[Osdc-edu-authors] Moodle 2.0 release article

[Joseph Thibault]

Libby/Greg

Here's the text of the article ready to post today,

 Those who've been waiting for the release of Moodle 2.0 are getting their
> open source just rewards this week.  The release, which has been met already
> with several delays is a "beta preview", which is to say, not yet a stable
> release, but it's a functional template of what's in store for early
> adopters.
>
> Development has stretched over the last two years and many core Moodle
> features will be significantly changed.  Let's take a look at why this is a
> major milestone for the popular LMS.
>
> The major headlines are that this release focuses on making Moodle more
> accessible to 3rd party developers and web services.  Though pre-2.0
> releases have been integrated with 100s of modules, plug-ins and other open
> source and proprietary projects, this release marks a major shift in the
> accessibility of information stored within and gathered through the LMS.
>
> It contains a huge number of core changes to the platform, most of which
> are designed to give 3rd party developers more flexibility, scalability and
> safety.¹
>
> In addition to the Repository, Portfolio and File APIs which will allow 3rd
> party developers to tap, manage and manipulate Moodle's site and user data,
> major aesthetic and usability issues are also being addressed,
>
>    - TinyMCE has been selected over the HTMLarea text editor, eliminating
>    some pesky browser compatibility issues
>    - New navigation options have been provided to unclutter Moodle pages
>    - A new theme base is being provided to increase the flexibility of
>    page layouts
>    - Several core activities have been rewritten and updated (including
>    the collaborative, but previously buggy Workshop module)
>
> Moodle 2.0 will also introduce several enhancements, including
>
>    - Conditional, rule based availability of activities
>    - Commenting on Moodle blogs
>    - A major upgrade to the Quiz
>    - A major upgrade to the Wiki
>
> Perhaps the biggest news of this release is that 2.0 will create a new
> community sharing resource for courses materials.  The Community Hub² has a
> two-fold mission:
>
>    1. Create a Moodle-based market place of courses and learning objects
>    available for enrollment (paid or not) world wide
>    2. Provide a means for teachers to post, review, appropriate and remix
>    Moodle course templates from the community at large.
>
> This could be a major game changer in the world of online course management
> systems, no other platform has yet successfully collected and pooled
> resources into one easy to access repository.  Even if the hub falls short
> of expectations, the courses made available to the community at large will
> mark it a success.  However, in a few years Moodle users may be sitting on
> the web's largest repository of open educational resources (all ready to
> install in their own Moodle classroom).
>
> Not all of the features listed here or on Moodle.org's roadmap will make
> the Beta Preview release, but the roadmap and vision show that the community
> has big plans for the future of Moodle LMS.
>
> ¹http://docs.moodle.org/en/Roadmap
> ²http://docs.moodle.org/en/Community_hub
>
If there's an image that could post with it and if it could go out today I'm
quite satisfied (unless you have other edits)

On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 1:00 PM, Libby Levi <llevi at redhat.com> wrote:

>  Yup!
>
> can one of you send me the text of the most recent version, so I can see
> what I'm working with?
>
> cheers!
>
>  .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..
> .
>
> Libby Levi
>
> Red Hat
> Brand Communications + Design
> llevi at redhat.com
>
>
>
> On Apr 12, 2010, at 11:29 AM, Greg DeKoenigsberg wrote:
>
>
> We start the week with Matt Jadud's excellent article in his series about
> engaging Allegheny students in the open source world.  (Note that we
> should actually have finished last week with it, but your Faithful Editor
> got distracted by shiny things.)  Faceblogtweet it:
>
> http://opensource.com/education/10/3/allegheny-first-years-dive-fedora
>
> Next up, we've got Joseph Thibault's excellent article about Moodle going
> mobile.  Joseph, I went through a round of edits; please review at your
> convenience.  Libby, any chance we could come up with an awesome graphic
> for this piece?  Some learnin' from a mobile phone goodness?  I'd like to
> push this article live on Wednesday morning.
>
> Remy, I haven't forgotten about your piece.  Any time to chat about it
> tomorrow?
>
> --g
>
> --
> Educational materials should be high-quality, collaborative, and free.
> Visit http://opensource.com/education and join the conversation.
>
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-- 
Joseph Thibault
Course Manager
www.Straighterline.com
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