Moodle+Tips


 * Moodle 2.0 recipes: ISTE 2011 presentation by Mark McCall (Remote-Learner.net) **
 * check link to Prezi file at @http://prezi.com/artxoggnaiur/cooking-with-moodle-20/
 * major upgrade: interface changes, functional changes, server changes
 * gives consistency in learning environment
 * new navigation tools plus settings, especially in sidebar; more themes
 * tabs have gone from top to sidebar settings
 * don't mess with blocks until you know what you are going to do with them
 * be careful with limiting what you see in navigation block
 * can now use Moodle in every browser
 * can now copy and paste from any MS Office file and it will convert to clean html
 * v2.1 available July; mobile app will also be available; locally caching also available to enable working offline
 * don't recommend developing courses on iPad
 * files are now built into the activity
 * now has an internal repository; one file can now be used many times
 * completion elements: eg. manual, grade; release of further content can be controlled by this
 * new report for showing exactly where students are up to
 * finer controls over filtering
 * before you add users: set language defaults, set location (can be problems with DST if city not set correctly), set authentication (under plugins, not users), review site policies (default is to get a 100MB backpack repository; password policy also here), custom profile fields (under users > user profile fields
 * before you add courses: set course defaults, review advanced features (specifically completion tracking, but there is both site level and course level setting), determine enrolment strategies, review gradebook settings, plugins
 * course categories can have different roles assigned to them
 * course creator can just create course; manager has control over any course (instructional designer); principal would be a manager (good for parent interviews)
 * cohorts work like groups; users can be enrolled in new course based on cohort
 * no way at moment to bring in users from ldap
 * gradebook is same as 1.9; use tabs rather than drop-down; set static student column
 * plugins: key parts are activity modules, blocks, licences, filters (need txt for maths, plus multimedia)
 * within activities, check defaults
 * before you launch site: review appearance, review front page settings, set default blocks on portal pages, review developmental > experimental, run security overview report
 * can do wysiwyg modifications to theme under appearance; Moodle 2 will not recognise old themes; "New School Learning" is good for themes
 * Moodle 2.1 introduces new question bank