Super Mashup

On a tip from Rob Gordon, I checked out jFusion, a Joomla extension designed to connect multiple web software programs under a single sign-in. This is quite a well designed extension that permits connections between Joomla, Moodle, phpBB, and a host of others with one, easy-to-manage plug-in. Thi...

SLOODLE: 3D Virtual Worlds and Moodle

You may have looked at 3D virtual worlds and wondered how we can actually use them in language education. Second Life® is the front runner among MUVE's (Multi User Virtual Environments) but without a plan or some way to track the interactions within, it's a little difficult to see how it could be s...

Sim, Sweet Sim

If you're hesitating to bring your students into Second Life® due to fears about risque content, in-world troublemakers, or the often costly investment required for getting land, you now have an alternative. The people at opensimulator.org have made available an open-source version of something t...

Integration

callsig RELOADED

The callsig.org website uses jFusion to combine multiple web software programs.

We now have Joomla 1.5, Moodle 1.9 and phpBB 3.0 connected via a single sign-in. It's hoped this latest incarnation will be better equipped serve the needs of the CALL community!
The integration is quick and painless. You can read more about it here.

Quick Hacks

What's In A Word

I needed to change the awkward 'surname,' which my students don't usually know, to 'family name.' I did this by 1.editing the moodle>lang>moodle.php file; 2. searching for 'Surname'; 3. Changing it to 'Family name'; 4. On the site, the form reflected the change.

Speaking Journals

Speaking Tasks Go Online

Many educators look askance at online learning for language education because they think speaking tasks are left out of the mix. Not so, we say!

The 3rd party Audio Recorder Module for Moodle can be used to create Speaking Journals. The module itself is simple enough to install, and configuring it for use as a Speaking Journal is also pretty straight forward. We'll tell you how to do it in an upcoming tutorial!

Multimedia Feedback

Rich Rewards

The comments entry area of assignments will accept html. Why not give your students some multimedia feedback by adding an mp3 recording of your comments or, better yet, a webcam capture? It's easier than you think, and students will respond to the personal attention.

Forum Trickery

Switch It Off

If you need to temporarily turn of posts to a forum, you can change the type in the database table from general to news. This removes the 'Add a new discussion button.'