http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

I'm having trouble logging in to the SF 08 site.  It will not accept my Moodle.org username and password.  Do I need to set up a separate account to enter?  Please advise as I would like to register for the SF Moot. Thanks.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Hi Jan,

I had the same trouble -it is a bit confusing...I still haven't figured out where to post a presentation. I  had to register and create another user name & password, as this one use for this site isn't valid on the MoodleMoot site - it also reads "MoodleMoot '07", so I'm not sure if that is the site for any conferences scheduled for '08, or if it's old information.    

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Jan, yes you need to create a separate account to enter the MoodleMoot San Francisco '08 area.

Ann, you can post a presentation here: http://moodlemoot.org/mod/data/view.php?id=201

The site was previously used for the UK 2007 MoodleMoot, hence the logo. No doubt it will be updated soon.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Jan,

Thank you very much for the clarification and link!

Ann Wiswell

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

I created an account and got into the MoodleMoot site, but how do I register for the SF MoodleMoot?  The link to registration doesn't seem to work.  I'd like to get signed up officially so my institution will cover the cost. Please let me know how to do this. Thanks.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Good Morning,

Registration has not, yet opened. We expect to open registration in the next week or so. We'll make an announcement here when it's ready. Thanks,

jon

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1139

Report looks at schools' success with Moodle

Type: Web article

From: Laura Devaney

Published: 30 January 2008

A new report from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) aims to introduce educators to Moodle, an open-source software program for managing courses online.

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: Chad Outten

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Jon,

Sorry - it looks like we may land a big sponsor that could significantly lower to costs for registration. So I am delaying the registration release until they get back to me, which they assure me will be by March.

Thanks for the interest and I hope you can check back,
Patrick

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

Jan,

Just responded to Jon below...

Thanks,
Patrick

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=73485&parent=39

Could someone please let me know where and when is Moodle Moot NZ 2008?

Cheers,

Pak

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=39

The above note regarding the delay in the registration is for the Delhi, NY MoodleMoot, not the SF.

http://moodle.org

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=73485&parent=39

Hello Pak

The Moodle Moot NZ 2008 is being finalised. Dates are projected to be 8-10 October 2008 and venue will be advertised soon.

If you are interested in getting involved contact stuart@learning.ac.nz.

Kind regards
Tabitha

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=73485&parent=39

Great, Cant wait to come down again this year. You NZ's are so friendly...except if anyone brings up Australia's underarm bowling one more time....!

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=87233&parent=39

Hi Clark,

Thanks for your suggestion of adding MoodleMoots to the Moodle.org calendar.

As Ralf points out, students can only add personal events to the calendar, however I have added all forthcoming MoodleMoots on behalf of their organisers. (Organisers, please let me know if you'd like any of the details changed.)

I have also assigned Sean the role of calendar editor (see the calendar editor role documentation for more details), so that he can add/edit calendar entries in future.

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1150

The Effect of a Native-Language Interface vs. a Target-Language Interface on Students' Performance

Type: Book

From: Jay Melton

Published: 1 January 2006

The Internet is being used more often to help teachers of second and foreign languages to create activities for language learning and assess their students' progress. One kind of computer package used to manage various types of online course work is being used ever increasingly in language learning environments: course management systems (CMS). The choice of which language, native or target, to use in a CMS is a source of debate. This chapter details an experiment conducted to determine the effect of an English and a Japanese interface on a CMS quiz module (moodle's). The participants were 48 Japanese students of English. To control for internal sources of invalidity, random assignment was made and the design was a post test-only control group. The results showed no significant difference in the scores; the English interface may be an acceptable choice for the interface language of the quiz module for those whose native language is not English. The CMS used in this study was the open source package moodle.

