Moodle and other web solutions

Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -
Number of replies: 16

I am tech head at a small international school in Indonesia. It is K-8 with 85 students following a mostly american curriculum. I am looking for simple flexible solutions for our school. I attended a Moodle presentation and was impressed with the course management. I want to start it, but I am hesitant about  how to get started (I am sitting on my porch in Denver with the start of school being four weeks away.}

We need all the aspects of school related tools... An outside web page where people can get basic information... and then logins for different members of our community to access appropriate information behind the wall... calendars (We adopted Google Apps last spring.)

My question is ... what is the best tool for the outside webpage and how do I connect and use Moodle on the inside along with Google Apps and other tools?

Thanks   -  Linc

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers

To try to answer your question, I connect almost all of my Moodle content to an "outside" webpage by simply linking to a website.  Here's a graphic (below).

I don't have experience linking to Google Apps, but I sure that you can use the same approach.  I have also seen some people copy "embedded code" from applications and then paste this into an edited message (like this one) using the "HTML button", but I haven't seen the real advantage in doing it this way.  Well, that's what is great about Moodle, there are more than one way to accomplish a task.

Hope this helps.

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

You can use Moodle as your website and learning management system- have all your content on the front page open access; use the "main menu" block to add site pages that you wish to show to the world (with 2.0 you can quickly and easily have nice looking tabbed drop down menus at the top of the screen) and then once your users have logged in they can access materials relevant to them via the courses which you restrict to certain users only and block to others.

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In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Hey Mary,

Thank you so much for getting back to me. This is what I had hoped... now I need to figure out how to do it. Is there a way I can begin "playing" with how this might look? What is the best way to get up to speed on how to impliment this for our little school?

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In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

I think your suggestion of creating an opening page using the moodle 2.0 tools sounds like the way for me to go. I have been creating a framework, a set of links and navigation for the users but this is only in theory. I have not started with actually putting anything in place yet. I think I might go with Rick suggestion of having someone remotely host the Moodle database. We have a server for our school, Windows based, for managing all our users on the network, but I have no idea how that compares to the Moodle database. You can tell I am a big picture person and technical enough to be dangerous. In the short term can I download the lastest Moodle and begin creating the opening page? Will it be easy to port over what I create on my mac to a windows server or whatever platform I can find to remotely host my data? Thanks for your patience.

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In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Here is an outline for my school presence online. The blue is to be built in Moodle. The red is Google doc based. I know that I am missing some pieces, but at least this is a start. Here is the link...

http://tinyurl.com/3e5vl2p

I would love it if you would take a look at the link and tell me what you think.

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Thanks Rick...

I really appreciate your help. I think I can test this out. What is the best way for me to demo my ideas on a local machine without really going live? I am here in the states trying to trouble shoot before I head back to school.

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers

Well, there are probably a dozen ways to go about this.  For example, you can download Moodle and install it on your PC or Mac.  I have had moderate success doing this.  For example, I can't get Moodle 1.9.9 to run in my Windows 7 environment, but I can get 2.0 to run in a Windows XP.  Neither of these are high priorities, so I don't bother much trying to fix Windows 7.  Also, with this method, I am not sure if you could simulate your webpage idea.  But this might satisfy your "local machine" idea.

Going live is not really going live because you always have the ability to uninstall or turn off the system.  I am experimenting with Moodle 2.0 right now.  My install is on the Internet, but no one knows about it.  I locked out Guest login, so no one except I can get in.  I plan to remove this at some time in the near future after I learn what I need to do for my "live" install (the one that students will access).

There are many alternatives to running Moodle on a hosted server.  The startup cost is less than $30 US for about three months (including a new domain), and then you would be looking at around $5-$7 per month.  This works, I did it for 4 1/2 years, but it is not the most powerful environment.  Well, for your 85 students, or for experimenting, it might be fine.  This solution would give you the website functionality that I think you are seeking.  However, I am not sure if you could run version 2.0 or higher.  The last time I did this on my hosted server, only 1.9.x was supported.

If you have your own server, installing Moodle shouldn't be too hard for you.  I use (actually, pay for) a virtual dedicated server.  I think this kind of solution would work for 85 students, but it is more involved.  I am not sure how much technical knowledge you have.

Another solution is the company Moodlerooms.  I am not sure how expensive they are, but people who use Moodlerooms seem to be happy.  I am not sure if they could support your website needs.

If you want a rock-solid installation, you might need to hire a person with Apache, PHP, and MySQL experience.  I have been really impressed by some of these folks (I am a novice).

