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Howdy! I notice that [VIDEO-HOSTING SERVICE] is hosting tons of great content these days.
I'd like to embed [VIDEO-HOSTING SERVICE] videos in our course management system, Moodle. As you probably know, Moodle is gaining wide use and acceptance in K-16 internationally.If you're a Moodle supporter, please encourage Jodie at TeacherTube and James at Edublogs.tv, not to mention the folks at SchoolTube, to support Video Playlist Moodle Block development!
Right now, there is a Moodle block--which adds functionality to moodle--that enables easy creation of video playlists of YouTube videos. You can see it working online in the right hand column and more information appears here:
http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=919&filter=1
Is there any chance your programmers could customize the YouTube Video Playlist block for [VIDEO-HOSTING SERVICE]?
Paul:Update 03/01/2009: Yesterday, I received an email response from James Farmer. His response was "To be honest, not really now - we're focusing on other edublogs elements right now and have slated .tv for some work later in the year." So, I'll keep my fingers crossed that they might be able to get to it later this year.
Excellent work on the YouTube block for Moodle. Is there any chance you'd consider adjusting it for Edublogs.tv?
This is what the link to a video looks like...
http://edublogs.tv/play.php?vid=4076
Not knowing how to do this, I'm at your mercy.
My apologies if this email is unwanted. And regardless, kudos on your Video Playlist Moodle block.
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Xtendas freezing and sluggish with some web-based apps? It could be your browser. nComputing tech support suggested that IE doesn't like running several instances of itself, and may be causing the freezing with web apps and our Xtendas. At their suggestion, we downloaded sandboxie and pushed the application out to all of our Xtenda base machines. It seems to have alleviated the freezing when web apps are accessed on the extended desktop. We just pushed it out this week, but already we are seeing a difference. I am hopeful this did the trick.Get Sandboxie online at http://www.sandboxie.com/
In a nutshell, with sandboxie installed, programs run in an isolated environment and minimizes issues. REad more about it on the website. Its a free download.
Sandboxie runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer.
- Secure Web Browsing: Running your Web browser under the protection of Sandboxie means that all malicious software downloaded by the browser is trapped in the sandbox and can be discarded trivially.
- Enhanced Privacy: Browsing history, cookies, and cached temporary files collected while Web browsing stay in the sandbox and don't leak into Windows.
- Secure E-mail: Viruses and other malicious software that might be hiding in your email can't break out of the sandbox and can't infect your real system.
- Windows Stays Lean: Prevent wear-and-tear in Windows by installing software into an isolated sandbox.
Hello Miguel,
I’m part of NComputing’s technical support organization, and I saw that you’d posted something here (http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/02/ncomputing-trouble- ) regarding the use of Sandboxie when using NComputing.shooting.html No big issue, but it is a slight concern to me that the individuals you spoke with seem to have misinterpreted the original issue. I’d like to clarify (and respectfully ask for you to update this on your blog) that Internet Explorer has no inherent need to be sandboxed; in that specific case, it was that a specific Java script that was running inside of the website was not “multi-user friendly” and so the specific javascript had to be sandboxed, and it just so happened that the most expedient way of sandboxing the javascript was just to run the whole browser in a sandbox.
So, this was more of a corner-case than anything else. Internet Explorer 6 and higher is fully capable of running in a multi-user situation in almost every other respect; Microsoft’s own Terminal Services depends on IE being as multi-user friendly as possible. Like I said, it’s no big issue, I’m just trying to make sure that information about our technology is as technically accurate as possible.
Have a good day J
John C. Rippen
Sales Support Engineer
NComputing, Inc., USA
http://www.ncomputing.com/
Office: (+1) 530-229-0881 x309
Fax: (+1) 530-229-7634
Email: jrippen@ncomputing.com
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Note: The following is an article submission my Download a la Mode column for the TCEA TechEdge magazine. As it is still in draft, I welcome constructive feedback and suggestions in the comments.
Download a la Mode: Netbooks Go Viral
Creative Commons (SA-NC-Attrib) Copyright 2009 Miguel Guhlin
Those new Dell Minis--one of the several netbooks around--are sweet to have. A colleague recently shared, "I just bought one of those, and took it to a meeting. The technology director asked me, 'Is that a district laptop?'" She paused in her story. "That was the beginning of a longer conversation about connecting non-district equipment to the district network. I didn't know about spyware and all that other crud." The question is one I've considered often, and that comes up on education listservs from time to time. This article shares some free solutions that work on Windows Operating system that can be installed at no charge on Windows computers (netbooks, desktops or laptops).
