Bring Your Own Device

Wireless is one of those unmeasurable benefits to learning, but when going into schools I'm often asked about it or told what the school are doing. There is certainly lots of buzz around it at the moment.

Last month I attended ULearn and attended one of the key sessions on Bring Your Own Device with 5 schools that had already worked through implementing their own policy. They had been through the same issues of security, inclusion, support and planning but had developed policies for students to use their devices in school.

Personally I think its a no brainer - students get to use their computer, the school doesn't have to buy as many and we can start to utilise our devices as school.

Here are some examples of policies;

• Rangitoto
• Burnside High
• Orewa College
• Kristin

Moodle 2 Administration

Having used the book Moodle Administration I was delighted to get a copy of the Moodle 2 Administration. Whether you are an old Moodle 1.9 administrator or completely new to Moodle 2 Alex Buchner ensures that you are well informed of all the new features from installation to adding plug ins and networking with other Moodle sites.

Moodle 2 was released towards the end of 2010. It is an Open Source Course Management System that has become popular all over the world through its versatility in being able to be adapted to suit Primary and Tertiary education. The original Moodle was very successful, but since Moodle 2 there has been considerable more momentum and support.

Alex Buchner is the co-founder and Technical Director of the UKs leading Moodle Partner, Synergy Learning. His first book Moodle Administration most experienced Moodle users will be familiar with as a point of call and Moodle 2 Administration will do the same for Moodle 2. Administrators of all levels will find this useful, whether you install and host yourself or it is hosted by a Moodle Parnter and you are the on site administrator, Alex has written a guide that you can turn to for inspiration and support.

The first 2 chapters of the book cover the installation and the system which helps administrators who are handling their own Moodle installation. Alex uses plain English and a succint description of the tasks at hand so even those that are new to Moodle can follow the guide. It is nicely broken with clear headings that allow you to chose which parts are relevent to your install. Even if you are not installing Moodle yourself it is useful to briefly look over the pages to familiarise yourself with Moodle 2.

Chapters 3,4,5 and 6 looks at users, roles, courses and permissions. Existing and new Moodle users will appreciate the time taken over these chapters to clearly explain the relationships and the settings that are available in Moodle 2. Different scenarios are outlined in setting up a Moodle site and also individual courses making us aware of our options. Recommendations are also made and best practice shared along with the pitfalls of certain settings. The benefits of Synergy Learning's experience with Moodle in different settings save the reader lots of time.

Chapters 7,8 and 9 moves away from courses and users and looks as how you can develop your own Moodle flavour. Most Moodle users I meet have great pride in their Moodle as there is lots of configuration that you can manipulate. Alex goes through blocks, themes, plug-ins and configration with lots of help and tips to ensure that you can develop your flavour.

In Chapters 10, 11, 12 and 13 we look at reporting, security, performance and backups. This is again a sound insite in each area that give an administrator the knowledge that they need to get started and also to be aware of features for the future. These chapters make essential reading for the Administrator to keep an efficient Moodle and reap the benefits that the user expects, but does not generallly see.

The final set of Chapters 14, 15, and 16 look more towards extending Moodle with 3^rd Party Add ons, Moodle Networking and Integration. We look at how to to extend moodle in each of the cases and also how to revert back. Its useful as an Admin user to be aware of the potentials of networking and linking with Mahara although Alex warns us of the trust involved in each of the cases and clearly explains the impact of each.

All in all the book is the Admin User Guide that would be shipped with Moodle if you bought the software off the shelf. Alex has laid down his knowldege to build a user guide and shared his experience to make sound recommendations along with warnings of common mistakes that can cause issues in the system. The book is a must for new and old Administrators - a companion that you will always refer to. Get your copy here