Moodle 2.1 release notes: Difference between revisions

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Moodle 2.1

Released: 1st July 2011

Major new features

New question engine

Moodle question system has been rewritten to make it much more robust and to support lots of new possible functionality.
See summary of changes at the New question engine page and more details in the tracker MDL-20636.
Warning: This change requires a major database upgrade. If you have a lot of question attempts in your site, you probably need to plan your upgrade in stages, using some extra code that is not in the core system.
Backward compatibility warning: Random short-answer matching question type was moved out of the main Moodle distribution.

Ability to restore the course contents from Moodle 1.9 backup files

Course backup files created in Moodle 1.9 can be now restored during the normal restore process.
No user data (like forum posts, grades, submissions, ...) are supported yet. Blocks are not restored yet.
See MDL-22414 for details.

Support for mobile devices

Moodle 2.1 comes with a built-in web service designed for mobile applications (required to run the official Moodle app)
See MDL-27551 and Enable mobile web services documentation for details
MDL-25394 Improved Support for Mobile Themes and Browser Detection

Other highlights

MDL-11288 Ability to copy (or clone) an activity
MDL-27428 Ability to navigate navigation/settings menu and dock with keyboard
MDL-26784 Improved plugins check/overview page
MDL-27500 Upgraded TinyMCE to the latest version 3.4.2
MDL-26105 User friendly block settings and help information
MDL-27251 New performance setting for calculating an appropriate timeout during large cURL requests
MDL-25805 Friendlier navigation for parent roles to see mentees in courses
MDL-27577 Daylight saving should be calculated for users having string timezone
MDL-27171 Messaging Improvements: Site administrators can now control which message delivery methods can be used for each message type. (In 2.0 students could switch off notifications. In 2.1 this can be overidden)

Security issues

There were no significant security issues fixed in this release.

Upgrading

When upgrading to Moodle 2.1, you must first upgrade to Moodle 1.9 or (preferably) 2.0. We advise that you test the upgrade first on a COPY of your production site, to make sure it works as you expect.

Please also check that you have PHP 5.3.2 or later, as the minimum required version has increased since Moodle 2.0.

For further information, see Upgrading to Moodle 2.1.

