Can a fully functioning democracy work in the absence of anonymity to protect freedom of speech? While armies of political scientists spend century after century in this debate, you can go a more practical route, by using the anonymous posting in forums plugin for Moodle.
Anonymous posting in forums provides straightforward functionality. It enables any user with access to a Moodle Forum to post without showing his or her name. Developer Juan Leyva would like us to remember that it is not a tool to guarantee privacy. When installed, the plugin creates a user named “Anonymous” with blocked login. When a user chooses to post anonymously, the “Anonymous” user is enrolled in the Course and Forum where the student posts.
Anonymity in the context of a course or team offers several advantages (and admittedly, a few complications, too). People can express their opinion without fear of victimization or retaliation. They can be more candid and explicit. Finally, they can give more honest feedback, as it gives some protection to “yes man” behavior.
Download or install the anonymous posting in forum plugin from its official Moodle Plugin page. It is compatible with Moodle 2.9 to 3.1, so use it in Moodle 3.2 and above at your own risk.
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