Getting started with Sloodle
From SLIS Second Life Wiki
Sloodle Versions: 0.3 (?)
This tutorial is for Sloodle 0.3.
Before you start, the Sloodle 0.3 module needs to be installed on your Moodle site. If it has not been installed, then you will need to get a Moodle administrator to install it.
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[edit] Setup Sloodle on your course
Find the course you will be using with Sloodle. If this is the first time Sloodle has been used on your site, it is often best to use a test course specially setup, so that you don't accidentally disrupt anybody else. However, you can use an existing course too. Important: your course must be visible if you want to use it with Sloodle.
The first step now is to setup a Sloodle Controller Module on your course, so that objects in Second Life can access it. You will need to do this step for each course you wish to use with Sloodle. This is for security, to prevent illegitimate access.
- Visit your course page
- Activate edit mode
- Click the button which says "Turn editing on" at the top right
- Click a drop-down menu which says "Add an activity..."
- Scroll down to "Sloodle Modules"
- Click on "Sloodle Controller"
At this stage, you will be taken to a form which you can use to setup your new Sloodle Controller. You can enter whatever you like for the name and description. Note that the name will automatically be prefixed with "Sloodle Controller: ", although you can change that by editing it later. Below the description box is a section containing a checkbox and a text box. Make sure the checkbox is ticked, and you should see a random set of numbers in the textbox -- you can leave this as it is. Down at the bottom, click "Save and return to course".
You should see the new Sloodle Controller module on your course page. You can move it to whatever location you like, but please note that in order to use it with Sloodle, the Controller must be visible, so please do not hide it!
[edit] Get the Sloodle objects
You are nearly ready to get started with Sloodle... all you need to do is get hold of the Sloodle objects. Your administrator or somebody else managing your Moodle site may have made the objects available at your institution's own land in Second Life -- speak to him/her to find out. If not, then you can always obtain the objects from Sloodleville in virtuALBA. Check the "Get the Sloodle Objects" page for more information.
You will need to get the Sloodle Set, and you can also get the Sloodle Toolbar as well. They will most likely be available in a box of items, in which case simply rez the box on the ground somewhere, and click it to open, then drag the items from it into your own inventory.
[edit] Sloodle Set
For this tutorial, we will use Object Authorisation and Sloodle web configuration for our Sloodle Set. If you prefer, you could also configure items using a sloodle_config notecard, which is slightly simpler, but less secure.
[edit] Authorisation
It is now time to setup your Sloodle items. Find some land in Second Life land on which you can rez items, such as your own institution's island, or a public sandbox. (There is a Sloodle Public Sandbox in virtuALBA, if you need it). Find the Sloodle Set in your inventory, and drag it onto the ground to rez it. This item contains most of the other Sloodle objects, and makes it a little easier to configure them.
At one side of the Sloodle Set, you will see a slanted panel. Touch this, and it will ask you to chat the address of your Moodle site. You need to chat the basic address, starting with "http", but without a / or a ".php" file at the end. For example, for Sloodle.org, we would enter:
- http://www.sloodle.org
Alternatively, your Moodle may be installed in a sub-folder, so you might enter something like this:
- http://mycollege.edu/moodle
Note: if you are in a public place, and either want privacy or you do not want to disturb others, then you can chat the address on channel 1. To do this, start your chat message with "/1", and then chat the address, e.g. like this:
- /1 http://www.sloodle.org
When you have chatted the address, the Sloodle Set should give you a URL to use. (It will appear in a blue box at the top right of the screen). Click the button to load the URL, and it should open up your web-browser. You may need to login to Moodle -- do this if necessary. You will then be taken to page which lists any courses where you are a teacher or admin, and which have a Sloodle Controller in them. Find the course you are working with, and click on the Sloodle Controller you create earlier. Immediately below that, select "Yes", and click the button to submit the form.
- This step is known as Object Authorisation, and it creates an internal password for the Sloodle Set, allowing it to work with Moodle securely.
[edit] Configuration
For most other objects, you would be asked to select more configuration options here. However, there are no further options for the Sloodle Set, so you can go back into Second Life. Touch the same panel again, and this time you will see a menu with 2 options. The first option will give you the same URL which you got earlier, in case you accidentally cancelled it, or in case the authorisation process did not work. However, at this stage, you want to click the second option, which will download the configuration into the Sloodle Set. It should be a quick process, and will display the name of the site and course when it is ready.
- This step is known as web configuration, and it stores the object's configuration details in Moodle, making them available for the object to download.
