Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Lane Grann-Stahl -
Number of replies: 13
Since we upgraded to 1.8.3 we no longer have the option of restricting forum grading to teachers only or of restricting viewing of ratings to only their own ratings as in 1.7 (see image below).

screenshot of 1.7 forum grade settings

In 1.8.3 this is all we see:
1.8.3 forum grading settings

Is it just our particular installation or has the forum grading feature devolved into a less useful tool?

If so, does this mean that to restrict grading to the instructor and prevent students from seeing any but their own forum grades, an instructor would NOT check Rate Forums but use an Offline Assignment in the gradebook to essentially grade forums manually?

Hope I'm misreading this as it would seem to be a great leap backward. The Blackboard forum grading is a breeze now, whereas Moodle's appears to have become almost a workaround.

Appreciate anything you can offer,
Lane in Charlotte, NC

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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by John Isner -
You must do it now using Roles and Capabilities. The following diagram shows the Student capabilities that you should override in the Forum context to create a pre-1.7 forum "flavor."

Attachment old_forum_new_forum.png
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In reply to John Isner

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by John Isner -
I just noticed an error in the above diagram. "View: Students can see everyone's ratings" should Prevent "View any ratings" (not "View ratings").
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In reply to John Isner

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Steve Hyndman -

...and I might add...that's an "improvement" just in case that's not clear to some wink

Steve

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In reply to Steve Hyndman

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by John Isner -
You're just jealous because you don't have roles and capabilities in 1.6 smile
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In reply to John Isner

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Lane Grann-Stahl -
This Role Override screen/tab doesn't appear to be available to Instructors.  Is this true?
If so, is the Role Override only global or can an admin override the forum settings for individual courses?
Lane
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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by John Isner -
This Role Override screen/tab doesn't appear to be available to Instructors

That's right. In order for Teachers to see the Override tab, your Administrator needs to do two things:
  • Allow Teacher to override Student in the Allow overrides table
  • Give Teachers permission to "Override permissions for others"
If you don't understand what this entails, please read the Roles and Capabilities article in the documentation wiki.
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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Steve Hyndman -

"If you don't understand what this entails, please read the Roles and Capabilities article in the documentation wiki."

You may also want your admin to read the thread below as well...seems this does involve some "very dangerous" security risks.

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=87413

Steve

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In reply to Steve Hyndman

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Lane Grann-Stahl -

Let me see if I understand this correctly.  In Moodle 1.8.3 instructors have lost the default ability to prevent students from rating/grading others' discussion posts, rendering instructor rating/grading impossible without creating a companion item in the gradebook for manually entering such grades.

Nor can instructors restrict a student to view only their discussion grade.

The only way this can be changed if if instructors are given global override permissions that entail "very dangerous" security risks.

If this is correct, then I question whether 1.8.3 should be called an upgrade, considering how important discussion is in online learning.  I am one of the people who are not finding   "that's an "improvement" just in case that's not clear to some."

Am I missing some offsetting benefits to this strategy?  I don't think I'm a naturally negative person, but I am discouraged by this situation.

Lane

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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by Steve Hyndman -

Seems to me your understanding is "spot on".

I think many people who actually use this everyday to "facilitate real classes" see things a little differently from people who don't "facilitate real classes" with it. There seems to be a disconnect between the concept of an effective "online classroom" and the development of the online classroom software.

Steve

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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by A. T. Wyatt -
You might consider voting for this moodle feature request:

http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-10324

In truth, I am keen to find a completely different way to grade forum posts than to use ratings. I thought this sounded like an interesting solution.

atw


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In reply to Lane Grann-Stahl

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by John Isner -
Lane,
You haven't lost the ability to do anything. You are simply doing using a different mechanism (roles and capabilities).

I would rather have the flexibility of the roles and capabilities than the old fixed roles system. Having said that, I think there are some problems with roles that need to be addressed. The risks currently associated with overriding are (in my opinion) bugs that should be fixed. Overriding a role should be no more risky than assigning one.
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In reply to John Isner

Re: Missing forum setting options in 1.8.3

by A. T. Wyatt -
You know what would be cool? Having some "role presets". That is probably hard to do, but it would be a one click solution to some pretty standard types of setups (like this particular issue).

atw
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