What does an Open Source K-12 Web Portal look like?

In Dearborn Public Schools we utilize many open source products.  For a variety of reasons we found it advantageous to pursue usage of  open source tools.   I took a step back today to look at what exactly what we have going on – and there is a lot going on.  Here are some of the projects, programs, and tools that make up our K-12 District Web Platform.  We focus on providing lots of publishing options. 

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Reading an eBook created using Pressbooks plugin

Over the weekend a teacher began creating a book via our Moodle-Pressbooks integration (post one and post two on Moodle-Pressbook integration).  I downloaded the initial work he had done and wanted to see what it looks like on my phone.  Below are a few screenshots.  Currently there are no images or links in the text … Read more

Moodle 2.6 is coming – Here are a few highlights

So here are some of my favorite improvements in the upcoming Moodle 2.6 release. MDL-37717 – Teachers are warned before suspending own enrolment in course – VERY MUCH NEEDED.  We always have teachers fool around with enrollment settings and lock themselves out.  A warning is nice. MDL-39985 – Full MariaDB support – With Oracle at the helms … Read more

Pressbooks and Moodle Integration

Creating an ebook has never been easier Using the plugin from Pressbooks.com you can transform a WordPress Multisite into an ebook publishing powerhouse.  At Dearborn Public Schools we have fully integrated the eBook tool with Moodle by using LTI to create a single sign on setup.  This allows for a teacher to simply add an … Read more

Open Source Collaborative eBook Authoring Tool based on WordPress

There is a great plugin developed for WordPress called Pressbooks. This plugin turns a wordpress network site into a eBook Publishing powerhouse.  Built solidly on-top of  Wordpress this plugin takes over and magically transforms your install into a eBook authoring tool.  You can export as PDF, MOBI, EPub, and XML. Take a look at the … Read more

Networking Moodle: Hubs, Peers, MNET and LTI

Recently I have discovered a whole new world of possibility within Moodle.  It revolves around Moodle’s built in networking and sharing capabilities.  These features allow for all sorts of added capabilities that are very much underutilized or just starting to be explored.  Hopefully this post will help make sense of what we might be able to accomplish here in Michigan using Moodle for blended learning across the State.

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