For developers: API changes

The new question engine changes the API for question types. See dev:Developing a Question Type.
The new question engine changes the API for activity modules that use the question bank. See dev:Using the question engine from module.
There is a new API available for activity modules to support restore of 1.9 backup files. See dev:Backup 1.9 conversion for developers
The Messaging API now allows plugin creators to specify default message providers for message outputs. See dev:Messaging_2.0_improvements#Adding_new_message_type
MDL-28166 Note that the two events triggered by the quiz module (quiz_attempt_started and quiz_attempt_~~processed~~submitted) changed slightly to follow a more consistent naming scheme. We do not believe they were used much, so we decided to fix them now, so we could have a nice, stable API in the future.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Release date: Not yet released (This content copied over from 1.9 site from https://docs.moodle.org/19/en/Moodle_2.1_release_notes just as a start)
+{{Template:Migrated|newDocId=/general/releases/2.1}}
+==Moodle 2.1==
-===Highlights===
+Released: 1st July 2011
+===Major new features===
 ====New question engine====
-This is a major rewrite of the Moodle question system to make it much more robust and to support lots of new possible functionality. It was implemented by developers at the [http://www.open.ac.uk/ Open University], primarily Tim Hunt. There is a site on OpenLearn that is running the new question engine (back-ported into Moodle 1.9) at http://labspace.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3484. We recommend you start with 'A Moudle Quiz' (not a misspelling: M+OU+DLE). You'll need to register on the site and join the module to interact.
+* Moodle question system has been rewritten to make it much more robust and to support lots of new possible functionality.
+* See summary of changes at the [[Moodle 2.1 release notes/New question engine|New question engine]] page and more details in the tracker MDL-20636.
+* Warning: This change requires a major database upgrade.  If you have a lot of question attempts in your site, you probably need to [https://docs.moodle.org/21/en/Upgrading_to_Moodle_2.1#Planning_the_question_engine_upgrade plan your upgrade in stages], using some extra code that is not in the core system.
+* Backward compatibility warning: ''Random short-answer matching'' question type was moved out of the main Moodle distribution.
-Details at [[Development:Question_Engine_2]] and in MDL-20636.
+====Ability to restore the course contents from Moodle 1.9 backup files====
-The main user-visible change is that the old Quiz setting '''Adaptive mode: yes/no''' has been replaced by a new option '''How questions behave'''. This provides a range of possible behaviours:
+* Course backup files created in Moodle 1.9 can be now restored during the normal restore process.
-; Deferred feedback : what used to be called Adaptive mode: no, but with an important addition. With deferred feedback behaviour, it is finally the case that '''wrong answers to questions can give negative score''' - one of the oldest outstanding feature requests MDL-1647.
+* No user data (like forum posts, grades, submissions, ...) are supported yet. Blocks are not restored yet.
-; Adaptive mode & Adaptive mode (no penalties): what used to be called Adaptive mode: yes
+* See MDL-22414 for details.
-; Manual grading : used for essay questions (irrespective of what the quiz is set to) but you can now choose to have every question in the quiz manually graded, if you wish.
-; Interactive mode : This is a new behaviour created by the OU. It is similar to the old adaptive mode, but with a few changes:
-:* After submitting one answer, and reading the feedback, the student has to click a 'Try again' button before they can try a new response.
-:* Once the student has got the question right, they can no longer change their response.
-:* Once the student has got the question wrong too many times, they are just graded wrong (or partially correct) and get shown the feedback and can no longer change their answer.
-:* There can be different feedback after each try the student makes.
-; Immediate feedback : this is a bit like Adaptive/Interactive mode, in that the student can submit their response immediately during the quiz attempt, and get it graded. However, they can only submit one response, they cannot change it later.
-; Deferred feedback or Immediate feedback with Certainty-based marking : with Certainty-based marking, the student does not only answer the question, but they also indicate how sure they are they got the question right. The grading is adjusted by the choice of certainty, so that students have to reflect honestly on their own level of knowledge in order to get the best mark.
-There are corresponding changes in places that use questions, like the quiz and question preview. In particular the '''quiz manual grading report has been greatly improved'''.
+====Support for mobile devices====
-The question types themselves have not changed very much in this release. The main change is '''students can attach files to essay question responses''' if the teacher allows it. Also, the teacher can choose whether the HTML editor is used.
+* Moodle 2.1 comes with a built-in web service designed for mobile applications (required to run the official [[:dev:Mobile_app|Moodle app]])
+* See MDL-27551 and [[:en:Enable_mobile_web_services|Enable mobile web services documentation]] for details
-The new system has extensive automated tests, which should ensure that bugs are much rarer in future.
+* MDL-25394 Improved Support for Mobile Themes and Browser Detection
-=====Warning!=====
-* This change requires a major database upgrade. Currently the best information about preparing for this is on [[Development:Question_Engine_2:Testing#Testing_the_upgrade]].
-* The one existing feature is its not possible to support in the new system is the Random short-answer matching question type. Therefore, we propose to move this question type out of the main Moodle release, and make it a optional plugin (which will not be compatible with Moodle 2.1 unless someone works out how to fix it). If this change will cause you problems, please explain in [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=176097 this Quiz forum thread].
-=====Note for question-type developers=====
-Unfortunately, the extent of this change means that question types that are compatible with Moodle 2.0 will not work with Moodle 2.1 until they have been updated. Brief instructions for updating your question type are at [[Development:Developing_a_Question_Type#Converting_a_Moodle_2.0_question_type]]. If you need more help than this, please ask in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=737 Quiz forum]. I (Tim) will respond, and update the documentation. As a rough guide, I was able to upgrade most of the standard and OU-specific question types in about two days each. Of course, I know exactly how the new system works.
-===Others===
+===Other highlights===
 * MDL-11288 Ability to copy (or clone) an activity
+* MDL-27428 Ability to navigate navigation/settings menu and dock with keyboard
+* MDL-26784 Improved plugins check/overview page
-===Functional changes===
+* MDL-27500 Upgraded TinyMCE to the latest version 3.4.2
+* MDL-26105 User friendly block settings and help information
-* ...
+* MDL-27251 New performance setting for calculating an appropriate timeout during large cURL requests
+* MDL-25805 Friendlier navigation for parent roles to see mentees in courses
+* MDL-27577 Daylight saving should be calculated for users having string timezone
+* MDL-27171 Messaging Improvements: Site administrators can now control which message delivery methods can be used for each message type.  (In 2.0 students could switch off notifications.  In 2.1 this can be overidden)
 ===Security issues===
-To be released later
+There were no significant security issues fixed in this release.
-===System requirements===
-* ...
 ===Upgrading===
-When upgrading to Moodle 2.1, you must first upgrade to Moodle 2.0 or later. We advise that you test the upgrade first on a COPY of your production site, to make sure it works as you expect.
+When upgrading to Moodle 2.1, you must first upgrade to Moodle 1.9 or (preferably) 2.0. We advise that you test the upgrade first on a COPY of your production site, to make sure it works as you expect.
-For further information, see [[Upgrading to Moodle 2.1]].
+Please also check that you have PHP 5.3.2 or later, as the minimum required version has increased since Moodle 2.0.
+For further information, see [https://docs.moodle.org/21/en/Upgrading_to_Moodle_2.1 Upgrading to Moodle 2.1].
 ===For developers: API changes===
-* The new question engine changes the API for question types. See [[Development:Developing a Question Type]].
+* The new question engine changes the API for question types. See [[dev:Developing a Question Type]].
-* The new question engine changes the API for activity modules that use the question bank. See [[Development:Using the question engine from module]].
+* The new question engine changes the API for activity modules that use the question bank. See [[dev:Using the question engine from module]].
+* There is a new API available for activity modules to support restore of 1.9 backup files. See [[dev:Backup 1.9 conversion for developers]]
+* The Messaging API now allows plugin creators to specify default message providers for message outputs. See [[dev:Messaging_2.0_improvements#Adding_new_message_type]]
+* MDL-28166 Note that the two events triggered by the quiz module (quiz_attempt_started and quiz_attempt_<strike>processed</strike>submitted) changed slightly to follow a more consistent naming scheme. We do not believe they were used much, so we decided to fix them now, so we could have a nice, stable API in the future.
+==See also==
-===Credits===
+* [https://docs.moodle.org/21/en/Category:New_features User documentation of new features in Moodle 2.1]
-* ...
+<noinclude>
-<noinclude>
 [[Category:Release notes]]
 [[Category:Moodle 2.1]]
+[[es:Notas de Moodle 2.1]]
 [[fr:Notes de mise à jour de Moodle 2.1]]

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