Moodle Mobile App Expands Offline Functionality
Moodle, the open source
learning platform, has launched a new version of its Moodle Mobile app,
intended to provide students more ways to use it when offline.
The mobile app, available
since 2013, already allows students to:
- Participate in course
activities using their mobile devices;
- Receive instant notifications
from their teachers and others;
- Connect with other students;
- Upload images, audio and
video; and
- View their grades.
Moodle Mobile 3.1.3 allows
students to do many of those things even when offline. Previously, the
only
function students could perform offline was taking quizzes. Now they
can also
send private messages to each other, add course notes, complete
surveys, create
forum posts or wiki pages and complete assignments.
"This feature will be of
particular use to learners with limited Internet access," said Moodle
analyst
developer Juan Levya. "Whether you live in areas with limited Internet
or are
in situations with limited access, such as trying to complete an
assignment
while traveling, being offline is now not a barrier to accessing your
work
through your Moodle app."
Other improvements to the
mobile app include the ability to load courses and a filtering option
in forum
threads so users can display messages by preference.
Moodle Mobile 3.1.3 can be downloaded
for free from Google Play or the App Store in 15 languages.
"With increased mobile use,
Moodle has concentrated on making classrooms for all learners — in K-12,
university or workplaces — easily accessible as any other app on mobile
devices," Levya said.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.