The questions this article seeks to answer for you are:
INVASION OF THE NETBOOKS
Over the last year, we have seen a proliferation of netbooks. In fact, at work, I have evaluated the Dell Mini, the Asus Eee, as well as laid hands on an Acer Aspire One. Just this evening, a chief technology officer for a West Texas school district asked, "Which netbook would you recommend for use?" This is an important question since netbooks are coming to be seen as more portable, less expensive and more versatile than tablet PCs, Palm handhelds and more.
In fact, netbooks are being seen as the solution for 1 to 1 initiatives, both for students and teachers. Some fascinating discussions have centered around the disappearance of Palm handheld computers.
Rumors abound and many districts are starting to ask, What would happen if the Palms used for Wireless Generation based assessments could no longer be purchased or replaced? Will netbooks be the answer, enabling school districts to provide a low cost computing device? Another hot question is, Will Pearson's TestNAV client run on a netbook? At the TCEA 2009 State Conference, it was a question one computer-maker was trying to answer, citing their new product line for a netbook with a slightly larger screen so as to meet TestNav requirements.
Two resources to catch up on netbooks appear below:
Deciding what to do with the Dell Minis is going to be one of the top questions school districts have to ask. While many netbooks come with GNU/Linux which forestalls the spread of spyware/malware/viruses, the preference in places where MS Windows IS the only thing people know is high.
NETBOOKS: VIRUS/SPYWARE LAUNCH PADS
In handling several Dell Minis, the main complaint I heard from the technology folks was, "I can't allow this out there because there is no way to manage it on the network." The complaint is valid in a world where viruses and malware spread from unprotected Windows systems to others over the network. This PC World article points that out, "This is a threat that IT managers are just beginning to recognize," says Brian Wolfe, a security analyst at Lazarus Technologies Inc., an IT consulting service in Itasca, Ill.
The PC World article also shares:
Minimized hardware resources force ultraportables -- and their users -- to cope with weakened system software. Most models ship with a stripped-down Linux operating system or, in some cases, Microsoft Corp.'s previous-generation operating system, Windows XP. Newer and more capable operating systems, which also tend to have the latest internal security safeguards, demand processing and storage power that ultraportables typically lack, Wolfe notes.
Ultraportables' reduced resources also limit their ability to run add-on security software, such as data encryption and anti-malware tools. With processing power, internal memory and storage space all at a premium, it can be difficult -- sometimes impossible -- to squeeze security software onto an ultraportable. "As a result, the machines are often sent out into the world with little or no protection," Wolfe says.
The best option, of course, is professional development on the use of a netbook for staff and students (these are so inexpensive that I have no doubt that Parent-Teacher Organizations will want to buy them for students to use in and out of school; I've already had one request for this!). Some quick ideas:
We do not allow students to use a personal laptop on campus. For two main reasons:
As director of instructional technology for a large urban district in Texas, past president of the state-wide Technology Education Coordinators group in one of the largest U.S. technology educator organizations (TCEA), Miguel Guhlin continues to model the use of emerging technologies in schools. You can read his published writing or engage him in conversation via his blog, Around the Corner, at http://mguhlin.org
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We have great concerns of Palms decision to discontinue its OS and Palms as we know them. Our Wireless Generation TPRI systems run on E2s. We need to replace about 8 of them but the E2’s are getting hard to find and even if we do, TPRI program may change to run on a different OS. We are looking have purchased the ASUS EEE-PC for our principals and kids at library for checkout and they have become an underground hit. At 300 each for a laptop with 160 gig drives, seems crazy to buy a E2 if we may have to change anyway. Looking for alternate software the runs on windows laptop for TPRI. Wireless Generation has been no help in answering my questions. Do you know of a different TPRI solution or do you know what Wireless generation will do for new OS roll-out.And another:
Just curious if anyone else is having a hard time finding Palm handhelds (specifically the Tungsten E2). We use them quite a bit for TPRI and PDAS (using Eduphoria), but it seems like none of our vendors can get them for us. And after reading/hearing the following (http://www.palminfocenter.In response to the first request for help, another district responded:com/news/9654/colligan-no-new- ) I don't have a very good feeling about finding them anytime soon. I emailed a friend who works for Wireless Generation, the company that makes our TPRI software, and she said, "Wireless Generation is currently developing and investigating the development of mCLASS for use with other devices" but didn't give me any details.palm-handhelds/
We currently use Wireless Generation (W.G.) & PALMS but are investigating using istation’s online program as an alternative to TPRI & W. G. (see attachment for the news release on TEA approving istation for TPRI). If your district has experience using this program, I’d love to hear your opinion.Right now, several school districts appear to be dependent on Wireless Generation for numerous assessments that impact quite a few students and teachers. Wireless Generation's products are dependent on the Palm handheld device, which according to rumor and discussion is on its way out.
