June 2016 Moodle News and Downtime

Upgrade to Moodle 3.0 Scheduled for July 7
(Moodle unavailable)


On Thursday
July 7, 2016, between Summer Sessions, Moodle at UMass Amherst will be upgraded to version 3.0. Moodle will be unavailable beginning at 7 a.m. (for as long as 5 hours).  Please plan accordingly.

Overall, this upgrade will not result in significant changes to the user interface or loss of functionality. Most of the changes will be “behind the scenes” to improve performance and backend efficiency. For a list of new features see our Moodle 3.0 Highlights.

The July downtime is for a software upgrade. Additional downtime has been tentatively scheduled for Aug. 22, 2016 (after the end of Summer Session 2) to move Moodle to new hardware. We will confirm the date and share the details as the upgrade schedule is finalized.

 

Now is the Perfect Time for Spring 2016 Course Cleanup

After the end of each semester, we recommend that you review your Moodle courses and back up what you need for future reference:

  1. Download a CSV file of the gradebook and copies of any student-submitted materials (e.g., assignments or other activities) in case you need to refer to them later.
  2. Make sure you have copies of your lectures, readings, and other course files on your personal hard drive in a readable form.
  3. If you plan to reuse this course in the future, you will be able to simply copy it to a new course within the next three semesters using the Moodle course import tool.

For details on backing up different types of Moodle activities, see Backup a Moodle Course, or for one-on-one assistance, contact the Instructional Media Lab at 413-545-2823 or instruct@umass.edu.

 

Help and Resources for Instructors

To learn more about Moodle or to get help with instructional technologies, you can:

  • Contact the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@umass.edu | 413-545-2823) with a question, or to set up a time for a one-on-one consultation.
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