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: Jay Melton

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1151

The LMS moodle: A Usability Evaluation

Type: Journal article

From: Jay Melton

Published: 31 March 2006

As more and more technology finds its way into language courses, the more complicated software-adoption decisions become. The area of human-computer interaction (HCI) has much to offer those of us in language teaching and research. While conceived specifically to aid in the design process, HCI testing tools such as the DECIDE framework can help language teachers and researchers get an idea of how usable a particular software package is before it is put to use on a wider scale. This small, preliminary study examined the usability of the learning management system (LMS) moodle�s registration process and assignment submission module. While users were generally successful in the intermediate tasks, one-half were not able to complete the final task of submitting an assignment. While more study is needed to confirm the causes, it is possible that both the lack of experience in a wide variety of computer-related tasks and the use of L2 in the interface played a part in the results.



The article was published in the internationally refereed journal, Language Issues. This journal has been published at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto since 1995.

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: Jay Melton

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1152

The CMS moodle: A Heuristic Evaluation

Type: Web article

From: Jay Melton

Published: 5 June 2004

One kind of powerful packages being used more often in educational settings are course management systems (CMS). These systems can provide educators with useful tools to disseminate information to students, assign and collect homework, administer tests and quizzes, conduct synchronic chats, and a variety of other essential educational modalities. Moreover, use of such systems can enhance more traditional methods of educational delivery (McArthur, Parker, & Giersch, 2003). One recent addition to the open source family of CMS is moodle (Dougiamas, 2004). Moodle has a full suite of components--which are constantly being refined and added to and is currently available in 40 languages. Before using such a package, no matter how well known or highly recommended, it is important to carefully evaluate its interface (Colace, Santo, & Vento, 2002; Iding, Auernheimer, Crosby, & Klemm, 2002). This is important because no matter the kind of software, it should have a basic level of usability (Chalk, 2002; Silius, Tervakari, & Pohjolainen, 2003). In addition, interfaces should be simple, especially for learners of a second or foreign language (Wang & Beasley, 2002). This factor is critical because all time used to learn the software is time that is taken away from learning the course content. This presentation examines moodle's interface to determine if it meets basic usability standards for use as a CMS in an educational setting. In order to evaluate the interface of a software package such as moodle, Nielsen's (1994) ten heuristics were chosen as the framework. Moodle's interface meets most of the requirements of these heuristics.

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: Jay Melton

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1153

Using Open Source Software to Build Learning Communities

Type: Web article

From: Jay Melton

Published: 25 August 2005

Online learning communities can effectively connect students to their classmates, their instructors and their courses. Blackboard, WebCT and other commercial course management systems are resource-intensive and require large annual budgets, full-time maintenance and institutional support. Open Source software offers low-cost alternatives for instructors and/or institutions looking to add online modalities to their courses and/or programs. Popular open source packages such as Wordpress, phpbb, and moodle will be considered in this presentation: discussion forums, both content and course management systems, and blogs. Attendees can expect to leave with an idea of what is necessary to get started with open source. Participants will learn how to install and use Moodle to support on-line course activities.

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: Jay Melton

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=5305&parent=400

Hello Jack

I am only new on the Moodle scene and have been working my way through many forums to find some information about Integrating DVD and Powerpoint.  After reading many positive comments about your white paper of 2004 I tried to access your link http://www.americastrainingpartners.com/projects/ATP/login/index.php?courseid=7&username=guest&password=guest.   This link doesn't work and I am wondering how I can access a copy or link to that paper.

Cicelia Turner

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=90608&parent=40

Hi Moodlers,

I am just wondering whether a Moodle Conference for 2008 has been pencilled in by anyone - if so I may be able to get work to pay for me at attend! (touch wood).

Of perhaps other MoodleMoots 2008 in the Asia-Pacific?

TIA.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=40

Hi Jason, just curious, is Martin coming to this moodlemoot? Thanks!

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=40

Good Afternoon,

Martin will be there and will deliver the opening keynote presentation on Tuesday morning. Thanks for your interest, hope to see you there...

jon

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=926&parent=2423

We would love to hear about your experience of OpenLearn and how we can develop and improve the site for learning.

