Free talking picture dictionary for Moodle

I’ve just finished putting together a Learning Content Cartridge which I’m releasing for free under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) licence for anyone to use, edit and redistribute as they please. There are 28 entries (33 including plurals) and each one has a corresponding image and an MP3 audio recording. The package… Continue reading Free talking picture dictionary for Moodle

Listen and select Multimedia Interactive Learning Application

What is it the Listen and select Multimedia Interactive Learning Application (MILA)? It’s software for learning English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) written in Flash. When deployed in Moodle 1.9 using the SWF Activity Module, it has access to Moodle’s grade book and can save learners’ grades as well as other useful information.… Continue reading Listen and select Multimedia Interactive Learning Application

Are Flash and HTML5 locked in a mortal struggle for control of the internet?

It’s a loaded question, isn’t it? The kind of attention grabbing headline we’ve come to expect from the mainstream media who receive a substantial portion of the $691,000,000 (2010) of Apple Inc.’s annual marketing budget. So what of this epic struggle between Adobe’s flagship software platform and the open source, open standard HTML5? Some sobering… Continue reading Are Flash and HTML5 locked in a mortal struggle for control of the internet?

An alternative approach to EFL/ESL course design

The following article is a tentative presentation of a few ideas for an alternative approach to EFL/ESL course design that incorporate the rapidly evolving technologies and social norms of the 21st century. The ideas I’m presenting here are by no means new or my own. My intention is to share my thoughts and hopefully stimulate… Continue reading An alternative approach to EFL/ESL course design

Dynamic phonetic chart application

I’ve just completed a new Flash learning application, the International Phonetic Alphabet MILA, aimed at EFL/ESL learners and teachers which I believe is a good solution to many of the problems facing those who want to use phonetics in teaching English as a foreign or second language. What does it do? It can display any… Continue reading Dynamic phonetic chart application

New Media Player module for Moodle

In this article, I’m going to give you an introduction to the new Media Player module for Moodle. It’s a flexible, robust and feature-rich method of deploying video in Moodle as an activity. The Media Player module for Moodle using Searchbar and Playlist features In November 2009, I started the FLV Player module for Moodle… Continue reading New Media Player module for Moodle

My Flash MP3 player to be included in Moodle 2.0

In my last post, I described a project I had just started which was a Flash MP3 player that can be used for tests since teachers can determine exactly how many times a learner can listen to an audio file. Here’s an update on the latest developments… Part of Moodle 2.0 I’m pleased to announce… Continue reading My Flash MP3 player to be included in Moodle 2.0

Moodle FLV Player module update

In February 2009, I released the first beta version of the FLV Player plugin activity module for Moodle. It leverages the ubiquitous JW FLV Player and has been very popular among teachers and course content developers working with Moodle. I’m working on a substantial update for the module and in this article I’m going to… Continue reading Moodle FLV Player module update

Flash MP3 player for tests

Ever wanted to control the number of times a learner can listen to a recording in a listening test? Well, I’ve seen this request a number of times on Moodle.org’s forums recently and not so recently. So I’ve decided to develop and share this Flash MP3 player for tests. What does it do? It streams… Continue reading Flash MP3 player for tests

Good quality video Part II

Recording high-quality video Part II Recording video from webcams: Several HD (high definition) web cameras have appeared on the market recently promising to record up to 1400 by 900 pixel resolution video for an outlay of around €100 or less. The specific webcams that I’ve seen are the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000, the Microsoft ????… Continue reading Good quality video Part II