Thanks for reading!

If you’re a blogger who’s planning on attending the Ireland/UK Moodle Moot this coming April you have until Friday, February 3rd to apply to land an Official Blogger Pass for the event (which means you get in for free): http://moodlemoot.ie/calling-bloggers/.

Registration for the event is now open and the prizes and giveaways are stacking up (win a 500 user license for WIRIS, or some books from Packt Publishing).

You still have time to get on the schedule by submitting a presentation proposal (deadline is also 2/3).  Submit your proposal here: http://moodlemoot.ie/submitting-a-proposal/.

For additional information about the Moot visit http://moodlemoot.ie.  If you’re unable to make it to Ireland but are still seeking a Moot/Moodle event to go to, check out the Moodlenews Events page.

Not all of the 100+ languages are 100% completed, but you can get a sense of progress by visiting http://download.moodle.org/langpack/2.0/.

Bonne chance, genießen, enjoy!

The Rocket theme by Julian Ridden (@Moodleman) is a customizable theme to make your site less Moodley (and it succeeds).  The theme has customizable logo, header images and category images and just simply looks great.  It just may be the least Moodley looking theme of all Moodle themes!

Check it out in some screen shots below and get your self a copy at Moodle.org: http://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=theme_rocket

The course focuses on opportunities to learn about mobile computing in classrooms (with current events curated through Scoop.it), videos and demos of Mobile courses, additional web resources, Free mobile apps, mobile ideas for your courses and more.

The ‘Mobile Ideas for your Course’ section is my favorite.  It pulls articles and ideas from sources helping you to learn how to use Google Goggles in the classroom, Google+ Hangouts, QR Codes, how to create slideshows and much more.

These resources and more are hosted at the Tempus-EFA project Moodle.

Moodle 2.2 is one step closer to acceptance by the Collaborative Liberal Arts Moodle Project (CLAMP) with the release of Moodle 2.2.1+LAE (Liberal Arts Edition) v2.0 beta 1.  While not a stable release this is a milestone for Moodle’s acceptance by the group considering their reservations aired in a Moodle 2 Status Report nearly 1 year ago (Feb 2011).

CLAMP’s beta 1 release is,

the inaugural edition of the LAE for Moodle 2.2. The goal of LAE is to provide a coherent package for modules, patches, and code developed (or improved) by the Collaborative Liberal Arts Moodle Project.

This is a beta release, and is recommended for use on development or pilot instances; it is under active development as we assess what issues to resolve and features to include in the LAE.

This package consists of the code that the developers and instructional technologists at CLAMP schools have deemed essential to their operation of Moodle.

Several of CLAMPs featured modules (anonymous forums and quick mail) made the initial beta release while others are being worked on (specifically the LAE Grader report).  Some features like TinyMCE have been removed from CLAMPs distribution and are reflected as core pieces of Moodle code.

For more information about CLAMP or to download a copy of the beta 1 release of LAE visit http://www.clamp-it.org/.

I’ve written a few posts at OpenSource.com/Education and this year I qualified to be in the running for the 2011 People’s Choice Award, specifically for my contribution of an article/interview with Wayne Mackintosh about OER University. Moodle is one of many interests (though I often have trouble finding enough time to write about other subjects).  If you like my writing here and there, consider casting a vote for me (or two votes). The winner of the People’s Choice will be announced at the end of January.

Vote now. No registration required.

Not only is registration for the Ireland/UK Moodle Moot, but they also have a limited number of Blogger passes available.  Blogger passes, when awarded, provide the blogger free registration, parking, lunch and more…just for publicizing and covering the event.

Go for free! If you’re a blogger and could make the trip check out http://moodlemoot.ie/blogger-passes/ for more information.  Certain expectations apply.

Register today: While you may not be a blogger the Moot will still have loads of good Moodle training and presentation sessions to learn from.  Registration is €195 for the two-day event (more if you opt for the pre-conference workshop or conference dinner).  To register or for more information visit http://moodlemoot.ie/.

Planning on presenting?  don’t delay, presentation proposals are due 2/3/2012.

This year’s Moot is presented in partnership with Dublin City University.

A few of the highlights of the CLAMP distro:

• Anonymous forums
• Easy to use file uploads
• The CLAMP Grader Report 
• TinyMCE 
• and more…

This released ushers in several bug fixes and integration into Moodle 1.9.16.  The code is available for download at http://www.clamp-it.org/code/moodle-1-9-16lae-v1-6/.

To learn more about CLAMP and LAE checkout http://www.clamp-it.org/.

Among free education advocates Saylor.org is leader offering absolutely free educational resources online.  The Saylor goal/vision is to create “a zero-cost alternative to those who lack the resources to attend traditional brick-and-mortar institutions” and to provide those mainstream learning providers a free complement of resources online.  The Saylor Foundation was created in 1999 but is now making headway and waves with 241 course titles of which 83% has been fully fleshed out with lectures, assigned readings, supplemental activities and exercises and assessments, all by an army of qualified subject matter experts.

I had a chance to trade emails with several of the Saylor Foundation staff and learned a lot about their organization’s character and especially their use of Moodle which provides the backbone of their assessment system. Saylor’s course catalog is available to any one interested in learning a concept on the web; start here: http://www.saylor.org/. But if you’re interested in the assessments you’ll need to register at their Moodle [http://school.saylor.org].

As you explore the course ware you’ll note that it’s both consistent and easy to navigate (though the content sources vary across topics from 3rd party websites, OCW videos from Youtube and other web content).  According to Saylor,

We hire credentialed professors to create course blueprints and to locate, vet and organize OER materials into a structured and intuitive format. The professor hired to create each course also designs an assessment, which is hosted in Moodle. Upon completion, a team of consultants peer-review the course materials and assessment to ensure the level of knowledge available in the course is at least equivalent to a similar course at a traditional U.S. college.

Why not host the course content in Moodle? Saylor’s trustee (Michael J. Saylor, Chairman, CEO, and President of Microstrategy) is adamant that Saylor’s content be as open as possible.  Registering for Moodle is simple and easy, however even a required login/registration process can prevent learners from connecting with free content online.  ”We’ve made our site as open as possible– it’s all plain as day– anyone can see all the content upon their first visit to the site” says Alana Harrington, Saylor’s Director.

From a student’s perspective, OCW like that found at Saylor provides an easy to use and straightforward learning system that seems unparalleled on the web: a simple interface, easy to follow directions and visual representation of the “completeness” of the course materials all helps to make a great experience. And once a student is ready they can register (for free) for the Saylor Moodle (v1.9) and take an examination to gauge their understanding of the concepts.  Once they’ve received a passing score students get an automatic certificate to download (Saylor courses are not offered for credit and are not recognized by any accrediting organization.

Saylor’s free education covers 13 subject areas (from computer science to political science and art history to history) in nearly 250 planned course titles.