by Helen Foster.  

Congratulations and very well done to our Google Summer of Code 2019 students Vlad Apetrei and Mohammed Rahman for successfully completing their projects.

Vlad added a multi-class classification to the Moodle analytics machine learning backend, which will shortly be integrated into core.

Mohammed improved the Attendance plugin by implementing a frequently changing QR code, thus increasing security when allowing students to take their own attendance.

Many thanks to our mentors Dan Marsden and David Monllaó for the support they provided to our GSoC students.

by Sander Bangma.  

Dear all,

Moodle 3.7.2, 3.6.6 and 3.5.8 have just been released. These are now available for download via https://download.moodle.org or Git.

As mentioned in my earlier post, these releases contain changes related to our current sharing site moodle.net. As of August 2019, it is no longer possible to share courses on moodle.net. The new releases contain changes to remove the ability to share courses to the current moodle.net and the community finder block has also been removed.

For questions on these changes please go to the Moodle community sites forum and check the new MoodleNet page to follow our progress there. The scheduled launch date for MoodleNet is November 2019.

Also a note for sites using the Python ML backend for their analytics. These sites will need to upgrade their version of the python package installer to version 1.0.1 for their analytics to continue to function. Sites using the PHP ML backend, or not using analytics are not affected by this change.

The releases include bug-fixes as well as security improvements.  We highly recommend that you upgrade your sites as soon as possible. Upgrading should be very straightforward. 

Administrators of all registered Moodle sites will receive an email with details of the security fixes and we'll publish these more widely next week.

The release notes for each version can be found here:

• Moodle 3.7.2 release notes
• Moodle 3.6.6 release notes
• Moodle 3.5.8 release notes

Please see the releases page for more details.

by Helen Foster.  

One of the features on the Roadmap for Moodle 3.8 is the option to grade forum activity.

In order to ensure the best possible design of this new feature, we would like your help with usability testing. Please see the discussion Forum Grading 3.8 - Usability Testing for details of how you can be involved.

Thanks in advance for your help with our next version of Moodle!

by Mary Cooch.  

For the very first time, we're pleased to host a truly international MoodleMoot: MoodleMoot Global 2019 in Barcelona from 18 to 20 November 2019.

Whichever continent you moodle in, you are very welcome to join us - and even better - to submit a presentation and share your experiences with others. The deadline to share your presentation idea is 5 August 2019.

Sessions will be in Spanish or English, and we'll have interpreters so you won't miss anything.

As well as interesting presentations, there will be workshops, plenaries, networking and of course, a great party!

Find out more about MoodleMoot Global 2019 here. We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona.

by Helen Foster.  

Over the past eighteen months, we've been working on the new MoodleNet, a social media platform for educators. Initially focusing on collaboratively curating collections of open content, MoodleNet is going to become THE place to share and learn from each other to improve the quality of education.

As part of the preparations for a new MoodleNet plugin coming in Moodle 3.8, the current sharing site, moodle.net will be closed and its content archived. This means that from August 2019, it will no longer be possible to share courses on moodle.net.

To see what this means for teachers, and to find out what you need to do as an administrator, please see our guide Sunsetting moodle.net.

If you have any questions about the current moodle.net site being closed, please post in the Moodle community sites forum.

If you’d like to find out more about the new MoodleNet, please see MoodleNet.

by Helen Foster.  

Thanks to everyone who participated in the recent Learn Moodle 3.7 Basics MOOC - our 11th run of the course!

Over 3000 people started the course, with 51% receiving a participant badge for posting in a forum and a record 25% (845 people) completing all 32 required activities and receiving a completer badge and certificate. Well done everyone!

Thanks also for all the feedback we received from participants, helping us identify bugs in Moodle and improve the course for the future. For details, please see Mary's post Learn Moodle 3.7 Basics Feedback and Actions.

If you would like to participate in the Learn Moodle 3.8 Basics MOOC, we'll be running the course again in January 2020, with sign-up open from December 2019 onwards.

by Sander Bangma.  

Hi everyone!

Moodle 3.7.1, 3.6.5 and 3.5.7 have just been released. These are now available for download via https://download.moodle.org or Git.

All released minor versions include fixes for security vulnerabilities.  We highly recommend that you upgrade your sites as soon as possible. Upgrading should be very straightforward. 

Administrators of all registered Moodle sites will receive an email with details of the security fixes and we'll publish these more widely next week.

The release notes for each version can be found here:

• Moodle 3.7.1 release notes
• Moodle 3.6.5 release notes
• Moodle 3.5.7 release notes

Please see the releases page for more details.

by Mary Cooch.  

Our Learn Moodle 3.7 Basics MOOC  (Massive Open Online Course) started today, 10 June, on Learn.moodle.net  and is now in progress, using Moodle 3.7.

Learn Moodle 3.7 Basics is for anyone who wants to use the Moodle learning platform for teaching, whether in a school, a university, a company or just personal interest. In this 4 week MOOC, learners will explore  the different functionalities in Moodle and also create their own quizzes, assignments, and many more.

There is still time to sign up now and explore the features of Moodle 3.7 As with our previous MOOCs, if you would like to help out in the forums, please sign up too. Any support you can give to new Moodlers will be very much appreciated.

If you prefer to access the MOOC via mobile, you can also participate using our branded Learn Moodle app - available for Android or iOS. 

by Kaye Cheung.  

Since the beginning of Moodle, the Moodle community has played a big part in our organisation and software. The orange Moodle logo that you know today came out of a brainstorming discussion on moodle.org back in 2002.  

Although our brand has evolved over the past 16 years, Moodle remains represented as the word mark with the mortarboard. The mortarboard signifies education, one of our core values and the foundation of making the world a better place. The other recognisable asset in the Moodle visual identity is our orange colour: the Moodle orange is positive and energetic to represent the lively, bold community and the dynamic team that drives the project.

Say hello to our Moodle products

We have recently refined our portfolio of product names (MoodleCloud, MoodleNet, Moodle Apps, Moodle Workplace and Moodle Education) and logos to make them fresh and consistent with each other. We encourage our community to help keep the Moodle brand strong by updating any out-of-date logos.

Keep the Moodle brand strong

Download the latest version of our Moodle logo and read our brand guidelines with background and an overall framework for our logo, messaging and basic elements. When you follow these guidelines and help us present Moodle correctly and consistently, you are contributing to making an even stronger Moodle brand for now and for the future.

See logo and brand guidelines here.