[Olpc-open] Olpc-open Digest, Vol 18, Issue 13

Bryan Berry bryan.berry at gmail.com
Thu Dec 6 22:33:53 EST 2007 

Sameer,


I am setting up Moodle and an eLibrary for Nepal's pilot of OLPC. I have
been playing w/ Moodle but been quite frustrated that there is no
built-in repository for Moodle.

What are you guys using for a repository at SF State?

I am looking at fedora (not the linux distro) www.fedora.info for our
repository/elibrary. Do you have any experience w/ this and know how
well or if it all integrates w/ Moodle?

Bryan W. Berry
-----------------------------
OLE Nepal   www.olenepal.org
Kathmandu


On Thu, 2007-12-06 at 14:33 -0500, olpc-open-request at lists.laptop.org
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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: CMS, Moodle, etc (Sameer Verma)
>    2. Re: Status of MaMaMedia and Avallain (Carol Lerche)
>    3. Re: CMS, Moodle, etc (Sameer Verma)
>    4. Re: Status of MaMaMedia and Avallain (Bert Freudenberg)
>    5. Re: Status of MaMaMedia and Avallain (Bert Freudenberg)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:23:44 -0800
> From: Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] CMS, Moodle, etc
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <47583E30.6010108 at sfsu.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> gnome wrote:
> > This is the first issue on the forum I can address as something other 
> > than a rank amateur.  :-)
> >
> >   
> 
> This stuff is so new that most of us are amateurs...bring it on!
> 
> > I've used Moodle, WebCT (now Blackboard), Blackboard before they merged, 
> > and have looked at Sakai.
> >
> > Moodle seems to me to be the clear winner.  Not so much necessarily on 
> > technical grounds, although a good case could be made for that, but because:
> >
> > 1) it has by far the highest rate of adoption in schools.  In 
> > universities, it's a close second and gaining on WebCT/Blackboard fast.  
> > If OLPC adopted Moodle, they'd be plugged into what is already the 
> > widest network of educators.
> >
> >   
> 
> SF State, where I work has over 31,000 students and uses Moodle
> exclusively. We used to be a Blackboard shop, but after careful
> consideration
> (http://www.sfsu.edu/~etac/ETAC_Report-iLearn-Bb-final.pdf) we switched
> over a 100% to Moodle. We had tons of problems with Blackboard with
> randomly losing courses, student info etc. We now have a dedicated team
> that runs our Moodle shop and currently hosts the CVS for North America.
> 
> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/node/417
>  
> > 2) It is open source, and has a truly excellent set of support forums.  
> > My simple questions have been answered within hours -- the advantage of 
> > a global community is that someone's always awake ;-) -- and more 
> > difficult questions take a few days.
> >
> >   
> 
> I concur on this point. Apart from the tech support forum, the community
> is very active. I was at a Moodle Moot (convention) in Albuquerque
> earlier this year. They had a huge turnout and it was amazing that we
> were able to connect with so many universities looking for a place far
> away from Blackboard :-) We (SF State) now have a consortium of schools
> that rely heavily on shared experiences, hosting, etc.
> 
> > 3) Technically, it is full-featured course management software.  In some 
> > ways, such as uploading some content, it is easier than WebCT.  I have 
> > yet to find a way in which it is harder to use.  WebCT has some new 
> > whiz-bang features not available in Moodle, such as the ability to hold 
> > quizzes in class where the questions are projected onto a screen and the 
> > students choose one of the multiple choice answers with remote 
> > clickers.  While this is very nice, it's hardly essential, and is rather 
> > unlikely to be very useful outside of a fully electronics equipped 
> > classroom.  (At our college, I think we may have two.)
> >   
> 
> >From Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle]: "The stated
> philosophy of Moodle [5] <http://docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy> includes
> a constructivist
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_%28pedagogical%29> and
> social constructionist
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructionism> approach to
> education, emphasising that learners (and not just teachers) can
> contribute to the educational experience in many ways."
> 
> Now, I don't have to spell out constructivist and constructionist
> approaches to this crowd, do I? ;-)
> > Sakai looks very interesting, but from what I've heard, there will be an 
