User:Eloy Lafuente (stronk7)
"Moodle's Knight in Shining Armour"
If someone had told me a few years ago (in 2003) what I was letting myself in for in becoming involved in Moodle, then I would have kept on enjoying a peaceful and relaxed life far from all you, oh, my dear moodlers! :-P
However, I wasn't so lucky, so here I am, ready to battle as much as I can, and to help whenever my work allows me to do so.
Many subjects' apprentice (PHP, Java, XML, HTML, CSS, SQL, Unix, Mac) and no subject's expert, I declare myself categorically in favor of open source code which, thanks to the Internet big-bang and the the collaboration opportunities it has generated is, nowadays, a real alternative to proprietary software.
Connected to the academic world in various ways, and with some concerns about how technical advances were being used to support new ways of learning, I started researching (in 2002) existing alternatives, with the aim of developing a tool which could assist the learning process.
It was after much reading, searching, comparing, installing and analyzing, that I arrived at the very first version/prototype of Moodle, with an interesting philosophy, which challenged the traditional way of learning simply to pass an examination.
And there was more, it wasn't just a theory - everyone in the Moodle Community believed in this philosophy, this way of learning together, in a collaborative style, leading to the construction of Moodle under some really original guidelines.
More yet, in case I had any doubts, there was another plus. It was Martin Dougiamas, the founder and lead developer of Moodle. He's the absolute exponent of Moodle philosophy (of course!). After some discussions, talking about technical and pedagogic issues, ... and about life and death, I dropped any ideas of new developments, and chose to put my 5 cents into Moodle.
And, since then, there is not too much to be said. Here I am, ready for a fight, with the same hopes as on the first day (though far less time to post on the Moodle forums), truly grateful to the Moodle Community, without whom, none of this could have been possible.
Tons of thanks to all, moodlers! B-)
