I am a teacher but there is no moodle server in the district. How do I set moodle for my class? Do I just have to do a local host?
I've searched for help but I am having difficulty find an answer to this problem.
The easiest way is to contact a company to host the site for you (unless you have the knowledge and resources available to set up a web server yourself). I suggest you use a Moodle Partner because they are vetted by Mr Moodle himself, so have a better understanding of the software than your average hosting company.
Once the site is set up, you can look for help here on the forums, or pay for some Moodle training. However, if you are fairly computer savvy you should be able to teach yourself how to use Moodle IMHO.
Marty
Hi Sean! (This post is ultra long - I'm sorry.)
A Moodle Partner WOULD be the best. But, if that option is not available for you, then you may just have to bite the bullet and do what I have done.
(Yes, true to my anti-establishment ways
, I'm going to suggest another way.)
I'm a teacher at a small private school. I was told emphatically there was no money in the budget for anything "computer."
Fine. I'm just stubborn enough to do it myself!
So, I paid for my own website via a webhost (qualitychristianwebhosting.com) that offered a laundry list of features (Check out the Business hosting plan. I have not found anyone who could beat them. The customer service is phenomonal - 10 min response time!!! This alone was worth the price to me.) The cost is less than $60 US /yr. Plus, I get 3 'free' domains. (I've been meaning to have a personal web anyway!
) I had my first domain /site within 12 hours.
Since this webhost had everything I needed to run the site and a Moodle, I went to the Web Hosting Control Panel they provided, created an FTP Account and designated a MySQL database. This site offers Moodle as a free script through Elefante. So, I downloaded their version. (All in 10 min tops!) (At this point, I did not need an FTP Client. About that later.)
Once installed, I got a relatively blank page - don't worry! I just needed to access my moodle admin page from mydomainname.com/Moodle/admin . Their version comes with an automatic update. I followed the Next links.
At the end, I found that I was logged in as 'admin'. There was a Course - Miscellaneous already there. Also, the 'Turn edit on' button was in the upper right corner. Clicking either of these took me into the admin page where I set up the courses.
I'm the administrator of the site - not as frightening as it may sound. Moodle has made it a very comfortable position. I own the website and I own the computer the class is using (finally found something useful to do with the old one in my closet!) As far as I'm concerned it is a private teaching resource that I can take with me if I ever leave. (But, the kids love it so much I probably never will. I'll just consider this my contribution to society.
)
It's not been a walk in the park setting up as I am totally computer illiterate - (I didn't even know what a webhost was!) or I was until I got my moodle!
But, the support here is awesome!! Everyone really works together and helps. Basically, I had to just roll up my sleeves and get dirty.
I installed my moodle and had 3 courses with 3wks worth of activities on them in 5 days. Yeah - It's that easy! This is with a major learning curve! (In fact, I'm still going around the bend!)
I purchased my website on a Wednesday. On Thursday, I made my website welcome page. This webhost has a website builder - very simple; nothing fancy. But, I just wanted a page that I could link to Moodle. Then I downloaded Moodle on Friday and worked like mad getting it set up all that weekend.
I don't type fast and I'm not a whiz. I have had some late nights and from Friday after supper until Sunday night bedtime (gotta go to work Monday, you know!) I hardly left the computer. It was an 'order pizza, grab the snacks and keep jugs of drink by the computer; turn off the phone and tell everyone you are sick and contagious!', sort of deal. But it has been worth it!
I chose the wood theme just to get something up. The kids make fun of it but they don't say the site is drab. I wanted to eliminate white space.
I chose weeks for two courses and topics for enrichment activities. I'm sure, looking back, I could have just put everything on one course, but I was in a hurry and it's working. I'll have the summer to create a Moodle masterpiece, but for now, the kids are happy.
Since I was 3 wks ahead of my students, I went ahead and opened the courses to them. I gave them a two day "tutorial" on the computer I brought to class and then turned them loose. (This step isn't even necessary, if your school has a computer lab. Just arrange for the class to go and access your site from there. We don't have a computer lab - yet.) Mind you this is just for my class, at the present, and I confirmed that all my students had internet at home.
