Blur Names

Blocks ::: block_blurnames
Maintained by Brendan Lalor
The presence of this block on gradebook and some other pages will blur the names, email addresses, and images of students - e.g., in both the Grader and User Reports; and it will do the same for names in Moodle core's Forum, and in the Choice module, as well. This protection of student privacy allows for more FERPA-friendly sharing among faculty.

Blur Names 1.1

Moodle 2.5, 2.6
Released: Tuesday, 11 February 2014, 7:11 AM
/*
The Blur Names block is created by Brendan Lalor, and released for all.

WHY: It helps protect student privacy, that FERPA-compliance might not dampen
our Moodle spirit.

WHAT: The Blur Names block helps conceal information that might otherwise
reveal the identities of students when faculty are displaying Moodle courses
to each other.

HOW: The presence of this block on gradebook and some other pages will blur
the names, email addresses, and images of students - e.g., in both the Grader
and User Reports; and it will do the same for names in Moodle core's Forum,
and in the Choice module, as well. This protection of student privacy allows
for more FERPA-friendly sharing among faculty.

Take whatever block-placement measures are appropriate in your situation to
ensure that the block is loaded on the relevant pages. For the simplest
cases, when you want to use it, add it to all pages in the left column (so
that it's loaded even when there is no column on the right). This is not a
one-size-fits-all strategy; so adapt it!

CAVEATS:
1. The block will not presently blur names in tooltips, which appear
when hovering over gradebook cells.
2. The block has not been designed to blur names in modules beyond those
listed: Choice, Forum, and in the Gradebook.
3. The block has not been tested for Moodle releases prior to 2.6. However
there's nothing too snazzy in it; so it should work with earlier releases
as long as they feature the relevant CSS class and ID names.

SOLICITATIONS: If you know a CSS-method for blurring the names in tooltips
that appear while hover over gradebook cells, please share it with me.
JavaScript solutions are welcome as well. In future releases, I'll also try
to honor requests for CSS-based extensions. Drop me a note at
Brendan.Lalor@castleton.edu.

*/

Version information

Version build number
2014021018
Version release name
1.1
Maturity
Alpha
MD5 Sum
c526996bebc6684a9e689479a3eae31c
Supported software
Moodle 2.5, Moodle 2.6
  • Latest release for Moodle 2.5
  • Latest release for Moodle 2.6

Version control information

Version control system (VCS)
Other...
VCS repository URL

Default installation instructions for plugins of the type Blocks

  1. Make sure you have all the required versions.
  2. Download and unpack the block folder.
  3. Place the folder (eg "myblock") in the "blocks" subdirectory.
  4. Visit http://yoursite.com/admin to complete the installation
  5. Turn editing on in any home or course page.
  6. Add the block to the page
  7. Visit the config link in the block for more options.