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10/14/2011
Moodle 2 Repositories
A look into some the repositories solutions available for Moodle 2, their features and the type of integration functionality.
Please feel free to copy, share and reference this e-book. All we ask is that you acknowledge Gavin Henrick as the source and link to http://www.somerandomthoughts.com when citing the publication. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Moodle 2 Repositories
A look into some the repositories solutions available for Moodle 2, their features and the type of integration functionality.
The release of Moodle 2 brought with it a challenge which most Moodle administrators and teachers had not encountered before, that is, the integration of a content repository with the course management system. This document has three parts: Firstly we look at the key issue in repository usage with Moodle 2. the dilemma of Copying or Linking from repositories
Then we address repositories themselves repositories in general the specific repositories available for Moodle their features the level integration available with Moodle
Lastly, we look at two topics around repository usage, namely: the Moodle 2 Private Files repository for users the Processes for adding files to Moodle comparing 1.9 and 2.0
The Appendices: quick look at the repository settings the list of criteria used for comparisons about the sources used further reading
Many thanks to all who helped review the content of the paper - your time is appreciated.
For any queries or corrections for paper please contact me gavin@somerandomthoughts.com THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Why read this?................................................................................................................ 3 Copy or Link The dilemma ........................................................................................ 4 What is a repository? .................................................................................................... 6 What repositories are available in Moodle?................................................................. 8 What are the features of a repository? ........................................................................ 10 What are the features of the integration with Moodle? ............................................. 14 Moodle 2 Private Files .................................................................................................. 18 Getting files into a Moodle course .............................................................................. 21 About the Author ......................................................................................................... 25 Creative Commons Copyright .....................................................................................26
Appendix 1 Some repository settings in Moodle 2 ............................................................. 27 Appendix 2 List of criteria used for comparisons .............................................................. 29 Appendix 3 - Sources ..............................................................................................................30 Appendix 4 Further Reading ................................................................................................31
Best practice
In the document I refer to best practice in file management as to being the process of copying the file into the Moodle course from either your desktop or another repository. This is a hotly debated issue so I wanted to address it up front before we tackle the concept in the next section. The reasons for having files copied into Moodle are twofold To have the course backups complete So Moodle can control who accesses them
These two requirements can be satisfied by repository use, so it does not exclude their use. Some repositories handle the second requirement quite well providing a single sign-on. The first point however is harder to achieve, but equally is not always a requirement of the Moodle installation. It would also be fair to say that sometimes, if there is no need to rely on the backup/restore of Moodle and there is no requirement to share complete courses with others that the first point can be a non-issue.
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The third concern is for course auditing. If you rely on course backups to go back in time and restore a course to check student results, or what content they had access to in the course without the files which are in the repository you wont have a true copy of the file which was there at that point, so for an audit-able course copy this may not be appropriate as you would not necessarily have the same copy of the file still within the repository a number of years on.
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3.
However, there are some downsides too. 1. The Moodle site will have multiple versions of the file existing in various courses. It will not be immediately obvious without checking the source repository as to which is the most up to date one unless this is reflected in the file name. There is currently no easy mechanism to update all the versions of a file to the new version. If you replace a file that is already copied into Moodle with a new one, that instance of the file is changed, but if it was linked form other courses they still use the original file in the database. It looks like this will be changing in 2.2
2.
3. What is a repository?
There are different types of repositories depending on the occasion. Wikipedia gives a very simple explanation of what a repository is. Repository commonly refers to a location for storage, often for safety or preservation. So for Moodle, a repository is used as a storage place for content. Different repositories often specialize in a specific type of content. YouTube specializes in Video content. Flickr specializes in images.
Content
Generally in Moodle content resources can be PDFs, word documents, videos, images, text files, Scorm objects, and pretty much any type, so one of the things that have to be in the back of your mind when considering a repository is what it is for. So you need to ask yourself the following type of questions: Do you want to store PDFs in it? Do you want to store images in it? Do you want to store complex learning objects in it?
However, what type of content you want to store is only one thing you need to consider.
Management
Another thing that you need to consider is how you want to manage the content. There are many steps in the content creation process including: authoring, testing, editing, auditing, approval and publication. Traditionally most users probably do all or most of these steps on their laptop or desktop and via email for passing the content around. However, once you think of having a centralized repository for the content, you need to look at the workflow and who is involved at each stage and what responsibilities they have. Consider the following thoughts: Who has the authority to approve the use of a video for use in a course? Who checks the quality of the content? Who checks the licensing of the content? Who checks the suitability of the content format?