I wish I could have had a video camera in my room the next day! The whole atmosphere of the class had changed and even my rowdiest students were chomping at the bit to get their work done. I set up an Enrichment topic with extra activities for them to do in class. I gave them 'Homework' to do on the computer once they got home. Later that week they had their quiz on the computer - at home. (Deal was they had to leave their books & notes in the classroom
for the night.)
They loved it! The best part was that I set the student view up with the Quiz Score block, so they got their results immediately! They got to see highest score also. They said it was like a video game.
But the forum was the most awesome! I gave them discussion questions in various forum settings. The board exploded! Mind you, these are only 3rd - 4th graders! The depth of their responses astounded me. They NEVER turned in reports this profound. (frankly, I'm ashamed to say, I didn't know kids were capable of thinking that deep.
)
I can only surmise that the novelty of "cyber-learning", the aura of independence yet with a larger sense of community - in the comfort of their own homes, at their own leisure is what has made the difference. For the first time all year, I have 100% homework returns (fancy that!) I nearly fainted from JOY!!
I have had a few hiccups, but I dashed to this site and posted my plight and searched the threads for answers. Everyone of them have been answered.
Here are some of the things I know you will need to get your moodle started. This is not a complete list, but some very basic things. I'm sure others can contribute to the list of specs. I 'think' there is a link somewhere on the moodle.org home page that tells you what all you need also.
Most important I think is to find a webhost that already has the stuff. It will make life so much easier. You'll need MySQL databases, Database storage, PHP 5, PHP MyAdmin, Crontab, FTP accounts. This is just a few of the things.
Something not provided by webhosts is an FTP CLient, which makes it possible to upload files to the server. I use CoreFTP LE . It is free and compatible with Win98SE (my old computer
.) I just installed it as I have found another theme I like better.
All said and done, I have a new hobby: Moodling. And my students are excited about learning again.
Since Moodle actually grades, I have some extra time to input lessons. I have an open forum twice a week. As I monitor it from home, I'm also inputting lessons. The lessons have been the easy part, since I already have my lesson plans and quizzes. The hard part is refraining from putting everything on the moodle!
I hope this answers some question or at least helps you find a little spark of encouragement and adventure!
Oh, did I mention, I only got my Moodle on 4/13?
(Yeah...you can do it!
)
A Moodle Partner WOULD be the best. But, if that option is not available for you, then you may just have to bite the bullet and do what I have done.
(Yes, true to my anti-establishment ways
, I'm going to suggest another way.)I'm a teacher at a small private school. I was told emphatically there was no money in the budget for anything "computer."
Fine. I'm just stubborn enough to do it myself!
So, I paid for my own website via a webhost (qualitychristianwebhosting.com) that offered a laundry list of features (Check out the Business hosting plan. I have not found anyone who could beat them. The customer service is phenomonal - 10 min response time!!! This alone was worth the price to me.) The cost is less than $60 US /yr. Plus, I get 3 'free' domains. (I've been meaning to have a personal web anyway!
) I had my first domain /site within 12 hours.Since this webhost had everything I needed to run the site and a Moodle, I went to the Web Hosting Control Panel they provided, created an FTP Account and designated a MySQL database. This site offers Moodle as a free script through Elefante. So, I downloaded their version. (All in 10 min tops!) (At this point, I did not need an FTP Client. About that later.)
Once installed, I got a relatively blank page - don't worry! I just needed to access my moodle admin page from mydomainname.com/Moodle/admin . Their version comes with an automatic update. I followed the Next links.
At the end, I found that I was logged in as 'admin'. There was a Course - Miscellaneous already there. Also, the 'Turn edit on' button was in the upper right corner. Clicking either of these took me into the admin page where I set up the courses.
I'm the administrator of the site - not as frightening as it may sound. Moodle has made it a very comfortable position. I own the website and I own the computer the class is using (finally found something useful to do with the old one in my closet!) As far as I'm concerned it is a private teaching resource that I can take with me if I ever leave. (But, the kids love it so much I probably never will. I'll just consider this my contribution to society.
