This is a newsletter that’s been around in paper version at my school  for a few months now but I only actually thought to share it on here. It gives an insight into the way we use Moodle in our day to day life at Our Lady’s Catholic High School Preston (where I work) You can either download as a pdf here or else view the Issuu version below.

I found Packt’s Moodle 1.9 Extension Development by Jonathan Moore and Michael Churchward a fascinating read.  Not as a teacher – and be warned: although I moodle from a teacher’s perspective this is not a book for those teaching with Moodle; rather, I found it fascinating from a linguist’s point of view. How come? Because this book clearly and methodically sets out the code  you need to develop your own Moodle plugins – and just as we learn a foreign language to communicate with people so do we use code to communicate with machines. The sense of achievement a  student gets after tentatively speaking some French on a school trip and being understood is matched, in my mind, by the satisfaction to be had when your correctly written code actually WORKS and does what you want it to do – both are examples of getting the right language for the job. And this book enlightened and inspired me to want to develop my own PHP “language” skills to customise my Moodles.

So what’s it all about? This is a book for those interested in creating new add ins for Moodle, be that basic blocks (which we start with in Chapter 2) filters (which we learn about in Chapter 3  -sampled here) or even modules (Chapter 4)   plugins such as assigment types (Chapter 7),reports (Chapter 8 ) authentication and enrolment plugins (Chapter 9) and more. You need an understanding of PHP to follow along with the coding activities and to be familiar with MySQL and HTML/CSS. I only have minimal knowledge of these but I thought I would give the book a go anyway, and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get the hang of it. After an initial chapter which explains the “Moodle Architecture”, in true Learning by Doing style, we’re given tasks in each chapter which progress in difficulty and are encouraged to try these on our own Moodle install.  One feature I really appreciated is the opportunity to download the code for each chapter’s activities from the publisher’s website. This helped me a great deal as I could then compare and contrast with my own efforts (which didn’t always work!) I got to see why they didn’t work; got to fix them  and thus avoid the frustrations I’d have had if I had been left to my own devices. In addition to the chapters mentioned above, we  examine the Moodle database to help us better understand how to build our code, look at writing secure code and  investigate pagelib and formslib. The book ends with an overview of webservices, focusing on Remote Learner Web services, understandably as the authors work for Remote Learner, although Moodle networking (MNet) is also discussed.

I cannot pretend I understood all of the book because, unlike its target reader, I started with no PHP knowledge but a willingness to experiment. It was a  bit like a beginner French student picking up an Advanced Level French text book – it’s both daunting and awesome -those bits that made sense encourage you to figure out the other parts; when communication is successful and your code speaks to your Moodle and the block/module WORKS, it’s a great incentive to persevere. I would imagine then that any reader who’s already mastered the relevant codes (languages ) will find this book a valuable resource, empowering them to create or customise plugins that -it’s to be  hoped – will benefit the global Moodle community. I don’t know how much of this will apply to Moodle 2.0 which has altered significantly in so many ways; however, I do know that Moodle 1.9 is still a popular, stable option, and so this book should help many technologists extend Moodle’s functionality for some time yet.

There are currently two books out by Packt publishing aimed at themers/developers of Moodle, rather than tutors or admins. They are Moodle 1.9 Extension Development (which I’ll be reviewing shortly) and Moodle 1.9 Theme Design, which I’ll review now.

Confession: I know nothing about theme design and even less about extension development. So why am I reviewing these books? Because if they can do what they say on the cover, they should  be able to provide me with at least the beginnings of an understanding of these two major elements of a good Moodle site. So here goes first with the themes!

I am not a coder. I say that so often I am planning on getting a t-shirt that says as much.  (With <body> on the front and </body> on the back , obviously!) But when I first looked into Moodle I discovered that you can download a theme, change a few  hex colour codes here and there, upload it back and you get your own chosen coloured theme. I never took it any further because that was the limit of my understanding and I have no artistic skills whatsover.  So I left it.

The new book Moodle 1.9 Theme Design, written by UK Moodler Paul Gadsdon, is advertised, and I believe very appropriately, as a Beginner’s Guide. Although you are expected to have some understanding of HTML and CSS, the chapters of the book take you through very methodically and very gently through theming such that you always feel confident and never feel overwhelmed.  I know what HTML and CSS are – and I could copy bits of other people’s but could never write my own – however, at the end of this book I felt I had a fighting chance of creating my own theme thanks to Paul Gadsdon’s step-by-step instructions.

