They said it would be out by March, and they just made it by March 31st – Moodle 1.8. And with this release, Moodle continues to put the hurt on the other Learning Management Systems out there. Here are some of the features in the new version of Moodle:
- Strict XHTML 1.0 compliance. Not Transitional – Strict! Wow….
- Moodle Network. This is still being developed, but promises to be awesome. From the Moodle site:“We can now set up peer Moodle installations allowing users to roam from one site to another, using comprehensive SSO and transparent remote enrollments. Administrators at the originating Moodle install can see logs of remote activity. You can also run your Moodle in “Hub” mode where any Moodle install can connect and users roam across.”
That is just awesome, even though I’m not sure I even fully understand what all it can do.
- Improved Roles. Role definition is a great tool is Moodle, because you can create and define roles anyway you want now. For example, I created a “Blog Commenter” role on this site that allows a person to comment on the blog and nothing else. Kind of nice. Of course, Moodle already has a good set of predefined roles, including separate levels for Instructional Designer, Teacher, and Non-Editing Teacher. But this is nice all the way around.
I was also poking around in Moodle, and found that it has a built in course request system. That would be huge where I work – We have to use a clunky and separate system to allow instructors to request a new course.
Matt is currently an Instructional Designer II at Orbis Education and a Part-Time Instructor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Previously he worked as a Learning Innovation Researcher with the UT Arlington LINK Research Lab. His work focuses on learning theory, Heutagogy, and learner agency. Matt holds a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, a Master of Education in Educational Technology from UT Brownsville, and a Bachelors of Science in Education from Baylor University. His research interests include instructional design, learning pathways, sociocultural theory, heutagogy, virtual reality, and open networked learning. He has a background in instructional design and teaching at both the secondary and university levels and has been an active blogger and conference presenter. He also enjoys networking and collaborative efforts involving faculty, students, administration, and anyone involved in the education process.