Developer conference February 2006
From MoodleDocs
General stuff (Martin)
- Introduction to the team at Moodle HQ
- Download server re-vamped
- Complete install packages now available for download from http://download.moodle.org/ including 1.6 dev for testing
- Problem with too many downloads; Eloy's solution: mirrors (bittorrent suggestion from OU developers)
- Please browse/add to the Roadmap page
Moodle 1.6
- Unicode - Yu, Koen roggemans, Eloy Lafuente (stronk7); designed a nice upgrade path
- Documentation - Helen Foster; documentation all over the place before; Urs designing a new theme; admin setting to choose docs server; links in Moodle pages to documentation
- Database module - new favourite module for collecting information; will be used as a code repository on moodle.org; sorting by type, name, description; developer can add entry, fill in form, choose type incl. major patch and small hack; description, screenshot, download location displayed; (suggested extra plugins - resource, asignment); zip files automatically built from contrib and mod; can host on a different server; check boxes for different versions of moodle; available now in cvs; database replaces glossary module; hopefully people will hack on it for 2.0; e.g. for biology field trip; can comment on entries; turn on/off dates; require approval etc.; need to think about style sheets
- LAMS - LAMS Foundation have signed up as a Moodle Partner, they are maintaining integration; LAMS course format or activity; available now in cvs
- Blogs - Daryl working for 1.5 years; everyone wants blogs; new spec - keep it simple; no comments on entries to avoid confusion with forums; similar to journal; uses tags - first step in tags all over Moodle; entry for yourself, your teacher, group, course, everyone; tab on user screen and block; Daryl working with Martin Dougiamas to finish this month; simple to start with; community to drive to next level; similarity with blogs and forums
- My Moodle - Martin L; useful for tutors tracking lots of courses; overview, extension of recent activity; depends on what modules know to report; new function print_overview; no documentation yet
- Hive integration - resource plugin; see http://test.moodle.com/ username, password "hive"; browse content in hive; send link to Moodle; name and link filled in automatically; looks like normal resource
- Multiple groups - Arab Open University
- IMS resource - Eloy Lafuente (stronk7) and Alton College; for IMS packages; Object module developed into a resource plugin; browsing of repository
- Learning Design Export - defines sequence of activities; xml example file promised; may be late for 1.6; simple format, export to xml, into Moodle or other systems
- Granularised Backup - Penny; beginning of ims metadata
- Dfwiki - Ludo; beta done this month; needs to upgrade cleanly
- Chameleon - Andy and Urs Hunkler; needs promotion
- Multi Authentication - Iñaki?
- Multi Enrolment - Catalyst
Moodle 2.0 (Martin)
- IMS Learning Design - not a big step
- Conditional activities - different attempts at conditional activities in the Using Moodle Conditional Activities forum; generating a course page for each user requires lots of processing. # Possible solution (David Delgado): add a conditional activities on/off selection for each course, being defaulted to off. Normal behaviour would be just the same as now, and conditional activities extra processing power would be used just for the courses that would need them. So, we would get the best of both sytems: fast default behaviour (no conditional activities used) and powerful adaptive e-learning posibilities (conditional activities used). Could it be a good solution? Hope so. :-)
- Roles - create more than the present 7; want to allow parents in - a common request
- OU developers: selection of generic roles, check capability, roles specified per course e.g. forum moderator role; the option to overide capabilities in a particular activity; see Using Moodle Roles and Permissions architecture and Moodle Development: User Roles
- Metadata - list of key words for site, course, blog entry etc.
- Web Services API - see Using Moodle Web services in Moodle
- Repository API - scale into generic abstraction; function to rename file etc; connected to roles; backend API talking to external repository; admin choose repository available; needs to be done right across moodle, including students; default dms, plugin big repositories advantage integrating external systems
- Community Hub - linking moodle sites; login to other sites; other systems creating courses; world or more local community hub chosen by admin; transparent login; the community hub is a normal Moodle site; share content, forums etc. similar to moodle.org; focus on subject, transfer between teacher and hub; stored in repository with people interacting via the hub; charge for high quality content (to provide an incentive)
Open mike
- HotPot - in early March Gordon will go to Canada and meet Martin Holmes and Stewart Arneil, the creators of Hot Potatoes. The main topics of discussion will be a clarification of the use of Hot Potatoes quizzes and templates on Moodle sites, a demonstration of mobile and Flash players for HotPots, and maybe a preview of the Hot Potatoes 7.
- What about Robert Brenstein's work on assigning courses to multiple categories and subcategories? Will this be integrated in 1.6? 2.0?
- Could we have a link to the recorded session in Elluminate?
