I work at a small University in Mexico City, we use Moodle 2.2 or 2.1, and I am unfamiliar with the upgrading process. I would like to know if the current courses, their structure, materials, users and such will be kept if we make the upgrade to a 3.* version of Moodle.
Thanks everyone in advance.
The upgrade(s) ... note plural ... is really a 'march' and if done correctly and if what ever plugins/addons you have installed have compat versions with destination version, then, yes.
One cannot, however, hyperjump from 2.2 or 2.1 (find out which you have is the first step) must 'march' the moodle code/db to least 2.9.highest. Stop/Check/Backup then, I'd make the next hop to 3.0.highest. Stop/Check/Backup before proceeding to the next chosen 3.x.x version. In moodle itself, check server environment before making a hop and afterwards as well ... that relates to the following ....
check the requirements ... one cannot use php 7.0.x -> prior to site being 3.0.highest and there's database changes awaiting along the 'march' as well.
Strongly suggest cloning your production server to a dev environment ... same OS and versions of PHP/MySQL, etc. ... and testing the 'march' steps there first.
If on Linux might want to check into the use of git.
Here's link for 3.4:
https://docs.moodle.org/34/en/Upgrading
change the 34 to see older docs
Here's link for Git
https://docs.moodle.org/34/en/Git_for_Administrators
'spirit of sharing', Ken
What platform are you running Moodle on?
How many courses do you have?
How many students?
That info will help determine the best upgrade strategy.
The upgrade from Moodle 2.1/2.2 to 3.4 is very big, so it might be better to do it in phases over several days/weeks. You can't just upgrade from 2.1/2.2 directly to 3.4 in one big step.
While you're upgrading through those intermediate versions from 2.1/2.2 to 3.4 you'll also need to upgrade your PHP version.
Along the way the Moodle theme engine has changed significantly, so you'll need a new theme (or upgrade your existing theme to the new format). Your Moodle 2.1/2.2 theme won't work in Moodle 3.4.
In 2.7 the Assignment engine changed considerably, so if you use Assignment activities in your courses then you need to migrate your student assignment data to the new format.
If you have installed any non-core Moodle plugins then you need to check if they have versions compatible with Moodle 3.4.
So it's a bit leap! Provide the above info and we can then help you determine your upgrade strategy.
You really should also make a copy of your Moodle production site and clone it onto a test server. Then you test the upgrade plan on that server before you do anything on production. And you can use it in demos to your teachers to make them aware of how much Moodle has changed and they can prepare for the changes.
Read the Release Notes (https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Releases) and New Features (https://docs.moodle.org/34/en/New_features) pages for each version to see what has changed and what you need to do to prepare your teachers and students for all the new things.
