On December 22, 2014 the Institute’s course management system “iLearn” at http://ilearn.miis.edu underwent a much needed version update from 2.4.1 to 2.6.6. This update does not impact existing courses from previous terms or course sites that have been created for the 2015 January- or Spring terms.
With this update you will notice some changes to the look and interface of the MIIS iLearn site, but for the most part this update provides a number of usability and instructional feature improvements that we hope you will appreciate as you look ahead to building course Moodle resources.
Usability Improvements
With this update MIIS iLearn will include some noticeable usability improvements. They include:
- A more user-friendly web / WYSIWYG editor.Watch a short video describing this change
- Improved course activity and resource editing (move, drag&drop, drop-down menu): Watch a short video describing this change
- Drag and drop media and text directly onto the course page
- Word count visible in discussion forum posts
- Responsive theme and interface for variety of devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone)
Functional Improvements for Instructors
- Create badges for alternative competency-based assessment and feedback: Watch a short tutorial describing this feature
- Ability to annotate student uploaded PDF assignment files for grading: Watch a short video describing this feature [in development]
Other Features of Interest that Instructors may not be aware of
- Online audio recording in Moodle with Poodll Anywhere plug-in: Watch a short video describing how this feature works
- Rubrics for criterion based assessments in the Gradebook
- Conditional Activities and Completion Tracking for hybrid and flipped models of instruction
- Messaging Students by e-mail from Moodle
If you have any questions or concerns about the update, please e-mail Bob Cole at bcole @ miis.edu.