Moodle and Web 2.0

The dashboard can be access by any user, through the quick menu at the top right of the page after logging in. By default, users will have access to navigation options, a calendar, course overview, file repository and who’s online. Users have the option to customize the dashboard, unless this has specifically been prevented by an admin. Administrators may also add specific blocks to the dashboard for all users by default.

It has been my experience that users usually don’t stray too far from the default landing page they are given, unless they have some real need to add specific information (or they are a super geek like me). Because of this, I think it is always a good idea for the school/organization to consider what the default dashboard will look and feel like, because it sets the stage for the entire LMS experience.

This is the recording of the live introduction to the MOOC, on Sunday 11th January.

Both popular course formats, Grid and Collapsed Topics, have been released as stable versions for Moodle 2.9 this week. Grid provides a unique user experience with flippable cards hiding course topic materials. Collapsed Topic provides an expandable view of course topic information reducing the number of page refreshes required to launch a course resource. Neither have altered functionality, the major change is that IE9 is now required in Collapsed Topics (a prereq for Moodle 2.8).

Each is maintained by Gareth Barnard.

Download links:

* Grid Format: https://moodle.org/plugins/view/format_grid
* Collapsed Topics: https://moodle.org/plugins/view/format_topcoll

Another benefit of the 2.9 release was some refactoring and improvement to the Lesson module. Mary Cooch recently highlighted some of the possible uses of, and improvements to the Moodle Lesson Module, such as:

user overrides can be created like a quiz
full wysiwyg marking for essays captured
group support
time minimums

Check out what’s changed with the lesson in the tracker. View Mary’s presentation given at the Ireland/UK Moot last week in Dublin here or below: http://www.slideshare.net/moodlefairy/lesson-tlc

There are 300+ tracker items that are part of the upcoming 2.9 release. I’ve looked through them all and pulled some of those that I found to be the most interesting. Based on that this is going to be a great release, but without the major changes that were ushered in with previous releases. A lot of the changes will be more minor (but in aggregate should go far in creating a much more usable Moodle site for you and your users).

The full list of 2.9 changes and updates is available here: http://goo.gl/ErdFEX

Moodle’s most recent major release, Moodle 2.9, has come equipped with over 300 new and improved features! Designed to help you save time, save money, and deliver learning more efficiently—improvements have been made based on feedback from Moodle users just like you. Watch this webinar to learn about the most useful features in Moodle 2.9, while seeing exactly how you can implement them into your learning management strategy.