User:Derek Chirnside

The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

I'm interested in the process of getting small fixes into core Moodle. There seem to be a number of no brainers, and I've often wondered what it needs to get things moving a little. I have also found it hard to follow the tracker. So, this is really list #3, after my list in 2009 and 2010. There is some progress, but it's been 2 steps forward, one step back:

cohorts (but to make a cohort you need to chose each of the 200 names individually)
blog comments (But the have removed blogs posts attached to courses)
themes (but there is no one basic theme with the basic features in it in standard with Moodle now)
better import and export of activities and resources (at a cost of difficulties in the file management)
filters (but a lot of hard coding so they are inflexible)
repositories (sort of)

Some musings. There is a lot of really good things we could do on Moodle. And there are a lot of good plugins. I'm interested in Core Vanilla Moodle. Big organisations can make the changes they want. Small organisations often can survive without them. Slightly bigger: like they don't link to an SMS and have to create 40 courses (No CSV new course upload), they use self enrolment (No e-mail sent to teacher) they can't install plugins (Like the menu to remove the scroll of death) . . .

I worry that the future development of Moodle will head down the lines of Mobile (taking a lot of resources from the basics) or Distros (like ELIS or Totara) or OU-type customisations. MoodleHQ may just not have the time or inclination to get the small helpful fixes into Moodle core.

Footnote: Mobile is interesting: at a Moodle workshop in Singapore in early June I was basically in a room full of folk with iPhone. It was a serious question "Moodle for Mobile" but really only the forums. I've changed my opinion: maybe Moodle for Mobile is needed.

A PERSONAL WISH LIST

ADMIN FUNCTIONS

Admin: Cloning items

Coming soon in 2.1, I think.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=21234&parent=102367 (Old: 2005)

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=67185#p450794 (2007)

TEACHING FUNCTIONS

Teacher: Notification of first time visits/enrolment in a course

Tracker item: Generate Email Notification to Teachers upon Student Enrollment in a Course http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-20647

Tracker item with code: Notify self-enrol by email http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-20290

Teacher: email notifications when a new account created

If you create an account, then you have to send a second message to tell the user of the account information. Tracker: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-19390

From the comments in 2009: "There is somewhat of a move away from directly sending emails because of the variety of forms that folks like to receive communications. For example, some users may want to receive an IM or SMS message from Moodle rather than an email. The goal is to use a united messaging system and then let the user control how that message gets sent out"

Also: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-19851 :Messaging: Allow for personalization of message by using ##field## similar to database or [[filtertext]]"

Teach: E-mail to course members

Override forum setting.

Tracker item:

Teach: Provide a quick 1<>1 forum/dialogue in core Moodle

Tracker: Convenience/usability: provide a simple way to provide teachers a 1<>1 conference, journal, conversation, dialogue forum with students. http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-27223 Similar idea: Autocreate a group for each student in the course and the group name set to the first and last name http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-21000

REPOSITORY/FILE PICKER

File_picker There is still a lack of clarity on this issue. The philosophy of Moodle core is emerging only in fragments in the many discussions over the Moodle.org forums.

As with navigation and forums there is significant modifications in other distros of Moodle. This is a recognised problem.

Joule Ref: "When developing joule, our team analyzed customer feedback and created key features not available in standard Moodle, including advanced . . . "
ELIS Ref:
(Unsure about TotaraLMS, I have not seen this)

Obviously there needs to be a balance. Moodle is not designed to be a CMS. But there has been a long ans sustained discussion around some basis matters to do with file management. They seem to be around several issues.

The number of clicks to simply add a file
The lack of any way in core Moodle to have one file and link to it, change it once
The complexity of navigation inside the file system list: folders nightmare
The lack of clarity in using the external repositories like Dropbox or Flickr
The File System repository which has no way to use it short of FTP
. . . . .

File management: One Click upload of file

Tracker item with code: single click file upload http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-19075 In a constructivist environment, file sharing in forums, blogs etc is basic. Yet this is very very cumbersome in Moodle.

In some respects (in my personal opinion) people will tolerate this for a while while 2.0 and even 2.1 shakedown. But then the day to day time required to do stuff in Moodle will take it's toll. This may of course have no effect on Moodle. The big guys code their solutions, the small guys will just tolerate it. Maybe out of the blue a simple repository answer may emerge. The problems in the old Course Files were real, but the new 2.0 approach is far from user friendly, fast or flexible enough in it's present state of development.

File management: Multiple File Upload

Facebook and Flickr have it, why not Moodle. :)

Forum: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=74103
Forum: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=74103
Bugtracker: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-12810

There is a simple version using CSV's available.

Issue tracker: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-13114 Discussion: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=30126#p450831 Tracker:

Other tracker items in the repository on files

Ref: Ref:

A way to link files

MEDIA MANAGEMENT, LINK/UPLOAD SIMPLIFICATIONS

Forum posts

Resize video

To follow up: CSS to fix size of media: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=177107#p777043

Navigation problems with media:

GROUPS

Groups Self enrolment

Rationale: for a student centred/constructivist LMS to have no self signup for groups is a bit of a pity.

http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-13962

http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-1310

SORTED Site wide groups

Now called cohorts

Groups: CSV creation of cohorts

Tracker: Add ability to upload to a cohort via Upload users http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-26965

BLOGS

SORTED: blogs with comments

Blogs: blogs visible at course level only

Tracker: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-25347

Forum Posts:

SORTED Book module and 2.0

https://docs.moodle.org/en/Book_module#Books_and_Moodle_2.0

But still not in the core I note there is a request for the book module to be in the core. http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/CONTRIB-283 But it does not have a fix version indicated. Does that mean the request is not considered significant to be included in 2.0??

Documentation