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 Moodlers!
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.
Many subjects' apprentice (PHP, Java, XML, HTML, CSS, SQL, Unix, Mac) and no subject's expert, I declare myself absolutely open source code devotee (øfan?), which is a real alternative to proprietary software after Internet blowup and the collaboration opportunities it has generated.
I've been related to the academic world in different ways, and worried as I was about the evolution of technical advances and how they were used to support a new way of learning, I started a research (2002) about existing options, with the aim of develop some tool that could assist in the learning process.
It was after much reading, searching, comparing, installing and analyzing, that I arrived at a very first Moodle version/prototype, with a very interesting philosophy , that changed the old traditional way of learning to pass.
What's more, not only it wasn't just a theory, but also everyone in the Moodle Community was impregnated with this philosophy, this way of learning all together, in a collaborative style, and this lead to a construction of Moodle based on really original quidelines.
In case I had any doubts, there was a plus. It was Martin Dougiamas, the founder and lead developer of Moodle. He's the absolute exponent of Moodle philosophy (???). After some discussions, talking about technical and pedagogic subjects, ... about life and death, I dropped any previous idea about a new development, and chose to put my efforts into Moodle.
There is not much more to be said. Here I am, with the same hopes as on the first day (though far less time to post on the forums), truly grateful to the Moodle community, without whom, none of this could have been possible.
