General developer forum

Ok -well I will give you my three but they are pretty basic and not techie at all - I'm a regular teacher who sort of fell into Moodle admin and training others so mine are:

1. I wish it were more obvious that to have a space on your front page to give information/add an image (rather than have a long list of courses) you have to go into front page settings and tick add a topic section
2. I wish I had known earlier on that where possible it's better to add a resource as a webpage than laboriously to upload a word doc - saves time, avoids program compatibilty issues and students prefer the "one click and you're there" aspect as opposed to opening/saving/waiting to load etc
3. I wish I had started organising my course files in folders from the start rather than just uploading any old resource directly - you end up with a really messy course filea area a few months later

And some things I did know but that I have realised others failed to pick up along the way:

1. that you don;t have to upload each resource one at a time; you can upload a zipped folder and unzip within Moodle
2. online text assignments and advanced uploading of files assignments are very useful for those who wish to replicate their offline practice of making comments directly onto students' work
3. that there is a box to the top right of a topic section "show only this topic" and people don't realise they need to click on the other box to get back to displaying all the topics on the page
   

OH And I'll tell you something else as well ( I am on a severely delayed train and am very tired and hungry and so probably rather light-headed) I am not a coder and while I know lots of coders here on Moodle who are great and who really understand what teachers/lecturers/pupils./students want and how they need to use Moodle, I know others with backgrounds in webdesign who approach Moodle from the wrong angle- looking at the code and trying to fix problems by going directly to the files on the server rather than looking at if from the Moodle point of view, that of a not-necessarily techically proficent educator. I once knew someone who spent ages recoding the files in Moodle to give his front page a topic section - simply because he hadn't thought to look at the interface from the normal user's point of view. So it's good that you are asking this question and I hope you get a range of answers to help you develop your Moodle.

#1 Moodle has lots of capability that is hard to find sometimes due to unusual ways of navigating and invoking features. I would wish for a room full of monkeys that type and click away and then make a note of all approaches that produce a useful result.

#2 Finding some particular data in the SQL database can be an adventure.

#3 There is almost always someone willing to answer a question you ask.

I like Gus's 3 points.

Here are mine (wish someone had told them in their first week using/developing moodle):

#1 There are a lot of 3rd party modules and plugins developed by Moodle community already (see http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?id=6009), and WeBWork, TurnItIn Moodle integration, etc.

#2 There is a free Moodle Developer Course that you could sign up: http://dev.moodle.org/

#3 If you are running a large Moodle site (or have some really large courses, like 1300+ students in one course), you might want to pay special attention to some performance, scalability, and usability issues (especially in the quiz, mdl_log table, and gradebook areas).

Just my 2 cents and hope this helps!

Wen

Just one thing (which I've always known ). The only way to really get the front end user's perspective is to be one yourself. So don't just go to meetings with your front end users; start a Moodle course site (just like this one) and meet them there and you will see what it really means to Moodle.

Best wishes on your new job.

I'm fortunate enough that I got a week-long handover when I started on Moodle so I don't think there's anything I "wish" I'd known, but here's the 3 most useful things I was told/shown:

1. The quickfind/quickcourse list blocks makes navigating a breeze.
   
2. If a user has a problem, the easiest way to see what they mean is to log in as them ("Login As" button on the user's profile).
3. Cron jobs and import scripts can save you a hell of a lot of work (see flatfile enrolments, /admin/uploaduser.php etc.)
   

#3 There is almost always someone willing to answer a question you ask.

Hear hear! I have relied on this 'someone' many times and have tried to be that person myself when my experience and knowledge allows. This one of the major strengths of the community.

I'm not sure that these are things I wished I knew, but....

1. Moodle managed to miss the curse of MVC architecture. So, the URL in the address line shows you (mostly) exactly which bit of code is being executed and where to find it.
2. Learn 'git' version control
3. If you want to write an add-on of some sort, you can do a surprising amount with blocks and the coding is relatively easy to understand.

After reflecting on the issues I faced when starting out. My 3 main points are all related to the development side. These are:

#1 – After originally setting up the test environment for Moodle I started working on developing the theme. I wish I had known that there where a variety of downloadable themes at http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?id=6552 where I could find one that suited more of my needs than the standard themes, minimising the need for customisation.

#2 – This is basically my own shortcomings but I wish I had looked into/read more about the back end database system/software that manages and houses the data within the Moodle application. This is because I have encountered several issues where I have had to go into and query the database, and have been unsure of what to do.