Now often for self-created content, one person does it all and publishes it, however in some organisations sometimes this is not the case. For example, an official PDF of the organisations Exam Guidelines may go through many iterations with multiple people viewing and contributing before a final version is agreed, and published. 6 Gavin Henrick Solutions Consultant http://www.somerandomthoughts.com
So beyond type of content and management of content publishing, what else do you need to consider?
The repository API in Moodle has many default plugins all of which have their own unique behavior depending on which repository and which features were built in. The custom integrations that are available have a wider range of features. These are all things that need to be considered and come down to one more questions
Private Files
File System
URL Downloader
Description This is an open source external document management system which runs on Java which needs to be hosted. This is subscription cloud service which has a free entry level service. This is subscription cloud service which has a free entry level service. Flickr is the very popular online image management website. This plugin provides access to the users own Flickr images that they have uploaded to the service. Flickr is the very popular online image management website.
Flickr Public 8
Images
Google Docs
Any
Merlot.org
There are over 195 Million images with a creative-commons license which explicitly allow re-use. This plugin enables searching of the public Flickr service. The plugin for GoogleDocs requires authentication which allows the user log into their own GoogleDocs area and copy files out of it into Moodle. Merlot.org is a private learning resource repository. You need to be an educational institution or nonprofit to get access to use through Moodle or pay a significant fee. Picasa is a free photo service from Google. It also has a web based album system for sharing and tagging photos. Amazon provides a cloud based file system with their Simple Storage Service (S3). This is a subscription based solution. Many applications and services provide a basic standard interface to their file system. WebDAV is one of these standard interfaces and can be used to connect to many different systems which support it. The Wikimedia plugin provides the ability to search the Wikimedia sites for content.
Custom Plugins
Although Moodle 2.x has been released since November 2010, not all external content repositories have updated their integration with Moodle. It is understood that most if not all of these will be upgraded in the near future, so for this reason I include below the list of custom plugins that exist for 1.9 or 2.0 and specify which are upgraded and which are not yet upgraded. Repository ELIS (Alfresco) Content Type Any Description The ELIS CMS aspect is an Integration of Moodle with the Alfresco Enterprise repository enabling file sharing, user spaces, searching, curriculum structures and more. The Equella Integration with Moodle provides content repository which enables file sharing, searching, synchronization with OER repositories, curriculum structures and more. The Moodle integration with the Hive digital repository which provides a wide range of features. This provides integration with Moodle and the Kaltura video platform enabling adding and editing of video content to courses and students to submit video assignments. This is the SharePoint integration with Moodle provided by BFC Networks SharePoint Consultants. The Amvonet platform integration with Moodle provides virtual classroom with strong content creation and management features including turning the virtual classroom recordings into Scorm learning objects and transferring into Moodle. 1.9 Yes 2.x No
Equella
Any
Yes
Yes
HIVE Kaltura
Any Multimedia
Yes Yes
Yes No
SharePoint Amvonet
No Yes
Yes Yes
Web upload/download
Most repositories have a good web interface to enable you to upload the files into through your browser. However, there are differences between the types of implementation for this feature. Does it have a drag and drop feature where you can just drag the file onto the browser window? Does it make it easy to upload multiple files or is it just one at a time? Does it automatically extract and add Meta data or do you need to manually set this every time?
Check-in/Checkout
This feature enables a user that is collaborating with others on creating a document, to checkout a document and lock it. This stops others from altering it until the user checks the new file in. This is part of the version control mechanism.
Version control
Often in creating a document or file, you will go through many iterations of the document before it is finished. Often people create a file such as word.doc and then save it under a different name such as word-1.doc and word-2.doc as they make changes so that they can go back to an earlier version if needed. Version control automates this process for a user, keeping old copies as they are replaced and providing a mechanism to retrieve those earlier versions.
Workflow
A file is generally created by someone, edited by someone, tested and perhaps audited by someone, and a decision to publish is taken by someone. It may all be the same person, or it could be different people, or groups of people. This feature is related to whether a repository has the ability to design and implement a workflow to manage this process.
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Metadata
A file is just a file, however in a repository it can be more. It can have attached metadata specifying information such as the author, type of file, purpose of file, description and so on. This can either be automatically ripped out of the file, or typed in by the user who adds it to the repository.
Categories / Structures
Just as you would probably use folders or directories to structure the storage of files on your desktop, laptop or netbook, being able to build hierarchical structures within the repository to store your files is important. Often these structures represent the structure of the organization but it is becoming more common to see them structured or categorized along curriculum and project lines.
