Zoho.com and MOODLE
April 4, 2008
This is my very first blog post, I know things are bare around here, but I wanted to get started since I finally have something really great to blog about.
In a nutshell. Yesterday I wanted to share a PowerPoint for students who had been absent or who had fallen behind so they could catch up on their own projects. I didn’t want to put the PPT file on the server because I thought the students would get confused with two PPT files open at the same time. (these are 5th and 6th graders in their third week of my class, the week after break, they are still newbies) It is also something I had been meaning to try for a while. So I uploaded the PowerPoint to Gdocs, I had intended to just share the published page, but I noticed they give you an embed code like a YouTube video. So I copied and pasted that into a Moodle webpage and it worked wonderfully. The students had no problem multi-tasking between the two windows, and they now have access to it at home as well. Later in the day I needed to update the Gdoc PPT for a few typos, and I wondered what would happen to the file in Moodle. As you would guess, it updated too. WOW, I immediately saw the implications. If I can embed all my documents, I can update them in Gdocs and never have to upload a file to Moodle again ( which I consider a huge pain).
Today, I had a chance to try to embed a Gdoc (word file). No luck. Google doesn’t give you an embed code, only a link to a webpage. I wasn’t happy with this as I want everything inside the security of Moodle. So, I tried Zoho.com, and they DO provide an embed code, not only for their writer, but also their spreadsheets (they may do this for other types, I haven’t tried it out yet). My co-teacher was really excited about the spreadsheet because when you embed the spreadsheet in a Moodle web page, students can enter data right there online, and there is a link to download to excel right there.
Looking around Zoho, I noticed they have a MS Office plugin. I tried it out and… it was like fireworks going off in my head. I can create a file in Microsoft Word. With Zoho’s plugin I now have a toolbar that lets me upload the file(or save any changes) to Zoho right from word. If I already have the file embedded in Moodle the changes take place immediatly without ever having to log-in to Zoho or Moodle.
So with a little upfront work of embedding code into Moodle web pages, I can now create documents in word and keep them updated without ever having to upload files to Moodle.
It is my personal goal to have all my lesson plans, files, videos, and slideshows online and available to students next year. This is my first year with Moodle and I have been experimenting with it all year. I think I have finally found a way to share files, publish my work, and keep files up-to-date with a reasonable amount of effort and time.
Pros: saves time, easy to update, links to MS Office,
Cons: initial setup work (I don’t feel this set up work is much different than uploading a file and linking it in Moodle)
8 Responses to “Zoho.com and MOODLE”
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April 4th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Greg : Thanks for trying out Zoho & writing about it! We would be glad hearing your feedback comments.
I just tweeted a reply to you & Scott (vanishingpoint) as well
April 4th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Greg,
Fist welcome to blogging, can’t wait to stay tuned! You have so much to share, I am glad you will be writing about your experiences. How do you like word press?
This post is eye opening to me as I think about professional development and sharing resources. I left Moodle about a year ago and came back last month, a very pleasant surprise for me with the improvements. Keep writing about your explorations I love the idea of tying Moodle and ZOHO. You know I am a Google girl, so you will have to sell me!
April 4th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Way to go Greg. I hope to start using Moodle soon with teachers and classes I work with. This little tip will be useful. Looking forward to another place to learn and share with you. I’ve added you to my reader.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Cool post, Greg. I still feel quite fuzzy about everything moodle, but are you saying that I can embed my ppt in moodle, edit them with ppt, and give students access? YOU MUST SHOW ME!!
April 5th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Greg, (Meg you should read too
Nice post. I have a golden as well, so I live the pic and blog title. Welcome to the blogosphere. Regarding zoho… ALL of their apps have an embed feature. everydarn one of them. Additionally, think of this for a class activity. Have your class collaborate in groups in zoho writer… then they can embed the doc in Moodle… Now what they are collaborating on is a review guide for each of your units… each person in each group takes turns updating each day and if they want they can be in the doc at the same time. Now at the end of the unit, all groups have a tailored review sheet. The best part is:
~ with the shared doc you can see the additions/edits/changes by each with history…
~ with the embed each time there are changes the entire group sees it immediately
~ If you want you can set up the groups to restrict or allow access to the others “view” to compare.
~ with the google gears link they don’t even have to be online to access/update. Next time they are online it will automatically update.
Note: you can do the same thing with a wiki when you show them RSS etc… (no google gears yet but they do allow backups to local drive)
Now, do that with presentations as well… with the embed you can watch the preso grow and then make the moodle page active when your students are active presenting… no “projects” left at home / bad disk / etc
Now, step into the world of Zoho Notebook… are you considering a digital portfolio for your kids for the year? You can embed all of their docs, presos, sheets, plus text / video / audio / ENTIRE LIVE WEBSITES / research for building each of those… EDIT AND UPDATE Writer, Sheet, Presentation RIGHT FROM WITHIN THE NOTEBOOK!
Now for a real cool twist. You can “share the notebook with read or read/write access… and you can embed the entire darn notebook into Moodle! How about that for digital learning, archiving, portfolio management… and the best part update any of the originals and poof the Notebook and all else is up to date! Can Gdocs do that? Yes Zoho Rocks… oh and some of the apps have Skype and or chat capabilities built right in… You need any help or ideas/thoughts just drop me a line.
Scott
April 5th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Scott, you are obviously the expert I will be coming to with Zoho questions and for ideas. I know I have barely scratched the surface of Zoho, but I tend to use tools for what I need, and learn more as needed. You have definitely raised my interest. I would love to use zoho with my students, but I have channels to go through before that can happen. I’m glad we connected.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:51 am
[...] Noack just posted his first blog post and he relates a great story of efficiency and the utilization and experimentation of new tools [...]
June 18th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
This is a cool idea. Lots of good potential for collaboration and good functionality from within Moodle. That’s the beauty of an open, modular platform like Moodle in the first place.