Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Number of replies: 22

Are you tired of waiting long hours uploading to YouTube just to have to wait some more for YouTube to process it?

Are you frustrated with the quality of screencasts on YouTube?

Are you in love with Moodle?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I would like to introduce you to

logo.gif

Features:

  • Faster Uploads (Also includes status bar with estimated time)
  • 0 Wait Conversions smile
  • High Resolution Videos
  • Larger Videos
  • Can Download Videos
  • Dedicated to Moodle



It's good to set goals. Otherwise, what are you trying to achieve?

Current goals:

  • New Categorization System [When uploading a video you will be forced to choose which versions of Moodle, target audience (admin, teachers, student, general), and module]
  • Channel Images (Doubt they will be called channels after the new categorization system is working)
  • Style of the site (Still can be improved, For instance, right now the curved corners are being generated by js instead of css)
  • Performance (The html is gzipped big grin using htaccess and auto_prepend_file, need to gzip the js and css, also need to compress the js)
  • Validation of site (I haven't even bother to check but I am sure there are errors, shooting for XHTML 1.0)
  • AJAXIFYING all forms smile.
  • Enlisting multilevel users (Essentially creating some moderator accounts to ease the load o moderation)
  • Mulitilingual (Going to need help on this one, but eventually offer the site in all languages, which means need to map all phrases to a language file and then translate! woohoo!)
  • Finding the perfect quality (I can increase the quality and size more but it increase load time for Moodlers)
  • Upload SWF (Yes! That's right! Eventually you will be able to upload your .swf file directly and it won't try to reconvert it. It will just post the .swf file! WHOAH! Talk about control over quality and size wink)
  • Fixing the digg system
  • Work out a nice open source terms of service. Right now, it's essentially "Please do not sue me." spread out over five pages.


Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What's in it for you? Are you trying to make a profit?

MoodleTutorials.org is non-for-profit.
It is just a very enjoyable way for me to contribute to the Moodle community!

2. Will there be ads?

Nope, no ads.

3. Why doesn't YouTube offer such high quality?

Video hosting takes up large amount of disk space and bandwidth. Converting large numbers of videos can also take a large toll on the servers performance. The reason that Moodle Tutorials can offer this is (let's be honest) we won't be receiving millions of viewers.

4. How can you afford it?

I would like to thank Google, not just for powering over half the world's searches and all of my searches, but for getting students like me involved. The money for hosting will come from my work with GHOP. smile If I took the integral of how much I love Google it would diverge to infinity smile.

5. Why focus on Moodle?

I think Moodle is just a really neat project. Moodle provides something that I believe is the future of education. Right now my teachers barely integrate technology into class but the next generation I believe will bring technology to the forefront!

6. Did you stick beta on the end to sound Web 2.0?

Nope. Even though I love Web 2.0 style and design, Moodle Tutorials really is in beta!

7. Will you market the web site?

Already working on bookmarking the site in 500 social bookmarking web sites. Stumbles are always appreciated, along with diggs big grin.
If you like it, share it wink.

Have a great day,
Rowan
Moodletutorials.org

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Andre Bernal -
Hey, looking great. I'm sure it will be a nice addition to the project. I see you got a new layout, looks nice -- very...YouTubey like lol smile Signed up already!

Small thing, corners on upload page aren't curved lol, but you probably know and probably won't matter since your going to make them CSS.

I'll save the rest for when you have a error report/suggestion page.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Andre Bernal

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Hey Andre,

Glad you like it big grin!
Yes, you are right that I do know that the corners aren't curved on the upload page and that I will be changing it when I convert it to CSS.

Right now, I am working out a hopefully improved color scheme similar to "Corporate Orange & Blue" from Kuler.

Look forward to your video submissions,
Rowan
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Andre Bernal -
Oh...wow.
I wanted to see if I could upload in linux, looks like I can! smile Nice upload meter!

