After half term

Lots of things have been happening behind the scenes.  The technical side of uploading information from one system into another is complicated and for this alone, I think it's worth making sure you have it right before implementation.  I think everyone has done a superb job in a short period of time - our MIS person and ULCC but there are glitches.  And glitches mean that people get frustrated or turned off and that the luddites start dancing around saying 'I told you so'.  Dancing luddites are not a pretty sight.

Second stumbling block for me/us is understanding the levels of permissions and roles.  (This is where I long for Blackboard....).  It's complicated, very, very complicated.  It's almost a course in philosophy and on top of everything, people can have different roles and permissions all over the place.  You need many different groups with different levels of permission and you need to understand what that entails.  And we're not there yet.  Of course I also understand that there are benefits to having so many different roles and permissions because Moodle should be more interactive than Blackboard ever was.  For example, I can set up some pictures in Lightbox Gallery so that students can comment and upload a picture too. 

On the otherhand, how do I match staff who need to see students' eILPs to those who just want to view and those who want to add information or comments?

OK, I hear you say, 'You need training, immediately' and you're right, we do.  We were waiting for the new post of Web Developer (not the right title) before doing this but as time goes on, I guess it needs to be done now. 

Having said all of this, for most students using the e-ILP, it's working fine, staff are finding it intuitive to use and like it enough to want to personalise it to their course and students.  Some staff are starting to use the Moodle course slowly and a few have explored Mahara. NO one has screamed at me (although I haven't had anyone actually do this in the Bb days either) so I think we are winning - just.

Anyone who knows how to configure a web page to open full size when logging on to the network wins a small box of very good chocolates (not the one pictured - can't afford that!) from me if it works.  Our Moodle (hosted externally, remember) opens in a small window which is easily closed so it defeats the opportunity to broadcast all the news in someone's face before they close it.

http://www.boogaj.com/photos/uncategorized/green_and_blacks_box.jpg