#3 – If you know where to look (and people here are always willing to point you in the right direction) that there are many helpful video tutorials all over the web which really help if you get stuck (As I am a firm believer that a picture speaks a thousand words).

I would also include this point when presenting Moodle to your users as I find that nothing helps more than running your users through one or two short videos on how to use Moodle.

>A key point that I have learnt though is that if you encounter a problem; this website, with its community of polite helpful users is the best place to refer to if you have an issue and/or need advice.

 

 

 

 

Hi all
first of all a Big 2010 Hug for everybody

here are my 3 things wish to know in 3 different roles that could help for advice to our fellows (we didn't have experience, and it was a fact)

newbies users: #1 user name is a nick, not your whole name . . so don't use spaces or complicated strings ;) #2 "OMG my picture is not centered, I only see my arm" If I know it could be better upload a square picture at top 300 X 300 px #3 If I know that everywhere I saw my name I could click on it to edit my profile . . .

Teacher: #1 I got scared when went to Assign roles and saw all site users anybody told me: don't be panic!! not all of them are enrolled in my course #2 Why anybody told me that there are a place where I can learn and share at moodle.org called 'using moodle' ? #3 Finally I discovered in a tutorial that I should create questions through administrator block and then build questionnaires

Administrator: #1 I felt a little lost looking forward allow embed (security -> sites policies-> allow embed) so simple #2 I didn't know how to use 'admin bookmarks' block (it is awesome) #3 Finally I found how to change font size for Blog Tags Block (blocks--> blog-tags-->block_blog_tags.php). Isn't there a cool tips for administrator Tutorial?

Wen Hao is so correct. It is amazing what has been done with Moodle and for it. You will be amazed at what MoodleManiacs are doing all over the world. Lots and lots of hidden treasures. You must persevere at hunting for them.

This turns out to be a useful post...If I ever take up a new Moodle project, I should remember to read it again...
My small contribution, things I wish I had known earlier...:

1. Installing some PHP extensions and settings early is required for some of Moodle's functions (e.g. GD, PCRE....) and will save you the trouble of re-compiling PHP later...
2. Understanding Moodle's roles and permissions system is very important, a bit confusing at first, but later proves as very powerful in managing your Moodle site and users.
3. It is good practice to provide and encourage teachers and course creators to use a standard "Template" and conventions for a course structure and content - e.g. how to design Topic 0, which things should folllow which, font styles, sizes and colors, etc. Moodle's flexibility + people's desire to be creative can lead to a cacaphony colors, design and course structures...

Good luck!!!

A visit to another 'like' user / institution, this can be enlightening, like others that have posted here - someone, somewhere is 6 months ahead of you, another 12 months ahead and enviously, someone is 5 years ahead. Learn from others mistakes, rather than your own.

Be thorough in your design/setup, take your time, get it right, test it in micro before going macro. Revisions take far more time to embedded - 1st impressions etc. We have courses, with template layout to promote consistently and pedagogy.

We now run 2 moodles, LIVE and in development. We make changes to the development and only go LIEV when our test group say its ready to share. (Get a test group of staff and USERS).

The last point - know your institution, talk to the staff and users, every install is unique to its environment.

I'd like to second Howard's number 3.

Don't let the name "block" restrict you to displaying things in a literal block on the page. The blocks API allows you to easily create entire subsystems which can do some very powerful stuff. Look at the MRBS and ILP blocks for examples of this.

If only I had access to this about 4 months ago I would have managed to avoid several issues.

 As Kristian said "better to learn from someone elses mistakes than your own".

Cheers,

James

Wow, thanks so much for the great replies so far and making me feel very welcome!

Had a few days of being snowed out of work, so unable to meet users yet.
Delved straight into the recommended moodle dev course.

Set up a local moodle install, svn, eclipse/aptana ide and then had some fun exploring moodle's function list - familiarising myself with blocks, lib (added jquery as our institutions js lib of choice) moodlelib, weblib and found womenslib ;)

Very pleased to see such an active community, and hopefully this won't be the end of the great advice!

Best wishes
Stuart Lamour

Great topic! I may have to reply more than once with "3"! ....

Here are a few of mine:

1.) [admin tip] Add the "book" and "questionnaire" modules from the start (we added them later on and many did not get trained/are aware of it)

2.) [teacher tip] Make a "quick links" block...add an html block and create a named link to each section using the anchor names (#section-1) instead of the default "sections" block which only shows the section number. VERY useful for long Moodle courses - scroll of death.

