Open-source Google Classroom alternatives

Open edX Platform is the core code of the Open edX project, which provides an LMS, where learners take courses, and Studio, where course authors build them. The maintainers describe it as powering education sites around the world, and it is aimed at institutions and companies that run their own online courses.

The repository is a Python backend service released under the AGPL-3.0 licence, with named releases such as the Birch release. The project website could not be read when this entry was written, so details beyond the repository description are limited. Deployments are typically operated by the organization or by a hosting provider, rather than as a single downloadable application.

Moodle is an open-source learning platform used by universities, schools, companies and other organizations. It is designed so that educators, administrators and learners can create personalized learning environments within a single integrated system.

The project is written in PHP and released under the GNU GPL v3. The Moodle site is the hub for a community that includes spaces for educators, administrators and developers, along with Moodle Moot events, developer meetings and the Moodle User Association. User documentation, developer documentation and a demo site let you evaluate it before committing.

You can download Moodle and run it on your own web server, or work with one of the Moodle Partners. Hosting is also offered through MoodleCloud and the partner network, so organizations without technical staff have a managed route.

Frappe Learning is an open-source learning management system designed to be simple to use. It started in 2021 when the authors needed a platform for Mon.School at FOSS United and found existing options such as Moodle too cumbersome for creating a course. It grew into a standalone product aimed at anyone who wants to publish a course and share knowledge.

Courses follow a three-level structure: a course holds chapters and chapters group lessons, so each lesson has context. Learners can be grouped into batches, and Zoom live classes can be created from within the app for each batch. Instructors can build quizzes with single-choice, multiple-choice or open-ended questions, and set assignments that learners submit as PDFs or documents.

When a learner finishes a course or batch, instructors can grant a certificate using the built-in template or one of their own. The application is built on the Frappe Framework with TypeScript, JavaScript and Python, and it is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Documentation and a project website are available, and the codebase welcomes contributions.

Sakai is a freely available suite for learning, teaching, research and collaboration, developed by a diverse and global adopter community. The repository contains the source for the Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment, with the master branch tracking the most current development release, Sakai 24. It is written in Java and is an Apereo Foundation project.

Building from source needs Java 1.8 and Maven, or the included wrapper. Sakai runs on Apache Tomcat 9, and the README warns that it does not work with Tomcat installed from a distribution package manager, so it must be configured by hand following the wiki guide. After startup, which takes around thirty seconds, the portal is reachable on port 8080 of the local machine.

Sakai is licensed under the Educational Community License version 2.0. Bugs are filed in the project's Jira, the community runs nightly servers for testing the latest builds, and a developer mailing list is available. Branches other than master correspond to currently or previously supported releases, and the README describes the release plan and support schedule.

Kolibri is an offline-first platform for teaching and learning with technology, built so it does not require the internet. It is developed by Learning Equality together with its community, is written in Python and is licensed under MIT. Project topics include education, edtech, open educational resources and the UN Sustainable Development Goal for quality education.

This repository is intended for software developers who want to contribute. People who need to install, configure or use Kolibri are directed to the User Guide and to the download page on the Learning Equality website. Questions, suggestions and issues can be posted in the community forums, and confirmed bugs can be filed as GitHub issues using the issue template.

The project welcomes contributors and explains how to join in through its contributing guide. The latest release listed in the data is v0.19.5. Kolibri fits schools, educators and organizations that serve learners in places where connectivity is limited or unreliable.

Canvas is a modern, open-source learning management system developed and maintained by Instructure Inc. It is released under the AGPLv3 license for use by anyone interested in learning more about or using learning management systems. The codebase is written in Ruby, and the repository topics describe it as a mirror of the Gerrit-based development work.

The README itself is short and defers to the project's wiki for detailed installation and configuration instructions. It points to a quick start path for trying Canvas and a separate production start path for real deployments, and it directs readers to the main wiki page for more information about the product.

Canvas suits institutions and organizations that want to run a learning management system from source. Instructure also offers Canvas as a commercial hosted service, though the repository does not describe that offering or its pricing.

Chamilo is an open-source e-learning platform, also called a learning management system, for publishing courses and tracking learners. It is released under the GPL-3.0 license and aims for ease of use and accessibility for teachers, trainers and administrators. The current major version in the repository is Chamilo 3.

The feature list covers announcements, assignments that can be created, submitted and graded, with AI-assisted co-grading and plagiarism checking integrations, and attendance tracking with reporting and signing. Calendar events support reminders and subscriptions. Course administration includes creating, publishing, exporting and importing courses, including content coming from Moodle, and there is a course catalogue with an e-commerce module and filtering by user groups.

Chamilo also offers content management pages and menus, document management with OnlyOffice integration for viewing and collaboration, and support for multimedia learning modules. An API lets it connect to HR systems, student information systems, ERP tools and online shops. The application is built with PHP and Twig templates.