I thought I was going to upload in the morning when I boot into Windows to update it...but...it looks like your site will read where my video is correctly. (Normally when I'm uploading to YouTube in linux I get an error so I have to upload all my videos using Windows, your site might fix that. two thumbs up from me -- it uploaded)

Just left the page where it says it being processed. So..it's probably being processed. But it doesn't show up in the "My Videos" -- I guess it will after its done processing ^^

EDIT: YAY Here's the video uploaded!
http://www.moodletutorials.org/view_video.php?viewkey=aa6e02c990b0a82652dc
It doesn't show up under the My Videos or the Watch tab, but it will come up in the Recent Videos flash thing and at the end of videos.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Andre Bernal

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Nicolas Connault -
Wow Andre, is this your REAL voice??? Quite scary!! :D
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Nicolas Connault

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Andre Bernal -
Haha, no it's not, thats it synthesized ^^
I don't like how I sound sometimes, but maybe its just hearing yourself that makes it weird haha.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Andre Bernal

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Andre,

Glad it works on your linux! Moodle Tutorials should be processing instantly. All videos right now before appearing in "My videos" or anywhere else (besides the direct link) must be approved by the admin. I approved it this morning. I may remove this feature. I just don't want any inappropriate material to pop up on the site from a spammer.

Thanks,
Rowan
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In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Nicolas Connault -
Rowan,

Your post brings up an interesting point. The video tutorials that were created during the GHOP were submitted to a very thorough review process by Moodle HQ members, with extensive feedback. This lead to the development of very high quality videos, for the most part free of misleading errors.

I expect and hope that the creation of tutorial videos will continue into the distant future, and that you will be hosting many of them on your site. How do you suggest these future videos receive a similar review process as those of the GHOP contest? In my view this is very important, to ensure the ongoing quality and accuracy of such videos.

One idea is to put any newly submitted tutorial into a "Under review" section. People who want to participate to the review process can subscribe, and receive email notifications when new videos are submitted. The only requirement for a video to become live is to receive at least one positive review during a 1 week period from the time of submission. If a request for improvement is posted by one of the reviewers, the 1-week countdown is reset as soon as a new version of the video is posted.

If no negative feedback is given during that 1 week period, and at least one positive review has been given, the video goes live.

This is just one idea, of course.

I look forward to your ideas ;)
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Nicolas Connault

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Nicolas,

I agree that the videos will need to be reviewed.

I like the idea of videos, before going live, going into a "under review" section. I think the user should be able to still view their own video and thus can still link to it while it's under review. I think the subscription status idea is really neat. Obviously care will have to be taken at who is allowed to review videos. I think that there should be different levels of reviewers. Moodlers from the Moodle HQ will carry more weight (if they provide positive feedback the video goes live before the 1 week period) and for other reviewers the video will still remain in the "under review" until the entire week is up (allowing for others to review).

Btw, Welcome to Moodletutorials.org wink

Thanks,
Nicolas
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Nicolas Connault -
Rowan there's a bug on your site, on the profile update page. It requires the user to re-enter a password and password confirmation each time the profile page is updated.

Otherwise, it's pretty nifty smile
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Nicolas Connault

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Nicolas,

Trust me I know big grin! It took me over 5 submits to get all the information correct. This will be fixed when it is all ajaxified (I love ajax).

I also think the overall page of the profile needs a facelift.

I am contemplating installing a bug tracker similar to Moodle, to better organize all the bugs and features and of course make so people can contribute. smile

Have a great day,
Rowan
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In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Nicolas Connault -
A brilliant idea, Rowan! I hope that the other video creators will want to upload their videos to your site.

I was browsing your site, and I noticed that you had a category for the "Hotspot" module. That's a typo I think, unless there is such a module somewhere in contrib. The official name is "Hotpot", short for Hot Potato wink



Keep it up!
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Hello Moodlers,

I was going to post when Moodle Tutorials broke 1 GB of bandwidth transfer big grin.
It was supposed to be a small milestone and a good measure of the amount of bandwidth the site will take smile.