Taxonomies / Tagging
It is an important feature to provide users the ability to add descriptive words and phrases to a file. These tags can be part of a structured and predefined list of classification tags such as a taxonomy or a user defined set of tags (social tagging) which is often called folksonomy.
Multi-User Permissions
Each organization usually has more than one level of user. There may be a user who can create something, another who can edit it, someone else who may need to approve it and then the end users who can access it or publish and distribute it. These different roles have different permissions and often are not just site-wide but also linked to categories. So it is important to consider the level of permissions that a repository provides.
Audit controls
Who did what when? When a repository provides reporting on uploads, edits, deletes, downloads and on any other activity it enables a greater level of overview on the success of the repository in the organization.
Mobile Access
Some repositories provide a custom mobile interface for accessing and submitting to the repository. This may be an iPhone or android app, or a webapp which supports multiple devices.
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To fit the table on the page, I have grouped the repositories into 3 different sections Default and Generic repositories Default and specific repositories Custom repositories
Y Y Y
Y Y
Y Y Y
Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y Y
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Custom repositories
Web Upload/Download WebDAV/FTP/CIFS Check-in/out Version Control Workflow Metadata Categories/ Structures Taxonomies / Tagging Multi-User Permissions Audit Controls Mobile Access Task Management ELIS Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Equella Y HIVE Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Kaltura Y Y SharePoint Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Amvonet Y
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y Y Y Y Y
Some thoughts
For the most part all content repositories have a good stable set of features which can be used to help input and manage the content that you want to store. It is important however to consider what type of content you want to store and which features you want before deciding on a solution. Although some of the free or cheap solutions do not offer the level of features that most generic and custom repositories do, they may be suitable for your requirements - for some a complicated workflow will be extra work that isnt needed or wanted. On the other hand, the premium solutions are most likely going to offer you the options you need when your requirements are complicated and require strong audit controls and enhanced workflows and metadata. But the repository itself is just one part of the puzzle, how it works with Moodle is the other part.
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Browse repository
This feature is based on being able to browse the repository content and structures from inside Moodle. The browsing ideally would be using the structures that have been set up within the repository which may be curriculum or subject based. Does the integration expose the repository to be browsed Flickr Search options in Moodle by the categories, or a curriculum structure, tags, or a defined taxonomy or does it just provide a flat approach to displaying the content?
Search repository
There is more than one way to search for files, and this feature relates to the type of search options the integration allows. Is it keyboard based searching or does it provide more advanced searching by category, keyword, dates and perhaps even file size? Does it allow compound logical searching Apple and Banana but not Oranges?
If the content is stored in a secure repository which requires authentication by the teacher and user, does the repository integration allow for linking in such a way that the user is required to have an account and authenticate (directly or with single-sign on) to the repository. This method requires users to have an account on the repository.
Assignment Type
Some repositories have an assignment type included in the integration. This can be where the files uploaded go into and are stored in the repository rather than the Moodle server, or where the assignment is selecting the files in the repository as the assignment.
Block options
Some of the repositories provide extra controls such as Workflow task management through a block within Moodle. This exposes extra features from within the repository into the Moodle user interface.
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To fit the table on the page, I have grouped the repositories into 3 different sections Default and Generic repositories Default and specific repositories Custom repositories
Custom repositories
16 Gavin Henrick Solutions Consultant http://www.somerandomthoughts.com
Browse Search Copy File Public link Dynamic link Private link Upload File Replace File Delete File File Picker Custom Resource Assignment Type Block Option
ELIS Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Equella Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
HIVE Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Kaltura** Y Y Y Y Y Y
SharePoint Y
Amvonet Y Y
Y Y
Y Y
** This is based on the Moodle 1.9 integration and expected integration of Moodle 2. No reply on clarification was received from Kaltura.
Some thoughts
So as you can see from the tables, most repositories just allow search access to find the content in the repository and enable the user to copy it into Moodle 2. Some do provide more advanced integration, but it is usually down to the type of repository, and the reasons it is being used. For example: YouTube streams videos from its website. So the integration with Moodle cannot copy the video in, but provides a slick way to search and link (and embed) the video into the content. Flickr allows users manage the images on its website. But because it is just an image the integration into Moodle facilitates copying or linking to the file, as both are possible technically. Equella provides strong DRM and license management for the content, so those who need those features want the content stored and delivered from Equella and so the integration options are aimed at satisfying those needs. ELIS (which has Alfresco behind it) provides a range of integration options to cater for a variety of use cases and hence offers options of delivering content from repository or copying into Moodle. The content in Amvonet is mainly used for delivery of the lessons themselves within the virtual classroom with the exception of the SCORM object, so all the integration options and capabilities are focused on this.
