This document summarizes three interactive course content plugins developed by the authors. The first plugin allows educators to tag learning objects that can then be dynamically filtered by learners. The second plugin creates a visual map of learning objects on a Moodle course page. The third plugin allows educators to display signed video content and lecture notes simultaneously for deaf studies courses. The authors aim to enrich the learning experience through these interactive tools.

1. Enriching the learning experience through
interactive course content
Kyle Goslin
Markus Hofmann

2. Overview
 What we do
 Course content filter using metadata
 Visual map tool for Moodle
 Deaf studies lecture presentation tool

3. What we do
 Over the last number of years we have been
developing Moodle plugins for a wide variety of tasks.
 Main aim of our research is to enrich the learning
experience of users
 Moodle related research and development has been on
going for a number of years at the Institute of
Technology Blanchardstown.
 Today you can see 3 of the plugins we developed!

4. Course content filter using
metadata
Aim: Allow educator to tag learning objects that can be
dynamically filtered by the learner
Solution: Add a filter to the top of the course page

5. Course content filter using
metadata
 Some learners do not want to see all of the learning
objects at the same time.
 The scroll of death causing problems - (we’ve seen
some nice solutions yesterday!)

6. Course content filter using
metadata

7. Course content filter using
metadata
 Things do not always work out as we would have
wished.
 Although a very nice tool, one main draw back is that
additional fields need to be added into the editing
process to allow the learning objects to be tagged.
 Works really well with a defined set of resource that
you know will be added. E.g. HTML Page / Files / text
page

8. Visual Map Tool for Moodle
Aim: We wanted to find a way to visualize the learning
objects on a Moodle course page.
Solution: Create a flash based visual map tool for
Moodle.

9. Visual Map Tool for Moodle
 Learners, especially those with learning difficulties find
visualization to be very useful.
 Visual mapping tool have exist, but none that allow for
resources to be easily mapped.
 Two Modes:
 Simple Viewer mode for students
 Editing mode for educators

11. Visual Map Tool for Moodle
 All available resources on the course page become
blocks in visual map tool.
 Simple grouping of blocks.
 Simple XML based structure created and then parsed
to generate the visual map.
 Allows for customization of colours.
 Custom text for groupings.

12. Deaf studies lecture presentation
plugin
 Aim: Create a presentation tool that allowed the
educator to display signed video content and marked
up lecture content at the same time.
 Solution: Simple Moodle plugin with embedded
Jwplayer in a lecture based format

13. Deaf studies lecture presentation
plugin
 Collaboration between the Institute of Technology
Blanchardstown and the Trinity College school for the
Deaf.
 Simple tool was need to allow signed video content to
be displayed along with course notes
 A simple lecture based format where each lecture
contains a number of individual pages.

15. Questions Comments?
All our projects are available for demo at:
• If you are interested in the source to any project, we can
make that available! (GNU License)
• White papers also online