Moodle tip: bringing in an outside webpage

I have just learnt another cool little Moodle trick from Stephen Digby (thanks Stephen!). You can bring in a website from outside your Moodle and have it display in an active frame. You just have to encolse the URL in a little HTML. e.g.:
iframe width="800"height="600"src=http://(insert your webaddress here)/"></iframe

So when you look at your HTML it will look appear like:
iframe width="800"height="600"src=http://http://allinbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/"></iframe

Try it in your moodle space (this blog doesn't recognise the html) and let me know how you go or if you have another moodle tip to share.

Tags: groups moodle
Posted at 03:50PM Sep 07, 2009 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[0]

What's new in moodle2.0: brief notes

What's new in moodle2.0

Really, really brief (and probably flawed) notes from Julian Ridden's demo of moodle2.0 at the Oodles of Moodle day Wdnesday 22 July 2009.

WebApi

• Eternal systems sending and retrieving from moodle are further developed

Repository plugins:

• Local files - files shared across courses
• Gogle docs
• YouTube
• Flickr - remembers your account plus can search other accounts.
• Amazons3 ?
• Wikipedia
• box.net
• Webdav - linking to files directly on a shared drive (get rid of browse, upload cycle)

New editor:

• TinyMCE3 - much more intuitive editor, plus has a "drag" function to make the editor bigger rather than the pop up window
• Linking to files & pictures -also can linking to flickr, wikipedia etc. copies into moodle (not a link)
• YouTube - link to it with a UR:, and it auto embedds with a player.
• Tables more dynamic and accessible.

 Portfolios:

• Send work to a nominated online portfolio, depending on which is enabled by the system admin - could be google docs, or mahara etc.

Completion Tracking:

• Who as completed the sequence etc
• Activity completetion & restrict availablilty - user mark their completion, or when conditions are met (e.g. 2 replies and 2 posts in a forum, contribute 3 items to the glossary)
• Restrict activities - complete *** to be able to see ****, or if a student fails then they see **** resources.
• Built in pop up calendar to set assignment dates.
• Reports on completeion generated

Gradebook:

• Tabs in navigation in the grade book

Blogs

• Being rewritten completely

Quiz:

• Not the default question bank - just starts the quiz and can add the question bank later.
• Create and adds tags for searching over your courses
• Import hot potatoes quiz
• Change to interface for studentview espec for multiple page quizes (move through many pages)
• "Save as you go" function, autosave - helps for timeouts.

Wiki

• Wikimedia-ish

Recommended reading:

• Packt publishing - moodle administration.  
• Moodle docs
• Moodletutorials.org - You Tube for mooodle videos
• Roadmap on Moodle.org
• moodle tracker

Playspaces:

http://playpen.moodle.com.au/moodle20/

Must update from 1.9.5 to get to moodle 2.0 for it work and so everyone is on the same playing field.

Tags: moodle
Posted at 02:04PM Jul 22, 2009 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[1]

Displaying Multimedia in Moodle

Displaying Multimedia Content in Moodle

• Use the embed the code supplied from an external sources such as You Tube or Vimeo and paste it in to any content space that also supports html (click the <> toggle html button when you see the WYSIWIG editor).

• Link directly to the file from your files area by choosing to "Link to a File or Website" when you use the "add a Resource" drop down. The file will then display with the appropriate format icon and users will have to click on the link to view the item. Note this can only be done from the front page of your group not in webpages like this etc.

• The final option is to link to the file by creating a hyperlink. Upload the file to your files area and copy the link (right click on on the file and "copy link location" or "copy shortcut"), now go back and edit the are where you want the multimedia to show and select some text. Click the "Insert Weblink" icon and paste in the video URL you copied earlier. Save the page.

Adlestrop by Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917)


File Formats which the edna Groups moodle multimedia filter currently supports:
Please note that the viewing of these files types may also depend on the browser and on 3rd party software, e.g. a .mov file also needs Quicktime installed to display

.mp3 = Audio File
.mov = Apple QuickTime Movie
.wmv = Windows Media Video File
.mpg = MPEG Video File
.avi = Audio Video Interleave File
.flv = Flash Video File
.ram = Real Media File
.rm = Real Media File

Tags: multimedia moodle
Posted at 02:48PM Jun 18, 2009 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[0]

feedback for ednaconf hands-on moodle session

This post is mainly for any participants in this years edna workshops series that participated in a hands on moodle session.

After having presented the same moodle workshop at a number of workshops now across the country, I have a fair idea as to things covered in the session I would like to change, keep the same or improve, but I'd appreciate any of your thoughts and feedback. So have a think and cast your mind back...

1. What did you like best about the moodle workshop?
2. What did you dislike or would like to change?
   
3. Is there anything you would have liked to have spent more time on?
4. Did you feel we missed some steps - was there too much assumed knowledge?
5. Anything else you felt or thought at the time ~ confused, confident, bamboozled etc.
   

If you need a refresher of what we actually covered in the workshop, you'll find the presentations here

Feel free to leave me a comment here on this blog post or on my whiteboard, and don't be afraid to be honest :)

Tags: moodle feedback ednaconf
Posted at 03:44PM Jun 04, 2009 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[0]

Moodle explained using Lego

In this a really great slideshare from Tomaz Lazic, where he compares building a moodle to playing with Lego. I think Tomaz has done a really great job at explaining moodle in a simple but really visually appealing way - I love the little lego people used for each of the roles in moodle! 

If you are interested in learning more about moodle or to hear what Tomaz is achieving with his Learning Management System, check out his Human blog and his 2 Minute Moodles. You can also find him on me.edu.au at http://me.edu.au/p/tlasic

Tags: tomaz lasic slideshare moodle
Posted at 03:37PM May 18, 2009 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[0]

edna Groups upgrade

Tags: groups upgrade edna moodle
Posted at 04:09PM Sep 11, 2008 by Alison Hall  |  Comments[0]