> > institutional fee in the thousands of dollars, and it's not yet widely 
> > adopted.
> >
> >   
> I'll second that sentiment. At the time we evaluated Moodle, Sakai was
> nowhere close to what Moodle was capable of.
> > Speaking of institutional fees, WebCT charges us $65,000.  That's per 
> > year.  An individual license is a few hundred ($300?).  Support is 
> > somewhere in Pennsylvania.  Or something.  Like most commercial tech 
> > support it's similar to a cardiac defibrillator.  When you need one, 
> > it's never there, and you hope never to need it in any case.
> >   
> I'll ask our Moodle shop about hosting possibilities...
> 
> cheers,
> Sameer
> 
> -- 
> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Information Systems
> San Francisco State University
> San Francisco CA 94132 USA
> http://verma.sfsu.edu/
> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:26:06 -0800
> From: "Carol Lerche" <cafl at msbit.com>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] Status of MaMaMedia and Avallain
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<c856d2f0712061026w6dbc736w24f8bee0bcc4cc50 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> Well, I put my comments on the "talk" section of the relevant pages.  The
> wiki instructions say not to modify the main pages, if I recall.
> 
> On Dec 6, 2007 10:01 AM, Todd Kelsey <tekelsey at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > That's helpful commentary -- perhaps you could add it to the MaMamedia and
> > availlain pages respectively -- not everyone knows how to use/consult the
> > "talk" pages or even the discussion tab, so I'd suggest adding a Status
> > section with your impressions.
> >
> > Given the realities of volunteer work etc., maybe a helpful thing would
> > also be to add a Help section - "If you are interested in helping this
> > project if/when help is needed, please add your name and contact info in
> > this section"
> >
> > It's also possible things can move along without them having the time to
> > update -- but if a project falters because of lack of assistance -- even
> > though there may be people coming who might be able to help -- perhaps this
> > is a way to help things come along.
> >
> >
> > On Dec 6, 2007 11:55 AM, Carol Lerche <cafl at msbit.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Maybe, but a version of mamamedia was in the prior vmware build, and the
> > > group doing this is clearly affiliated with the media lab and olpc.  They
> > > had a bundle released in October.  Browsing to the links to the .xo files
> > > from the latest vmware image (649) and attempting to download starts an
> > > install which hangs and requires a reboot to clear.
> > >
> > > As for Avallain, it seems that they are working with the Nepal
> > > deployment, and email offering development help to their "contact us" link
> > > gleans no response, not even a "we received your mail, run along and play".
> > > I think this is an instance where the page about them in the OLPC wiki needs
> > > to be clarified.  Literacy content is highly important in a product aimed at
> > > primary grades, and it is really hard to see any content/strategy that
> > > actually shows that someone has thought about it.  I don't think this is
> > > necessarily true of the facts on the ground -- it may be an artifact of the
> > > wiki's inherent lack of cohesive structure and update.  Also, the persons
> > > most active in instigating the project have a long history of finding ways
> > > to use technology in science and math education, especially in upper
> > > elementary grades where literacy competence was presumed, at least at some
> > > minimal level.
> > >
> > > On Dec 6, 2007 9:45 AM, Todd Kelsey <tekelsey at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I am not certain on either Mamamedia or Availlain -- my guess is that
> > > > they are both instances where employees of the companies are trying to fit
> > > > in product development for olpc in parallel with their corporate development
> > > > ( i.e. staying late at work to try and get it done). The best thing I
> > > > could suggest is to send an email once a month, asking them what the status
> > > > is of their work -- and if you like, asking them if there's any help you can
> > > > provide to put it forward -- simply by getting a sense of the help they
> > > > need, and possibly updating their wiki page (x,y,z needed, please add your
> > > > name if you are willing to help) -- eventually enough traction may occur to
> > > > get something going.
> > > >
