// 4 apps · deploy as one
Education Stack
Complete e-learning platform: LMS + web conferencing + file collaboration + collaborative documents. Built for schools, universities, training organizations, and corporate L&D.
What this stack is
Education Stack is the complete e-learning platform for schools, universities, training providers, and corporate learning & development teams: an LMS (Moodle), web conferencing (BigBlueButton), file collaboration + class folders (Nextcloud), and real-time collaborative document editing (OnlyOffice). Replaces fragmented dependencies on Google Workspace for Education + Zoom + Microsoft Teams with one self-hosted platform under the institution's own domain.
Status: ALPHA scaffold (21/05/2026) — Moodle and BigBlueButton catalog entries added to support this stack; both need a dedicated validation session before production use. Nextcloud + OnlyOffice are existing production-ready catalog apps.
What it's for
- Course management — Moodle handles courses, modules, assignments, quizzes, grades, certificates, badges
- Live classes + tutorials — BigBlueButton runs HD video meetings with screen sharing, breakout rooms, polls, whiteboard, recording
- Class file storage + sharing — Nextcloud per-student folders, group folders for classes, parent/guardian shared albums
- Document collaboration — OnlyOffice for Word/Excel/PowerPoint-compatible real-time editing on Moodle assignments
- Tight Moodle ↔ BBB integration — BBB API shared secret registered in Moodle = teachers schedule meetings from inside their course
- Federated single sign-on — all four apps support SAML/OAuth/LDAP for school-identity-provider integration
Who it's for
- K-12 schools wanting EU-sovereign learning platform without Google/Microsoft data-export concerns
- Higher education (universities, polytechnics) replacing aging Blackboard / Brightspace systems
- Vocational training providers running cohort-based courses with attendance + grading
- Corporate L&D departments running internal training under sovereignty/compliance constraints
- National education ministries seeking turn-key sovereign platforms (precedents: Italy 2020 Moodle nazionale, German Bundesländer adoption)
- Tutoring services providing private 1-to-1 or small-group learning at scale
Apps in this stack
| App | Role |
|---|---|
| Moodle | LMS: courses, assignments, quizzes, gradebook, forums, certificates |
| BigBlueButton | Web conferencing: HD video, breakout rooms, recording, Moodle plugin |
| Nextcloud | File sync + sharing: per-student folders, class group folders, calendars |
| OnlyOffice | Collaborative editing: real-time Word/Excel/PowerPoint inside Moodle and Nextcloud |
Sizing & deployment
- Recommended VPS: 16 GB RAM, 8 vCPU, 150 GB NVMe storage
- No GPU needed (some institutions add Whisper container for live captioning — separate add-on)
- BigBlueButton specific requirements (handled by upstream
bbb-install.sh):
- Public IPv4 address (no NAT) - Public DNS A record pointing to the VPS - Port 443 + UDP 16384-32768 open in firewall - Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS
- Deploy time: 60-90 min one-click (BBB install is slow — pulls FreeSWITCH + Kurento + Greenlight + HTML5 server)
- Backup profile: nightly Moodle DB + moodledata + Nextcloud data + BBB recordings + OnlyOffice cache
Why hosters sell this
The education-tech market spends billions on Google for Education + Microsoft 365 Education + Zoom for Education annually — but EU institutions face growing pressure from data-protection regulators (EDPS, national DPAs) to keep student data on EU soil under institutional control. This stack solves that pain end-to-end at flat-rate VPS pricing.
Common resale shape:
- Small school tier — single VPS, single school (50-200 students), basic Moodle + BBB + Nextcloud
- District tier — dedicated VPS, multiple schools as separate Moodle courses, shared infrastructure
- University tier — multi-tenant Moodle + scaled BBB cluster + per-faculty Nextcloud workspaces
- Corporate L&D tier — branded portal for internal training programs
Stack retail pricing is set by the hoster based on cost stack (VPS + Bluix license + support + BBB's higher operational burden). See suggested retail hint on this page as starting anchor; refer to bluix.net/bluixapps.php for the module license layer.
Compliance profile
- All student data stays on the VPS — coursework, recordings, communication, file uploads never leave
- GDPR + FERPA + national education-data laws clean by design (EU education rules vary by country)
- Audit trail in Moodle for every course access, assignment submission, grade change
- Recording consent workflow in BBB (recordings only happen with explicit consent)
- Right-to-be-forgotten — Moodle "delete user" + Nextcloud "delete user" + BBB recording deletion = full removal
- Deploy region picked per national requirement (Germany BDSG, Italy Codice Privacy, France LIL, Spain LOPDGDD, US FERPA, UK Data Protection Act)
ALPHA status — what's pending validation
This stack is currently alpha-tier. Components:
- ✅ Nextcloud — production-ready catalog entry, validated in other suites
- ✅ OnlyOffice — production-ready catalog entry, validated
- ⚠️ Moodle — install script scaffolded using Bitnami container, needs E2E validation (Bitnami init may take 10+ min on first boot, port binding, admin login flow)
- ⚠️ BigBlueButton — install script wraps upstream
bbb-install.sh, needs validation on clean Ubuntu 22.04 VPS with public IPv4 + DNS A record
Dedicated validation session needed before customer-facing launch. Estimated effort: 10-15h Moodle E2E + 20-30h BigBlueButton E2E (BBB is notoriously complex to install reliably).
Tracked in [docs/STACK_VALIDATION_MATRIX.md](../STACK_VALIDATION_MATRIX.md) under education_stack section.