We start in Chapter 1 looking at what exactly is a VLE and what precisely is Moodle. I wasn’t over-convinced by this chapter, as presumably if you are theming for Moodle then you already know what it is and why you are using it – but let’s move on: Chapter 2 starts really simply (as a Beginner’s Guide should) by explaining where Moodle’s themes are kept on the server and selected within the Moodle interface and how you can download a non-standard theme and add it to your Moodle. Chapter 3 shows how to change the header logo and footer details – one of the most commonly requested theming desires on the Moodle.org forums. Important also is how to check appearance in different browsers. You can read Chapter 3 as a sample chapter here. Chapter 4 looks at changing the background fonts and colours using CSS (at which point I realised that my earlier forrays into Moodle theming would only have got me as far as chapter 4 of this book) After this we investigate the differences between full (liquid) screen  and fixed width themes in chapter 5 I really appreciated this as it’s something I have never really “got” -but now I do! Chapter 6 looks at the graphics side – using Adobe Photoshop. Just a niggle, as I know many people use Photoshop but it might have been nice to use a freely distributed program such as Gimp. But I am just being pedantic there. In chapter 7 we learn about parent themes -what they are and when not to use them -and in Chapter 8 we finally start to put all the elements of our theme together. Chapters 9 and 10 and the appendices offer little extra styling tweaks, changes to the core code  and further enhancements – all of which get tested thoroughly before we finish the book with a usable, cross-browser compatible, validated -and -in your case if not mine – attractive theme for our Moodle 1.9

I found this book very easy to read and I like the way it takes you from the absolute beginnings safely to the end of your theme design. Moodle 2.0 is due out in the summer and theming has been rewritten so these instructions won’t work for Moodle 2.0. However, Moodle 1.9 is used by thousands of establishments worldwide and will continue to be popular for a fair while yet, so this book is an invaluable aid to those who’d like to improve the appearance of their site.
So did Moodle 1.9 Theme Design do what it said on the cover? Do I feel I could create a workable theme for 1.9? Absolutely, yes. Do I think I could create a work of beauty and artistry like Moodle 2.0’s themer Patrick Malley? No – but then – sadly – that was never going to happen!

I have now experienced my second Moodle Moot – both in the UK,  but I’m working on that! Different venues,  slightly different approach but both highly enjoyable.  Last time I went alone and on the first night got miserably Lost in Loughborough; this time I was on familiar ground (albeit from 30 years ago ) as I studied at UCL and  in my first year lived  ten minutes from the Moot Location, Senate House  and had the company of  Assistant Head Mark Greenwood the man who set up and put Our Lady’s Moodle on the map (see pdf here). Here’s a brief summary of my impressions:

What I enjoyed:

• the keynote on Tuesday morning by Hole-in-Wall Professor Sugata Mitra; entertaining and inspiring. I was astonished to discover at the end they were presenting him with a copy of my book as a thankyou; honour indeed.
• participating in a Moodle in Schools session along with Paul Garratt from Stockport and Kristian Still (we really must sit down together for longer next time!) I presented on Moodling with the Primaries, sharing my findings on using Moodle with younger children.
• talking Moodle books with Synergy’s Alex Büchner
• meeting for the first time people such as Mark Drechsler from Adelaide (fortunately on Day 1!) Quizmeister and all round nice guy Tim Hunt,Marcus Green, Dan Humpherson Kathy Chilvers and getting my long awaited embrace from the legendary (well, to me anyway!) Dai Barnes
  
• renewing acquaintance with Moodlers from last year such as Antonella, Jago and John
• having the chance in the workshops to learn  about Moodle in FE and HE, where I rarely venture and discover how other trainers train teachers to use Moodle
• the  prime location (central London!) and efficiently organised coffee breaks and lunches. (Presumably nobody noticed or minded I sneaked in my  student daughter and her friend at lunchtime on Day 2  and donated them my sandwiches? They were revising upstairs in the library and couldn’t believe the amount of interest and number of people fascinated by Moodle,  albeit an integral part of their daily life at LSE and Goldsmith’s respectively)
• the live link up to the NZ Moot for the Keynote on Wednesday where Martin gave his Moodle 2.0 talk and said – in front of witnesses! – Moodle 2.0 beta will be out at the end of April.

