Martin Dougiamas from Moodle.org announced today the release of Moodle 2.1. Moodle is a learning management system which in simple terms can be described as a niche CMS geared toward the education field.

Major new features in Moodle 2.1 include the following:

• A new question engine (used by quizzes, for example), which makes questions more robust and will enable developers to create all kinds of interesting question types in the future.
• Restoring of Moodle 1.9 backups is now possible.
• Moodle 2.1 now directly supports mobile apps for some functions. In addition, there is direct support for mobile-specific Moodle Themes and automatic detection of mobile browsers.

Digging into the release notes, you'll also find additional changes in this version of Moodle include:

• Ability to copy (or clone) an activity
• Ability to navigate navigation/settings menu and dock with keyboard
• Improved plugins check/overview page
• Upgraded TinyMCE (a rich text editor) to the latest version 3.4.2
• New performance setting for calculating an appropriate timeout during large cURL requests
• Daylight saving should be calculated for users having string timezone
• Messaging Improvements: Site administrators can now control which message delivery methods can be used for each message type

Moodle 2.1 is available from a number of sources including packaged form from the Moodle download page, direct access via a git repository or one of Moodle's CVS mirrors.

Humans have hunted from the earliest times. Maybe that’s why we often accept the burdensome quest for information. We’re accustomed to the chase—even fooled into thinking we’re doing something valuable. Yet time lost in pointless pursuit means something is sacrificed. In the case of college enrollment, a drawn-out chase can mean losing top candidates to other institutions and ending up with a mediocre catch.

During peak season, enrollment office employees frenetically pursue information and answers, compiling scattered documentation in the hope of making quick, prudent decisions. Admissions, student aid, registrar, scholarship committees and other areas each have separate forms requiring distinctive information.

Yet as each department collects what it needs, useful information that could be shared is often requested again…and again. Information that could move decisions forward sits idle, garnering little or no attention.

Regrettably, as processes are deferred, institutions risk losing top candidates to other institutions.

Make informed decisions, quickly

Whether we’re considering undergraduate or graduate admissions, student financial aid, scholarship applications, or faculty search, the overriding goal is to garner and retain top people. Even though roles and responsibilities differ among departments, most draw vital information from transcripts, applications, test scores, essays, and references. Often, specific data found on forms is valuable in multiple places. Unfortunately, departmental software systems that store this precious information create data silos, resulting in information that is unknowingly collected multiple times for varying purposes.

Gathering information several times—even if it’s done efficiently—wastes resources, results in redundancy, generates errors, and causes delays.

Why not re-use your information to satisfy current needs and anticipate what lies ahead? Enterprise content management (ECM) and business process management (BPM) software, integrated meaningfully with your business systems, redefine efficiency. By centralizing and securing access to content, then pushing and pulling information wherever it’s needed according to your pre-set business rules, ECM and BPM free your staff to work efficiently and focus on the services for which they were hired.

London, 23 March, 2010 - PageOne Communications, the UK’s leading provider of mobile messaging solutions to the education, public and enterprise sectors, today announced that JANET(UK), the UK’s education and research network, has selected PageOne to provide its JANET txt service for a further four years.

Following a rigorous procurement process, PageOne was chosen due to its commercial pedigree, financial credibility and its incomparable commitment to data and information security through its ISO27001 accreditation. PageOne’s resilient infrastructure, and its high levels of technical and customer support were also key considerations.

Attractive low start up costs that allow any school or college to cost effectively set up SMS communications were instrumental in JANET’s decision-making process. In addition to enhanced technology integration, PageOne’s transparent pricing model, lower SMS costs, no set up fees and low recurring charges were also key factors in securing the deal.

Under the new contract educational establishments will not only benefit from a new low message rate of 4p, but also a free upgrade to their standard accounts. The new upgrade includes improved reporting, diary function, as well as support for extended messaging types such as voice broadcast capability, fax and intra-account messaging.

Dec 3, 2009.  Wilmington NC.  Roger Wyatt, President and CEO of Tynken Interactive announces Signal, a breakthrough in technology that allows teachers to post class notes, homework, schedules and a myriad of other content to their web pages by simply sending an email.   All users need to do is type a code in the subject line, and the system directs the contents of the email to the appropriate section of their web page. "What is really great about this is that it turns the system on its head. What I kept hearing is that the majority of teachers don't have the time or desire to be web designers, and that they are therefore stuck either doing nothing or spending time learning new software" said Wyatt. "Now all they have to do is send an email, and the system does it for them.  This saves a significant amount of time, and makes better, faster classroom communication very easy. First we completely changed the way teachers interact with their web applications. Now we are bringing about a second revolution – allowing them to post to their sites using only email"

"I had been talking with teachers about some of their issues. One of the main ones was not having the time to learn software to maintain a teacher web page. In fact, only 10% of the teachers in any school create a teacher page when given the opportunity. They all said the same thing - "I don't have the time to learn a new system". Now they don't have to. This new system is unbelievably powerful. It is set it up to allow posting of just about anything - scores, schedules, menus, etc - in addition to class notes, homework, and the other class information" said Wyatt.  "And there is no need for training - they just send an email for the instructions and the system emails them the user guide - all 1 page of it. So the technology coordinators don't need to spend any time training the teachers in using the application - there's no training required. And there are built-in safeguards.  For example, if the teacher forgets to put a due date on the homework assignment, the system will not post it, but send an email asking for the due date before posting."

