Getting started with Sloodle 0.4
From SLIS Second Life Wiki
Sloodle Versions: 0.4 (?)
This tutorial is for Sloodle 0.4. See also Getting started with Sloodle 0.3.
Step A: Checking Materials - What you will need
This task assumes you have a working knowledge of both the Moodle LMS/VLE from a designer's perspective and of Second Life, including the ability to navigate an avatar, manage inventory and to rez prims. If you don't have these skills, we suggest:
- Robbins, S. (2008). Second Life for Dummies (p. 321). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pub.
- Cole, J., & Foster, H. (2007). Using Moodle: Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System (2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media, Inc.
You must have access to a Moodle site as a Course Creator and an avatar account on Second Life. The Sloodle 0.4 module must also be installed on your Moodle site. If your account has administrator privileges, check on the homepage for your Moodle site:
Site Administration * Modules ** Activities *** SLOODLE Module
If it has not been installed, then you will need to get a Moodle administrator to install it.
You won't need any land in Second Life for most functions. Also, you won't need any Linden dollars (L$) because all objects the are free and include necessary textures. Your students won't need money either.
Step B: Create a trial course in Moodle
If this is your first time using Sloodle, use a blank course so that you don't accidentally disrupt students or teachers in a class. However, you can use an existing course. To create a course in Moodle with an administration account:
- Administration>Courses (From the home page)
- Add/edit courses
- Enter the default information
- Set Enrolment Key to something random to keep students out of your experiments
- Your course must be available to students if you want to use it with with Sloodle.
- If you are working with an existing course and are unsure:
- Click Administration / Settings
- Make Availability = This course is available to Students
Step C: Add the "Controller" Activity in Moodle
Think of the "SLOODLE Controller" as a secure portal connecting a course on the Web with an object in Second Life. So each course needs one.
- Turn editing on button on the top right
- Add an activity... pulldown menu
- Click on Sloodle Controller
- You must enter a name and description. These are not important and you may edit them later.
- Click Save and return to course
The Sloodle Controller module should be visible on the page and may be moved. Do not hide it.
Step D: Find the Second Life SLOODLE Objects
You are now ready to start working in Second Life. You'll need to connect with your Moodle server and also to start arranging the objects students will use. You can obtain these in several ways:
- The person who installed SLOODLE on your server can transfer them to your avatar
- You may follow links from this wiki to Get the Sloodle Objects
- Some versions have also been loaded into the xStreet SL Marketplace. Be sure to check the version.
Step E: Unpack and Assemble the SLOODLE Objects
- Head to a Sandbox or other place where building is permitted
- Place any boxes you have onto the ground
- Right click and "Open / Copy to Inventory"
- Return all your boxes to your inventory
Step F: Connect Moodle to SL using SLOODLE Set
- Drag Sloodle Set onto the ground from your inventory
This object is the Second Life counterpart to the SLOODLE Controller you installed in Moodle. These two items are now going to sync up with your help. This object communicates three ways: in chat, the texture on the top of the podium and by changing the text over the podium.
- Click the podium top - This is the slanted piece on the right with hovering text.
- Chat your Moodle web address - For example:
- http://www.sloodle.org or
- http://mycollege.edu/moodle
- Click Go To Page - This is a button on the blue menu that will load the configuration Web page inside Moodle
- Work on your web browser now. (Second Life passes control automatically)
- Find the course you want to work with - This is probably your test course from Step B
- Select the SLOODLE Controller you installed
- Click Submit - The results page should read "Object authorization has been successful."
- Return to your Second Life viewer
- Click the podium
- Click 1 - For "1=Download configuration"
You are now ready to start using features that require authorization between the Web and SL.
FYI: 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.
RegEnrol Booth
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. 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 "12=SLOODLE RegEnrol Booth", and click the 12 button.
A booth should appear behind 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!
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.
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!).
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.
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.
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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