Greetings Moodle Mavens:
I've been requested to implement a Journal that contains entries that can only be accessed by the Student, not by instructors, and hopefully not even be administrators either.
I recognize that this is counter to the Journal's original intent. However, in this course, some Journal entries are intended to become a portfolio for student reflection, and not intended for feedback or review.
I thought about using groups for this, but that doesn't seem like it will work, since I will want at least one instructor for each group.
I've tried using override roles, which seems promising. However, I ended up getting stuck where even the Admin user was not able to login to the course--so I had to backup from that.
My question is:
1. Can it be done?
2. Can anyone provide the steps required?
3. Or would this be better addressed by creating a new module/plugin based on Journals, but specifically design ONLY for student input and review?
Thank you so much for your thoughts.
Hi Joshua
I don't have a technical answer for you, just another thought. If it's so important that students have a "truly private" journal, perhaps it might be a lot easier to simply suggest that they have the journal elsewhere! An external blog site might be one option, or perhaps even just using a Word (or similar product, such as something from Open Office).
It's just an idea - I'm wondering if it's really worth you embarking on what could potentially be an awful lot of work for something that could accomplished through much simpler means!
Feel free to completely disregard this as a suggestion!
Cheers,
Rena
I don't have a technical answer for you, just another thought. If it's so important that students have a "truly private" journal, perhaps it might be a lot easier to simply suggest that they have the journal elsewhere! An external blog site might be one option, or perhaps even just using a Word (or similar product, such as something from Open Office).
It's just an idea - I'm wondering if it's really worth you embarking on what could potentially be an awful lot of work for something that could accomplished through much simpler means!
Feel free to completely disregard this as a suggestion!
Cheers,
Rena
Hi Rena,
Thanks for this suggestion. I will pass it along as a low cost alternative.
My client seems to think that having the journal tightly integrated is important. And being able to keep the information connected with one's Moodle account is helpful when accessing the site from different machines.
Still, for the cost, your suggestion is hard to beat!
Joshua
Thanks for this suggestion. I will pass it along as a low cost alternative.
My client seems to think that having the journal tightly integrated is important. And being able to keep the information connected with one's Moodle account is helpful when accessing the site from different machines.
Still, for the cost, your suggestion is hard to beat!
Joshua
Hi Joshua
I would have to agree with the client that tightly integrated is a good thing, and I've personally previously rejected the options I mentioned because of that very reason ... but then I'd also have to agree with Howard that trying to totally exclude Admins etc. is a bit odd (especially as they have access to information which is far more sensitive than what you enter in a reflective journal!).
Good luck finding a suitable solution - I think it's always good to consider all options, even if it's only so that when the client later turns around and says "what about option xyz" you have already considered some of the pros and cons of it!
Cheers,
Rena
I would have to agree with the client that tightly integrated is a good thing, and I've personally previously rejected the options I mentioned because of that very reason ... but then I'd also have to agree with Howard that trying to totally exclude Admins etc. is a bit odd (especially as they have access to information which is far more sensitive than what you enter in a reflective journal!).
Good luck finding a suitable solution - I think it's always good to consider all options, even if it's only so that when the client later turns around and says "what about option xyz" you have already considered some of the pros and cons of it!
Cheers,
Rena
Moodle isn't *really* about that kind of thing...
A much better bet and very compatible with Moodle...
http://mahara.org/
What you want is *exactly* what this does.
PS. Nothing can ever really be secret from Administrators. Eventually, you just have to trust your admin staff.
A much better bet and very compatible with Moodle...
http://mahara.org/
What you want is *exactly* what this does.
PS. Nothing can ever really be secret from Administrators. Eventually, you just have to trust your admin staff.
Hi Howard,
Thanks for this suggestion. I've spent a little time exploring Mahara in the past.
Do you know offhand whether Moodle supports any type of Single Sign On with Mahara? We want the solution to the Journal modification to be as seamless for users as possible.
Thanks,
Joshua
Thanks for this suggestion. I've spent a little time exploring Mahara in the past.
Do you know offhand whether Moodle supports any type of Single Sign On with Mahara? We want the solution to the Journal modification to be as seamless for users as possible.
Thanks,
Joshua
Most definitely...
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Mahoodle
You will also be interested in the portfolio API developments that will allow even greater interaction between the two systems in the near future...
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Development:Mahara_Portfolio_Plugin
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Mahoodle
You will also be interested in the portfolio API developments that will allow even greater interaction between the two systems in the near future...
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Development:Mahara_Portfolio_Plugin