Chat

Hi Joanne,

moodle is definitely an excellent choice for distance learning & it has multi-language support.

I will respond briefly to your questions (between the lines below), point you to a few links for further reading by you & perhaps leave opportunity for others to give their thoughts.

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• We will require ‘chat’ capability with audio, microphone function, and webcam function. Is there a way to have the chat only be available at certain times, say 4-5PM CT? Then at 5PM it would automatically shut down?

>> there is a chat module that allows public text-based chat. audio is road mapped for version 2.0 to be released later this year. i don't think there is currently a video streaming module or extension. there is also a messaging tool. to my knowledge, chat & messaging can be turned on or off, but can't be time controlled.

• We will need to upload course material, including exercises, audio, video, exams.

>> you can upload course materials in various formats. moodle does have numerous activity modules that allow teachers to create assignments, lessons, quizzes etc

• We will need to be able to activate a student once payment has been received, and deactivate the student once the time period of their course has expired.

>> yes, there is an course enrolment option requiring students to use paypal before they are able to access a given course. there are also course settings that enables admin to control course duration & deactivation.

• We need to know what the minimum requirement for a student computer is.

>> your students will need internet connectivity & compatible web browser.

• We need to know what the minimum requirement for the school’s computers is.

>> minimum requirements documentation.

• What software must be downloaded? By the student? By the school?

>> no software download required for students. if your school intends to host moodle on its own server(s), locate the appropriate download package. moodle comes in various 'flavours' depending on your preference. moodle runs natively on linux, apache, mysql & php.

• There doesn’t seem to be support in Mexico. Is this a problem? How can we manage this?

>> there are numerous moodle partners who offer commercial support. as you've discovered the moodle.org forums are a good place to find some free support

hope this helps. cheers, chad
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Dear Joanne,

I'm hoping to visit Morelia and Uruapan, Michoacan in late October 2007. I'm interested in meeting educators using Moodle in that area. I train faculty to use Moodle( iLearn) at San Francisco State University in California. Any contacts you can offer? I'm willing to conduct a short workshop while I'm in the area.

--Noelia Mendoza (noelia@sfsu.edu)

Joanne, I read your comments on this forum. Yes, Moodle is the right tool for your Spanish and English distance course. I'like to add to Chad's answer, we can help you in your Educational project using Moodle. We are in México. We have around four years working with it.

Cheers

Mónico