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Problem: In Moodle, only the administrator can add users. This means a teacher lacks the authority/permissions in Moodle to add or remove students to their Moodle course. If you want to give teachers the rights to do add/remove students, then there are challenges. Read this Moodle Lesson for more detail.Solution:
How do you add students to Moodle? If you add them manually through bulk uploads, you (as administrator) are stuck maintaining the list. If you want to connect to LDAP or an external database (e.g. MySQL), then how does that work?
studentID#@student.districtname.net
which looks like this:
s333948@student.districtname.net
update mdl_user.emailThis will disable your student's email accounts. This is important because if you have fake emails for students, the administrator may get error messages for every fake email address...when I first started, I was getting hundreds of emailed error messages...imaging wading through those on an iPod Touch screen!! By disabling student email accounts in Moodle, those messages aren't sent out anymore.
set emailstop='1'
where email like '%@student.districtname.net'
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Writing, to me is so intimate. Even if it's not about your deepest emotions, it's still a little part of your soul, spilled out on paper (or shall I say spilled out on the web).Give this new blogger some encouragement! My advice for anyone starting a blog is simple:
I have always kept my writing to myself. I recall having to safeguard my childhood diary from my older brother, who would always try to sneak a peak every chance he got. While I find value and appreciation in writing and recognize that it is vital for my growth - I still remain skeptical of my talent as a writer.
Source: Indistinguishable From Magic
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.Personally, I'll take the magic but settle for the tech.
-Arthur C. Clarke
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Millions of business and consumer users of Google's e-mail service were hit by an outage on Tuesday. The service went offline at 0930 GMT with Google saying it was "working hard to resolve this problem". More than 113 million people use Google mail worldwide, according to comScore.So, do you have any information stored in Gmail you can't access from anywhere else? What steps will you take to mirror that information elsewhere? While Richard Stallman probably didn't mean it just this way (but he may have, that's up to interpretation), his point is valid...especially right now:
Source: BBC News
Stallman says cloud computing forces people to hand over control of their information to a third party. His objections echo his longstanding belief in non-proprietary software. "One reason you should not use Web applications to do your computing is that you lose control," he said. "It's just as bad as using a proprietary program.
"Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's Web server, you're defenseless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software," he said.
Source: Read Cnet article
Putty. In. Google's. Hands. I wonder how school districts who are using GoogleApps are affected by this outage. It's still early morning in Texas, but if I'm up, there must be others who wish they could access their email, calendars and get to working!
Ok. So when is Gmail coming back up?
Update: 5:42 AM (Central Time in Texas!)
Gmail is now back up. Darn, that inconvenienced for about 40 minutes. Ok, forget what Stallman said, isn't Gmail great? ;->
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SchoolNet Merges with Campusware
Provider of Leading Online Grade Book: GradeSpeed
New York, NY - February 24, 2009 – SchoolNet®, Inc., the award-winning education technology company that helps school districts improve efficiency and increase academic achievement, today announced a merger with Campusware™, the provider of GradeSpeed™, the leading web-based and standards-aligned district grade book with attendance, scheduling, parent access and customizable online reports. GradeSpeed can be used as part of Campusware’s student information system (SIS) called CourseLinks™, or can interface seamlessly with any SIS, allowing the easy exchange of data between both programs.
GradeSpeed is used at hundreds of school districts in the United States, including the largest installations anywhere of district-wide grade books.
This strategic merger gives both SchoolNet and Campusware a unique opportunity to enhance the products and services they provide. SchoolNet and Campusware already share customers such as Chicago Public Schools and San Antonio’s Northside ISD.
“We are continually looking for solutions that help school districts improve efficiency and increase academic achievement,” said Jonathan D. Harber, SchoolNet’s Chief Executive Officer. “GradeSpeed is by far the most scalable and celebrated of grade books around the country. In this new economy, school districts are being asked to do more with less. Combining the power of an Instructional Management System with a web-based grade book will enable districts to align their strategy from the board room to the class room to the living room – and save money by eliminating non-integrated systems.”
