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< title > Moodle Docs: Background< / title >
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< h2 > Features< / h2 >
< p > Moodle is an active and evolving product. This page lists just some of the
many features it contains:< / p >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Overall design< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Promotes a social constructionist pedagogy (collaboration, activities, critical
reflection, etc)< / li >
< li > Suitable for 100% online classes as well as supplementing face-to-face learning
< li > Simple, lightweight, efficient, compatible, low-tech browser interface< / li >
< li > Easy to install on almost any platform that supports PHP. Requires only
one database (and can share it).< / li >
< li > Full database abstraction supports all major brands of database (except
for initial table definition)< / li >
< li > Course listing shows descriptions for every course on the server, including
accessibility to guests.< / li >
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< li > Courses can be categorised and searched - one Moodle site can support thousands
of courses< / li >
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< li > Emphasis on strong security throughout. Forms are all checked, data validated,
cookies encrypted etc< / li >
< li > Most text entry areas (resources, forum postings, journal entries etc) can
be edited using an embedded WYSIWYG HTML editor< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Site management< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Site is managed by an admin user, defined during setup< / li >
< li > Plug-in "themes" allow the admin to customise the site colours, fonts, layout
etc to suit local needs< / li >
< li > Plug-in activity modules can be added to existing Moodle installations< / li >
< li > Plug-in language packs allow full localisation to any language. These can
be edited using a built-in web-based editor. Currently there are language
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packs for over < a href = "http://moodle.org/download/lang/" target = "_top" > 34
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languages< / a > .< / li >
< li > The code is clearly-written PHP under a GPL license - easy to modify to
suit your needs< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > User management< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Goals are to reduce admin involvement to a minimum, while retaining high
security< / li >
< li > Supports a range of authentication mechanisms through plug-in authentication
modules, allowing easy integration with existing systems.< / li >
< li > Standard email method: students can create their own login accounts. Email
addresses are verified by confirmation.< / li >
< li > LDAP method: account logins can be checked against an LDAP server. Admin
can specify which fields to use.< / li >
< li > IMAP, POP3, NNTP: account logins are checked against a mail or news server.
SSL, certificates and TLS are supported.< / li >
< li > External database: any database containing at least two fields can be used
as an external authentication source.< / li >
< li > Each person requires only one account for the whole server - each account
can have different access< / li >
< li > An admin account controls the creation of courses and creates teachers by
assigning users to courses< / li >
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< li > A course creator account is only allowed to create courses and teach in
them< / li >
< li > Teachers may have editing privileges removed so that they can't modify the
course (eg for part-time tutors)< / li >
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< li > Security - teachers can add an "enrolment key" to their courses to keep
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out non-students. They can give out this key face-to-face or via personal
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email etc< / li >
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< li > Teachers can enrol students manually if desired< / li >
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< li > Teachers can unenrol students manually if desired, otherwise they are automatically
unenrolled after a certain period of inactivity (set by the admin)< / li >
< li > Students are encouraged to build an online profile including photos, description.
Email addresses can be protected from display if required.< / li >
< li > Every user can specify their own timezone, and every date in Moodle is translated
to that timezone (eg posting dates, assignment due dates etc)< / li >
< li > Every user can choose the language used for the Moodle interface (English,
French, German, Spanish, Portuguese etc)< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Course management< / h3 >
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< ul >
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< li > A full teacher has full control over all settings for a course, including
restricting other teachers< / li >
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< li > Choice of course formats such as by week, by topic or a discussion-focussed
social format< / li >
< li > Flexible array of course activities - Forums, Journals, Quizzes, Resources,
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Choices, Surveys, Assignments, Chats, Workshops< / li >
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< li > Recent changes to the course since the last login can be displayed on the
course home page - helps give sense of community< / li >
< li > Most text entry areas (resources, forum postings, journal entries etc) can
be edited using an embedded WYSIWYG HTML editor< / li >
< li > All grades for Forums, Journals, Quizzes and Assignments can be viewed on
one page (and downloaded as a spreadsheet file)< / li >
< li > Full user logging and tracking - activity reports for each student are available
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with graphs and details about each module (last access, number of times read)
as well as a detailed "story" of each students involvement including postings,
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journal entries etc on one page.< / li >
< li > Mail integration - copies of forum posts, teacher feedback etc can be mailed
in HTML or plain text.< / li >
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< li > Custom scales - teachers can define their own scales to be used for grading
forums, assignments and journals< / li >
< li > Courses can be packaged as a single zip file using the Backup function.
