Message-ID: <15148134.1182532568887.JavaMail.joeescobar@joe-escobars-computer.local>
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 20:04:53 -0800 (PST)
From: moodleadmin
Reply-To: Online@lanecc.edu
Subject: Adventures with DST
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Folks,

So much for my getting ahead of the problem on the recent Daylight Savings Time change fun.  I've been doing experiments since last week to try to figure out exactly what happened when the availability on assignments and quizzes changed, but have come no closer to actually deciding what we should tell people.  Since my inaction has basically led us down this path anyway, I'm inclined now to simply respond to faculty questions when the issue pops up.  Here's why.

The problems seem to crop up when an assignment is created by an instructor whose profile is set to use the server's local time when the Moodle application as a whole is set to a hardwired GMT offset (-8 until last week, when it became -7).  In these instances, Moodle calculates the availability by getting the server's offset from GMT and then computing the difference from the Moodle application's offset.  When the user's profile is changed to a hardwired offset, the calculations no longer differ by the same offset; hence the difference.

The real problem, I think, was raised by my changing the Moodle time zone calculations in the middle of the term in response to Joe Russin's chat room problem.  If assignment due dates are not correctly set now, it may be resolved by changing the instructor's profile to match the server's local time; on the other hand, it may not, if the assignment were set up before I changed the time zone earlier this term.  And that's the real crux of the issue: we're likely to get different results based on when the assignments were created.  Complicating that issue is the fact that the students' profiles may also need to be changed if the instructor's profile is changed.

So, it comes down to this: I don't have a single suggestion for instructors when their assignments have incorrect availability dates.  I certainly don't have a simple suggestion, because simply having them change their profiles may actually make things worse.  And even if it doesn't screw things up for the instructors, it may do so for the students.

So, I think we have two possibilities.  The first is that post a brief notice on the front page and ask instructors to get in contact with us (either online or moodleadmin) if they notice problems with their assignments (if we do that, I think it should be worded in an "please-take-a-quick-look-at-your-assignment-dates-and-notify-us-if-anything's-wonky" kind of way). Or, we simply take questions as they come in, rather than broadcasting a general warning.

Now, to the future.  I was hopeful we'd be able to use Winter term to do some testing on this problem before we face the switch back in Spring.  Unfortunately, I forgot that Congress changed the start period for DST in 2007 to March 11 - November 4.  So DST starts in dead week of Winter term.

Even better: since this change was made in 2005, it's not clear who exactly will be enacting the change.  By that, I mean it's not clear what legal entities will be observing it (Canada?  Mexico?  Or, more to the point, Australia or other Commonwealth countries?).  Nor is it clear what APPLICATIONS will be observing it.  Moodle may need to be explicitly modified to address this problem.  So the DST issue may be a problem next term, as well.

Before I put up the instance for Winter term, I'll be testing all of this stuff to try to make sure that it works.  

Cross your fingers.

David


===============================================
David Walton
Moodle System Administrator
Lane Community College
For enrollment, course creation, logging in, or general server issues, email moodleadmin@lanecc.edu
For faculty assistance using Moodle, email online@lanecc.edu
Voice: 463-3367
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