EJSApp

EJSApp Activity

The EJSApp activity plugin allows users to embedd Easy Java Simulations (EJS) applications (such as simulations, virtual and remote laboratories) into a Moodle course. This plugin works with version 2.0 or higher of Moodle.

EJSApp plugin can be downloaded from Moodle Plugins Directory and from Github.

As with any customization, it is recommended that you have a good backup of your Moodle site before attempting to install contributed code. While those contributing code make every effort to provide the best code that they can, using contributed code nevertheless entails a certain degree of risk as contributed code is not as carefully reviewed and/or tested as the Moodle core code.

EJSApp is useful for adding simulations or remote laboratories into your Moodle courses, which is of especial interest for those of scientific or technical nature. More information about EJS and EJSApp can be obtained at http://www.um.es/fem/EjsWiki/Main/UsingEJSWithMoodle.

Installation

• Code - Copy the files into your Moodle mod folder ($CFG->dirroot/mod)

WARNING: If you are updating ejsapp from a previous version, DO NOT replace/delete your old jarfiles directory inside your old ejsapp directory.

IMPORTANT: For Unix Moodle servers (e.g., Linux and Mac systems), EJSApp requires that (i) the apache user is the owner of the "jarfiles" dir inside the "ejsapp" dir, and (ii) it has permissions to read, write and execute the jarfiles dir.

The following points describe how to do it:

1) go to the ejsapp dir:                                                                       
$ cd ejsapp                                                                                    
                                                                                               
2) Change the owner of the jarfiles dir to apache.                                             
For instance,                                                                                  
2.a) in Linux CentOS, the apache user is "apache", so you should write                         
$ chown -R apache jarfiles                                                                     
2.b) in Linux OpenSuse, the apache user is "wwwrun", so you should write                       
$ chown -R wwwrun jarfiles                                                                     
                                                                                               
3) Change the permissions of the apache user:                                                  
$ chmod -R 700 jarfiles    

• Database - Login in as a Moodle Administrator and go to the Administration notifications page to create the required EJSApp tables.

• Settings - During the previous step you will come across the setting configuration page for the EJSApp plugin. Default values might be valid for you. However, read the description of each parameter there and change any value you want. The README.txt file that comes along with the EJSApp plugin has even more information about these parameters.

Configuration

When installing ejsapp for the first time, you will need to set four variables:

• columns_width: This is the total width occupied by your columns (in pixels) in your Moodle visual theme. This variable is used to resize the applet size when embedded in Moodle and the "Preserve original applet layout" options is set to no. Default configuration works well with the default theme and with many others based on the two columns format. However, other themes may require changes in this variable.

• collaborative_port: When the "EJSApp Collaborative Sessions" block is also installed, this variable sets the port used for establishing TCP connections in the collaborative sessions.

• sarlab_IP: This variable defines the IP(s) direction(s) of the SARLAB system(s) used for managing the access to the remote laboratories. If left empty, the plugin understands that SARLAB is not used.

• sarlab_port: This variable defines the port(s) used to communicate with the SARLAB system(s). If left empty, the plugin understands that SARLAB is not used.

If you are not sure what values you should be setting for these parameters, use the ones by default.

Languages

The EJSApp activity plugin is available in:

• English (en_utf8)
• Spanish (es_utf8)

If you would like to supply translations for other languages, please create an issue in the tracker and attach a zip file of the language files.

Related Plugins

The EJSApp activity plugin works autonomously and does not require any other plugin to be installed in your Moodle site. However, there are three more plugins (the EJSAppBooking activity plugin and the EJSAppFileBrowser and the EJSAppCollabSession block plugins) that add new features to the system and might enhance the use of your EJS applications embedded into Moodle.

These additional plugins can also be downloaded from the EJSApp Set Webpage at Moodle Plugins Directory and from Github.

Contributor/Maintainer

The EJSApp activity plugin and the other three mentioned in the Related Plugins section are contributed and maintained by Luis de la Torre and Rubén Heradio, from the Spanish Open University (UNED).

See also

EJSApp Set Moodle modules webpage: https://moodle.org/plugins/browse.php?list=set&id=27

EJSApp UNEDLabs Github repository: https://github.com/organizations/UNEDLabs

EJSApp Moodle forum discussion: https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=217163

EJSApp video-tutorial 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rAsnvHO2Po (More to come!)

EJSApp video-tutorial 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzjAY2mWv-E (More to come!)

EJSApp video-tutorial 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLDXnTs5KE (More to come!)

UNEDLabs webpage (a Moodle site hosting a network of virtual and remote laboratories based on EJS and EJSApp): http://unedlabs.dia.uned.es/

EJSApp tutorial: http://www.um.es/fem/EjsWiki/Main/UsingEJSWithMoodle

EJS webpage: http://www.um.es/fem/EjsWiki/