“Thousands of educators already know the power of GradeSpeed, our online grade book,” said Bobby Knuth, Founder of Campusware. “We are proud to have been approached by SchoolNet for this merger, and to be the online grade book provider to add to SchoolNet’s wide spectrum of education products and services.”
“SchoolNet and Campusware have both provided great products and services to San Antonio’s Northside ISD over the past few years,” said Kelly Smith, Northside’s Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services. “We anticipate great things to come with their merger. Both companies bring strengths and resources to the table which, when combined, will certainly help our students, teachers, and administrators continue to be very successful in the classroom.”
GradeSpeed links directly with a district’s SIS and enables teachers to enter standard aligned assignments and record grades easily online as well as to create progress reports, take attendance, and manage seating charts. Administrators have separate tools to review summary reports as well as teachers’ grade books. And, through GradeSpeed’s ParentConnection module, parents can log in to see their student's grades and attendance, and even set up triggers to be notified by phone, SMS text, or email.
About Campusware
Campusware, based out of San Antonio, Texas, has been making the grading process easier with GradeSpeed since 1989. GradeSpeed is used by teachers, administrators, and parents in over 270 districts, including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, and Nashville. In addition to the grade book software and SIS, additional modules are available to districts including a parental access portal, discipline tracking, attendance, lesson plan management, custom report cards, and more. HYPERLINK "http://www.gradespeed.net"http://www.gradespeed.net
About SchoolNet
SchoolNet, Inc. is the leader in Data-Driven Decision Making for K12 school districts. SchoolNet’s award-winning Instructional Management Suite (IMS) helps districts improve efficiency and increase student achievement. The Instructional Management Suite offers modules for Assessment, Reporting, Curriculum Deployment, Professional Development Management, Advanced Analytics, Parent Portals, and Enterprise Dashboards. SchoolNet's solutions are used successfully by many of the nation’s largest school districts including Chicago Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia. SchoolNet has been recognized by the Inc. 500 List and Deloitte’s Fast 50 and as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country. For more information, please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.schoolnet.com"www.schoolnet.com.
Media Contact
Francesca Maso SchoolNet, Inc. Direct 646 496 9030 HYPERLINK "mailto:fmaso@schoolnet.com"fmaso@schoolnet.com
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Title: Online Course Facilitation: Developing Skills for 21st Century Learning
Abstract: Online facilitators take on many important roles and wear different managerial, technical, social, and pedagogical hats. This session will introduce you to these roles as well as to a cutting-edge initiative that San Antonio ISD has implemented with PBS TeacherLine to create a district-wide online professional development program.
Track: Professional Development
Presentation Type: Breakout
Suggested Audience: K-12 Education Practitioners, Higher Education Practitioners, Professional Trainers,Teachers, Administrators, Support/Technical Staff, Curriculum Specialists
Session Date: Wednesday, Apr 08, 2009
Session Time: 2:45-3:30pm
Session Location: Bayview C
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ENGAGE THE BODY: Wii Get Fit--Together!
Copyright 2009 Miguel Guhlin
"Miguel," my Dad asked me when I was about seven years old, "what did you do to Grandpa's telephone?" I stared with some fear at the old telephone--an heirloom--I had dismantled, seeking to take it apart and put it together again so it would work. Now, after years of surviving class where I have had to sit still and use my imagination rather than my hands, "bodily-kinesthetic" is not a term I would use to describe myself. Yet, while that term does not describe me, it does describe a large population of our students. These learners want to "jump in" and play, preferring to pull stuff apart rather than look at diagrams about how it all works.
When someone says, "I have to walk to think," that's exactly the wrong kind of approach for me now. Yet, what if we could engage bodily-kinesthetic learners in school using new technologies? Some Texas school districts, like Gainesville ISD, are using video games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Sing It, Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, as well as considering the use of Wii Music for use with autistic students who have an affinity for music. But, does this really work?
ABOUT THE WII
The WII comes with a balance board that can do a variety of things, including calculating your body mass index, weight, as well as measure shifts in your balance. You can choose from short workouts that run from a minute to 10 minutes. These workouts include strength training, aerobics, yoga, jogging and balance, push-ups, and Hula Hoops. Many are using the Wii as an alternative to outside physical exercise. If you are using a Wii in your school district, please write TechEdge and let us know!