)It's not been a walk in the park setting up as I am totally computer illiterate - (I didn't even know what a webhost was!) or I was until I got my moodle!
But, the support here is awesome!! Everyone really works together and helps. Basically, I had to just roll up my sleeves and get dirty. I installed my moodle and had 3 courses with 3wks worth of activities on them in 5 days. Yeah - It's that easy! This is with a major learning curve! (In fact, I'm still going around the bend!)
I purchased my website on a Wednesday. On Thursday, I made my website welcome page. This webhost has a website builder - very simple; nothing fancy. But, I just wanted a page that I could link to Moodle. Then I downloaded Moodle on Friday and worked like mad getting it set up all that weekend.
I don't type fast and I'm not a whiz. I have had some late nights and from Friday after supper until Sunday night bedtime (gotta go to work Monday, you know!) I hardly left the computer. It was an 'order pizza, grab the snacks and keep jugs of drink by the computer; turn off the phone and tell everyone you are sick and contagious!', sort of deal. But it has been worth it!
I chose the wood theme just to get something up. The kids make fun of it but they don't say the site is drab. I wanted to eliminate white space.
I chose weeks for two courses and topics for enrichment activities. I'm sure, looking back, I could have just put everything on one course, but I was in a hurry and it's working. I'll have the summer to create a Moodle masterpiece, but for now, the kids are happy.
Since I was 3 wks ahead of my students, I went ahead and opened the courses to them. I gave them a two day "tutorial" on the computer I brought to class and then turned them loose. (This step isn't even necessary, if your school has a computer lab. Just arrange for the class to go and access your site from there. We don't have a computer lab - yet.) Mind you this is just for my class, at the present, and I confirmed that all my students had internet at home.
I wish I could have had a video camera in my room the next day! The whole atmosphere of the class had changed and even my rowdiest students were chomping at the bit to get their work done. I set up an Enrichment topic with extra activities for them to do in class. I gave them 'Homework' to do on the computer once they got home. Later that week they had their quiz on the computer - at home. (Deal was they had to leave their books & notes in the classroom
for the night.) They loved it! The best part was that I set the student view up with the Quiz Score block, so they got their results immediately! They got to see highest score also. They said it was like a video game.
But the forum was the most awesome! I gave them discussion questions in various forum settings. The board exploded! Mind you, these are only 3rd - 4th graders! The depth of their responses astounded me. They NEVER turned in reports this profound. (frankly, I'm ashamed to say, I didn't know kids were capable of thinking that deep.
)I can only surmise that the novelty of "cyber-learning", the aura of independence yet with a larger sense of community - in the comfort of their own homes, at their own leisure is what has made the difference. For the first time all year, I have 100% homework returns (fancy that!) I nearly fainted from JOY!!
I have had a few hiccups, but I dashed to this site and posted my plight and searched the threads for answers. Everyone of them have been answered.
Here are some of the things I know you will need to get your moodle started. This is not a complete list, but some very basic things. I'm sure others can contribute to the list of specs. I 'think' there is a link somewhere on the moodle.org home page that tells you what all you need also.
Most important I think is to find a webhost that already has the stuff. It will make life so much easier. You'll need MySQL databases, Database storage, PHP 5, PHP MyAdmin, Crontab, FTP accounts. This is just a few of the things.
Something not provided by webhosts is an FTP CLient, which makes it possible to upload files to the server. I use CoreFTP LE . It is free and compatible with Win98SE (my old computer
.) I just installed it as I have found another theme I like better.All said and done, I have a new hobby: Moodling. And my students are excited about learning again.
Since Moodle actually grades, I have some extra time to input lessons. I have an open forum twice a week. As I monitor it from home, I'm also inputting lessons. The lessons have been the easy part, since I already have my lesson plans and quizzes. The hard part is refraining from putting everything on the moodle!
I hope this answers some question or at least helps you find a little spark of encouragement and adventure!
Oh, did I mention, I only got my Moodle on 4/13?
(Yeah...you can do it!
)