Whilst it’s relatively easy to find third-party Moodle plugins using the database on Moodle, I decided to compile my own list of favourites.
10. Online Audio Recorder
The Online Audio Recorder is an assignment type that can be used to let your students record audio directly into their web browser. It uses Flash so it won’t work on iPhones or iPads (the iOS app allows students to record in other places). This third-party plugin would be further up in the list if I could get it to work in my current Moodle installation – working on it. I had it working (effortlessly) in the past and it was great.
9. Gmail
The Gmail block is part of a wider Google Apps integration. There are quite a few flavours hanging about but I used the one provided by Catalyst and so far it works great, a bonus is that it will work even if you don’t want to enable Single Sign On. This integration comes with a ‘Google Apps’ block giving you links to Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Docs & Google search page. It also adds a ‘proper’ repository for Google Docs, allowing you to easily share your Google Docs with your students. Only problem is that it’s not super easy to install for lack of instructions – it’s well worth the effort though.
8. Slideshow
The Slideshow module has helped me get teachers who were not so keen on Moodle to actually use it. The idea for this module is simple – you upload a bunch of photos, it resizes them and makes them available in a… slideshow. Although it is simple, it is extremely useful and the possibilities are endless. You can use it to showcase your students’ work if you are an art, DT, drama, any creative subject teacher; You can use it to show steps to complete a particular task (photos come with captions) in science, DT, etc.; You can use it as a social tool, sharing photos of trips, assemblies, sports days, etc. ; Using the power of permissions, make students ‘be the teacher’ for this activity and let them upload their own photos so that you can use it as a dropbox. Those are only some of the things you can do with this great module.
7. Aardvark Postit theme
My focus is on teaching & learning so some of you might be wondering why I am listing a theme as useful third-party ‘plugin’. The reason for me selecting the Aardvark Postit theme is simple – it looks great. If that sounds shallow to you, take a look at the survey I conducted 18 months ago and you’ll find out that students prefer courses that look good. My High School students think it looks great, staff think it looks good (also a big help to get staff to use Moodle), so I’m happy.
6. Open University question types
In the spirit of sharing, the Open University has made available the 15 question types they have created for Moodle 2.1 and newer. Question types include ‘drag n drop into text‘, ‘drag n drop markers‘, ‘drag n drop onto image‘, ‘OU multiple response‘, ‘Pattern match‘. This set of question types adds to the already very capable Moodle standard question types.
5. Certificate
The certificate module has been around a while but I only started using it when I upgraded our Moodle installation to Moodle 2.x and it was an instant hit. In Moodle 2.x you have the ability to make activities/resources available if certain conditions have been met e.g. little Johnny has completed activity B, he can now ‘see’ activity C; or little Jimmy scored 67% in test A, he can now ‘see’ resource B. This is perfect to only make certificates available to students who have met certain conditions.
The certificate module does one thing – it awards certificates to students who have completed specific activities. I use it to reward students when they finish certain modules and so far they have been very responsive to it.
4. Quickfind list
Ever needed to email a student? Check extra information about that student? Login as that student? Or do anything that requires you to go to the student’s profile? The Quickfind list block allows you to quickly search for students & get to their profile page. You start typing a student’s name and it starts showing you a list of possible entries – very much like Google instant search; you can then click on the student’s name and it will take you to their profile page. The block can also be setup to show other users than just students.
3. UploadPDF
Providing informative feedback to students when they have completed an assignment is vital for their learning and the UploadPDF assignment type allows you to do just that. Students must first save their work as a PDF before they can upload it to Moodle (hence the name). Once uploaded you will be presented with a marking interface with pre-defined settings (ticks, crosses, smiley face, etc.) that allow you to mark your papers quickly. You also have the ability to write comments, and even better ‘save’ your most used comments and make them appear in a drop-down box for easy & quick marking. This will save you HOURS in marking time.
2. Checklist
I cannot imagine (teaching) life without the checklist module. I teach MYP technology and my students need to produce a very long document for each unit of work they complete. Although I make detailed level descriptors available for each unit, students still find it difficult to remember/understand all of what is required in the documents. This module is a life saver – it will allow you to create checklists for students to use and will allow you to view your entire class at a quick glance & see their progress. Check out my (very old) review for this great plugin – the module has been updated since and some features have been added.
1. Drag’n’drop upload
The drag’n’ drop upload block has helped me so much it deserves first place. I recently had to re-introduce Moodle to the near 100 staff at my new school. Moodle had somewhat of a negative image in the school and I actually heard a ‘wow’ in the crowd when I showed how easy it has become to make files available in Moodle thanks to this block. You’ll have guessed with the name, the drag’n’drop upload block will allow your users to drag files onto Moodle, and it will upload them at once (yes, that is files – plural). Check out my recent review for this great block.
How about you?
Davo Smith has snatched first, second and third place! That’s quite impressive considering I am a big consumer of third-party plugins; I reckon I’ve tried all the plugins in the Moodle database. What are your favourite third-party Moodle plugins? Please drop a comment with your favourites and why they are your favourites. Please try and give links so that we can download and try your gems.