Moodle 2.0.3 and Moodle 1.9.12 released

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Submitted by Bryan on

The folks over at Moodle have released versions 2.0.3 and 1.9.12 of their open source learning management system (LMS). Helen Foster writes in the Moodle announcement:

In addition to a number of bug fixes and small improvements, five security vulnerabilities (4 major, 1 minor) in 2.0.2 and two security vulnerabilities (both major) in 1.9.11 have been discovered and fixed. Thanks to the reporters and to all the team responsible for fixing these security issues.

Some of the new features and improvements in Moodle 2.0.3 include:

The latst versions of Moodle can be found at Moodle.org's download page.

Moodle 2.0 to be released this summer

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Submitted by Bryan on

Perhaps because I like to think of myself as a constant learner, I like to keep keep my eyes open for what is happening with learning/course management systems. CMS Report has been covering Moodle since the early days of our website and I believe it to be one of the more popular open source LMS out there. Moodle 2.0 is currently under development and with an estimated release date of July 20, 2010.

Although Moodle 2.0 hasn't been officially released, the developers did reach important milestones this month with the release of Moodle 2.0 Preview 1 and  Preview 2. These previews give you an idea just how all the new features and improvements are coming together for the next release of Moodle. There are a ton of new features and improvements coming to Moodle to be excited about. Below is a list of major new features we've gleamed of the Moodle 2.0 release notes.

  • Community Hubs - Anybody can set up a Community Hub, which is a directory of courses for public use or for private communities. The code is implemented as separate GPL plugin for Moodle.
  • Repository Support - Moodle now supports integration with external repositories of content, making it really simple to bring documents and media into Moodle via an AJAX interface that looks like a standard Open dialogue in desktop applications.
  • Portfolio Support - Modules can now export their data to external systems, particularly useful for portfolios where snapshots of forums, assignments and other things in Moodle are useful to record in a journal or a portfolio of evidence
  • Completion -  Teachers can now specify conditions that define when any activity or course is seen as completed by a student.
  • Conditional activities - Access to activities can be restricted based on certain criteria, such as dates, grade obtained, or the completion of another activity.
  • Cohorts - Also known as "Site-wide groups", these are site-wide collections of users that can be enrolled into courses in one action, either manually or synchronized automatically
  • Web Services Support - Support for standards-based web services across the entire Moodle code base, allowing the admin to expose particular functions of Moodle for use by: 1) Administrative systems such as HR or SIS applications and 2) Mobile clients.
  • IMS Common Cartridge - Moodle can now import courses in IMS Common Cartridge format (commonly used by publishers)
  • New blocks - Comments block, Private files block, Community block, and Completion block.

Moodle 2.0 Preview 2 can be dowloaded from the Moodle download server.

Create Language Activities with the new Moodle Book

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Submitted by richarddias on

Moodle 1.9 for Second Language Teaching is a new book from Packt that is aimed at creating enjoyable, useful language learning activities. Written by Jeff Stanford, this book is a recipe for creating Moodle activities based on a communicative language teaching approach.

Moodle is a free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites. It is designed to help educators create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. Its open source license and modular design ensure that people can develop additional functionality.

With this book, educators would get different approaches with fully working examples for adapting classroom activities to the Virtual Learning Environment. It will help them to set up an online language learning center that includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar activities. Users will learn how to improve their learning activities and make them visually attractive by installing flash audio players and You Tube video on their Moodle site.

Emmanuel Schools Foundation Chooses Blackboard for Online Learning

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Submitted by Real_Wire on

Four schools across north-east England to benefit from integrated online systems

AMSTERDAM – December 1, 2009 – Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) today announced that The Emmanuel Schools Foundation, a charitable schools sponsor, has chosen Blackboard to establish its first Virtual Learning Environment. Blackboard LearnTM for Academic Collaboration will be rolled out across the Foundation’s four schools in the north-east of England: Emmanuel College in Gateshead, The King’s Academy in Middlesbrough, Trinity Academy in Doncaster and the newly opened Bede Academy in Blyth.

