Since I had heard of Sloodle for the first time at SLanguages2008, I had wanted to learn more about it and integrate it with my Moodle® (an open-source Learning Management System). It is very interesting for me because I used Moodle for my Second Life English course last summer.
Some weeks ago, I came across a message by Daniel Livingston in an e-mail list about Virtual Worlds saying that he had created a self-paced tutorial exercise taught in Moodle and in Second Life to learn about Sloodle’s features.
I went through the tutorial, which I can highly recommend, and learned about all the features of Sloodle version 0.3. The tutorial was fun, although it would have been even more fun to test chatting and some other tasks with a partner or a group (which Daniel recommends). I new about the chatting and blooging features but I was positively surprised to find out that there is much more that Sloodle makes possible. Here is a list from a Sloodle cheatsheet:
• Web-intercom. A chat-room that brings Moodle chatroom and Second Life chats
together. Students can participate in chats in Second Life using the accessible
Moodle chatroom. Discussions can be archived securely in a Moodle database.
• Registration booth. Identity management for Second Life and Moodle. Link students’
avatars to their Moodle user accounts.
• Quiz tool and 3D Drop Box. Assess in Second Life – grade in Moodle. Set quizzes
or 3D modelling tasks in an engaging 3D environment. Review grades quickly and
easily in the standard Moodle gradebook.
• Choice tool. Allow students to vote (and see results) in Second Life as well as in
Moodle.
• Multi-function SLOODLE Toolbar. Enhances the Second Life user interface. Use a
range of classroom gestures, quickly get a list of the Moodle user names of the
avatars around or write notes directly into to your Moodle blog from Second Life.
• Presenter (in development). Quickly author Second Life presentations of slides and/
or web-pages on Moodle. Present in Second Life without having go through lengthy
processes to convert or upload images.
• … and more. More tools are being prototyped on a regular basis.
So, yesterday, I went ahead and finally upgraded my Moodle website and installed the Sloodle module. Then, I went in-world and bought the latest version of the in-world Sloodle tool set and the toolbar HUD (heads up display). Configuration was easier than I thought. As a test, I sent two blog posts from SL directly to the Moodle blog.
Now, I am looking forward to learning more about it’s uses and using it in my next Moodle+Second Life course.
Update, 24 Nov 2008
The free Moodle host Ninehub has Sloodle installed. You can sign up for free to start a course right away. The host supports itself with adds that are shown at the bottom of the pages as far as I can see.
Update, 15 May 2009
Another free Moodle host that has Sloodle already installed and this one is without ads!!! http://www.keytoschool.com/