Virtual Learning Environment

VLE Workshop scheduled for 9 November 2013 (Cancelled)

Wikimedia UK now has the intended Moodle+wiki hybrid Virtual Learning Environment up and running in Phase 1 (single sign-on). Configuration work on Phase 2 (wiki-to-Moodle transclusion) is ongoing, as of September 2013.

The WMUK VLE is now at http://moodle.wikimedia.org.uk/. Access at present is by admin account creation: apply to Charles Matthews if you wish to have an account. The wiki front end is at http://modulewiki.wikimedia.org.uk: the scope of the VLE can be seen on that page.

Draft 12 month report for the board

Written by Charles Matthews

Board report draft

Summary: A prototype VLE running under the Moodle system was delivered to WMUK at the end of November 2012, of 16 courses on Wikipedia, a total of 81 modules. This report is to explain what has happened since. With limited resources, it has not been possible to configure the wiki+Moodle system intended, with the new software that has been written. Discussion in November 2013 has led to an interim solution for the educational and training aims of the VLE, concentrating on developing quizzes on the site.

Detailed explanation: The Board minute of July 2013 should be read in the light of poor communications on behalf of WMUK: a mail of December 2012 on funding and technical handover was left unanswered, the VLE budget was taken over by the office without notification, and the proposed consultation on the VLE ahead of the Train the Trainers report did not take place. A trustee made an issue of the VLE being hosted by WMUK itself, rather than with the Moodle partner where it was, prejudging technical issues that have turned out to be the limiting factors in the present funding climate. That was detrimental to the goal of having a working system showing all intended the features.

The technical goal is to have a wiki+Moodle system which has a single sign-on, so that the wiki front end can handle enrolment in particular; and such that community editing can be applied to content updates. The training goal is to have a site that can support training workshops, by allowing participants to go further at their own pace than a one-day event allows.

There was a blog post about the VLE in January. A complex system for managing the VLE's further development, involving two committees, was in place during the first half of 2013, but there was little activity, lack of developer time assigned to the project being the main reason. In this period five external assessments of the VLE were solicited, the basic verdict being that work was required on the presentation. A budget of £2K had been allocated, and was taken under the control of the office at some point. The Education Committee and Technology Committee were supposed to handle operational matters. To improve the presentation a custom skin was required, which would at market prices have involved 75% of the budget, so a volunteer was sought; that skin is now in place.

Subsequent problems with performance of new software have shown that getting Moodle to run is something of a black art, and the use external consultancy on the technical side has been moooted. A number of internally-set deadlines for the technical development were missed. It was not possible to show a working system at the AGM, Wikimania, or a planned November workshop. Lead times in dealing with technical issues on the VLE stretched out to a number of months.

On other fronts, quizzes have been written under contract for the VLE. These use GIFT format, which can be imported easily in Moodle. After a recent decision to commission development of software, it will be possible for such quizzes to be reused on wikis, allowing prototyping of material outside the VLE, and more general use of quizzes in the community. Discussions of how, if at all, WMUK should use Mozilla’s badges, which will be available on the VLE once Moodle is upgraded to the latest version, are ongoing. The main point is what the chapter intends to achieve in giving badges.

Points for the Board to consider:

• Scope of the project. A strategic view is required, given that there are more possibilities for use of the VLE than the initial one, of supporting workshops. The software that has been commissioned is innovative. It could involve combinations of modules with quizzes, badges, and videos, and new categories of content.

• Management of the project. The dual committee structure has put the VLE at risk of falling between two stools, and the committees themselves have had problems with convening enough telephone meetings. The Technology Committee uses also a mailing list, the tech wiki and Bugzilla to oversee the developer resources and their overall allocation, but has not found a consistent way to do this compatible with meaningful project management in this instance. The VLE’s technical resources have been given out hand-to-mouth. Discussion with the office suggests this is a staff time issue, rather than anything else.

• Finance for the VLE: The 2013 budget having been set at a level of about 50% of the initial cost, there has not been the possibility of doing much more for the actual content than keeping it ticking over. For example, a professionally written skin for the VLE, to improve the appearance, would have cost about 75% of that budget.

• Reuse of Content: There is definite interest from other chapters in translating VLE content. The quiz content can in principle be reused on wikis. There is potential therefore for the chapter taking a lead in this area, and there are shared larger goals with the Education Program of the WMF, as recent discussion with its Director has shown.

• Future Prospects: The VLE content counts as an Open Educational Resource (OER), and there are certainly prospects that it could be grant-funded, which is normal enough in the OER sector. This aspect should be treated both as a fund-raising matter, and as incentive to plotting a clearer development pathway.

Older discussion

Agenda for the VLE 2012

The initial purpose of the system was defined as support for the training effort, and in particular to provide follow-up modules for workshops. As delivered according to the initial agreement, there will be:

• a Moodle site with modules (81 written) divided up into courses (16);
• a relatively convenient SSO login system via a custom wiki running under MediaWiki.

Both the Moodle and the wiki will be “in beta” still: i.e. these are prototypes. The wiki will enable community discussion of modules, something which Moodle doesn’t support very well (Moodle has internal forums it calls wikis, but these are underpowered by our standards; it is also not searchable in any serious way).

Therefore it should be well understood across WMUK that these sites are just the start. Further the deliverables for this initial phase of the project are only enough to get things off the ground and documented. They don’t guarantee that the best use is made of the VLE, once there.

Agenda issues

1. The Moodle content needs to be kept up to date.
2. The Moodle content can be expanded (there is a proposal to add admin training).
3. Content can be bought in for Moodle expansion.
4. The system can be used to get the wider community involved in module writing.
5. The wiki front end should be developed.
6. A Moodle “theme” (skin) based on custom CSS has been proposed.
7. The Moodle content needs visual flair.
8. The modus operandi of training workshop+VLE needs to be worked out (urgent).
9. Personnel: WMUK staff need to have access and hold posts on these sites.
10. Editorial policy needs to be put in place, and scope discussed.
11. Technology needs for the medium term need to be discussed.
12. Wikimedia works best with participation and innovation from below.

This is plenty for the Education Committee to think about. Financial and executive decisions by ad hoc methods are not going to move us forward very fast.

Issues arising

Charles raises multiple issues above that need to be addressed. Education Committee ought to be seriously considering what role they can play in moving this project forward, and all interested parties are invited to discuss on the talk page.