Load Moodle on mobile devices

Load Moodle on mobile devices

by Regs Fun -
Number of replies: 4

Hi,

I'm new to Moodle but I have quite a lot experience with Joomla. I finished the installation of Moodle 3.3 on localhost (XAMPP) and changed the default theme to "Aardvark". Now I would like to test the responsiveness of the theme on my mobile and I'm stuck. I try to load my Moodle site by using my PC's ip address like this: 192.168.0.103/moodle - but it doesn't work. There's no error message, just a time out message after a while. If I enter only the IP address then the XAMPP dashboard comes up on my mobile. As a test, I also copied a fresh joomla installation into my htdocs folder and I'm able to access it on my mobile without any issues. So the Apache settings seem to be ok, the problem lies within the Moodle installation. I have enabled the movile service on my Moodle site, 

I also installed "Moodle for Mobile" on my Android device from the Play Store but I'm unable to connect to my site on localhost. The following is unclear for me:
- Is Moodle for Mobile a must have to load a Moodle site on a mobile device or it just provides some additional features but my Moodle site should also be displayed without it on a mobile device? After all, I have set a theme with responsive design so I don't see why it should be displayed on a mobile device without Moodle for Mobile. 

Can someone please help me to move forward with this issue? All I want is to be able to see my Moodle site on my mobile device.

Thanks 

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In reply to Regs Fun

Re: Load Moodle on mobile devices

by Marcus Green -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers

If you are accessing via an ip address you need to have that in your config.php.

The chances are your config.php has a line that says

$CFG->wwwroot   = 'http://localhost/moodle';


That is fine when accessing from your own machine because localhost is always your own machine. You need to change localhost to your ip address, e.g 

$CFG->wwwroot   = 'http://192.168.0.103/moodle';

Which will work both locally and from another machine on the same network. That means you will need to access the site via wifi not 4g or whatever.

The mobile app is a whole different (but very interesting and important) ball of wax. 


Average of ratings: Useful (1)
In reply to Marcus Green

Re: Load Moodle on mobile devices

by Regs Fun -

Marcus, thank you very much for the useful piece of advice. It worked! smile 

May I ask you to shed some light on the use of "Moodle for Mobile" as well? If I want create a site that students can easily use on PC and on mobile devices as well, is it recommended to be used? What additional features does it offer compared to a responsively designed theme?


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In reply to Regs Fun

Re: Load Moodle on mobile devices

by Marcus Green -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers

One of the overwhelming advantaged of the mobile app is that it will work in a connect and synchronize mode which is very useful where internet connectivity is intermittent. However not many Moodle plugins have been adapted to work with it, and much of the fun with Moodle is in the area of 3rd party plugins.  It is not wildly difficult to adapt for the app and I have done it for one of my plugins, but it is just a matter of learning and getting around to it for developers. I recommend getting your head around standard Moodle with a responsive theme and then look into the app.

Average of ratings: Useful (1)
In reply to Marcus Green

Re: Load Moodle on mobile devices

by Regs Fun -

Thanks, now at least I have some idea about the main advantage of the mobile app. My plan is exactly the same: Get to know the standard Moodle first. Your replies were very helpful.  

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