What I was less sure about:

• the additonal presentations in the main hall over and above the 2 Keynotes first thing – they were interesting and valuable but I think I personally would have preferred more time for workshops
• the shared sessions – 15/20 minutes each. While this enabled more people to present, which was a definite advantage, it allowed for less depth and detail I think, and created anxieties over keeping to time.( Or maybe I just wanted to talk on for an hour about my passion – I don’t know )

What I would like:

• next year’s UK Moodle Moot to hurry up and be here!

I made a video of some – only some – of the features coming in Moodle 2.0.  It lasts 8 minutes and it looks at it from a teacher’s and student’s viewpoint rather than admin. Moodle 2.0 is still in development and so I appreciate some things will change; some I might have misunderstood and some might just not happen yet – but  in the video I look at:

• navigating around Moodle
• adding text, images and mutlimedia
• uploading your files
• improvements in the activity modules
• sending your work outside of Moodle
• Comments
• blogs
• Conditional Activities (that needs a screencast in itself)
• Completion (progress tracking)

It’s a whistlestop tour but you can access it here:

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! (And you can quote me on that!) I  would have been proud to write this book.  No; I don’t work for Packt and nobody’s paying me to say so and I don’t personally know the authors – so why do I think it’s so good? Because, like the  words of the King in Alice in Wonderland, they “begin at the beginning, go on until [they] come to the end – and then stop”  The book – which is available from Packt here - takes you through all you need to know about Mahara from accessing it as a student, to using it as a teacher/tutor to installing and managing it as primary administrator. And all in a friendly, easy to use style with helpful screenshots. An achievement all the more admirable as it is written by several people rather than one author.

The book begins by explaining what Mahara is and does and why we might want to use it – we are encouraged to register at a Mahara site such as mahara.org to see how it works. A nice touch of the book is that they have set up a Mahara especially for readers to practise/play on so you don’t even need to have your own install when you begin.

We are shown how to set up our profile page, upload files,write blogs, create Views and are taken gently to the teacher/course leader role where  we learn about groups and assessing students’ work. I especially liked the way the book follows three Mahara users – Punam, a primary teacher with a county Mahara install; Janet a learning technologist at a corporate university and Neil who works for a  UK 14-19 vocational training provider. This means that each time we find out something about Mahara we get to see how it might be applied in specific circumstances – we enter the thoughts of Punam,Janet or Neil. (I’ve made a mental note to copy this idea in future writing!)

The final couple of chapters deal with the site settings and main administration  which are easy to digest now we have gathered a detailed understanding of how Mahara works at its different levels. At the end are two appendices which are as important as the rest of the book even though they are in the final few pages: planning hints on how to implement your Mahara and instructions for installation.  The first appendix is really useful and, although I have less experience in Mahara than Moodle, I do appreciate (from having advised on how to fix really badly implemented Moodles) how important  it is to think it through in advance. The second appendix is also essential -someone has to install your Mahara! But as it might only concern a limited number of readers it is rightly kept to the end.

You can read a sample chapter here on the Packt site -but why read a sample chapter? If you are interested in getting Mahara  then just go and buy the whole book!

When teachers first start learning how to use Moodle they aren’t aware that you don’t have to upload each precious Word document or Powerpoint one at a time – it is perfectly fine to put them in a folder, compress/zip the folder and upload that to Moodle. After that you can either show the folder (display a directory) or link to each of its contents individually.

However, developer Guy Thomas has come up with another way, a simpler way, to upload multiple files all at once. It is a contributed module -ie, you have to download and install to your Moodle -and is called the Enhanced File Resource Module. It is very new, so expect some changes and bugs to be fixed but it can be downloaded from Moodle here. Its big advantage over zipping is in ease of use – teachers just click “browse”; select several files from their computer and the module will automatically upload them as separate resources on the Moodle page.

Do I like it? Yes – enough to make a short screen cast below. Does it worry me? A little – while it’s great for encouraging teachers to upload their resources in a quick and non-techie way- it does  list them on the course page in a long line which might just bring about the dreaded “scroll of death”. The message is the same as with wine and chocolate – use in moderation and do not over-indulge!