Staffordshire University is taking part in a pilot study to explore the issues and benefits involved in making its ‘stock’ of learning content freely available.

The project, made possible by the use of Giunti Labs’ HarvestRoad Hive digital repository (DR) allied to the Blackboard virtual learning environment (VLE), is one of seven such projects being funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) – a Government-funded body which supports education and research by promoting innovation in new technologies and by the central support of information and communications technology (ICT) services.

The project involving Staffordshire University involves making some 700 ‘credits’ of learning materials  available in various forms, including video, ‘hardcopy’ notes and so on. These materials, originally kept within the Blackboard VLE, or learning management system, have been migrated to Giunti Labs’ DR; then federated to the JISC repository (known as JORAM Open) and made available to learners via RSS feed alerts.

Professor Mark Stiles, the University’s Head of Learning Development and Innovation, and a member of the board of directors of the IMS Global Learning Consortium, explained: “We bought Giunti Labs’ HarvestRoad Hive – in 2006 – because we wanted flexibility in how we used our learning content. We already had the Blackboard VLE but we wanted to use the content on this system in other ways.

Joomla Showroom has just released a new version of the Joomlearn LMS Silver Edition.

This new version 1.5.6 comes with a brand new feature. Now you can see the actual results of each question that you answered in a test.

The new version will show on the results page the correct answer to the question as well as the answer that the user chose in the online quiz.

Visit http://joomlashowroom.com for more information.

Wilmington NC.  Tynken Interactive announces the successful development of a content management system that takes communication at educational institutions to a new level.  Named  Frequency , the new platform has been years in development , and comes out of the gate looking vastly different from other CMS.  “The last revolutionary development in user interface was 5 or more years ago with tabbed navigation.  We knew there was a better way for users to get things done.  Our interface is so intuitive, you won’t believe how easy it is to put information on the web” says Roger Wyatt, President and CEO of Tynken Interactive.  “Tabs are now very old-school, and it is about time”.

Incorporated into Frequency is Wavelength, a platform for teachers, parents and students to share information and gauge learning progress.  The tools available include class notes, homework assignments, class library, digital lockers, electronic homework submission, personal student calendars, sticky-note messaging, discussion boards and chat sessions.  “Knowledge is power, for sure, and communication is the key to obtaining and retaining that knowledge” says Wyatt. “We wanted to develop a web platform that is so easy to use that the focus is on what is being communicated, not how”.

Leicester, UK - The University of Northampton today announced that it has selected the Jadu CMS content management system to upgrade its online presence. The solution will overcome bottlenecks and barriers currently preventing fast updates to information across the online presence of the University and cut the time spent by the Web Team training end users.

In addition, Jadu CMS will deliver a consistent branding and information architecture across the two main 'tiers' to The University of Northampton's online presence: a corporate site and numerous micro-sites that the schools and departments maintain themselves.

In specifying its CMS, The University of Northampton undertook a full OJEU tender process and selected Jadu CMS to replace Oracle Portal (and a bespoke PHP-based site).

The University of Northampton wanted a CMS that could be extended by its experienced PHP developers. The developer API was therefore of particular interest, while ease of use for end users was another critical factor in selecting Jadu.

Packt's "Drupal for Education and E-Learning" by Bill Fitzgerald will help teaching and learning in the classroom using the Drupal CMS. One can use Drupal in the classroom to enhance teaching and engage students with a range of learning activities. It will also be of help to create blogs, online discussions, groups, and a community website using Drupal.

This book has clear step-by-step instructions throughout it. There is actually no need for code since it is a teacher-friendly, comprehensive guide. It helps you break through the hype, and shows you how to build a site in Drupal that incorporates the Web in your class, on your terms, to achieve specific learning goals and provides the essential details to get the most out of your Drupal site.

You can read an exclusive chapter at the publisher's website. In clear, step-by-step instructions, you will learn how to build a site that is easy to use, easy to navigate, and supports the teaching and learning you want to emphasize. "Drupal for Education and E-Learning" provides an overview of how to work with Drupal to build a feature-rich learning environment. This book is for anybody looking to use Drupal to support teaching and learning with lots of examples of realistic courses and classroom ideas – and how to implement them.

I opened my copy of Moodle 1.9 E-Learning Course Development
by William Rice with a high expectation that it would be an informative
and practical reference text. Why? I was about to upgrade to Moodle
1.9. Did it meet my expectations? 

Now read on...

Using
open source software can be a daunting experience, regardless of your
technical or business experience, and this text's purpose is to shorten
users' path to competency in the application. Broadly speaking, the
text covers four Moodle-related activities:

• Installing and configuring Moodle 1.9
• E-Learning course development and delivery
• E-Learning course management
• Moodle administration and maintenance

The author assumes zero previous knowledge of the application, and begins by describing Moodle’s Social-Constructionist
approach to learning, before bringing the reader on a whistle-stop tour
of Moodle 1.9’s features and functionality– a very good idea indeed, as
this goes some way to providing an understanding of why Moodle 1.9
looks and works the way it does for newcomers, acts as a pertinent
reminder for experienced Moodlers, and sets the context for the course
creation sections later in the book.