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Course Publishing block (publishflow)

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The Publishflow block implements a complete course tranport and publishing architecture over the Moodle Network. The block provides a mean to publish, deploy or retrofit course archives from inside the course space itself. Publishing, deploying or retrofitting a course to a working platform use the same course transport infrastructure that operates through the network or via the local filesystem.

course life cycle.jpg

Moodle site types (regarding publishing concerns)

The course publishing architecture conceptually introduces three typical assignation to a Moodle application :

  • The Course Factory concept: A Course Factory is a Moodle instance where courses are designed and tested, but where non real training is performed. Courses can be set visible so promoting a cooperative work of the whole pedagogic operators. Courses can be exposed even if not complete or still in work, without depreciating the global e-Learing system apparent value.
  • The Course Catalog concept: A Course Catalog is a Moodle instance that stores and exposes full features course volumes, as the result of a production process. A Course Catalog should not be the place where to perform real training, although nothing forbids really real use of courses there.
  • The Training Instance concept: More commonly assignable to a "standard Moodle" concept, but being able to be fed with course volumes got from a Course Catalog. The Training Instances are targets for course deployment.

Each of this general Moodle site role in the publishing network can be quickly setup by a site level preference of the Publishflow bloc. (See Global Settings)

Assembling these three concepts may allow to constitute complex Moodle based architectures answering a publishing metaphoric model.

Publication use cases

  • Course publishing: Publishing a course is making the course volume available for use by the Traning Centers.
  • Course deployment: Deploying a course is copying an instance of a course to get a workable course session with students.
  • Course retrofitting: Retrofitting a course brings back a copy of an updated course volume to a factory for starting a new design and publishing process.

Bloc Features

Within a Course Factory Moodle

  • Indexing: The course needs to be indexed (ie : having a non empty IDNumber to track published copies).
  • Making a transportable archive: The course needs to be backup WITHOUT ANYTHING RELATIVE TO USERS to be tranportable. The bloc provides a control to make such an archive in "two clicks" process.
  • Publish: Publishing a course to a remote Course Catalog chossing the target Moodle within the list of available targets.

Within a Course Catalog Moodle

  • Deploy: The course can be deployed to any Training Center known in the MoodleNetwork neighbourhood.

Within a Training Center Moodle

  • Open/Reopen: The course can be deployed to any Training Center known in the MoodleNetwork neighbourhood.
  • Close: The course can be deployed to any Training Center known in the MoodleNetwork neighbourhood.
  • Retrofit: The course can be deployed to any Training Center known in the MoodleNetwork neighbourhood.

Block Operations and implementation documentation

  • Installation
  • Global Settings
  • Capabilities
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