for Moodle
Plugin for automatically transforming videos into trackable SCORM packages
Without using (and paying for) external tools
Installation instructions
The AutoScorm plugin for Moodle is composed by two Moodle plugins:
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A repository plugin (repository_autoscorm)
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A block plugin (block_autoscorm)
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The first (repository_autoscorm) is responsible for the core functions. The block plugin (block_autoscorm) lets users access the file management page where they can upload or delete the video files from the repository.
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IMPORTANT: the zip file you download from this site contains both plugins. Before installing you have to extract the two zip files contained in it and install each file separately.
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Step 1 - Repository plugin installation
​Login to Moodle with the admin account and go to Site administration -> Plugins -> Install plugins.
Upload the zip package and follow the instructions prompted by the Moodle plugin installer.
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Note: make sure that the {moodle_dir}/repository folder is writable by the webserver. In case it is not you must change its permissions using your server platform appropriate command.
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Step 2 - Block plugin installation
Login to Moodle with the admin account and go to Site administration -> Plugins -> Install plugins.
Upload the zip package and follow the instructions prompted by the Moodle plugin installer.
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Note: make sure that the {moodle_dir}/block folder is writable by the webserver. In case it is not you must change its permissions using your server platform appropriate command.
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Step 3 - Role assignment
​During the plugins installation two new capabilities (repository/autoscorm:view, block/autoscorm:addinstance) and a new role (Autoscorm users) are created in Moodle. In order to use the AutoScorm functions, users must have the above mentioned capabilities set to allow. To set the right capabilities to the right users there are two ways:
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Simple (and quick) method
1) Modify the AutoScorm users role by setting the repository/autoscorm:view and block/autoscorm:addinstance capabilities to allow. To modify the AutoScorm users role, go to Site administration -> Users -> Permissions -> Define roles then click the cog icon on the right in the AutoScorm users row. In the edit page scroll down to the capabilities list, type the word "autoscorm" in the filter box and then click the allow checkbox for the above mentioned capabilities (if you see other capabilities with the word AutoScorm please do not modify their behaviour).
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2) Assign the AutoScorm users role in the System context to the users you want to enable.
To assign the role go to Site administration -> Users -> Permissions -> Assign system roles then click on the AutoScorm users role and add the users. Since the AutoScorm users role has the repository/autoscorm:view and block/autoscorm:addinstance capabilities only, adding the role to users is safe and it does not affect the overall system security.
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Advanced method
Change the default Moodle roles permissions by changing to allow the repository/autoscorm:view and block/autoscorm:view capabilities.
Be careful when modifying the default Moodle roles, because you could change Moodle behaviours and affect the system security.
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Step 4 - Adding the block to the dashboard
In order to allow enabled users to access their personal area of the AutoScorm repository, where they can upload new video files as well as manage existing ones, you have to add the AutoScorm block to the Moodle dashboard.
To add the block go to Site administration -> Appearance -> Default Dashboard page, click the Edit mode switch then click the Add a block button and select AutoScorm. After adding the block, you can choose where to place it by simply dragging it.
Once the block is in the right position, switch off the Edit mode then click the Reset Dashboard for all users button.
The block will automatically show up for users with the right permissions and will be hidden to users without the right permissions.
How to use the AutoScorm plugin
Using the AutoScorm plugin functions is as simple as uploading a video file and then selecting it as the Package file in the settings of a SCORM module.
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Getting started
The following steps show the tipical procedure to publish a video in scorm mode using the AutoScorm plugin.
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Step 1 - Upload the video in the AutoScorm private repository
- Login to Moodle with an account enabled to the AutoScorm plugin use (to authorize users to use the AutoScorm plugin see instructions above)
- Go to the Dashboard
- Click on the MyAutoScorm files link in the AutoScorm block
- Drag and drop the video file in the box with the "You can drag and drop files here to add them" label
- Wait for the upload to complete
- Click the Save changes button
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Step 2 - Create the scorm module in a course
- Go to the course where you want to create the scorm module (you have to be teacher or manager of the course)
- Follow the standard procedure to create a new scorm module in a course
- In the settings of the scorm module, when asked to upload the scorm package, click the Add icon in the top left corner of the file manager to open the repositories list
- Click the AutoScorm repository in the left column
- Select your video. Please note that the AutoScorm plugin automatically adds the suffix "-SCORM.zip" to the filename of your video
- Leave all the configurations as they are (important: do not change the Make a copy of your file setting)
- Click the Select this file button
- Complete the scorm configuration according to your needs
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Using audio file
The AutoScorm plugin can manage audio file too.
For all aspects, the use of audio file is not different from the use of video file.
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Accepted file types
- Video format accepted by the AutoScorm plugin: .mp4, .mov, .ogg, .webm, .mpg
- Audio format accepted by the AutoScorm plugin: .mp3