Role for curriculum development (prevent deletion)

Role for curriculum development (prevent deletion)

by Jason Hollowell -
Number of replies: 3
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Hello,

I am discovering the infinite complexities associated with permissions and roles and have a question about a desired role.

We are working on creating 'resource courses' that will be accessible by teachers only and will be used for curriclum development and the sharing of ideas, activities, projects etc. for language instruction. Teachers will be able to import activities from these courses into their 'regular' Moodle courses or download files (activities etc.) to use in their 'traditional' classroom.

With that said, I want/need to be able to create a role that grants participants the ability to contribute (upload files etc, create new activities) but prevents them from deleting. This is because we will have 50~60 teachers sharing these areas and I can forsee problems if teachers are given the capability to delete content and accidentally delete something that someone else uploaded to the site.

The problem is that from what I can tell, allowing a user to "manage files" or "manage activities" gives them the ability to both add and delete.

Maybe I'm trying to do something that isn't possible with the current version of Moodle?? Or is my brain just not soft enough to figure out how to do it?? smile

Jason
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In reply to Jason Hollowell

Re: Role for curriculum development (prevent deletion)

by Jason Hollowell -
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Have I asked a stupid question here or just one that cannot be answered by anyone that is frequenting this forum??

Jason
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In reply to Jason Hollowell

Re: Role for curriculum development (prevent deletion)

by John Isner -
No, it's because you already answered your own question!

allowing a user to "manage files" or "manage activities" gives them the ability to both add and delete.

I don't think a write-only capability would be practical. If you can upload a file, you ought to be able to delete it -- or to overwrite it with a newer version, which is equivalent to deleting. We would need permissions on files and directories (not just users) to do what you are asking for (so I could read/write my own files and read but not delete yours).

I believe the correct solution is to not store your files "in" Moodle, but rather to use an external repository.
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In reply to John Isner

Re: Role for curriculum development (prevent deletion)

by Jason Hollowell -
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John,

Thanks but I don't think I answered my question.....or maybe the question that I waited to ask until the end of my message wasn't clear enough. For files that are not 'Moodle-bound' an external repository is fine but if we want to encourage teachers to work on collaborative development of curriculum (e.g. write quizzes, lessons, etc.) that are 'Moodle-bound' an external repository won't work.

I guess I should have asked a question in my first post to make clear what it is that I would like to be able to do. I want to allow teachers to create activities within Moodle and be able to upload files etc. but not delete said activities and files. Is it possible to create a user role (permissions) that allows for this type of a setup? (it's obvious to me now that this is not possible)

I don't think that "If you can upload a file, you ought to be able to delete it -- or to overwrite it with a newer version" is necessarily axiomatic here. The forums are a good example of the process that I would like to be able to implement course wide - upload something or create it within Moodle and then have 30 minutes to edit it after which you can view the item but cannot edit or delete it. I do however, understand the downsides to what I have suggested. One being that if users cannot delete (or even edit) content that they uploaded/created, the said course could quickly become an unorganized mess.

Having not received any input/feedback on my post, I came up with a solution that is a more realistic alternative given the limitations I now understand. I've created a 'collaboration course' that will be used as a 'contribution' area into which teachers can upload files and create activities and from which these activities, files, etc. will be imported into courses that they are deemed appropriate for (we're calling them 'resource courses'). These resource courses will then be maintained such that only a select few admins can tamper with them but will be visible and accessible (via import) to all teachers (enrolled in them as non-editing teachers) so they can peruse them and then import activities etc. into the courses they are teaching.

I'll just have to make sure the 'collaboration course' is checked on a very regular basis so that new items can be saved and imported into the 'resource courses' where there will be no danger of them being accidentally deleted.

Any comments on what I am trying to do with Moodle are welcome. smile

Jason
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