Have an impact on the future of OpenLearn by giving us your feedback in our questionnaire.  We want to hear from you even if you have only spent a short time on the website - everyone's experience can help us.

You will find the questionnaire at:

http://elsa.open.ac.uk/survey.asp?id=GE95ID 

Thanks for your time.

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=777&parent=2026

This week sees OpenLearn release a range of new Web 2.0 features for learners and educators.

Learners can now create a list of personal interests in their OpenLearn profiles, connecting them to other learners with shared interests. OpenLearn’s MSG instant messenger will automatically create chat groups based on learners’ interests, enabling informal learning to take place through social networking.

Alex Little, developer of MSG explains: "We set up MSG so people could discover and chat directly with other learners studying the same OpenLearn units, providing peer support. So people studying ‘Start writing fiction’, for example, could contact others enrolled on the unit. The latest development means a Harry Potter fan could find other enthusiasts on OpenLearn and start a Harry Potter study group – regardless of what OpenLearn study units they may have enrolled on."

A new FlashVlog video blogging service allows anyone to record, edit, annotate and publish short videos of themselves. Laura Dewis, OpenLearn's Communications Manager said: "Online learning is often very 'faceless' and anonymous, which can help some people feel more confident about communicating. Other people prefer to see and hear the people they are working with, so it'll be interesting to see if video blogging enables collaboration and adds to the wealth of learning materials on OpenLearn."

Improvements have been made to the myLearningSpace and myLabSpace personalised homepages. Learners can view the units they are enrolled on, keep up to date with forum entries and organise their learning toolkit.

Jenny Gray, OpenLearn's lead technical developer said: "Feedback from our users is critical to us developing the website to meet their needs. We’ve responded to user requests and the results of usability tests to deliver an improved service and one that gives greater control to the independent learner."

Supporting the learner has also been a focus for Cohere, a Web 2.0 knowledge mapping website. Learners can make meaningful, possibly controversial, connections between their ideas and websites (e.g. Iraq’s 2003 political context is analogous to The Vietnam War). These may be private or public, and can be built on top of their social bookmarks if they are already dedicated users of tools like del.icio.us or flickr.

Simon Buckingham Shum of the Knowledge Media Institute at The Open University explained: "Learners can connect resources from around the web with their ideas, creating a visual network of their ideas and others. They can then share these 'idea webs' inside Cohere, or as hyperlinks, or embed them in their blogs or websites."

Creators of Cohere knowledge maps can identify ideas, problems, critical questions and answers in their maps. Some ideas already mapped by Cohere users include an e-Dance project, attitudes about change, philosophy and retirement transitions.

Another development has been the introduction of the download facility in the LearningSpace. Open University material is made available on OpenLearn under a Creative Commons license that allows for study units to be downloaded and derivative works to be created. Amended study units can be uploaded to the LabSpace to create a larger repository of localised open educational resources for the community to benefit from. While the LearningSpace is home to quality assured materials from Open University courses, anyone can add new content to the LabSpace.

Dr Patrick McAndrew, OpenLearn’s Research Director commented: "A widely accepted rule is that 1% of Web 2.0 users create content, 10% comment or add to the content and the remaining 89% consume content without adding to it. We expect the people visiting the LabSpace to be early adopters and open content evangelists, amending our resources and uploading new versions. However our main body of 'consumers' are in the LearningSpace. Allowing downloading to happen from the LearningSpace will hopefully encourage more people to take our materials away with them to use flexibly in the spaces they want to work in."

Other developments to improve the interoperability and sharing of resources include the introduction of an OPML feed of all content, RSS feeds of forums and the introduction of the IMS Common cartridge format for downloading and uploading units.

With the new release of these features, there are now over 4,130 learning hours of materials in the LearningSpace and 7,245 learning hours in the LabSpace.

Over 1.2 million learners worldwide have accessed the free learning materials made available by OpenLearn since its launch in late 2006.

