MoodleNet/FAQ

<< Back to MoodleNet index

---

Note: some of these questions apply only to the initial testing period in early 2019

1. What is MoodleNet? Who is it for?

We’re describing MoodleNet as “a new open social media platform for educators, focussed on professional development and open content”. The goal is to sustainably empower communities of educators to share and learn from each other to improve the quality of education.

The first stage of MoodleNet involves the sharing of educational resources in a social way. Our research taught us that educators spend a lot of time searching through the millions of resources available online. At the same time, they look to their social networks to highlight useful ideas and resources. MoodleNet aims to bring both ends of the spectrum together in a place that allows educators to join communities that curate collections of resources.

2. Is MoodleNet a centralised social network like Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest?

No. Just like Moodle Core, organisations will be able to download, install and run their own MoodleNet instance. It is open source software. The key difference is that MoodleNet is a ‘federated’ social network, meaning resources can be shared (and discussions take place) across federated instances.

The easiest way to explain federated networks is to think about email. You can send an email or share a file with someone even if they’re using a different email provider to you. We will be testing the federated aspect of MoodleNet later in the year, once we have (hopefully!) proved the core value proposition.

3. Can I use MoodleNet with my Moodle Core site?

Not yet. We are still testing the value proposition of MoodleNet, and will follow this up with further testing around federation. After this, we will be developing a Moodle Core plugin, which we envisage will allow users to import collections of resources from MoodleNet into courses in Moodle Core, and vice-versa.

4. Can I upload resources to MoodleNet? How is it different from the existing moodle.net service?

This is the third iteration of what has variously been called MNet, moodle.net, and now MoodleNet. Previous attempts have focused on connecting Moodle Core sites with one another through ‘hubs’. While previous iterations have met with success in some very localised areas, they have not found widespread adoption.

We are building MoodleNet as a separate service which will then integrate with Moodle Core. To test the value proposition, users will add external resources via web address (URL). This is for three main reasons: (i) there are millions of resources on the web waiting to be curated and shared by educators, (ii) it allows us to quickly test the value proposition of MoodleNet, and (iii) there are new ways of providing decentralised storage that are maturing and that we would like investigate.

5. Where can I find out more about MoodleNet?

The canonical link for MoodleNet is moodle.com/moodlenet. At the moment, that points to Moodle docs (wiki) but in future there will be a product page for MoodleNet. We have attempted to work as openly as possible since the project’s inception, so there is a lot of information available! You may also want to go through our weekly blog posts at blog.moodle.net.

6. What is the purpose of the testing period? What are you testing?

We’re testing the value proposition: “Do educators want to join communities to curate collections of resources?” This doesn’t mention federation. There is no mention of mobile devices, fancy user interfaces, or machine learning. We’ve tried to create a very simple approach to test this basic value proposition.

It may turn out that users agree with this value proposition. They may agree that joining communities to curate collections of resources is a good idea and something they want to do. Alternatively, our testers may indicate that they prefer a different approach. Either way, this test is of vital importance; it makes no sense to continue along this particular path without a mandate from real-world users!

7. How much time do I have to commit to be a tester?

With this initial testing period, we would like to provide as little direction as possible and see what users do in (what we hope is) a simple, straightforward environment. These is no minimum time commitment, but we would like you to spend as much time in MoodleNet as you can.

This is for three reasons: (i) social networks gain in value the more people contribute - if most people have a quick look and then log out again, then we cannot test the value proposition; (ii) we will be rolling out new features and functionality during the testing period which you will not want to miss out on; (iii) the more you use MoodleNet, the more likely you are to be able to suggest improvements!

8. What are you expecting from me during the testing period?

We would encourage testers to log in to MoodleNet every day if possible. While you are there, we would encourage you to:

READ

• Browse collections of resources shared by others
• Follow collections which interest you

WRITE

• Add resources to collections
• Create new communities and collections

PARTICIPATE

• Start (and reply to) discussions
• Like particularly useful resources

In addition, we would like you to give us feedback (see question 10, below).

9. Is MoodleNet testing confidential? Am I allowed to tell other people about what I am doing?

MoodleNet testing is not confidential. You are welcome to show people MoodleNet, to take screenshots, and to write about it. However, if you do so, we would make two requests.

1. Please mention when sharing any screenshots, screencasts, or reviewing MoodleNet that it is currently in a very early testing state. This test includes enough functionality to test the value proposition, but does not reflect all of MoodleNet’s functionality, nor how it will look or feel when released to the public.
2. Please do not share your login details with anyone else. We would like to see how individuals use MoodleNet, which is very difficult to do if people are sharing their account with others. If you know of other people who are interested in MoodleNet, you will have an opportunity to invite them to be a tester in our next round of testing!

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that MoodleNet is by default public, so treat anything you share on MoodleNet the same as if you were posting publicly on Twitter or a public forum. Use of MoodleNet is subject to our contribution guidelines.

10. How should I give feedback on MoodleNet?

During the testing period there will be two main ways for users to give feedback: Changemap, a third-party tool for teams that are building their product in public; and surveys which will be emailed out each week.

We would encourage users to share anything that comes to mind during testing - the good, the bad, and the ugly! You can access the Changemap for MoodleNet via the sidebar within MoodleNet, or directly at [https:// changemap.co/moodle/moodlenet].

The user interface of Changemap is currently only available in English, but we are accepting suggestions in any language. We are particularly interested in your comments on the following three areas of MoodleNet:

1. User experience - how intuitive is MoodleNet’s user interface?
2. Functionality - is there any basic functionality missing?
3. Messaging - could we improve the way that we describe MoodleNet?