[edit] Registration Booth
[edit] Configuring the Booth
If you have never used Sloodle with this Moodle site before, then you will need to register your avatar with Moodle. This simply instructs Moodle that your avatar and your Moodle user account should effectively be treated as the same. There are several ways to do this; for now, we will use the Sloodle Set to rez a Registration Booth, which you can use with your students as well.
Click the large box in the middle of the Set; this is known as the object dispensor. A menu will appear at the top-right, with a list of objects. You will usually find that the Registration Booth is on the second page, so click the >> button, and a second menu will appear. On the list of numbers, look for "Sloodle Registration Booth", and click the corresponding button.
A booth should appear in front of the Set, and you can re-position and re-orient it as you like. Before you can use it though, you will need to configure it, just like you did with the Sloodle Set. However, the Sloodle Set has already authorised it, so the process is a little simpler. Click the Booth, and it should give you a URL (it may take a few moments if there is lag). Follow the URL to your Moodle site, but this time you do not need to select your Course/Controller, since the Set has done that already. There is a single configuration option, which controls who can use the booth. Set this to "Public" for just now, and click "Submit".
Go back to Second Life, click the Booth, and a familiar menu will appear. Click the second option to download the configuration into the booth, and it should be ready to go!
[edit] Registering your avatar
The Booth is now ready to be used by you or anybody else. Simply touch the panel inside it, and the booth report "Attempting to register your avatar...". If your avatar was already registered with your Moodle site, then it will tell you that. Otherwise, it should give you a URL again. This time, when you load that URL in your browser, it will indicate that your avatar is registered. You can then go back to Second Life.
This is a necessary step, as it ensures you own your Moodle account and your avatar.
[edit] WebIntercom
The last thing we will do in this tutorial is setup a Sloodle WebIntercom to demonstrate Sloodle working. This tool links the text chat in Second Life to a chatroom in Moodle, so the first step is to create a chatroom on your Moodle course. If you don't already have a chatroom, then view your course page, activate edit mode, and from the "Add an activity..." menu, select "Chatroom". You can give a name etc. to your chatroom, and save it. (Note: chatrooms are a Moodle feature, not Sloodle, so we cannot offer support for them!).
[edit] Configure the WebIntercom
Now you need to rez and configure a WebIntercom object. You can do this in almost exactly the same way as the Registration Booth above: click the large box in the middle of the Set, and look at the menu which appears. Again, the WebIntercom is likely to be on the second page, so click the >> button if necessary, and then click the numbered button which corresponds to the WebIntercom.
A WebIntercom will then appear in front of the Set, and it should look like a white box. Click it to get the configuration URL. Load it in your browser, and you will see several configuration options this time. In the first item, select which chatroom you would like to use. You can ignore the other settings just now, but if you would like more information about them, visit the Sloodle WebIntercom page.
Click the Submit button, go back to Second Life, and touch the WebIntercom. As previously, select the second menu option to download the configuration, and your WebIntercom will get configured.
[edit] Test it out!
Initially, the WebIntercom will be inactive. Touch it once to get a menu, and select "Yes" to activate it. You will then see your avatar's name above it, indicating it is 'recording' your chat. (If any other avatars want to use it, they will need to touch it as well and instruct it to record their chat; this is to abide by the SL Terms of Service). Anything you chat within range of the WebIntercom now will be transmitted to the Moodle chatroom as well, and vice versa.
To see this working, go to your Moodle course page in your browser, and click on the chatroom link. On the subsequent page, click one of the links to open the chatroom, and when you are inside, type something in the chat box. Go back to Second Life, and within a few seconds, you should see your chat message appear. It will show up as green text as it is being relayed by the WebIntercom object. Chat something in Second Life, and then go back to the chatroom in Moodle and you should see the chat appearing there.
When your chat from Second Life appears in the Moodle chatroom, you will see that it shows your Moodle name (this may be your real name, or whatever name you supplied when you created your Moodle account), followed by your avatar name in brackets. This indicates that Sloodle has successfully identified your avatar.
[edit] Next Steps...
Thanks for working through the tutorial! You have now successfully got started with rezzing and configuring Sloodle objects. You can go ahead and explore the other tools which are available by looking through the user documentation. The setup process is generally the same for all tools except the Sloodle Toolbar, which individual users (including students) need to setup for themselves.
If you have any questions, then please feel free to get in touch with us on the forums at Sloodle.org, or IM Pedro McMillan in-world.
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