This document summarizes a presentation about Moodle Flavours, a plugin that allows users to package configurations of Moodle sites including plugins, settings, and content. The presentation covers how to find and install the Flavours plugin, how to identify the components to include in a flavor package, and how to deploy flavor packages to other sites. Potential uses are discussed along with strengths like easy cloning of sites and weaknesses like its relative newness. The presentation aims to explain how Moodle Flavours can help users backup, replicate, and share their customized Moodle sites and configurations.

1. IRELAND & UK
MOODLEMOOT
2012
Working with Moodle Flavours
Mark Aberdour
Head of Open Source
Solutions, Epic
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

2. OVERVIEW
Overview
Background
Step 1: Find the plug-in
Step 2: Installation
Step 3: Identify your ingredients
Step 4: Build a package
Step 5: Deploy a package
Lessons learned
Other uses
Strengths
Weaknesses
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

3. BACKGROUND
Developer: David Monllaó
Universidad de Rovira i Virgili
Mentor: Michael de Raadt
Moodle HQ
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

4. THE PROBLEM
Moodle site setup and configuration is time consuming.
Sites evolve over time as settings are tweaked, plug-ins
installed, reports created, language strings customised, and
so on.
How can you back up your work, or share what you are
proud of?
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

5. WHO DOES IT AFFECT?
Penny is a Moodle Administrator and has spent
weeks configuring her site:
“How can I backup my changes?”
“How can I share my setup with others in my sector?”
Dave is a Music Teacher who has a number of
specialist audio plug-ins installed for his classes:
“How can enable other music teachers to benefit
from this?”
Geoff is a Moodle Consultant who has a toolkit of
favoured plug-ins for reporting and administration:
“How can I reduce the time it takes to install my
toolkit in my client's Moodle sites?”
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

6. SO, WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT
YOUR MOODLE?...
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

7. IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

8. INTRODUCING MOODLE
FLAVOURS
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

9. STEP 1 : FIND THE PLUG-IN
Modules database
http://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=local_flavours
Documentation
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Development:Moodle_flavours
Moodle tracker
http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/CONTRIB/component/11431
Source Code
https://github.com/dmonllao/moodle-local_flavours
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

10. STEP 2: INSTALLATION
Install from Git or ZIP file
Installs into /local
Click on Notifications
Site settings -> Server -> Package a flavour
& Deploy a flavour
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

11. STEP 3: IDENTIFY YOUR
INGREDIENTS
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

12. IRELAND & UK
MOODLEMOOT
2012
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

13. IRELAND & UK
MOODLEMOOT
2012
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

14. LESSONS LEARNED
Relatively new module
Student project, mentored by HQ
Low uptake
Doesn’t include: custom HTML blocks, theme selection
OK for basic sites, seems to lack robustness on more complex
sites
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

15. OTHER USES
Universities
Schools
Teaching: music, maths, languages
Corporate
Defence / High Security
Distance learning
Apprenticeships
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

16. STRENGTHS
Ease of cloning a site without needing server administration
skills
Allows anyone to roll their own distribution of Moodle
Easily distributable format (ZIP)
Site backup utility
Replicate live, staging and dev environments easily
David Monllaó moving to Moodle HQ in July, assures
continuity
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

17. WEAKNESSES
Still young: low uptake, lacking robustness
No community sharing mechanism
Usability - problems and warnings handling
No rollback capability
Crossover with Admin Presets block, also developed by
David Monllaó.
http://moodle.org/plugins/view.php?plugin=block_admin_pr
esets
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

18. THANKYOU FOR ATTENDING
And thankyou to...
David Monllaó
Jenny Grey and Brian Waddington, Open University
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012