Peter Ruthven-Stuart

Hello Tim,

The Random-short-answer matching question type is just what we need. We regularly make short-answer questions solely to be used in this type of question.

For example, here are some SA questions I am about to upload to a course via GIFT:

the smallest part of a chemical element{=atom}

A water molecule contains three _____s.<br>An _____ contains electrons, protons and neutrons.<br>In a nuclear reactor, one _____ splits into two and releases energy.{=atom}

particle, molecule, fragment{=atom}

electron, proton, neutron{=atom}

parts of an <b>atom</b>{=electron, proton, neutron}

Many of these type of questions can not be used in stand alone SA questions since there's not enough information for students to get the answers, but when placed in matching type questions they are possible to answer. For example, have a look at the last questions (part of an atom). This is not a viable SA question, but when in a matching type quetion where students can actually see the words "electron, proton, neutron" in a menu, it becomes a viable question.

We would much appreciate it if this question type were to remain in version 2. Removing this question type would create an awful lot of extra work.

Thanks.

"...I have fixed the issue with HotPots in Moodle 2.0 not working for the second and subsequent attempts..."

Thanks Gordon, I''ll give the new version a spin in the next few days.

Hartmut,

Thanks for your feedback re the OU Wiki for M2. I'm going to give it a try since there does not seem to be any movement on the various issues that exist with the current standard wiki module.

Hello Rob and Aaron,

Thanks for your comments re Dropbox. The issue of file management has stirred a lot of debate, e.g. see http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=152694

When I upgraded to Moodle 2 a few months ago I naively assumed that the new Repositories feature would make file management so much easier. Like you I have discovered that the Dropbox repository (also Google Docs) isn't really a solution, unless of course I tell all my colleague and students my username and password. It's confused and angered colleagues; they thought they'd be able to access their own Dropbox accounts but instead just get an error message on trying to log in.

This issue was reported as a bug:

MDL-26949

but has now been closed, and not because the problem is fixed ...

The Moodle Docs page on Dropbox suggests there is a solution ("Create an app, you must change app status to Production"), but this doesn't seem to be a viable solution for the average Moodle user.

"These repositories... What are they for?"

What indeed? It seems that, the shift towards external repositories primarily caters to large scale installations of Moodle administered by professional IT people, and not for smaller scale systems run my volunteer amateurs like me.

"What's wrong with a course having a directory of files???"

There do seem to be good reasons for doing away with the Course Files area, see http://docs.moodle.org/en/Course_files#Files_in_Moodle_2.0

I'm now advising colleagues to use the Private Files area as their Moodle repository.

However, this doesn't solve the issue of having to re-upload /relink every instance of a file should a change be made to that file. i.e. if a teacher uploads 10 instances of the same file to 10 different places, and then discovers she needs to make a change to that file, she will have to re-upload / link to that file 10 times.

Mark Dreschsler has made an informative Slideshere re file management in 2.0: http://www.markdrechsler.com/?p=271

Peter,

Thanks for your comment. This issue has been reported as a bug:

MDL-27037

I do hope that this serious flaw in the Wiki module can be fixed soon. Until then, it renders this module pretty much unusable in any course that requires groups to co-edit their group's wiki, and just view those of other groups.