Collapsed Topics is 14!

Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Gareth J Barnard -
Number of replies: 10
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Hello,

To celebrate Collapsed Topics birthday on the 21st February 2023, I've made a silent screen cast showing version 0.1 running on Moodle 1.9.19:


I had to alter 'weblib.php' in order to extend the year range to get the event.

If you'd like to try for yourself, please find attached a copy (GPLv3 licensed) of that version and carefully read the install instructions in the 'Readme.txt' file.  There are still installer packages available on 'Moodle download' for M1.9.

Just goes to show how far Collapsed Topics and indeed Moodle has progressed in the time.  And a big thank you to everyone whom has supported me with the format over the years, really appreciated smile.

Cheers,

Gareth

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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Mary Cooch -
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That's lovely Gareth - and also fascinating to see again (after such a long time) Moodle 1.9 smile
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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Rick Jerz -
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Thanks for your post, Gareth.

As you might recall, I have been using Collapsed Topics since Moodle 2.0.  I love your work.

So that you know, I am currently (yes, right now) working on a video that I have named "Benefiting from Collapsed Topics 4."    I am thinking that I might try to present this at one of this year's MoodleMoots, perhaps "Global" and "Mountain."  Your post has given me a good place to post my presentation for some feedback that I can incorporate into the presentation, before I "finalize" it.  Of course, I will appreciate your comments when I post it.

The theme of my presentation is something like "why is Collapsed Topics still beneficial to Moodle 4?"  Within the presentation, I try to provide a historical perspective.

Although I didn't encounter Collapsed Topics until Moodle 2.0, I am going to download it and have it handy whenever needed.  Yep, I still can run my Moodle 1.9 via MAMP.

Thanks for all your contributions to the Moodle project!  😃

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Tim Bahula -
I'm looking forward to seeing your presentation, Rick. As mentioned above, we use Collapsed Topics as our default course format. I'd like to see your case for doing so.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Rick Jerz -
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Here is the presentation that I have created showing how I use the Collapsed Topics 4 plugin in my Moodle 4.1, and why I like it.

Consider this a "preliminary" presentation. I welcome all comments and suggestions, which will help me finalize this presentation. (You folks are getting a preview. Thanks.)

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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Gareth J Barnard -
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Hi Rick,

Really interesting smile.  A few thoughts:

  • Thank you for the compliments smile.
  • CT (now) doesn't alter the database, but rather uses the core API to write data to and from existing tables.  Essentially to store the value of the settings and the current toggle state on a per user basis (the user preference functionality).  Although I always stress to test on a test server first.
  • At some point (I think in MDL-35770 of 14th November 2012) core introduced the 'coursedisplay' setting where by you could either have all topics on one page or one topic per page.  This is what CT had until in version 3.3.0.3 for Moodle 3.3 I dropped this in favour of the 'one section' icon (dot within a circle) that takes you to the single section page.  However, I believe you state this was in CT back in the M2.x versions?
  • Possibly have sub-titles for accessibility?
  • I really like the comparisons and understanding of how you use the format, and how it matches your style.  It strikes me, in a positive way, that the course with the topics collapsed is like a table of contents in a technical reference book.  Thus as such, you only tend to look up what you want and read about specific bits rather than having to digest everything in one go or when you're looking something up again, you can go straight there.
  • Good point with section 0, in fact it has always been that way.  But I'm now thinking that having seen what you've shown that perhaps on the single section page it should not be shown and yet still remain on the main course page.  A setting perhaps to state 'show on single section page' on / off.  Thus it remains on the main course page because of its importance but is actually clutter on the single section page because the student needs to concentrate on that specific material and knows they can always navigate back to the main course page to find it.

Kind regards,

Gareth

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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Thanks, Gareth.

  1. You deserve the compliments.
  2. I should remove " Some plugins, like Collapsed Topics, will modify your Moodle database, so be careful."
  3. Yes, in my case, a little complex, but you are technically correct.  I still run your CT 3.10 in my M 3.11!
  4. Subtitles are there in the player.  Let me know if you do not see "CC" in the lower right corner.
  5. Exactly!
  6. Yes, section 0 has always been that way up until Moodle 4 Boost.  I am glad that you are thinking about another setting for Topic 0 when single-topic is activated.  I like your thoughts, too.  As another idea about this, when we switch to single-topic, perhaps Topic 0 should be collapsed, yet there at the top.  Then the student, with one click, can expose Topic 0 contents.  Hmmm, some might say that a setting "Allow Topic 0 to collapse" would be desirable, so Topic 0 can be collapsed at any time. And then, when switching to one-topic mode, Topic 0 is always initially collapsed. (???)
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Gareth J Barnard -
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Hi Rick,

With '2' - perhaps change to 'As with all plugins, best to test on a test server first'?
With '4' - ops! Didn't spot that and they work smile.
With '6' - having section 0 collapse or not will be a big deal in terms of code changes and update code, so I'm very reluctant to do that. I'd rather stick to a basic course / site level on off setting.

Kind regards,

Gareth
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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Rick Jerz -
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Okay, Gareth. Yes, I thought #6 would be a bit of work.
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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Marie Achour -
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Thank you for sharing this Gareth - was a lovely post and a brilliant long term contribution to Moodle smile
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In reply to Gareth J Barnard

Re: Collapsed Topics is 14!

by Tim Bahula -
Ditto, Gareth. Thanks for sharing this retrospective look at Collapsed Topics and Moodle. We are grateful for your work on Collapsed Topics. We still use it as our default course format.
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