So when considering which repository solution to use, you not only need to understand its own native features, but the type of integration it has and whether it meets your use case or not.
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Usage
Of course, is everyone going to use it? Thats going to be hard to tell.
Workplace
Its a safe place to store files for a student, a cloud based USB stick that they wont lose, so perhaps it will be good place to keep the versions of an assignment while they are working on it.
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Decisions
The default space is 100 MB (104857600 bytes). This is set with the User quota (userquota) setting which is found in Administration->Security->Site policies in the Settings block.
Upload Audio
If you have 10,000 active accounts with 100MB each by default that is a potential extra space requirement of nearly 1 Terabyte (10,000*100MB). What does this mean? So every time you take a backup of your Moodle site, you have to consider the extra space your Moodle site might take up. So depending how you do backups and how often this could bring a small or significant extra hit on your resources. So there are two fundamental questions to be answered for this feature if you want it used, namely: 1. 2. Do we enable it for students and staff? What space setting do we enable?
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Infinite space isnt possible, and although space is one of the cheapest resources for servers, with live, and backups it multiplies.
Some options
There are many shades of options available, and these are just two such options.
Final thoughts
This repository feature in Moodle 2 is a great opportunity to have students more engaged with the learning environment and for organisations to assist teachers to see more options for learning possibilities within their courses.
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Moodle 1.9
In the times before implementing a content repository, users of Moodle got files into Moodle one of two basic ways, through the web interface via upload, or via FTP into the Moodledata directory. Web interface Moodle 1.9.x In Moodle 1.9.13+ a user would follow the next steps to get a single file into Moodle and linked on the course. 1. 2. 3. 4. Click on Add a resource Select Link to a file or website Type in the resource name /course link text Click on Choose or upload a file
5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Click on Upload a file Click Choose file Select the file they want to upload Click on Upload this file Click on Choose under actions for the uploaded file Click on Save and return to course
FTP Moodle 1.9.x The alternate method was to use FTP to upload the file, which would usually involve the following steps Gavin Henrick Solutions Consultant http://www.somerandomthoughts.com 21
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Open the FTP client Connect to the Moodle site Browse to the correct folder for the course in the moodledata structure Drag/drop or upload the file to the Moodle site Swap to the web browser with the course showing Click on Add a resource Select Link to a file or website Type in the resource name /course link text Click on Choose or upload a file Click on Choose under actions for the required file Click on Save and return to course
In both these cases the process is simple and direct. First get the file into Moodle and then link to it/use it. Linking bulk uploaded files Moodle 1.9.x However, when a lot of files were being uploaded (usually via FTP or with a zip file into Moodle where it was unzipped), this changed things. The workflow 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on Add a resource Select Link to a file or website Type in the resource name /course link text Click on Choose or upload a file Click on Choose under actions for the required file Click on Save and return to course
So although the first file was 10 or 11 steps, bulk uploading made it a lot faster to link in the subsequent files so making the overall process neater.
Moodle 2
The new file picker and file system behind Moodle 2 changed the workflow for users. The upload of a file was linked to where it was being used, removing the old logic of upload then link/use. So what impact does this have? Web interface Moodle 2.x In Moodle 2+ a user would follow the next steps to get a single file into Moodle and linked on the course. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 22 Click on Add a resource Select File Type in the resource name /course link text Provide the Description Click on Add Click on Upload a file repository option Click Choose file Select the file they want to upload Click on Upload this file Click on Save and return to course Gavin Henrick Solutions Consultant http://www.somerandomthoughts.com
This is 10 steps again, with the key differences are that a text description is now required but the choose
when uploaded is automated and gone. So this will take a small bit longer.