The Foundation was set up in 1988 to partner local schools with the aim of improving all facets of academic life, from the welfare of students through to improved results. During the last 20 years the Foundation has seen its reputation for excellence flourish as it has grown from one school of 150 pupils and 20 staff to four schools with 5,500 students aged 3 to 18 and over 800 staff. Implementing Blackboard’s Virtual Learning Environment reflects the Foundation’s intention to use innovative education delivery techniques which reflect its traditional ethos and values.

“The online world opens up enormous and exciting possibilities for our staff and students to connect and collaborate in innovative ways,” said Nick Mather, director of teaching and learning, The Emmanuel Schools Foundation. “Blackboard offered us all the aspects we were looking for in a VLE partner; this is key to our vision for educational excellence and our future growth.”

Joomlearn LMS Silver Edition v1.5.6 Released!

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Submitted by carson3511 on

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.

Book review of Moodle 1.9 Multimedia

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Submitted by mhanley on

I've used Moodle for about four years, and in that time I've found it to be an exceptionally useful, high-functioning and user-friendly learning management system (LMS). In my view, the one deficiency in its suite of resources is that it is less than intuitive moodle1.9multimediain the way it enables  administrators, teachers, and learners to create, integrate, manage, and deliver images, audio, video, animations and other media types.

Enter Packt Publishing's Moodle 1.9 Multimedia by João Pedro Soares Fernandes.

I opened my copy of the text with a high expectation that it would be an informative and practical reference text. Why? Packt Publishing have been providing Moodle reference books for some time now, and their texts are usually either very good or excellent.

Now read on...

Enhance your E-Learning Course Experience with New Moodle Book from Packt

Moodle has evolved from an academic project to the world's most popular virtual learning environment. It is designed to help educators create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. Its open source license and modular design means that people can develop additional functionality.

Moodle 1.9 Multimedia is a new book from Packt that helps Moodle users integrate multimedia elements effectively. With this book, written by Joao Pedro Soares Fernandes, readers will create instructional materials and utilize Moodle resources and cutting-edge tools to interact with their audience.

Moodle 1.9 Multimedia provides complete information about the integration of multimedia elements such as audio clips, links to pages off-site, YouTube videos, and animations to an e- learning course. Users will learn how to create and edit images, drawings, and screenshots, which can be blended into their e-learning courses. Basic procedures to create and convert various learning video formats or download and publish videos from online video-sharing services will be explained.

With this book, users will create multimedia elements such as interactive floor planners, online maps, and timelines using Web 2.0 tools. Multimedia elements can be integrated in quizzes and lessons to make e-learning courses more interactive. They will also learn how to use software such as HotPotatoes and JClic to assess interactive exercises that are created and blended in the Moodle course. Real-time applications such as the Online Phone service and Desktop Sharing will help students interact on a common Moodle platform.

Build a feature-rich learning environment using Drupal

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Submitted by Afsha on

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.

Turning the iPhone into a Moodle Server

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Submitted by Bryan on

Lots of people do interesting things once they've jail-breaked their iPhone. Dan Poltawski is no exception when he tries to turn his once client-only device into a Moodle Server.

Having ended up with a spare iPhone from a recent upgrade I decided to try jail-breaking the old one and see what software was out there away from the restrictions of the app store. I discovered that lighttpd, php and sqlite were all available from the software repositories for download - these three combined are enough to run a Moodle server. So out the window went cleaning my flat and sensible tasks - I had to make my phone into a Moodle server!

Once you start reading the article you will find that his first attempt at installing and using Moodle on his iPhone wasn't that successful. Still, Moodle on the iPhone is an interesting concept. To say the least, the concept is much more interesting than the YouTube video he provides of his experience. Dan, couldn't you at least added some background music or some audio of you swearing at your iPhone?

Amy Stephen's comments on Blackboard and Patents

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Submitted by Bryan on
Amy Stephen, OpenSourceCommunity.org, commented recently Blackboard's patent claims to the learning management system. Amy's comments and references are well worth reading in her post, Campus Technology: Interview with Blackboard Chief Legal Officer Matthew Small. Don't you just love it when Amy goes Groklaw on all of us? Hooray for Amy.

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