Just checked and as of now over 4.5 GB of bandwidth has been transferred! big grin
Whoah! Look like I will be upgrading my hosting soon wink.

Thanks,
Rowan
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Andre Bernal -
Wow, thats a lot lol, I'm afraid to upload more videos and pop the hood on the server haha
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In reply to Andre Bernal

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Don't worry about it big grin!
Still of have plenty of bandwidth for this month before I hit quota!
But probably next month, I may upgrade just in case of growth. I will also be doing a lot of optimization wink.

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Hi!

Just wanted to let everyone know that so far MoodleTutorials.org has received over 200 unique visits big grin and almost 300 visits. In addition, Moodle Tutorials has almost broken 2,000 pageviews big grin!

Moodle Tutorials has broken another milestone in bandwidth, over 11.5 GB has been transferred big grin! Whoah!

Thanks for the support,
Rowan
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Hi Moodlers,

Besides the initial spike, MoodleTutorials.org has been steadily trending upward with nice lil dips on the weekend big grin. So far there has been over 600 visits and over 4,000 page views!

Visitors have come from 56 countries speaking 29 different languages! smile (Working right now on get a system set up for translation of strings)

I would like to thank people for registering! Now there is 32 registered members. I may decided to make registration a requirement in order to boost community participation within MoodleTutorials.org. I have a frontpage design for that will hopefully be done soon!

Thanks,
Rowan
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In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Nicolas Connault -
You have all my support and encouragement Rowan! Keep at it! smile
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Svar: Re: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Anders Berggren -
Hi Rowan,
Having quickly reviewed your site I
think it is a wonderful concept and it
seems to be working as intended.

I second the proposal of a quality
review process. I registered and I
recommend other moodlers to do
the same.

Congratulations and thanks!
Anders
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Anders Berggren

Re: Svar: Re: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Rowan Chakoumakos -
Hello,

Thanks Nicolas for the continued support!

Anders, thanks for signing up and encouraging others to do so!
Quality review has the highest priority in the list of new features.

Thanks,
Rowan
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Rowan Chakoumakos

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Chris Kenniburg -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers
GREAT JOB! This is an outstanding resource and I am glad you thought of it. I see it looks like you used PHP Motion. I also use it in a K-12 education website:
http://video.dearbornschools.org

Teachers and students can upload videos and then use them in Moodle and blogs. Students LOVE PHPMotion in our district. Our district blocks Youtube and other video services because of content, so this has really been a hit.

Keep up the good work. I am adding the link to your website on the homepage of our moodle install.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Chris Kenniburg

Re: Moodle documentation: Introducing: Moodle Tutorials Beta!!! :-D

by Jeff Forssell -
Glad to see your post.

I have one video in the moodletutorials.org that I got in after many unsuccessful tries. I've been trying to get hold of "soccerguy" in many ways without success. If you click on his name in the forum here, he is "not a a member"!

One thing that has bothered me is that the help page is empty there. And on the first page it says :

High Resolution Tutorials
Complete Dedication to Moodle
Faster Video Uploads
Ability to Get .swf Directly Published smile

I have several tutorials made with Wink in SWF format. But when I try to upload them they don't work. I have tried converting to WMV (which YouTube accepts) but that didn't work either. I don't remember what format that did work when I uploaded the one that is there. (The thumbnail for it looks like it was regurgitated by a goat, for some reason and I know no way to change it.) On your site (which does seem to have a similar "feel") there is a help page saying :

D-Tube Supports these video formats:
  • Flash Video - FLV
  • QuickTime Video - MOV
  • QuickTime MPEG4 - MP4
  • Windows MPEG - MPG or MPEG

The best format to use is Flash Video - FLV. If your computer editing software allows you to export with this format, we recommend using it. Sometimes, for whatever reason, your video may not be encoded properly by D-Tube. If this is the case, we delete the file. So if your video doesn't appear, it most likely didn't get encoded properly by D-Tube.

Hopefully the same is true for Moodletutorials.org, which is useful to know.
Average of ratings: -