> > > > On Dec 6, 2007 11:04 AM, Carol Lerche <cafl at msbit.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >  Their wiki seems dead. November 30, the date stated as the next
> > > > > milestone, is past -- what is the status? When I look at the "blocker bugs"
> > > > > it isn't clear why they block a release. Why does language selection have to
> > > > > be dynamic, for example? Couldn't versions be packaged for individual
> > > > > countries? This stuff isn't present in the latest vmware image I downloaded
> > > > > (649), and when I tried to install by browsing to the .xo link on the olpc
> > > > > wiki I got a stalled activity that required a reboot of the vm to clear.
> > > > >
> > > > > The activities in the mamamedia group seem most appropriate for
> > > > > creating early literacy content and that is what I am trying to put together
> > > > > for my 4 g1g1 laptops, which are destined for a kindergarten in the South
> > > > > Bronx. Is there a mailing list for development activity?
> > > > >
> > > > > Also, the OLPC wiki tells me that Avallain is somehow the plan for
> > > > > supporting literacy contentn the OLPC, but I couldn't find any info on their
> > > > > website  There is mention of developing an open source version.
> > > > > Does anyone reading this list know about these content issues?
> > > > >
> > > > > Carol Lerche
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > Olpc-open mailing list
> > > > > Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> > > > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Todd Kelsey
> > > >
> > > > Save yourself from bloated email: http://www.sentenc.es/
> > > >
> > > > About Me/CFTW |
> > > > http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dhbxftbn_35f5b46b&hl=en
> > > >
> > > > 1000 Year Reunion (Poem) | http://welcome.cftw.com
> > > >
> > > > Free Music by Me for You (mp3): http://www.cftw.com/music
> > > >
> > > > "Fascinating for me to sit here and realize the interplay and
> > > > influence that music can have -- it is a part of my life, yet I haven't
> > > > continued as I could, partly out of thinking "there are more important
> > > > things". but it has it's place. i am sitting at olpc offices, and someone is
> > > > playing pink floyd, and I think music is a gift of creativity that can
> > > > inspire an atmosphere of creativity, and the range of such echoes is
> > > > infinite." - Me
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Love is a better master than duty. -- A. Einstein
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Olpc-open mailing list
> > > Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Todd Kelsey
> >
> > Save yourself from bloated email: http://www.sentenc.es/
> >
> > About Me/CFTW | http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dhbxftbn_35f5b46b&hl=en
> >
> > 1000 Year Reunion (Poem) | http://welcome.cftw.com
> >
> > Free Music by Me for You (mp3): http://www.cftw.com/music
> >
> > "Fascinating for me to sit here and realize the interplay and influence
> > that music can have -- it is a part of my life, yet I haven't continued as I
> > could, partly out of thinking "there are more important things". but it has
> > it's place. i am sitting at olpc offices, and someone is playing pink floyd,
> > and I think music is a gift of creativity that can inspire an atmosphere of
> > creativity, and the range of such echoes is infinite." - Me
> >
> >
> 
> 
> -- 
> Love is a better master than duty. -- A. Einstein
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:26:06 -0800
> From: Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] CMS, Moodle, etc
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <47583EBE.3010703 at sfsu.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> Todd Kelsey wrote:
> > dumb question - at one point WebCT was going after Sakai, I "think",
> > in court -- I may not have my facts right; at any rate, is anyone
> > familiar with whether there has been a definitive settlement on this
> > issue? not sure if it affects Moodle or not. 
> Moodle has a prior art page at
> http://docs.moodle.org/en/Online_Learning_History in case someone
> decides to take them up in court.
> 
> > I had some fun with Moodle -- another fun thing is there are places
> > like opensourcehost that can help get moodle instances going -- which
> > would help with scalability.
> >
> Moodlerooms is another place to look. http://www.moodlerooms.com/
> > would be fun to have an open content repository that LMSes could tap
> > into through "checking out" course packages.
> Indeed!
> 
> cheers,
> Sameer
>

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