Moodle 3 Administration, 3rd Edition

Key Features

• Learn how to plan, install, optimize, customize, and configure Moodle
• Guarantee a cutting-edge learning experience in a secure and customizable environment while optimizing your day-to-day workload
• A one-stop guide with a problem-solution approach and a wide range of real-world examples

Book Description

Moodle is the de facto standard for open source learning platforms. However, setting up and managing a learning environment can be a complex task since it covers a wide range of technical, organizational, and pedagogical topics. This ranges from basic user and course management, to configuring plugins and design elements, all the way to system settings, performance optimization, events frameworks, and so on.

This book concentrates on basic tasks such as how to set up and configure Moodle and how to perform day-to-day administration activities, and progresses on to more advanced topics that show you how to customize and extend Moodle, manage courses, cohorts, and users, and how to work with roles and capabilities. You’ll learn to configure Moodle plugins and ensure your VLE conforms to pedagogical and technical requirements in your organization. You’ll then learn how to integrate the VLE via web services and network it with other sites, including Mahara, and extend your system via plugins and LTI. By the end of this book, you will be able to set up an efficient, fully fledged, and secure Moodle system.

What You Will Learn

• Install and update Moodle on multiple platforms manually and via CLI and GIT
• Manage courses and categories, users and cohorts, as well as roles
• Get Moodle hooked up to repositories, portfolios, and open badges
• Configure Moodle for mobile usage, accessibility, localization, communication, and collaboration
• Guarantee backups, security and privacy, and achieve maximum performance via the Moodle Universal Cache and the new cron system
• Configure the Moodle events system to generate comprehensive reports, statistics, and learning analytics
• Network Moodle with Mahara and extend it with third-party add-ons and via LTI
• Customize Moodle web services to enable mobile learning and integration with other IT systems

About the Author

Alex Buchner is the co-founder and technical director of the Platinum Totara, Moodle, and Mahara partner, Synergy Learning. He has been involved in system and database administration for more than two decades and has been administering virtual learning environments of all shapes and sizes since their advent on the educational landscape.

Alex holds a PhD in computer science and an MSc in software engineering. He has authored over 50 international publications, including two books, and is a frequent speaker on Totara, Moodle, Mahara, and related open source technologies. His first two books on Moodle Administration by Packt Publishing have become the de facto standard on the topic.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Moodle Installation
Chapter 2. The Moodle System
Chapter 3. Courses, Users, and Roles
Chapter 4. Course Management
Chapter 5. User Management
Chapter 6. Managing Permissions – Roles and Capabilities
Chapter 7. Moodle Look and Feel
Chapter 8. Moodle Plugins
Chapter 9. Moodle Configuration
Chapter 10. Moodle Logging and Reporting
Chapter 11. Moodle Security and Privacy
Chapter 12. Moodle Performance and Optimization
Chapter 13. Backup and Restore
Chapter 14. Moodle Admin Tools
Chapter 15. Moodle Integration
Chapter 16. Moodle Networking
Chapter 17. Configuration Settings