3.) [teacher tip] Show teachers how to zip their current file directory (where all their current files are nicely in folders and organized) and upload it to Moodle so you don't have to upload one at a time and you can keep the structure. (someone already mentioned this)

re point 3 - I was that someone Just wanted to second your first point Melissa

This is an awesome list. From my experience these are generally what I share with new users:

1. to teachers: You cannot break Moodle (repeat after me, "I cannot break Moodle"). I say this to try to put them at ease, so they'll click around...

2. Use the (?) buttons. These have a wealth of information that is often untouched.

3. To admins: sometimes, there's a global setting hidden away (site wide unenrollment of inactive users after X days) that can really frustrate you. EXPLORE the administration tools available.

Bonus: if your site is registering users via email confirmation, don't allow AOL, Hotmail or other antiquated email providers. In my experience they never fail to block Moodle messages.

Hi Stuart,

Some extremely useful suggestions already. Here are my three pennies' worth...

[1] To teachers - Great questions lead to great online discussions - your thread's definitely proved that point

[2] To users unfamiliar with forums - use the 'reply' link next to the message you're actually replying to. This allows threaded discussions to evolve. (or the course creator might instead consider setting up multiple 'single question' forums)

Also, if you're subscribed to a forum and are receiving notifications by email, remember not to use the reply function in your email software - this will not reply to the whole group; just to the individual.

[3] To developers - there's no right or wrong way to use Moodle; it's there to do what you need it to do. Some swear by the inbuilt activities like the 'Book' and choose to upload all of their resources to each course folder. Personally I prefer to link to multimedia assets that reside on a separate server.

This allows me to point to the same activities from multiple courses and makes updates much easier to roll out.
- but there's an added bonus; your resources can then run off a php backend and be designed as complex web applications that 'plug-in' to the VLE by using Moodle variables passed as parameters in the URL that opens your resource.

For example: add resource > 'link to a file or website'. Use the Parameters options at the bottom of the page to pass a user's Moodle id to your web application:
http://mysite.ac.uk/patient-record-system-simulation/index.php?id=234

Hi Stuart,

I leave Moodle alone for 3 days and all the interesting stuff starts! I've heard the UK weather is creating problems - my former town stopped for 3 days after they got a little snow.

As regards your actual question, to add my 2c:

1) organise file and folder structure and naming conventions - saves tears later on;

2) Moodle forums can solve almost anything;

3) Bring makers and users together to make sure everyone is on the same page (you can never have too much feedback).

Hope this helps. Enjoy the new job,

Paul

Hi Stuart,

I’m a Teacher of ICT, eLearning Coordinator and Contrib Developer (http://docs.moodle.org/en/Collapsed_Topics_course_format) – so from lots of perspectives...

For Students (from what I have asked them and observed) –

1. Having a personalised environment is important – such as choosing different theme colour schemes and using My Moodle (see below for welcome message).
2. On the courses, make everything clear – avoid links to folders. Use indenting and colour in the topic title.
3. Set up an ‘Ask the teacher’ forum in each course.

For Teachers

1. Have no fear and if in doubt, do not be afraid to ask.
2. Use all of the good guides available - http://docs.moodle.org/en/Using_Moodle_book, UsingMoodle and the question mark icon.
3. Plan your courses before you create them, work out what resources will be there, what teachers are on the course and who can update what, what groups if any your require and what format it should be – weekly, topics etc.

For eLearning Coordinators / Teachers of Teachers

1. Set up a ‘Don’t Panic’ course for staff to contain all of the useful resources and guides that you find and create.
2. Start with the basics and repeat as much as possible. You may use the techniques day in and day out, but staff you do not, forget easily. Cover the concept of Groups, Groupings and Group Enrolment as soon as possible - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIxP00gtEpU
3. Sell Moodle from the start with the following clips -
   ,
   ,
   and
   - not sure why these as hyperlinks muck up the post?
   