Ok -this is just a bit of fun as I have spent the last two days getting my head around the Workshop in Moodle 2.0 (see blog post here). Andrew Field of Content Generator has just released a beta version of his latest Flash game – On Target. As a teacher of (increasingly)young children I always enjoy his games because they are easy to create and many of them work in Moodle as SCORM objects which means when students play them, their scores are recorded in the gradebook – so you can justify your fun! This latest game is no exception and I thought I would highlight it by posing a few questions to test your knowledge of what’s new in Moodle 2.0. How many can you get right – and – more important – how good is your aim?

CLICK HERE TO PLAY !

I’ve been trying to get my head around the new Workshop module for Moodle 2.0, because I really want to encourage lots of teachers to use it. Peer Assessment and Self-Evaluation are Big Things in education currently, and Moodle’s workshop module offers both these facilities. They say the best way to learn is often to explain to somebody else and so, having watched with interest David Mudrak’s presentation at the imoot, here below is my attempt to make and understand Workshop 2.0 If you spot any glaring errors, let me know. The Workshop test site is here if you want a play. I know I have missed lots out -but’s just a first journey and one I hope, others will make as  well, as we move into Moodle 2.0.

I have just finished reading Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques by Susan  Smith Nash with William Rice and published by Packt as one of their Moodle book series. I confess to having a sentimental attachment to this book as its original version was both the first book on Moodle I ever read (and I never thought I would end up writing one myself!) and the first book I reviewed in my first  blog post on this blog. The book has been updated for Moodle 1.9 – you  might wish to read my original review first.  I had initially planned to deal with it as a brand new book and review it as such – but certain aspects prevented that, as I will outline later on.

Susan Smith Nash is an expert in online course development  -indeed, she is the e-learning queen -  and what I liked about her update was the way she blended her ideas and suggestions both theoretical and practical with William Rice’s original “solutions”. This is not a book for beginners in Moodle, although it does give some step by step instructions. What it does that makes it different from many software books is that it gives a pedagogical background to what is done in Moodle: you aren’t just making forums or choices because they are there – you get explanations as to why and how they will help your students develop their skills or knowledge and examples of Best Practice.

Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques follows a very methodical structure, starting  the reader off with  the fairly simple forum  and leaving him empowered at the end having gained an understanding of the Lesson module and Workshop module, two of the most (I think) challenging modules to set up. On the way we investigate chat, quizzes, choice, wikis and glossaries , learning ways to use them where are students are “in charge” and we are the facilitators. (One slight point of issue by the way – I am not sure you can use  the “single simple discussion” forum type with separate groups in the way suggested here as a method of students and teachers having their own private communication area; I don’t think this works?) Likewise, there seems to be an assumption that the reader has an admin role rather than a regular teacher role – the reader is shown how to override student permissions for example to prevent them starting new forum threads but this is not normally available to a teacher unless admin allows it – a possible source of confusion?

Susan Smith Nash has added an extra chapter to the original, building on William’s solutions for the workshop module where she offers ideas for using it as a portfolio/gallery where students can showcase work, collaborate and comment on each others’ items all within a positive and encouraging environment. Susan has also elaborated more on the detailed instructions for setting up Lessons and workshops, which I think readers will appreciate as they are so complex. Indeed, the workshop in 1.9 is actually not recommended for use – although I use it! – as it has been totally revamped and simplifed ready for Moodle 2.0. Many people will still be using Moodle 1.9 for a long time yet and so this will be helpful to them.

Different versions of Moodle (and indeed books) is something I will come back to now. I mentioned at the start I had planned to deal with this book entirely separately from its original version, published in 2007 but am unable to. Much of this book is the same as my first copy back then -which is fine as the activities and pedagogy still apply – but I was puzzled a few times by the screenshots which didn’t tie in with my own Moodle – until I realised that the gradebook used in this book is actually a Moodle 1.8 gradebook and not the current one. This is disappointing, as using the gradebook is such a vital part of Moodle and it has undergone a number of enhancements during Moodle 1.9 which simply aren’t reflected in the screenshots of this book.  Readers not used to the gradebook might be confused by this.

Overall then – and with the above mentioned caveats – this is a” teaching solutions” book, a book to spark off inspiration, rather than  a how to Moodle book – and if you are competent with Moodle and lacking in ideas – perhaps this is a book for you!