FINDING WHAT WORKS
"I use the Wii in my Physical Education classes," shares innovative educator Christopher J. Cain, Panther Run Elementary Physical Education. "Primarily, I'm using it on rainy days in the classroom that I am provided." The Wii is even finding its way into adaptive Physical Education classes, shared Kari Rhame, Deer Park ISD. Yet, is the enthusiastic embrace of the Wii for Fitness modelling bad habits or attitudes about exercise? Cain suggests otherwise, sharing that the Wii "...allows for students of any fitness level to be able to participate and have fun doing so. We've even had our principal in the classes playing against the students. Kids really enjoy it. We all find it to be a greater use of PE time than watching the old magic school bus videos w/ everyone sitting down."
DOES THE WII REALLY WORK?
According to Gainsville ISD's Instructional Technology staff member, Jennifer Coleman, "Criteria to measure success is participation, classmate cooperation, and skills improvement and progress." Perhaps the main benefit of using the Wii for Fitness isn't a focus on fitness, but rather, use of technology to encourage adaptive Physical Education students cooperation. Attendance also appears to be up, though Coleman is unsure of whether it's because of the technology use and students' desire to participate.
While the Wii has generally been perceived as a new way to get fit while remaining indoors, there may be some health challenges. A recent Fox News (12/23/2008;http://tinyurl.com/7xdbyx ) story shared these points:
- There has been a sudden increase in injuries resulting from Wii use, especially those playing tennis or running games. These games are particularly injurious because they may result in stretching or tearing your tendons as a result of quick, unexpected movements.
- Some fitness games on the Wii are also bringing about knee injuries.
Research is increasing on the use of games. One study sought to "compare the energy expenditure of adolescents when playing sedentary and new generation active computer games." The results?Playing new generation active computer games uses significantly more energy than playing sedentary computer games but not as much energy as playing the sport itself. The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise in children.
Source: British Medical Journal - http://tinyurl.com/cvry5g
Several Japanese companies--such as NEC, Panasonic, and Hitachi--are considering launch of a Wii Fit Check Channel in April, 2009 (Source: Nintendo NonStop; http://tinyurl.com/aqr3us). This would enable Wii Fit users to send data to a central server. Health care professionals would then offer custom suggestions on how to improve users' fitness level. In the face of the British Medical Journal's research study, could these types of technologies be a disruptive innovation that moves us beyond reliance on school-based health and physical education experts?
ENHANCING COOPERATION AND PARTICIPATION
The combination of technology and exercise, gaming and cooperation with increased participation on the part of children could yield benefits beyond cultivating new fitness habits.
Christopher J. Cain, for example, emphasizes that all his students participate when they are shadow-boxing with the Wii. "If we are boxing," shares Chris, "one student holds the remote and boxes one round, while the other students shadow box in their personal space. I rotate the students at the end of each round. At the end of the class – students have basically shadow-boxed for 30 minutes…great workout. I do the same simulation of activities w/ Wii Fit."
This kind of workout can translate into, according to the British Medical Journal study, to an equivalent of around 27 pounds per year, or 1,830 calories burned for 12 hours of play-time per week.
Is it possible to network Wii devices to achieve a more collaborative approach to getting fit? Could we one day be playing World of Warcraft--with all its benefits of fostering leadership and team skills needed in the business world--using our Wii Fit devices? Only time will tell whether technology convergence will affect traditional student achievement goals in physical education, fitness and learning.
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Reinventing Leadership Online
Image Source: http://weblogs.cltv.com/news/opinion/mcclendon/reinvent.jpg"Yikes! I feel for Ms. Gerald," wrote one teacher in an online learning course of her principal, "being at work until 10:30 pm. On top of working, we all have our home lives too!" This comment was in the midst of an active online learning course where participants were online as late as midnight participating in the conversation, or up as early as 5:00 AM. Did they have to do this? No. They were engaged, excited about discovering each other online.
The campus principal who learns online with her staff sends a powerful message about the value of online learning environments and their use in schools.
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Tyranny of Competence
Source: http://www.cold-moon.com/images/Motivators/motivators.htmChatting with a friend about losses in staff in my own office spurred a return remark. "You think you got it bad?" asked a close friend, whom we'll call "James." He continued, "I've lost half my team and I'm in a bigger district than you that's growing!"
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The first batch is about the basic of Moodle.
Let’s start with a 5 minute introduction to Moodle as a Lego analogy - what is it, what are its main features, the thinking behind it and some facts on the world of Moodle - watch video (length 5:04)
There is a shorter version of ‘Moodle explained using Lego”? - (watch video - length 2:43) or even a slideshow - click here to access it.