These can be restored on any Moodle server.< / li >
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< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Assignment Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Assignments can be specified with a due date and a maximum grade.< / li >
< li > Students can upload their assignments (any file format) to the server -
they are date-stamped.< / li >
< li > Late assignments are allowed, but the amount of lateness is shown clearly
to the teacher< / li >
< li > For each particular assignment, the whole class can be assessed (grade and
comment) on one page in one form.< / li >
< li > Teacher feedback is appended to the assignment page for each student, and
notification is mailed out.< / li >
< li > The teacher can choose to allow resubmission of assignments after grading
(for regrading)< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Chat Module< / h3 >
< ul >
< li > Allows smooth, synchronous text interaction< / li >
< li > Includes profile pictures in the chat window< / li >
< li > Supports URLs, smilies, embedded HTML, images etc< / li >
< li > All sessions are logged for later viewing, and these can also be made available
to students< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Choice Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Like a poll. Can either be used to vote on something, or to get feedback
from every student (eg research consent)< / li >
< li > Teacher sees intuitive table view of who chose what< / li >
< li > Students can optionally be allowed to see an up-to-date graph of results< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Forum Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Different types of forums are available, such as teacher-only, course news,
open-to-all, and one-thread-per-user.< / li >
< li > All postings have the authors photo attached.< / li >
< li > Discussions can be viewed nested, flat or threaded, oldest or newest first.< / li >
< li > Individual forums can be subscribed to by each person so that copies are
forwarded via email, or the teacher can force subscription for all< / li >
< li > The teacher can choose not to allow replies (eg for an announcements-only
forum)< / li >
< li > Discussion threads can be easily moved between forums by the teacher< / li >
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< li > Attached images are shown inline< / li >
< li > If forum ratings are being used, these can be restricted to a range of dates< / li >
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< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Journal Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Journals are private between student and teacher.< / li >
< li > Each journal entry can be directed by an open question.< / li >
< li > For each particular journal entry, the whole class can be assessed on one
page in one form< / li >
< li > Teacher feedback is appended to the journal entry page, and notification
is mailed out.< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Quiz Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Teachers can define a database of questions for re-use in different quizzes< / li >
< li > Questions can be stored in categories for easy access, and these categories
can be " published" to make them accessible from any course on the
site. < / li >
< li > Quizzes are automatically graded, and can be re-graded if questions are
modified < / li >
< li > Quizzes can have a limited time window outside of which they are not available< / li >
< li > At the teacher's option, quizzes can be attempted multiple times, and can
show feedback and/or correct answers< / li >
< li > Quiz questions and quiz answers can be shuffled (randomised) to reduce cheating< / li >
< li > Questions allow HTML and images< / li >
< li > Questions can be imported from external text files< / li >
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< li > Quizzes can be attempted multiple times, if desired< / li >
< li > Attempts can be cumulative, if desired, and finished over several sessions< / li >
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< li > Multiple-choice questions supporting single or multiple answers< / li >
< li > Short Answer questions (words or phrases)< / li >
< li > True-False questions < / li >
< li > Matching questions< / li >
< li > Random questions< / li >
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< li > Numerical questions (with allowable ranges)< / li >
< li > Embedded-answer questions (cloze style) with answers within passages of
text < / li >
< li > Embedded descriptive text and graphics< / li >
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< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Resource Module< / h3 >
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< ul >
< li > Supports display of any electronic content, Word, Powerpoint, Flash, Video,
Sounds etc< / li >
< li > Files can be uploaded and managed on the server, or created on the fly using
web forms (text or HTML)< / li >
< li > External content on the web can be linked to or seamlessly included within
the course interface.< / li >
< li > External web applications can be linked in with data passed to them< / li >
< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Survey Module< / h3 >
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< ul > < li > Built-in surveys (COLLES, ATTLS) have been proven as instruments for analysing online classes< / li > < li > Online survey reports always available, including many graphs. Data is downloadable as an Excel spreadsheet or CSV text file.< / li > < li > Survey interface prevents partly-finished surveys.< / li > < li > Feedback is provided to the student of their results compared to the class averages< / ul >
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< h3 class = "sectionheading" > Workshop Module< / h3 >
< ul >
< li > Allows peer assessement of documents, and the teacher can manage and grade
the assessment.< / li >
< li > Supports a wide range of possible grading scales< / li >
< li > Teacher can provide sample documents for students to practice grading< / li >
< li > Very flexible with many options.< / li >
< / ul >
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< p > < / p >
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< p align = "CENTER" > < font size = "1" > < a href = "." target = "_top" > Moodle Documentation< / a > < / font > < / p >
< p align = "CENTER" > < font size = "1" > Version: $Id: features.html,v 1.2 2001/12/09
10:34:19 martin Exp $< / font > < / p >
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