Now that the term is underway and we have 1 single merged VLE I thought it would be a good time to view some statistics as to how big the Leeds City College Moodle installation actually is. After visiting http://moodle.org/stats/ I realise we are a long way away from breaking into the top 10 but its still not bad for a UK Further Education College.

You can get a lot of this information by clicking on the notifications link in your site admin menu and clicking on “Moodle Registration“, the rest of the stats were obtained using SQL queries and Google Analytics.

At the time this blog post was written we had:

• 18,425 active students (this will increase as more students logon during the year)
• 1773 active Staff accounts (1224 with editing rights)
• 205,971 Role Assignments
• 4421 Moodle courses
• 429 Course categories
• 46,708 resources totaling 110 GB of data!
• 2932 Forums with 44,330 Forum Posts
• 1365 quizzes with 15,157 questions in the quiz bank
• 1505 online assignments
  
• 14,046 labels
• In the last week we had 78 iPhone visits, 28 iPad Visits, 21 iPod Touch visits and 18 Android visits

This information may be of use to you if you are planning to scale your Moodle site and shows how quickly a site can grow once you get the tutors on board!

Now that I have this information I am in even more awe of how good Moodle actually is.

Considering the size of the data, the sheer number of role assignments and all the other things going on under the hood such as quizzes, forums and assignment submissions and then it has to authenticate against our enrollment database and sync with various LDAP servers I’m amazed it works as well as it does. And to think that Moodle.org has nearly 1 million users and the Open University has over half a million….amazing stuff!

Welcome to my web site. This website serves as my CV, my portfolio and a place to provide training, tutorials and support for fellow Moodlers and web developers.

As a professional freelance web developer for many years I specialise in PHP/MYSQL web development. I have excellent computer graphics skills and a creative eye for design, navigation and accessibility. In my current role as VLE Manager at Park Lane College, Leeds, I am responsible for the development and management of our in-house Moodle installation. The system has been radically transformed and tweaked and seamlessly integrates with the complete IT infrastructure at college, including LDAP authentication , direct ORACLE database enrolments, single sign-on and more.

I have a deep understanding of web hosting and server technologies and transferrable skills in both Windows and Linux environments. My long term aim is to have one of the largest, most bespoke and most accessed Moodle installations in the Further Education sector.I hope you find this website of interest.

More about Lewis Carr and Moodle

Using Moodle has really given me the opportunity to harness and showcase my PHP and web development skills. Over the past year I have demonstrated my ability to transform a rather visually uninspiring VLE into a next generation web 2.0 learning platform. By integrating Moodle with the college IT infrastructure (Single Sign On, Automatic account creation and automatic enrolments via MIS) and by harnessing and integrating social networking feeds (Twitter, Flikr) as well as my own custom code tweaks and core code changes I have managed to create a truly inspiring, innovative and unique Virtual Learning Environment.

I develop unique Moodle themes that encompass true CSS styling, advanced Javascripting and AJAX technologies. I have a strong artistic talent and a skill for creating fluid and intuitive navigation with a range of accessibility options and mobile compatibility. I have rewritten many parts of the Moodle source code that enhance its usability. I have introduced a complex meta-course structure complete with a MyMoodle page rewrite and the option to hide courses yet retain enrolments. I have fixed many bugs in the Moodle source code, such as database module searching, full screen video, word censorship and external database enrolments.

Other features I have added include:

• New FLV Video player and MP3 player skins/templates
• A complete backend to administer users and courses. To search for duplicate course codes, to report on meta-courses , to search messaging and to directly manage the Moodle database.
• Real-time AJAX searching of courses and users.
• Real-time database module searching without refreshing.
• A banning system to suspend certain user privileges for students who mis-use the system (messaging, blogging, forum posting).
• An on-campus detection script.
• A staff/student detection script to determine which content the user should see.
• A new MyMoodle Page.
• A facility to report inappropriate forum posts or messages.
• A reporting engine to display top forum posts, bloggers and most active users.
• A reporting (detective) system to collate all user access across the site to investigate a troublesome student.
• An online users page.
• A Moodle bar similar to the one used on Facebook.
• Integration of Google charts and Google Meters.
• Twitter integration.
• A bespoke user profile page.
• A Moodle Dashboard and Moodle Points system (similar to EBay).

