Do you Moodle?

[dagza]

I've never used MS sharepoint. Anybody got a site I can look at

 

Hmmmm it looks like it is free (+server 2003). I might try and get the techies onto this. What does it do that moodle doesn't? It looks more like a file manager / portfolio type thing rather than a course manager.

[GrumbleDook]

Merry Christmas Darren ....

 

If you want a play with Sharepoint then go to http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/default.mspx and click on the free product trials, either for Sharepoint services (a hasted site that you can use for 30 days) or the hands-on lab for the portal version.

 

Both very handy. IIRC, if you have the full M$ setup (Exchange / Live communications server, etc) then you get quite nifty integration. We haven't so we lose some things if we had gone down the Sharepoint route. That's why we have stuck with FirstClass.

 

HTH

HANC (Have a nice Christmas)

[mighty.grey.eagle]

Just to clarify a couple of points. Moodle is not just a "Content Management System" - it is a "Course Management System" which is a subtle difference. It's primary use is in providing course content, the ability to set assignments, set quizzes (and have them marked automatically). The list goes on. It is free and, most importantly in my opinion, there is a fantastic support network. If in doubt go to http://moodle.org/mod/forum/index.php?id=5 and look at the number of users/developers. The more people involved the better. Course/content sharing is a key part of the philosophy.

 

Secondly (and I am surprised that Geoff hasn't commented on this - he must be asleep) Carr Hill is part of a pilot to set up a reverse proxy system so that the Moodle system can be hosted in school and yet accessed externally.

 

Oh my god. Just read all of this back and I sound like a teacher. Where am I - let me out of here.

 

Xmas greetings

 

Dave Berry

(Carr Hill - Lancashire)

[GrumbleDook]

Yep ... Moodle can do quite a bit, which is why the OU are picking it up ... just as OpenText, who produce FirstClass, have changed their model to be centred around course management.

 

I'll give it another 2 years with FirstClass before deciding on a move away from it, but I will still use Moodle where appropriate, and Sharepoint Services where that is appropriate too.

 

Must look at SSO a bit more to get everything happy though.

[mighty.grey.eagle]

Must look at SSO a bit more to get everything happy though.

 

What about "Shibboleth"? I thought that that was the flavour of the month.

 

Dave Berry

(Carr Hill)

[GrumbleDook]

Yeah ... except that because we are moving to an RBC I have to wait to see what they are doing.

[kevinmcaleer]

I've never used MS sharepoint. Anybody got a site I can look at

 

Hmmmm it looks like it is free (+server 2003). I might try and get the techies onto this. What does it do that moodle doesn't? It looks more like a file manager / portfolio type thing rather than a course manager.

 

The site I set up for my old school is still there: http://www.thornleigh.net

Thornleigh.net is a sharepoint (free version) and if you click 'up' to its parent site http://www.thornleigh.bolton.sch.uk, thats using sharepoint portal.

 

Its very good. I just set up the site 'space' for departments, and left them to it. They got the hang of how to put content on there pretty quickly.

 

-Kev

[beeswax]

afraid I can't bring up either site, but would really like to have a look

beeswax

[laticsfanatic]

Sorry

 

I was unaware that Tameside was going to take the server down for a week to re vamp the moodle system.

 

We now have a brand new server and version 1.5 of Moodle.

 

Please feel free to take a look around.

 

http://www.stamford.tameside.com then click on the VLE tab

[Ric_]

sorry... still looks borked to me - the DNS resolves to one of those advert thingies.

[beeswax]

try this link - Stamford

I think laticsfanatic must be over excited at Ronnie Moore getting the manager of the month award. he'll be out soon then.

 

beeswax

[Jake]

I used this site, not sure if its the right one though

 

http://www.stamfordhighschool.com

[beeswax]

oo-er I put up the wrong link, try this Stamford

[spc-rocket]

Out ICT coordinator was saying that Open University have adopted moodle!. We are going to setup this on a test server and play around with it from what i can remember and have seen it looks fairly easy to use from a teaching and pupil point of view.