FTP account Moodle 2.x There is no native FTP upload into the Moodle course like it was in Moodle 1.9.x. However if the File System repository plugin is enabled and the server is configured to allow ftp into the correct folder, FTP can work. The Files are not going into the Moodle course, but instead into an on-server simple file repository. It should be noted that giving FTP (or sFTP) access is a system administration task which is done outside of the Moodle site. The new method to use FTP to upload the file would involve the following steps 1. Open the FTP client 2. Connect to the Moodle site with the repository user credentials 3. Browse to the correct folder 4. Drag/drop or upload the file to the repository folder 5. Swap to the web browser with the course showing 6. Click on Add a resource 7. Select File 8. Type in the resource name /course link text 9. Type in the Description Gavin Henrick Solutions Consultant http://www.somerandomthoughts.com
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Click on Add Click on the folder name of the file repository option Click on the file they want to include Click on Save and return to course
The process here is longer for one file, as the user needs to fill out the description and also select the repository type to include the file - there are extra steps from Moodle 1.9. Linking bulk uploaded files Moodle 2.x The FTP process however, also benefits when a number of files are being added at once. When a lot of files were being uploaded via FTP to this file system repository this changed things big time. As the file picker remembers your last repository choice each time you go back in, the workflow becomes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click on Add a resource Select File Type in the resource name /course link text Type in the Description Click on Add Click on the file they want to include Click on Save and return to course
So this time it is one extra step with the description, however it is still nearly half as long as the single file uploaded via FTP.
Thoughts
So it comes down to whether the forcing of providing the extra description is worth the impact on the workflow. Once the users are used to the process I believe they will embrace this and new users will have no problem. Ultimately, I believe that the extra repositories that are now just one click away once configured, make up for any initial impact.
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For more information: Email gavin@somerandomthoughts.com Blog http://www.somerandomthoughts.com Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ghenrick LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinhenrick Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/ghenrick Book - http://www.moodleforbusinessbook.com/
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Explanation This setting by default is set to 120 seconds. This is the amount of time that file listings are cached locally when a user is browsing external repositories. By default this is enabled. Some repositories allow you to link to the item in their site. This enables a user to choose if they want the media copied into Moodle or not (assuming the repository offers that option). Where existing courses may have a need to access the legacy course files option, you need to enable this if you want the feature for new courses. This is not advisable.
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The difference between the first and second is subtle but specific. When the plugin is Enabled and visible it appears in the file picker and can be used to pick/, however when it is Enabled and hidden it does not appear in the File Picker.
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Integration feature through Moodle interface Browse Through Categories Search via keywords/tags Copy File into Moodle Public link to file in repository Dynamic link to pull file from repository on -demand Private link to secure file in repository Upload File into repo Replace File in repo Delete File in repo Appears in File Picker Has a Custom Resource Has an Assignment Type Has a specific Block Options
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Appendix 3 - Sources
The information gathered for this paper was taken from the various websites and documentation for each of the different services and the integration module as a best effort to detail the features and functionality. The following are tables of information with the links to the primary websites for each of the services. Where possible, confirmation of the features of the custom repositories was sought from the specific organisations and companies, most responded with clarification, not all did.
Default Repositories
External Systems Repositories Alfresco repository Box.net Dropbox Flickr Flickr Public Google Docs Merlot.org Picasa Web Album Amazon S3 WebDAV repository Wikimedia YouTube Videos Description http://www.alfresco.com http://www.box.net https://www.dropbox.com/ http://www.flickr.com/ http://www.flickr.com/ http://docs.google.com/ http://www.merlot.org http://picasa.google.com/ http://aws.amazon.com/s3/ n/a http://www.wikimedia.org/ http://www.youtube.com Contact Details Mike Churchward http://www.remote-learner.net/elis Simon Wilkinson http://www.equella.com
Custom Repositories
Repository ELIS (Alfresco) Company Remote-Learner
Equella
Pearson / Equella
HIVE
Kaltura
SharePoint
BFC Network
Amvonet
Amvonet
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www.SomeRandomThoughts.com (my blog) http://www.somerandomthoughts.com/blog/2011/09/09/official-moodle-mobile-app-for-iphonereleased/ (native iPhone app for Moodle) http://www.somerandomthoughts.com/blog/2011/07/28/moodlemoot-new-zealand-2011repositories-a-road-less-travelled/ (repositories presentation from NZ moodlemoot 2011) http://www.somerandomthoughts.com/blog/2010/06/15/ftp-files-into-moodle-2-0-with-therepository-api/ (how to ftp files into Moodle 2 for using in courses) http://www.somerandomthoughts.com/blog/2010/05/02/repositories/ (overview)
http://www.markdrechsler.com/ http://www.markdrechsler.com/?p=234 (Moodle 2.0 File Management) http://www.markdrechsler.com/?p=696 (Mahara as a content repository) http://www.markdrechsler.com/?cat=28 (Moodle 2.0 files an inconvenient truth)
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