Moodle 1.9.5+Liberal Arts Edition v1.01

Base Code

The source code that the LAE is based on. See release notes (LAE_readme.txt) in the download for specific version information.

  • Moodle 1.9.5+

The Liberal Arts Edition v1.01 includes a critical security fix backported from Moodle 1.9.6. This fix is also available as a standalone download (containing the fixed file and a patch file)

Included Extensions

These extensions are included as part of the LAE package, and are installed when Moodle is installed. Text in brackets indicates the college responsible for maintaining the code.

  • Filtered Course Block [Smith] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • A block that allows admins to setup filtered lists of courses (e.g. courses filtered by course term, a category, or some arbitrary condition)
  • Quickmail [Smith] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • A block used to quickly send emails to members of a class.
  • SimplePIE RSS Parser [Lafayette] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • Replaces the malfunctioning, deprecated Magpie RSS Parser that Moodle currently uses).
  • TinyMCE 2 Integration [Reed & Luther] ZIP / TAR |  Editor Full Install ZIP / TAR.GZ
    • Replaces HTML Area (the deprecated WYSIWYG editor within Moodle) the TinyMCE editor.
    • Notes: Dual support for  TinyMCE and CKEditor has been delayed to a future release, as has NanoGong integration.
    • Alert: Integrating TinyMCE 2 into Moodle by hand (by downloading the ZIP/TAR files and uploading them to their corresponding directories) is a challenge; we suggest you use the full LAE install or the “Editor” install, which includes a vanilla version of Moodle with the TinyMCE editor baked in.

Download the Liberal Arts Edition

The LAE v1.01 is available for download as a tarball or zip file; be sure to read the readme file (LAE_readme.txt) before installing or upgrading LAE edition.

Recommended Extensions

Recommended extensions are not installed as part of the core LAE edition, but are in use by all of our schools. Extensions listed here offer additional, optional functionality.

Asterisked (*) items indicate code we plan to integrate into a future LAE release.

  • Assignment Zip* [Reed] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • A tool that allows the bulk download of assignment files as a ZIP file.
    • Note: Requires ZIP support through PHP
  • Anonymous Forums [Reed] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • Anonymizes forum posts so that the author name is not publicly shown.
    • Alert: Currently works only with new installs.
  • Census Report [Kalamazoo] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • An administrative report that audits Moodle and displays a statistics about active courses, students and faculty.
  • Common Moodle Patches* [Luther] DIFF
    • A collection of commonly used patches (including the max grade patch) for improving Moodle usability.
  • Gradebook Max Grade patch* [Lafayette] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • Increases the maximum allowable grade from 100 to 250.
  • Simple File Upload* [work needed, Colgate & Reed] DIFF / ZIP / TAR
    • An add-on that offers a straight-forward upload option for adding files to a Moodle course that bypasses the normal (and more cumbersome) file upload procedure.
    • Alert: Simple File Upload currently allow users to upload a file, but they can’t update the resource associated with that file without reloading it. We’ve identified the problem and are working on a fix.
  • Scheduler [Lafayette] ZIP / TAR
    • A module that allows faculty to setup meeting times for students, who can then sign up for those times individually or in groups.

Tools

  • Test User Accounts [Kalamazoo] CSV
    • A CSV of 100 users that can be used as test data in Moodle courses. You’ll need to add your own password for these users.
  • Random Course Generator [Kalamazoo] ZIP / TAR
    • Randomly generates 750 courses in Moodle, each with randomly-created assignments, and assigns teachers and students to them.

Recommended Third Party Extensions

The following modules are not included in Moodle LAE v1.01 but are used extensively by member schools.

  • Feedback/Questionnaire
    • Feedback and Questionnaire are the two most popular survey/polling tools for Moodle.  Feedback is scheduled to be folded into core as part of Moodle 2.0, but there has recently been debate in the community about going with Questionnaire instead.
    • Schools in CLAMP are using both modules with good results, but given the uncertain future of these modules (in terms of which is going in to core) we have decided  not to include them in the LAE v1.0 build.
    • Feedback: http://docs.moodle.org/en/Feedback_module
    • Questionnaire: http://docs.moodle.org/en/Questionnaire_module