 

If open university have adopted this then its really going mainstream. The usual scenarios here is that there are so many VLE out there that its harder to evaluate all of them and also when LEA or RBCs have their own content management systems that they are promoting i.e. EMBCs single sign on (SSO).? so where do you go.

 

Ashok.

[Norphy]

I've just been told about Moodle by my line manager in the SMT. He was the one who decided to spend the money on Digital Brain and is now regretting it because everyone hates it. It seems nice, the LDAP authentication is a nice touch and its very easy to add courses etc to it.

 

If I were to make the choice on a VLE it would probably be that one although my ex-boss thinks using the SIMS one might be a better idea as its probably less work to maintain.

[russdev]

well good thing with moodle is that it will intergrate into embc single sign on as it is in r & d section of gatewat i just now need to find who lead project to talk to them about it

 

russ

[SpuffMonkey]

I was down at BETT yesterday - listening to the DFES presentations - they were saying that they wanted all school IT to be centrally managed, and (to paraphrase) - those spending time on Moodle etc were wasting their time as it was all going to be centrally controlled anyway - must say I had a deep sigh at that point - having seen several public sector IT debacles at close hand - this sounded like another (very expensive) one in the making...

[spc-rocket]

Wonder how they are going to do this with the various RBCs around there. They haven't event got that right - vrious RBCs are different in the stuff they deliver, support and manage.

 

Centrally managed, someone has underestimated what this entails and the type of cost involved for something like this.

 

Moodle looks good and fact that it is easier to use than most vles makes it suitable to be used by teaching staff and pupil. Our current solution Uniservity is good but a bit slow and doesn't offer the same thing as moodle. From what i gather there is big moodle community who develop plugs in to provide extra functionality, can on;y make it worthwhile to have it. Most of all its free!!

 

Russ, not sure about embc and its SSO, from what i can tell IBM or someone else designed it and it has had a few hickups (server down, curruption of data, too much load etc) in the past.

 

How is your 10mb connection? have you got it going yet?

 

Ashok.

[russdev]

yes well you see this is at core of government building school for future project in which they commercialise sorry i mean rebuild schools using corporate involvement...

 

but then dont worry for now as this will be linked into national single sign on and moodle will be able to link into that...

 

like most of these things you can use yours and just have blank lea vle solution which dosnt get used...

[GrumbleDook]

Just to follow on from SpuffMonkey ...

 

The whole central IT thing is a rehash of comments that keep coming out to justify certain aspects of PFI / BSF / Academies.

 

Keep an eye on what Becta say since they are the people that have been asked to get all schools connected to the NEN (a must before all schools can be centrally managed) and also keep an eye on what happens over the next 5 years with those schools that are on the BSF route.

 

This is a long term goal and cannot be achieved by a single agancy due to the differences between Local Authorities. The whole goal is to get everyone up to the same standard as the best LAs / Schools ... the only problem with this is that they will have to be the first to join and they are the best because the innovate, something that centralisation and bureaucracy can stifle.

 

The way Becta work is to set the guidelines , RBCs / LAs follow the guidelines, and then you have centralising tools (like SSO and the central control of student data via UPN at County level) that make it work.

 

It really is a long term thing and we are not even 1/4 into the final product from the looks of things.

 

Those people from DfES who say "don't use product X as it will not fit into our scheme of things" are walking on seriously dodgy ground ... the official line is the "product x must meet criteria y to bea ble to work in these schemes" something that things like moodle can do ... they are usually more adaptable because they want to work with the schemes and will be redesigned to fit in with published guidelines and standards ... it is the bigger people who say "we are not doing it that way, you change the guidelines" that are a problem ... but they have less and less power now ...

[RoyG]

We've been using Moodle for a while, with most departments using it extensively.

 

Check it out at http://www.kegsnet.org.uk/

 

RoyG