Dataform (plugin)

Sure.

I would like each of my students to have access to Dataform entries for about 12 different experiments. Each experiment will have the same fields, but with different content.

Not a problem. Each student would have 12 entries each of which is set to 1 of the experiements by means of a designated field. If you trust your students to do that properly, you can let them add the entries on their own. Otherwise you can add the entries for the students. There at least two ways to do that, either by csv import or by adding entries and selecting the entry owner for each one.

If you want to add bulk entries with predefined content you can use the csv import. At least some of the content can be uploaded this way. If you want rich predefined content, you can create one entry and duplicate it. You can bulk duplicate so you can quickly create many copies of the initial entry. You will then have to edit the entries and assign your students as entry authors. You can do bulk editing, that is, edit multiple entries in one go.

Students should be able to produce their own personalised record of their practical work by editing the fields, adding images and data.

Of course. And you can also lock some fields. For instance, you don't want your students to change the experiment id/name in the entry. You lock the field and only you will be able to edit it.

The product should (generally) only be visible to the student and teacher

Set the activity to 'Separate participants' in the activity settings.

, and it would be very helpful if it could be downloaded as evidence for universities or prospective employers.

You can create a designted pdf view and lay out the entry content as desired with a frame, watermark and pdf security if needed. The view allows the user to download a pdf file.

And there are other things you can do. For instance you can create a separate view for each experiment such that the view is already filtered to show only the entries of that experiment. You can create a view for all students where you can show selected experiments without students info. And so on.

hth

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the link. Funny thing is, I had searched documentation for Dataform by the numbers--maybe a month or two ago--and found far less. I don't know what to make of that, and only offer it in case there's some anomaly in the Doc structure for Dataform compared to the norm that would explain why I had to turn to messaging Itamar for help (who is kind, and who I do appreciate, just to be clear ).

I'll see, given a rare free moment in my school's overheated pace this year, if I can create a Dataform db similar to my current Database instances, and report back (or edit documentation).

Best,

Clay

I don't think that teachers using Moodle are likely to get confused that easily.

We can definitely agree with Clay's remark that it would be nice to have default text in new Database fields too. It is just a question of who if any will commission the work.

We can also agree with Clay's remark that the Database is easier to start working with than the Dataform. There is just so much that you can do with the Database as documented in its docs. And Clay is right. For what you can do with it, the docs are very helpful and most users don't need to come here to ask questions. They do come here when they want go further and do things beyond what is described in the docs. More often than not, the docs are indeed sufficiently complete and the desired functions are indeed not possible without hacking and there is no easy workaround.

The sort of functionality provided by the Dataform is precisely the functionality any user would look for after two weeks of using the Database. I was able to do with the standard Database pretty complex stuff (mainly with all kinds of css tricks, heavy javascript and complex html templates). And even I got to the point where it was just not enough. And so the Dataform was branched off as an alternative for those who need more from the Database.

That is to say, from a thematic point of view, the Dataform belongs here as a natural extension of the Database. If anything, I would change the forum name to Dataform, to resolve once and for all the confusion of many (mainly new) community members who seek help with their DB issues.