What's New in Moodle 2?

Navigation and Settings Blocks

The Navigation and Settings blocks have been completely revised and are now visible on every page in Moodle 2.

The navigation block gets you where you need to go in Moodle.

The Settings block displays links and options that are based on whatever content is on the screen.

- Blocks can be added to any page in a Moodle course.

- Blocks can be docked.

 When blocks are docked, a  vertical tab will appear along the left side of the web page.

 You can dock and undock blocks using the dock icon.

- When you move your mouse over the docked block, it will open up with the same options before it was docked.

- Docking your blocks allows for more organization.

File Management

The functionality and interface for adding course content and handling files are redesigned in Moodle 2.

The new "File picker" gives you the options to select files from your computer, server files (files already uploaded to Moodle), recently viewed files, or your private files.

There is no "File" area in your course in Moodle 2.

The new interface for file management is very user friendly.

Drag & Drop Files

Drag a file from your desktop or folder and drop it into Moodle 2.

Activity Completion

Activity Completion is a new feature in Moodle 2.

It enables students to decide if they have finished a resource or activity and mark it as complete.

Overall progress through the course can be shown to both the instructor and the student.

Student view:


Instructor view:

TinyMCE Editor

The new editor in Moodle 2 is called TinyMCE Editor.

TinyMCE allows you to easily add equations, pictures, embed media, or links.

Moodle 2 Editor:

Moodle 1.9 Editor:

Conditional Activities ("Restrict Access")

Instructors are able to restrict availability of activities or resources to students using Conditional Activities.

Activities can be based on one or more conditions being met, such as a date or a grade earned.

Course Completion

Using Course Completion in Moodle 2 allows for a course to be marked as finished according to specified criteria.

Course Completion Blocks can be used to display course completion status to both students and instructors.

User Blogs

Students and instructors are now allowed to comment on other users blogs.

You can also search and read other students blogs by using the 'Site Blogs' link located under the Navigation block.

Messaging

-A new feature in Moodle 2 is the upgraded messaging system.

Notification methods include email, chat, a pop-up window, private messages, and forum posts.

Users are also allowed to configure notification methods for incoming messages.

Comments Block

- The Comments block allows students and instructors to give feedback from one another.

The Comments block can be placed directly on activity pages, such as assignments.

Quiz

In Moodle 2 the Quiz module offers a much-improved interface and easier navigation for students taking the quiz.

A Quiz Navigation block shows a timer and the number of questions in the quiz.

The look of the 'Choose a question type to add' has changed in Moodle 2.

New types of questions have been added:

- Calculated simple

- Calculated multichoice

Question types that are NO longer available in Moodle 2:

- Image Target

- Ordering

- File Response

- Regular Expression

- Drag and drop questions

Activity Chooser

Toggle back and forth between the old or new activity/resource menu.

Choose the menu style you are confortable using.

Activity Chooser on:

Activity Chooser off:

Icons

Moodle 2 offers new icons on the course outline that makes creating your course easier.

The Duplicate icon allows instructors to duplicate assignments, test, labels, and much more.

  The Dock Block icon allows instructors to dock blocks to a vertical tab that will appear along     

 the left side of the web page.

The Personalized Learning Designer allows educators to monitor user performance through

  customizable alerts and notifications.

Lessons

A lesson can be added to your course outline as an activity.

The lesson activity module enables a teacher to deliver content and/or practice activities in interesting and flexible ways. A teacher can use the lesson to create a linear set of content pages or instructional activities that offer a variety of paths or options for the learner. In either case, teachers can choose to increase engagement and ensure understanding by including a variety of questions, such as multiple choice, matching and short answer. Depending on the student's choice of answer and how the teacher develops the lesson, students may progress to the next page, be taken back to a previous page or redirected down a different path entirely.

A lesson may be graded, with the grade recorded in the gradebook.

Blackboard Collaborate

Wimba is now called Blackboard Collaborate.

Blackboard Collaborate is a live Classroom that allows students and instructors to meet synchronously online, using multi-way audio and video, application sharing, and content display, enabling instructors to add vitally important elements of interaction that simply cannot be provided in a text-based course. Sessions within Live Classroom may be recorded for future review.

Rooms are either instructor-led (only instructors have presenter rights), or presentation rights may be shared by both students and instructors (designed for student collaboration in the absence of an instructor).

External Tool

An External Tool can be added as an activity to your course outline.

The external tool activity module enables students to interact with learning resources and activities on other web sites. For example, an external tool could provide access to a new activity type or learning materials from a publisher.

To create an external tool activity, a tool provider which supports LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is required. A teacher can create an external tool activity or make use of a tool configured by the site administrator.

External tool activities differ from URL resources in a few ways: External tools are context aware i.e. they have access to information about the user who launched the tool, such as institution, course and name

External tools support reading, updating, and deleting grades associated with the activity instance

External tool configurations create a trust relationship between your site and the tool provider, allowing secure communication between them

SCORM Package

A SCORM package can be added as an activity.

A SCORM package is a collection of files which are packaged according to an agreed standard for learning objects. The SCORM activity module enables SCORM or AICC packages to be uploaded as a zip file and added to a course.

Content is usually displayed over several pages, with navigation between the pages. There are various options for displaying content in a pop-up window, with a table of contents, with navigation buttons etc. SCORM activities generally include questions, with grades being recorded in the gradebook.

SCORM activities may be used

- For presenting multimedia content and animations

- As an assessment tool

IMS Content Package

An IMS content package is a collection of files which are packaged according to an agreed standard so they can be reused in different systems. The IMS content package module enables such content packages to be uploaded as a zip file and added to a course as a resource.

Content is usually displayed over several pages, with navigation between the pages. There are various options for displaying content in a pop-up window, with a navigation menu or buttons etc.

An IMS content package may be used for presenting multimedia content and animations.