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=612&parent=1536

OpenLearn has been shortlisted in the Learning and Skills category of the e-Government National Awards 2007. Announced today, the awards highlight UK services which improve citizen and business transaction with councils, central government departments and other public sector organisations.

This year’s awards focus on social inclusion and the use of innovative technology to deliver services to help the disadvantaged. In its first year OpenLearn has provided free access to Open University study materials to over 1 million learners and educators, supporting the University’s mission to open up access to education for all. Working with key partners, such as unionlearn, the Workers Educational Association (WEA), the Third Age Trust and Lifelong Learning Networks, the website has been used to reach learners from under represented groups in higher education.

Billy Khokhar, Assistant Director of Regional Collaboration and Widening Participation for the OU in Yorkshire has been using OpenLearn to introduce people to learning. He said, "We’ve been recently working with a group of Asian women in community centres in the region. Many of these women would be lost to the system because family, cultural and traditional ties often make their participation at traditional campuses difficult. OpenLearn introduces and provides a flexible method of study and we work to ensure that they have the IT skills necessary to be able to continue e-learning on their own."

OpenLearn has also been used to train staff working with disadvantaged children. The Children's Workforce Network in Plymouth City Council is using OpenLearn to provide a common learning experience for a team of practitioners from different disciplines, based at over 15 locations around the city.

The winners will be announced on the 22nd January 2008 at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=586&parent=1451

The OpenLearn website is celebrating one year since its launch on 25^th October 2006. In the first year the website has provided free access to educational resources to over 975,000 learners and educators around the world.

The website launched with 900 learning hours of study materials from Open University courses. This has risen to over 3700 hours in the LearningSpace and over 6500 hours in the experimental LabSpace and covers a full range of subjects from arts and history to science and nature. Thousands more hours of material will be made available in 2008.

New courses made available in the run up to the 1st year anniversary include two introductory study units, Introducing the Environment and Starting with Maths, and Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction, a 20 hour advanced study unit.

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=440&parent=1009

myLearningSpace has been launched this week to enable learners and educators to personalise their OpenLearn experience. Registered learners can create a personal page on OpenLearn to help them organise their self-study. They can customise the page to show a list of the courses they’re enrolled in, along with information about recent changes within those courses (such as new forum posts). Among other things, users can personalise their  page to show or hide different blocks of information relevant to their needs. This may include showing  a list of recent site visitors, enabling them to connect easily with other learners who are interested in similar study areas.

For further information on myLearningSpace see the Get started pages.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=40

Is there an ETA for when registration will open?

Ken

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=40

Registration for the San Francisco Moot will open today or tomorrow. Check moodlemoot.org for the link. I'll post a message here as soon as I get it registration ready to go. Thanks,

jon

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=89377&parent=40

Super - Thanks Jon

http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=19&rid=1175

Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using Moodle

Type: Web article

From: Emmett Dulaney

Published: 27 February 2008

This article describes an interesting and practical process by which students help create a course syllabus.

Emmett Dulaney, "Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using Moodle," Campus Technology, 2/27/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=58847

See the full publication

      

Added to this database by: A. T. Wyatt

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=91514

As announced in the developer meeting yesterday, the Moodle bugathon prize winners are as follows:

Most bugs resolved

1. Dan Poltawski


2. Gary Anderson


3. David Mudrak

runners-up: Petr Kalis, Mike Churchward, Eric Merrill and Michael Spall

Most fixes verified

1. Nicolas Martignoni


2. Séverin Terrier

Most duplicates identified

1. Dan Poltawski


2. David Mudrak


3. Wen Hao Chuang

Most new bugs filed

1. Matt Gibson


2. Dan Poltawski


3. Daniele Cordella

Prizes consisted of cash, iPods and a choice of any item from the Moodle Shop.

Congratulations to all our prize winners and a big thank you to everyone who took part in the bugathon. It has certainly helped make Moodle 1.9 a very stable release!