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Hacks and Tweaks
Charles Kelly's Moodle Things

About

• I've put these here primarily for myself so I can remember what I did, the next time I upgrade Moodle.
• You may use them if you like, but please don't ask for support. I just don't have the time.

Disclaimer

• Use these are your own risk.
• They work for me, but don't blame me if they don't work for you or if they completely destroy everything you have.
• As with any "hacks," or installations of any new versions of software, including Moodle upgrades, you should make backups of everything before playing around -- just in case something goes wrong.

Very Simple Hacks

Replace the default user icon.

• To encourage students to quickly upload their own photos, replace the default "user" icons with something less attractive.
  • Idea #1: Use a gender-free anonymous silhouette. (This is what we currently do.)
  • Idea #2: Use a gender-free image of a pig, a monkey, a frown face, etc. (We used a pig for a while.)
  • Where are the icons?
    • /moodle/pix/u/f1.png & /moodle/pix/u/f2.png
  • These are the 2 we are currently using. (The yellow matches the theme we use for forums and blogs.)

Include the Google search form, YouTube videos, etc. in blocks.

• Just copy and paste the appropriate HTML code into the standard HTML block.
• Other ideas: dictionary search forms, a clock, the local weather, ...

Menu of More Difficult Hacks

• How to Put All Blogs into One Course
  • A way to easily have all students on your Moodle site blog with each other, by forcing all blog entries into one meta course.
• How to Get Moodle to Use Student Numbers Correctly
  • I had to do this, since in Japan we need to sort by family names, which are in Kanji.
  • Our university assigns student numbers in this order.
• How to Get Moodle to Substitute Hobby for City
  • Rather than ask for "City" in profiles, ask for "hobbies or interests."
• How do I remove the login link from the login page?
  • I submitted this suggestion to Moodle.
• Easy Registration
  • So students can more easily register.
• Easy Registration 2
  • This is the one I was planning to use, but when I upgraded to Moodle 1.8, it quit working.
• Substitute "My Teacher" for "Country" in Student Profiles
  • Moodle 1.8 allows adding things to the profile, but this is better for us.
• Easier Course Navigation
  • At the top of the page, add links to sections, either by clickable links or a scroll-down menu.
• Include Dictionary Search Forms in the Footer
• Adapted Language Pack
  • Mostly English, but some bilingual $strings and some $strings in Japanese only.
• Fixes that I Have Reported
• How to Display Weeks in Reverse Order (by Luuk CARNEL)
  • http://moodle.org/mod/forum/post.php?reply=332366
  • RELATED: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-7489
• More to come ...