For Admins – based on Moodle 1.9

I am going to be cheeky and have more than three

1. Create a theme for your institution – and have different colour scheme versions. Keep it crisp and clean. I wish I had known about ‘$THEME->parent’ and ‘$THEME->parentsheets’ in the theme’s config.php which allow you to have one main theme and the child themes with subtle differences such as colour before I made different versions. Experiment with a clean fonts for certain elements such as the main headings, I’ve used Cufon - http://cufon.shoqolate.com/generate/ - to incorporate an easy to read font ‘Sawasdee’ poached freely from the Ubuntu Linux operating system – learnt from .Net Magazine Issue 191 page 86 - http://www.netmag.co.uk/zine/back-issues/issue-191
2. Increase the automatic un-enrolment setting under Administration -> Server –> Cleanup and install the reenrolment module - http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=2910 – for when submitted work goes ‘missing’.
3. Use LDAP authentication or similar for users – but always have a manual administration account in case of failure. For Teachers, you will setup the default role as Course Creator, so therefore you need to edit this role and set ‘view courses’ to ‘Prevent’ so that they are not enrolled on all courses by default.
4. Set an eMail address policy (Administration -> Users -> Authentication -> Manage Authentication) if possible to reduce SMTP errors for emails. And on this point, setup an SMTP server that Moodle can use (Administration -> Server -> eMail) as Moodle can play up without it.
5. Setup a ‘Contact Me’ form for people to contact you when there are issues / problems. Use something like PHPMailer - http://phpmailer.worxware.com/index.php?pg=phpmailer – to avoid spam from ‘mailto’ exploiting scripts.
6. Create an ‘Inspector’ role and create a manual user that is assigned the role. The role prohibits most things but allows the viewing of all student viewable courses without the ability to change them. This user can then be used by management and inspectors to view the assignments / resources as required.
7. Do regular ‘spring cleans’ – remove users who you know have left. Ask staff to tell you about courses they no longer need – but do not give them the ability to delete courses.
8. Establish a policy for course short names to reduce the chance of a clash between different teacher cohorts – such as faculties.
9. Perform backups regularly.
10. Do not be tempted to upgrade even within version too frequently – if it’s not broken for you – don’t fix it.

My Moodle welcome message – modified from code posted elsewhere – so I do not take credit for it all – inserted around line 65 in version 1.16.2.5 - and defined a css style in the theme called 'mymoodle' to style it...

The php:

/// The main overview in the middle of the page
$firstname=$USER->firstname;
$lastname=$USER->lastname;
$userpicture=$USER->picture;
$comp=$_SERVER['COMPUTERNAME'];
$userid=$USER->id;
if ($userpicture) {
$picturepathname = $CFG->wwwroot.'/user/pix.php/'.$userid.'/f1.jpg';
} else {
$picturepathname = $CFG->wwwroot.'/pix/u/f1.png';
}
echo '<div id="mymoodle"><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" width="100%">';
echo '<tr><td width="90%"><p>';
echo 'Hello '.$firstname.' '.$lastname.' on '.$comp.', ';
$timetodecode = date("G");
if ((int)$timetodecode < 6 && (int)$timetodecode >= 0) {
echo 'the twilight hours can be the most productive.';
} elseif ((int)$timetodecode < 12) {
echo 'how are you this morning?';
} elseif ((int)$timetodecode < 18) {
echo 'how are you this afternoon?';
} elseif ((int)$timetodecode <= 23 || (int)$timetodecode == 0) {
echo 'how are you this evening?';
}
echo '</span><br /><span></a></td>';
echo '</tr></table></div><br />';

The css:

#mymoodle {
border: 2px solid #5C5CD4;
border-radius:2ex;
-moz-border-radius:2ex;
-webkit-border-radius:2ex;
background-color:#5C5CD4;
color:#ffffff;
}

And Mel Gibb has a good blog - http://mrsgibb.blogspot.com/

Cheers,

Gareth

thanks for the new videos! I hadn't seen those before.

10. # Do not be tempted to upgrade even within version too frequently – if it’s not broken for you – don’t fix it.

As an exception to this rule, do upgrade when security bugs are fixed. You can subscribe to the Security Announcements forum (http://moodle.org/security/) to get the alerts of security issues.

Also, if you register your Moodle site with moodle.org you can receive early email alerts of security issues. To register, just visit Admin > Notifications in your own Moodle site.

Saludos, Iñaki.

Make a "quick links" block...add an html block and create a named link to each section

This can be automated - see http://docs.moodle.org/en/Course_contents_block

Thanks all for your contributions into this thread. Gives a really interesting feedback to developers.

Mary,

Your first number three is one that I am always trying to get home to the staff I train at our school!

Jon