moodle

The 2.1 Beta version of Portable Moodle, also known as Poodle is now available to download.

We are releasing this version as a Beta because the 2.x versions of Moodle have increased server requirements.  As a result, the Miniserver (the platform Poodle is built upon) does not meet those requirements.  In order to get a functioning 2.x Poodle we had to bypass some of the PHP modules that Moodle is now requiring.  This Beta version of Poodle uses the following software:

• PortableApps v1.6
• Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition 3.6.3
• Sumatra PDF Portable 1.0.1
• Moodle 2.1 (Build: 20110701)
• MoodleStart.exe 1.0
• The miniServer 21 v2 (Modified to run PHP 5.3.6)

Please be aware that the following PHP modules (which are not included in Poodle) are required for a proper installation/upgrade of a Moodle.  Any Moodle module or functionality built on these PHP modules will probably not function well in Poodle.

• curl
• ssl
• intl
• soap

Documentation of the upgrade process can be found on the MAF-LT forums.  Additionally, MAF-LT is interested in releasing development of the Poodle to the greater Moodle community.  If you are interested in the Poodle project in this capacity, please contact us.

On September 23rd, MAF-LT conducted a 40 minute presentation about Poodle to an audience of educators focused on the use of technology for education, especially for distance learning in the majority world.

View the Presentation | Find out about CEET (the sponsoring organization for the presentation)

Poodle, (Portable Moodle) is a free opensource software package that runs Moodle and Moodle courses off a local computer. Poodle may be installed on a computer or run off a USB stick (4 gig) or CD-ROM (slowly). Poodle allows for the offline delivery of course content. It is helpful for those teachers or students whose access to internet-connected computers is limited or expensive. Poodle allows the teacher to create course content offline and the student to read all course material and instructions offline. The students can also take quizzes that are intended for self-assessment while offline. Poodle does not send information to a Moodle site and does not sync with a Moodle site. Poodle can also serve as an offline Moodle course and/or Moodle theme development platform.

 Using Poodle, it should be possible to speed up client side Moodle theme development.  In order to run a local instance of Moodle, it is necessary to have a local web server (with php) and a local database server.  You can set up a local development environment with tools like the excellent XAMPP.  However, with Poodle, we have taken the trouble to already set up an environment that works on Portable Apps.  So, we are going to begin testing localized theme development for Moodle (using Portable Apps instead of a web server running on a different machine).  Our aim is to see if the Poodle will help us develop themes locally, in an expedited fashion. Stay tuned to hear about the results.

This afternoon I released version 1.2 of Portable Moodle, also known as Poodle.
This is a maintenance release to upgrade internal applications to more current versions. The latest version of Poodle uses the following software:

• PortableApps v1.6
• Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition 3.6.3
• Sumatra PDF Portable 1.0.1
• Moodle 1.9.8+ (Build: 20100407)
• MoodleStart.exe 1.0
• The miniServer 21 v2

Full documentation of the upgrade process can be found on our documentation wiki.

MAF-LT is excited to announce the official release of Poodle, a portable Moodle solution!  Poodle was developed out of the need to be able to view existing Moodle content in an offline setting.  Poodle helps to bridge the gap in areas where internet access is either not reliable or not affordable.

Please visit the Poodle information page for more information.

Here is a response about Poodle from one of our partners:

Thanks so much for all your work at MAF on this project.  We had a board meeting the other day for Horizon, and many are excited about this project.  It will be useful for students that don’t have access to a personal computer and want to study. They can go to a café and use the Poodle to plug in and work. It will be useful for students in the secured countries that cannot identify themselves and want to study in a secure environment.

I will keep you posted on the use and progress of Poodle as we move forward.

Please express our gratitude to all those at MAF for their careful and long work on this project.  Keep up the good work for the Kingdom of God.  We deeply appreciate all your efforts.

It is fascinating for me to continue to discover the various ministry opportunities that MAF LT has stepped into around the globe. Several of our staff serve in remote parts of the world quietly building capacity for local situations. The following entry tells of one such situation.

MAF LT is transitioning out of assisting a medical college in North Central Asia because the workers there have successfully applied the LT instruction and tools given to them.  Back in 2003, MAF began working with an organization working on retraining doctors and nurses with modern evidence-based medicine.  This USAID-sponsored humanitarian project in the region had been providing training to doctors and nurses primarily through seminars but then saw the need to transition to a distance-education model.  MAF LT worked with this organization to develop their capacity to create and deliver DE courses that allow doctors and nurses to acquire new medical skills and knowledge while continuing their practices in the small villages that dot this region. Doctor with Patient

There is a project at the Open University in the U.K called Offline Moodle. Here’s the new idea which as in most “new” ideas isn’t actually new at all. It was an idea that was discussed years ago in the little LT building in Redlands, California by our very own LT staff. I remember my father used to tell me “there’s nothing new under the sun” I would argue with him vigorously, I discovered much later he was quoting out of Ecclesiastes.

The original LT discussion was something like this, “wouldn’t it be great if we could connect to the internet and do a very simple ‘push and pull’ operation on selected content sitting up on the Moodle server ? Effectually allowing one to participate in an online Moodle course in an offline way. It would be a solution for people who live in areas where the internet connectivity is very intermittent and of limited bandwidth. We didn’t have the resources or the will to pursue it at the time but like clothing fashion if you wait long enough usually it will circle back around.