If you are looking for ideas, you can always visit my website (www.rjerz.com).  You will see how I have bundled Moodle to be inside my website.  This is opposite of what Mary suggested.  If needed, I can let you log into one of my courses and see how I do things.  My solution is only one of many.  Mary's idea looks like a very interesting approach.  For me, I use Dreamweaver for my website and content management, and then link to the components within Moodle.  There are pros and cons of this approach, but it works for me.

The solution also depends upon your budget.  From what you have shared, time might be much more important.

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Rick,

Thank you very much for the information. As you mentioned time is a priority. I have a tech person who will be helping me, but I don't think he has much database expertise, at least not the kind you are talking about, but he is a pretty quick learner. I am working on a drawing to represent how I envision everything fitting together. With luck I will put a dent in that tomorrow, but on the other hand it may take a couple of days. Again ... thank you

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers

With the "hosted server" alternative that I used, I too did not have any database experience.  This was the beauty of this approach.  On my hosted account, I simply chose to "Install Moodle", and the service had some kind of script that did everything, including setting up the database.  I was able to FTP into my web, make a couple suggested changes to Moodle, and that was about it.  I did read the book "Moodle 1.9" and used it as a guide.

This was different when I switched to a virtual dedicated server.  I had to learn a little about creating a database, and doing some of the install myself.

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

I like the idea of the remote hosting and I think I will try creating a web page in Moodle. I have been creating a framework, a set of links and navigation for the users but this is only in theory. I have not started with actually putting anything in place yet. I like your suggestion of having someone remotely host the Moodle database. We have a server for our school, Windows based, for managing all our users on the network, but I have no idea how that compares to the Moodle database. You can tell I am a big picture person and technical enough to be dangerous. In the short term can I download the lastest Moodle and begin creating the opening page? Will it be easy to port over what I create on my mac to a windows server or whatever platform I can find to remotely host my data? Thanks for your patience.

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Here is an outline for my school presence online. The blue is to be built in Moodle. The red is Google doc based. I know that I am missing some pieces, but at least this is a start. Here is the link...

http://tinyurl.com/3e5vl2p

I would love it if you would take a look at the link and tell me what you think.

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers

Linc,

You might notice that in Moodle, in a forum, and in a topic, that you only need to make one post.  I am not sure if you are thinking that you needed to post your idea to different people, or if you made a simple mistake posting three times.  I actually got all three of your posts via email, and of course, two were redundant.  Everyone who has subscribed to this topic will see it.

Now, if you were into other forums and topics elsewhere in Moodle.org, doing some redundant posts might be appropriate, depending upon your posts.

As you use Moodle more and more, you will better understand its behavior, and you will appreciate its features.

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by E.J. Runyon -

As a new Moodle user, I went with the read first and plan approach.

I used these two books, made copious notes right on the pages, then turns those notes into a plan of attack.

1. Using Moodle by Jason Cole.

2. Moodle 1.9 by William Rice.

These YouTube user also caught my eye:

Hope this helps.

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In reply to E.J. Runyon

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Thanks for taking the time to reply. The YouTubes were helpful.

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In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Linc Jackson -

Here is an outline for my school presence online. The blue is to be built in Moodle. The red is Google doc based. I know that I am missing some pieces, but at least this is a start. Here is the link...

http://tinyurl.com/3e5vl2p

I would love it if you would take a look at the link and tell me what you think.

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Linc Jackson

Re: Moodle and other web solutions

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers

I think that it's a good start.  As you get into the development, you might find some things are easier to do in Moodle and some are easier to do on the general website (using Dreamweaver, for example).

It appears that for your administrator function (Staff Records), you are probably planning to set up "courses" that handle administration needs.  Since I am only a professor, I have never tried this.  My school uses Blackboard for this purpose, which is a little clumsy.  For you, you might want to consider having an administrative moodle on a separate domain so that students do not see your administrative "courses".

You probably want to use Moodle 2.0 (actually, 2.1).  The ability to include "folder" resources will help you keep items organized.  Also, 2.0/2.1 handles files much better than 1.9.9.

Since I have never used Moodle for administrative purposes, I am probably not the best one to advise you about all of your "blue" items.  Some cause me to think about how I would do this.  For example, in your "Family Center" it appears that you want allow parents to access records (attendance).  I am not sure how I would do this, but you probably will use some form of custom role.

You might be able to do the school Calendar on the Frontpage of Moodle.

In Moodle 1.9.9 and earlier, I do not think you could do anonymous surveys and polls.  I am not sure if 2.0 does this now.  You could use SurveyMonkey or other products for this, and you could provide the link to these surveys within Moodle.

I saw some schools talk (at CA Moodlemoot) about adding in QuickMail for a better email solution.  I am not sure if this add-in works in Moodle 2.0, but you might want to look into this.

I hope others, who work in big schools, jump in and give you advice.

 

 

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