Open edX FAQ: Everything You Need to Know
Answers to the most common questions about Open edX — what it is, how it works, hosting options, and how to get started.
Open edX is one of the world's most widely used open-source learning management systems. Here are the most common questions we receive about the platform itself.
What is Open edX?
Open edX is an open-source learning management system (LMS) originally developed by Harvard and MIT in 2012 to power edX.org. It allows any organization — universities, corporations, NGOs, and governments — to create, deliver, and manage online courses at any scale. The platform is free to use and can be self-hosted or deployed through a managed provider like Aulasneo.
What is the difference between edX and Open edX?
edX (edx.org) is a commercial online learning marketplace owned by 2U Inc., offering courses from top universities. Open edX is the open-source platform that originally powered edX — free for anyone to deploy independently. With Open edX, your organization controls the platform, the content, and the learner data.
Who uses Open edX?
Open edX is used by over 100 million learners worldwide. Its users include top universities (Harvard, MIT, Stanford), global corporations (Microsoft, IBM), government agencies, NGOs, and ed-tech startups. It supports use cases from employee training to national-scale education programs.
What are the main features of Open edX?
Open edX includes a full course authoring tool (Studio), learner dashboards, video streaming, quizzes and assessments, discussion forums, certificates, multilingual support, SCORM and LTI integrations, analytics, and an extensible plugin architecture. It supports self-paced, instructor-led, and blended learning formats.
Is Open edX free?
The Open edX software is free and open-source. However, running it requires cloud infrastructure, technical setup, and ongoing maintenance. Organizations can self-host it with a technical team, or use a fully managed service like Aulasneo that handles all the infrastructure so you can focus on your courses.
What are the Open edX hosting options?
There are two main options: self-hosted (your team installs and manages the platform on your own servers) or fully managed (a provider like Aulasneo handles all hosting, updates, backups and support). Managed hosting is ideal for organizations without a DevOps team or those that want to launch quickly.
What Open edX services does Aulasneo provide?
We provide managed Open edX hosting, customization, integrations (LTI 1.3, OAuth), and advanced LMS analytics.
What is LTI 1.3 and how does it integrate with Open edX?
LTI 1.3 is a standard for integrating external tools with LMS. We configure secure connections between Open edX and third-party applications for interactive content.
How does Aulasneo handle bulk enrollment in Open edX?
We automate bulk enrollment through APIs and custom scripts, enabling efficient management of thousands of students simultaneously.
What dropout risk analytics does Aulasneo provide?
We analyze engagement patterns, student progress, and behavioral data to identify students at dropout risk before they leave.
Does Aulasneo offer Open edX theme customization?
Yes, we develop custom themes that reflect your organization's branding, including colors, logos, and unique interface elements.
What SIS integrations does Aulasneo support with Open edX?
We integrate Open edX with popular SIS systems for automatic synchronization of students, courses, and grades through secure APIs.
How does Aulasneo's managed Open edX hosting work?
We provide scalable infrastructure on AWS, automatic updates, daily backups, and 24/7 monitoring to keep your platform running optimally.
Can Aulasneo migrate our existing Open edX?
Yes, we handle complete migrations of existing Open edX instances, including course content, user data, and custom configurations.
What OAuth support does Aulasneo provide for Open edX?
We configure OAuth2 authentication for integration with existing identity systems, enabling secure single sign-on (SSO).
How does Aulasneo enable AI agent in Open edX?
We integrate Owly, our AI agent, to automate administrative tasks, answer student questions, and provide real-time analytics insights.
Have more questions?
Our team of experts is ready to help you with any Open edX questions.
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