self-hosted LMS was stretching their limited funding and small team thin, diverting resources away from their mission to scale quality education and effectively support educators.
Despite these hurdles, SABIER saw an opportunity to create lasting change. By turning to MoodleCloud, they found a solution that allowed them to reimagine how education could be delivered—one that was scalable, cost-effective, and inclusive.
The challenge
SABIER faced several challenges in managing their self-hosted LMS. Without a dedicated technical team, maintaining the platform became a constant struggle. Routine updates and troubleshooting fell by the wayside, making it difficult to test new features or introduce innovations. This limitation directly impacted their ability to deliver effective learning solutions and hindered their advocacy efforts to secure additional funding.
The organisation also encountered difficulties in demonstrating its LMS capabilities to stakeholders. Without a stable, fully functional platform, showcasing its vision for scalable, impactful education was a challenge. SABIER needed a solution that could simplify its operations, freeing up resources to focus on its mission of supporting teachers and students in Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya.
The solution
The shift to MoodleCloud marked a turning point for SABIER. This fully hosted LMS eliminated the technical headaches of their self-hosted solution, offering automatic updates, reliable security, and seamless performance. Freed from the burden of managing IT infrastructure, SABIER could focus on their core mission: empowering teachers and students.
With MoodleCloud, SABIER launched professional development programs that gave teachers the tools they needed to deliver effective digital lessons. SABIER used their Moodle site to create, curate, and adapt high-quality OER content for elementary students. Additionally, using Moodle’s intuitive course creation features, SABIER designed training programs to help educators understand how best to use these digital materials..
Curating and adopting Open Educational Resources (OER) tailored to the needs of local communities is a priority for SABIER. Translating these resources into local languages like Dagbani and isiXhosa ensured that students could learn in their mother tongues. MoodleCloud’s multilingual capabilities made it easy to deliver these materials, fostering inclusivity and engagement.
By tapping into Moodle’s offline features, SABIER found a way to bring digital learning to schools without reliable internet access. This meant that even in rural areas, students and teachers could access the same high-quality resources as their peers in better-connected regions. It was a game-changer—making sure that no matter where they were, everyone had a fair shot at learning and growing.
The result
By 2024, the impact of MoodleCloud was undeniable. Teachers across Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya were better equipped to engage their students, delivering lessons that were interactive, effective, and aligned with local standards. Students who had once struggled with outdated materials now had access to high-quality, culturally relevant resources.
The cost savings from switching to MoodleCloud allowed SABIER to reinvest in its programs, expanding its reach and scaling its impact. No longer tied down by technical issues, the organisation could focus entirely on its mission to improve education.
Perhaps most inspiring was the way SABIER used MoodleCloud to bridge divides. Whether in urban centres or the most remote villages, students and teachers were united by shared access to quality education. By combining MoodleCloud with innovative offline solutions, SABIER ensured no learner was left behind.
