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.

Packt is delighted to announce Moodle 2.0 Multimedia Cookbook, which aims at helping users learn how to add photographs, videos, animations, and much more to make their Moodle course even more interactive without the need to read through long tutorials. Written by Silvina P. Hillar, the book provides a plethora of recipes showing how to manage, link, and embed different multimedia resources into a Moodle course.

Packt is delighted to announce Moodle JavaScript Cookbook, a collection of over 50 step by step recipes to enhance Moodle with JavaScript and the Yahoo! User Interface Library. Written by Alastair Hole, author of award-winning Moodle repository plugin- MrCUTE, the book explores a wide range of modern interactive features, from AJAX to Animation to create more dynamic and responsive Moodle systems.

Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform. It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. Its open source license and modular design allows any developer to create additional modules and features.

Moodle JavaScript Cookbook starts off by explaining the basics of combining Moodle with JavaScript and its various libraries. It then shows readers how to integrate Yahoo! User Interface Library with Moodle and will be the main focus throughout the book. Readers will also learn how to add validation features to their Moodle forms, retrieve and process data from external sites in a range of formats using AJAX.

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:

• Q and A  forum posts only visible after editing time has expired
• Description field in user profile is no longer a required field
• Multiple multimedia plugin filter fixes and improvements
• There is now a link to send messages on basic profile pages
• Duplicate files uploaded through the file picker are now handled
• New capability mod/workshop:viewauthorpublished for controlling visibility of workshop published submission authors
• Fixes to themes for IE

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

Packt is pleased to announce its new book titled "Moodle 1.9 Top Extensions Cookbook" that will help users to install and configure the best Moodle modules. Written by Michael De Raadt, this book covers many features and techniques in order to allow readers to organize their ideas and thus, to improve teaching using Moodle as a virtual learning platform.

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 a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of content. Its open source license and modular design allows developers to create additional modules and features.

Moodle 1.9 Top Extensions Cookbook starts off with simple activities such as adding and installing modules. It then goes on to explain an interesting topic about the integration of multimedia into Moodle, covering major multimedia elements. Ultimately, the book shows readers how to use Moodle to accept and assess coursework submissions, discuss work with students, and deliver quizzes, tests, and videos.

Moodle 1.9 Testing and Assessment is a new book from Packt that puts together a variety of modules and activities that will help readers to easily create a variety of tests on any subject and assess them using Moodle Gradebook. Written by Jason Myrick, this book will assist readers to develop and assess simple as well as complex quizzes and tests.

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 a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of content. Its open source license and modular design allows developers to create additional modules and features.

Moodle 1.9 Testing and Assessment starts off by teaching readers to create different types of questions such as short answer questions, multiple choice questions, and so on. Users will then realize how to integrate all of them in a Moodle quiz and to create a complete test by setting the various options such as Timing, Display, and others. They will learn how to test and assess students through work submitted using Moodle Workshop which also provides an opportunity for self- and peer-assessment of the student's work.

Selecting and organizing the material

If you're like most instructors, you love your subject and the idea of sharing information gives you great satisfaction. However, you have probably noticed that it's easy to overload your students, or to give them materials in a way that tends to confuse them. How can you avoid overloading and confusing your students?

One of the most effective ways to do so is to make sure that you base your selections of instructional materials on course outcomes and on the learning objectives for each unit. Keep in mind what you'd like your students to be able to do after they complete the course. What is the basic, enduring knowledge they will take with them after the course is over? What kind of fundamental change do you want to occur in terms of the student's abilities? What kind of new skills will they be able to perform?

Once you answer these questions, you will have a list of learning outcomes. Keep them in mind as you select the instructional material you wish to use in your course.

It is often convenient to develop a map or a diagram that connects your learning outcomes with the course materials and the assessments you will use. Consider what you want your students to learn, and how you'd like them to perform. Also, you shape the sequence you will build and how you'll present the materials.

It is often convenient to develop a map or a diagram that connects your learning outcomes with the course materials and the assessments you will use. Consider what you want your students to learn, and how you'd like them to perform. Also, you shape the sequence you will build and how you'll present the materials.

Using forums to present your material

We'll start with an approach that is very easy to implement, which is ideal if you're just getting started and need a solution that would be good for all kinds of e-learning, including mobile learning and guided independent study.

Moodle 1.9 Math is a new book from Packt that is aimed at helping Mathematics teachers who want to use Moodle to deliver or support their teaching. This book, written by Ian Wild – also the author of the book Moodle Course Conversion: Beginner's Guide, will help readers to carefully explore the Moodle plugins that allow the handling of equations and enable other frequently used mathematical activities.

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. It helps the user to develop exciting, interactive, and engaging online mathematics courses. It’s an open source license and the modular design ensures that people can develop additional functionality.

Through this book, users will be introduced to the concepts of converting mathematics teaching to Moodle. They will also learn how to include mathematical notation, graphs, images, video, and audio in their Moodle courses. By following the practical examples in this book, users can create feature-rich quizzes that are automatically marked, set online assignments, use free tools to monitor student progress, and employ modules and plugins allowing students to explore mathematical concepts.

Teachers will learn how to integrate interactive mathematical presentations and elements, create their own SCORM activities using both free and commercial tools, and make the course more engaging for students by adding Flash games rich in animation. Configuring Moodle to display the complete set of mathematical symbols and objects can also be learnt from this book.