Of course, you can look at this older and less ‘funky’ explanation of Moodle - (watch video - length 9:38)
This clip explains the main ‘roles’ of people in Moodle - worth a watch to get the idea - (watch video - length 2:42)
Then, you are ready to login (at least the community of Belmont City College…) - (watch video - length 1:14)
Once logged in, you can start creating a course - here is how you do that - (watch video - length 7:32)
For more basic information about the enrolment options, see this clip - (watch video - length 3:35)
Ready to edit your course? See the clip about the magic ‘Turn editing on’ button - (watch video - length 4:45)
The second batch of 2 Minute Moodles looks at how to work with files, folders and other common starting features.
See how to navigate through a Moodle site using ‘breadcrumbs’ - watch video (length 2:48)
Learn how to keep an eye on the activity of course participants - watch video (length 4:11)
Just how to add files as a teacher (or administrator) - watch video (length 3:17)
Adding labels can be very handy to break up the screen - watch video (length 1:33)
Add a simple text page - watch video (length 1:32)
To answer a popular question ‘how do I add a website link’ watch this clip - watch video (length 2:36)
See how quite simple it is to add your own webpage to your course - watch video (length 6:07)
Just how do you de-clutter the screen and display a folder of resource - watch video (length 2:04)
For some general info and tips on working with files and folders have a look below - watch video (length 2:39)
(New) How to embed a video from YouTube or other video sharing sites - watch video (length 2:29)
(New) How to add a video to a webpage in Moodle - watch video (length 2:08)
The third batch looks at how to use popular communication tools in Moodle
Have a look how to open a (very popular) chatroom - watch video (length 2:34)
See how simple it really is to set up and run a forum (examples provided) - watch video (length 6:46)
Learn how to open a dialogue (non-standard in Moodle 1.9 but useful, examples) - watch video (length 5:23)
When enabled, messaging in Moodle is pretty easy - watch video (length 2:14)
The humble wiki is a hugely versatile staple of Moodle - watch video (length 6:36)
Ever experienced the effect of blogs on students’ literacy? Here is how to blog with Moodle - watch video (length 3:04)
The fourth batch covers Moodle’s main evaluation tools.
Set up a choice activity, often a starting point for many Moodlers - watch video (length 5:05)
Quizzes in Moodle are renowned for their range of options, flexibility and management tools. See it for yourself - watch video (length 11:21; not quite 2 minutes I know…)
Setting, submission and management of assignments in Moodle is not difficult - watch video (length 8:07)
Quick and sassy poll often has all we need to quickly gather accurate data - watch video (length 2:46)
And here is a clip on that Swiss Army Knife of tools called database (a communication, collaboration and evaluation tool) - watch video (length 12:04)
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Moodle-Google integration:Update: 02/26/2009
Moodle-GoogleApps IntegrationMoodlerooms and Google have worked together to build a state of the art integration. The 1.0 version of the integration provides:
1. Moodle users are automatically created in Google Apps (Google Docs, Calendar, and Gmail).
2. When you log in to Moodle, you are automatically logged in to Google Apps.
3. A Gmail block in Moodle displays your latest Gmail messages when you login to the Moodle Front Page.
4. A Google Apps block on the Moodle Front Page displays links to your Google Start Page, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Gmail.
5. A Google Widget shows a link to Moodle on the Google side.
Single Sign-on API - SAML-based Single Sign-On (SSO) provides full control over the authorization and authentication of user accounts that access web based applications (like GMail or Calendar). Available to Premier Edition only. Learn more about SAML SSO Reference.To set this up properly and create the SSO, I would have to have to be using my GoogleApps for Education setup (which I have but not at the moment). More details on setup appear here. To be honest, I probably won't go that far at this point...no need.
Google Apps Education Edition - "Moodle-Google"
Google Apps is an online and web-based office productivity (documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations a la Powerpoint, etc.) suite from Google that has free and premium services. Google Apps Education has features of the Premium service but is free for school districts that apply for it and their users. Moodle-Google is the name given to the integration of Google Apps into Moodle, with the key feature of combining their login procedure so that when a user logs into Moodle, they are automatically logged into the Google Apps account that has already been created for them and all they need to do is use the Moodle link to gain access.
Google Apps represents one of the most important examples of so-called "WEB 2.0" or "Cloud Computing" by providing productivity applications with collaboration features and personal document storage from any Internet web browser on any public, private or borrowed computer.
This wiki will try to provide direction for those who want to use Google Apps as well as those who want to integrate it with Moodle.
Setup Single Sign-on Integration of Google Apps for Education and Moodle
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