Message-ID: <7156137.1182532573121.JavaMail.joeescobar@joe-escobars-computer.local> Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:43:16 -0800 (PST) From: waltond Reply-To: Online@lanecc.edu Subject: Winter 2007 Moodle instance available for quick testing Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_Part_50_15297269.1182532573120" GWItemID: 45802DA4.LCC-Mail.MC_PO3.100.1346735.1.281D.1 ------=_Part_50_15297269.1182532573120 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Folks, A (test) instance of Moodle is now available for Winter 2007: go to . This is a preliminary instance that I've put up so we can identify any problems before we go public with the real one, so I appreciate it if you could just take a quick glance around and note any problems. Some of the fixes we've discussed (cumulative rather than average grading on glossary entries; the fix for IP address versus password for secure quizzes) haven't been added yet. Also, things like calendar dates haven't been set up. Here are some changes from Fall 2006: - I've modified some of the pages that print out student information so that instructors can see student L-numbers as part of the output (for example, on the participants page). Unfortunately, this is a complete hack (I just added code to print the L-number before the name), and it's not possible to search or sort on L-number. You'll see this in the Participants list. - I've added the custom form for metacourses that I alluded to when we met a a couple of months ago. Any course creator should see a "Metacourses" link below her "Courses" link in the Administration block. That'll take her to a page where she can create new metacourses and modify existing ones. There are likely some bugs I'm not aware of here, so if you have a chance to create and play around with a metacourse or two, I'd like to hear the results (see below for known issues). - The course settings page has the full name, short name, and ID fields disabled. An instructor can select the text, but he can't modify it. This also has to do with the metacourses form (more below). - I've changed the format of course long and short names slightly, so that the instructor's name is included along with the CRN, in both--e.g., "AB 134: Paint & Collision (Kimball-30458)." I'm not sure if I like this format. I'd appreciate your input. I've imported all courses and students as of 2:00 this afternoon (I won't be modifying enrollments yet). This is On the metacourse form... I designed this so that we would have some control over the course names that people were using for their metacourses, and so there wouldn't be issues where instructors accidentally added other instructors' child courses to their metacourses. To that end When auser clicks the Metacourses link, I do a search of the database to find all courses for which that person is an instructor. If that user has any metacourses, they are listed in a menu on the second part of the form, where they can add and remove courses much like Moodle's standard child courses form. The difference is that the only courses that can be managed are courses for which the user is an editing instructor. (More on this below.) To create a metacourse, the user selects from the list of available courses in the list at the top of the form, and clicks Create metacourse. A name is generated automatically, using the course number and name of the first course selected, with the CRNs of each course appended. If the instructor wants a custom name, she can click a checkbox to request that, and I'll get an email about it (well, I will when I add that part in the next day or so). Shortcomings: - At present, when a metacourse is modified (courses added or removed), the name doesn't get changed to reflect the different CRNs. I think it probably should. - The custom name thing is kind of awkward. I don't like forcing the instructors to contact me if they need different course names, but I don't see a way around it that will allow the naming policy to be enforced. - I'm uncertain about disabling input for the name/ID fields on the course settings form. On the one hand, it's kind of necessary to enforce naming conventions (and we have warned them on that page since the beginning of last term that the fields should not be changed). But I wonder about the extent to which instructors will be put off by not being able to modify the names of ANY of their courses, including child courses. That's not to say that they necessarily do make modifications that much, but having something explict that bars them from doing it is a little different from simply asking them not to, and might be perceived as heavy-handed. - Instructors who wish to make group metacourses (example: the Psy 201 testing thing) can't do it with this form unless the person creating the metacourse has privileges on all of the child coures. I don't like this (and faculty may not either), but I can handle the number of administrative requests this is apt to generate. I do wonder if it will be perceived as an affront to faculty. I am in the process of finishing a new document on creating metacourses (you'll see a link to it on the metacourse form). It will explain what's necessary to create and manage metacourses, and it will address situations like the one mentioned above (how to get courses from multiple instructors into a single metacourse). Thanks in advance for any input. Note that I don't yet have administrative accounts for you. I'll create those shortly and send you the passwords. David ---- David Walton Web/Moodle administration and identity management Information Technology Lane Community College Email: waltond@lanecc.edu Voice: 541-463-3367 ------=_Part_50_15297269.1182532573120--