Moodle 2.0 is a game changer

Here are some of the highlights from Moodle Moot Melbourne regarding the new Moodle 2.0 as demonstrated today by Martin the Moodle man.

• 20 new themes that look and feel like a whole new moodle
  
  
• Blocks can be "Docked" as a drop down menu on the left hand side of the page creating far more space and efficiency on the page.
  
  
• Blocks can be customized to appear on every page, or on selected page views.
  
  
• Private Files block, allows users to upload private files to a repository, and intergrate with external repositories such as Google Docs, Flickr and so on.
  
  
• User Blogs can be integrated with Twitter through RSS feeds, or any Blog, the cool thing, you can Filter the Feed by Filter Tags.
  
  
• There is a Comment Block, allowing for user comments to be left on every page in moodle.
  
• The Workshop Module has been made more user friendly.
  
  
• All Activities and Resources and be 'Checked' off with a tick box when viewed/completed.
  
  
• Community Hubs, are a place where Moodle Creators can share courses or sites centered around common learning areas. A Hub could also be created for use just inside an organisation.
  
  
• More about Moodle 2.0 to come...
  

Neovet Moodle Moot Prezi

I'll be using Prezi for my Moodle Moot presentation on Embedding New Media, this July in Melbourne. I love how new presentation tools, such as SlideShare, Screenr and Prezi, work both offline and online, giving way to flexible delivery. Prezi is yet to add audio, so the trick for the full blown presentation experience is to combine Prezi with Screenr and simply record audio over your Prezi and then republish as a Screenr object.

Below is my prezi, or here is the full Audion Version of my presentation, part 1 and 2.

Embed with new media on Prezi

Moodle for iPhones

Moodle4iPhones Open Source project

Moodle Workshop Login

Login for Moodle Workshop here

MoodleMoot AU 2010 Melbourne

The conference this time is in Melbourne and they are looking for Papers on a range of elearning topics. To submit a paper read thd guidelines here at the official MootAU2010 site.

The conference will run from the 11th to the 14th of July and is a must for any moodle developer.

Facebook, Google, as an LMS?

Call me crazy, but with all the fuss about what LMS is the ultimate solution to online training, has anybody considered that the emerging online social networks might be ready to replace a packaged LMS?

The fundamental elements of the LMS you use, (Moodle, BBoard, JoomlaLMS) could already be ready and waiting within the very popular an accessable Facebook and Google space. Let's face it, our learners are using FB and Google everyday.

Facebook as an LMS

Users can Sign In with any email account, then creating a private group, you now have a 'course' where you can create discussions, share training video's, leave notes, and create course events, create new polls and quizzes and I'm sure more will emerge as FB does. Seeing how 1/4 of all Australians internet time is spent on FB, you won't have any hurdles getting learners ready to use this already thriving online community platform.

The one thing you can't do, is upload and share documents, and there is no grading system if your looking to use your LMS for grading.Google as an LMS

When neovet talks about Google, he doesn't just mean 'search'. I'm talking Gmail, Goodle Docs, Google Calender and more.... With Google accounts, learners can Sign In with any email account, the using Gmail and Buzz as a platform , you can update students as a group, launch new discussion boards as Buzz threads, create a course calender, share Google Docs, which can now be almost any file format :) .

The number one reason we haven't used Google as an LMS so far is that most of our students are in Education Qld Schools, that tend to filter/block Google products.

Progressive huh!

If you use Social Media as an LMS, or part of as we already do, please let neovet readers know by posting your story here.

Joomla Moodle MashUp - jfusion

For a YOUTH WORK training course that I manage, we wanted our online learning portal to have the best of Moodle and the best of Joomla, hence the Joomla/Moodle MashUp we could but won't call Moomla. Joomla does now have a LMS componant called Joomlalms, but we are happy with and loyal too Moodle but also want the great design and plugin aspects of Joomla.


We achieved this Moomla site by using jfusion http://www.jfusion.org, see tutorial below.

Moodle Moot 08 Brisbane

It’s official, I’m an e-learning educator geek, but thank God I’m not alone as I found out at the Moodle Moot 2008 held in Brisbane this October. This top notch two day conference covered everything ‘Moodle’ including key note address from the moodle creator himself (Australian Phd student turn Entrepreneur, interesting story worth reading about) and several workshops to choose from covering topics such as ‘Turbo Charging your Moodle’ and ‘Maintaining Online Communities”.

The highlight for me was meeting moodle builders from all over Australia and finding out the great variety of contexts that moodle is used for training. I also picked up a few new tools for my moodle site that I can’t wait to implement and share with you here at neovet. For those left in the dark, moodle is an open source Learning Management System that is now used in 199 countries and by millions of users to work through modular based, content and learning activities.

Googles 'Lively' place to chat... and break dance!

Update: Just when we started trialling it, Google pulled the plug, so Google Lively is gone :( sad to say but the good news is New Lively is here to stay thanks to a community of believers.

Googles newest and (i think) coolest application is the self contained avatar world of 'Lively'. At first view I thought this would be another endless jump into the abyss of Avatar black holes like 'second life', but i think the advantages of 'Lively', are actually in it's limitations, not in it's applications.

• It is a simple introduction to Avatarian culture for beginners

• Lively keeps your community in closer proximity through meeting 'rooms' rather than whole 'worlds'. Rooms can be linked through hyper linked objects ( I have a magic potplant portal in my first room!)

• I'ts not overwhelming: the user options are kept to basic communication methods of gestures, text chat, and a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure.
  

It also embeds in CMS nicely such as 'moodle', as a better 'chat' option, you can actually see who is in the chat room for one, but also the extra novelty of making my avatar break dance in front of others takes the cake.

I would like to see the following applications added to 'Lively' for enhanced E-learning.

1. A 'real' WhiteBoard, to leave messages on
2. Video or audio message app, where users can post a short message
3. Quiz, Word Puzzle and Scrabble games
4. A timetable app, with upcoming events
5. Integrated account to CMS so users don't need to 'sign in' twice
   
6. How about a sit down Space Invaders game too :)

To visit my first student room click below, but keep in mind you will need to download the Lively app first, then also have a Google/G-mail account to enter.

Sloodle!

Sloodle is a second life version of Moodle, This Video will give you the idea.

 

I think the take up will be slow, but I would rather get our Training on there in advance so when the user end is ready, our Second Life product is well prepared.

Mobile Learning Engine

Mobile Learning Engine has the potential to create multi-platform learning tools that can be 'tweaked' using simple XML. I have to wonder thatl MLE and MOMO for moodle will become quickly outdated with the rise of full mobile web browsing (Mac iPHONE, RIM Thunder).

But then again, is it a more accessible 'bridge' option for mlearning solutions 2008-2009. I can't see the light beyond 2010, my crystal ball broke a while back now.

Assignments

We are currently exploring how to make better use of the assignment module on moodle.

With this in mind; students can respond to set questions ( i think?) or you can set it so it is a share folder between the trainer and student. hmmm.

Some student testing would help, as it is hard to 'completly' step out of the course developer, admin role to see how the students and trainers would experience these online assignments.

It seems the 'online text' option, only allows for one set of instructions followed by one student answer at a time - it would probably be tiresome and in practical to have an assignment module made for every question. If our units where smaller and 'cleaner' in approach, this may not be an issue.

There are also AQTF requirements to consider, such verifying Assessors, that is where digital signatures may come in to save the day, to achieve our dream of a paperless VET sector.