It is these tweaks and code changes that has gained me a reputation as one of the UK’s leading Moodlers. It has been quoted on many occasions that the Moodle I have created is The Gold Standard for all others to follow.

The custom theme I created has also been received well by fellow Moodle users on the Moodle.org website – http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117129#p516737

It is a really beautiful, flexible and well done theme – Mauno Korpelainen

This is a really nice theme. Excellent work – Darko Miletic

Nice job, gorgeous theme. I particularly like the moodle bar feature- Chad Outten

It is not just the technical aspects of the job that has bolstered my reputation but my willingness to help other institutions with Moodle related problems. I often receive emails and phone calls from other colleges with Moodle problems and offer support. As an active contributor at the regional Moodle Admin Groups (run by JISC) I can be found delivering technical demonstrations and giving practical user advice to a range of Moodlers. I am also a contributor to the Moodle.org website and the Moodle Tracker.

None of the above technical development would have been possible without the high level project management skills that I also possess. My ability to manage all the development projects and adhere to PRINCE2 standards has ensured that everything is delivered timely and efficiently. I am a self motivator who loves hard work and I enjoy working with like-minded and energetic team members.

I enjoy taking an off-the-wall (often ridiculous) idea and working it into a completed project. Some of the more off-the-wall ideas have turned out to be the best ideas (The Moodle bar concept was born over a morning coffee and a discussion about Facebook, we joked that Moodle would be better with a fixed navigation bar – (2 days later I built it and it has now become integral with our VLE).

I have a true in-depth knowledge on all aspects of Moodle, from the source code and database through to modules, blocks and content creation. My teaching and training experience is also applied to courses I create and I am able to train any staff member in all aspects of Moodle to any level. I am a visionary thinker who enjoys a challenge. I am constantly scanning new horizons and looking for ways in which I can enhance Moodle and integrate new cutting-edge technologies.

Most jobs require tools. Plumbers need wrenches, joiners need saws, accountants need calculators, hairdressers need scissors. But what does a Moodle Developer carry in their toolbox?

This will differ depending on your Operating System but in terms of functionality, how many applications does a Moodle developer really need?

This morning I looked at what tools I use on a daily basis to work with Moodle in the office and was amazed to find that I only really ever use four. (All Microsoft Windows based I’m afraid)!

1) Wordpad

Yes I know it’s Windows based, I also know that Notepad ++ is better but I like Wordpad. It offers exactly what I need. Text looks clean and organised, it opens up PHP files and offers search and replace functionality.

2) Photoshop

I cannot imagine using anything else. To me this is one of the single most important desktop applications of all time. It helps me to make Moodle look good.

3) SQLYog

My favorite open source MySQL GUI. I know I could use PHPMyAdmin but there is something nice about using a desktop GUI. It’s simple to use and performs all the functions I need.

4) Firefox

Still my favourite browser, solid, reliable and with lots of developer plugins. Gmail and Google Docs have changed the way I work.

And that’s it!

I often save directly to networked folders on the server so I don’t require FTP.
Admittedly I may use other programs from time to time but the four applications in the list are all I require on a day-to-day basis.

If we were a Linux based college then my kit would differ slightly in the fact I would use GIMP instead of Photoshop, Gedit instead of Wordpad, and most likely just stick to PHPMyAdmin instead of using a GUI Client. But I’d still only require just four tools to get the job done.

Today I created the first ever Moodle themed persona for Firefox 3.6!

To view it please visit: http://bit.ly/d7ZJgc

I hope to create many more!