After sevearl frustrating hours of trying to get Nanogon installed I figured out what you have. I wish I had found this site before I started. I have several Moodle site running and Nanogong is installed on all of them. Teachers and students find Nanogong very useful. I pass your link to other Moodle users so they can use Nanogong.
Lambda Solutions has been pretty good with their Moodle hosting plans for me. They're experts at what they do and are a leading Moodle Partner. Check them out lambdasolutions.net
Thanks for the update David. As soon as I get a minute I will add the new version to my site and test it out. I know there are a few issues that need to be worked out but I think they may be related to how the assignment module filter strips out the javascript code. I posted in the forums a while back but haven't received any bites on my questions.
Hi there,You may be interested to know that we have just released a new version of NanoGong, version 4.As you probably know, NanoGong is a popular open source solution for handling the voice on the web, both by itself and as a component of a Learning Management System (LMS), particularly Moodle. There have been more than 4,000 genuine downloads of NanoGong from our server to date, with about 80% of downloads for use with Moodle.NanoGong version 4 has the following new features related to Moodle: * Support for most recent versions of Moodle (prior to Moodle version 2.0) * Support for unlimited NanoGong messages on one page in Moodle * Teachers can control the maximum voice recording duration within the NanoGong Moodle activity control * Moodle grades are now correctly linked in the NanoGong activity module * You can now backup/restore a NanoGong activity using the standard Moodle backup/restore feature * Italian, German and Spanish language packs added (thanks to Francesco Scolastra, Joachim Vogelgesang, Detlef Anschlag and Enrique Robredo)
New features related to using NanoGong by itself as well as within Moodle: * A 'pause' feature and a volume level display has been added to the NanoGong playback/record functionality * Improved operation in Mac environments (thanks to Matthew Bockol) * Several bug fixes/other fixes for improved performance
Updated information about NanoGong, including demonstrations and downloads, is available at the NanoGong web site:http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong
Here is a brief summary of the main NanoGong features, both old and new. NanoGong and Moodle Integration ( http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/moodle.html )NanoGong 4, the newly released version of the applet, has been further integrated into Moodle. You can put voice messages almostanywhere, such as in assignments, forums and quizzes in Moodle.Using NanoGong with Moodle: * Any user can create audio content using a specially extended HTML editor * Students can submit multiple voice messages to their teachers using the NanoGong Moodle activity (messages can then be graded by teachers) * Students can slow down or speed up the speed of the voice recording, or jump to any position in time in the recording * NanoGong activities can be backed up/restored using the Moodle backup/restore feature The NanoGong Applet ( http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/info_applet.html )NanoGong 4 can also be used as a simple applet in a web page (without Moodle) to let people * record their voice * play it back, at different speeds if desired * save the recording to the local hard disk, preserving any changes in speed, if desired * send the recording to an arbitrary web siteIf NanoGong is used by itself it doesn't need any complicated setup procedure, and doesn't require a special server of any kind.NanoGong works over both unsecure (http) and secure (https) connections. Try out NanoGong 4You can try NanoGong 4 at the NanoGong website: * Try out the NanoGong 4 applet by itself: http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/try.php * Try out NanoGong 4 in Moodle: http://gong.ust.hk/moodle * Try some more advanced use of NanoGong, which uses special web page programming: http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/nanogong_api.html Download NanoGong 4NanoGong and the Moodle integration code remain open source. You are welcome to download it by submitting the request form here:http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/downloads_form.htmlThanks a lot!Dr. David Rossiter and Gibson LamThe Gong projecthttp://gong.ust.hk andhttp://gong.ust.hk/nanogong
If you are trying to add teacher recorded audio in a Nanogong Activity, the only place you can provided recorded feedback is in the description of the activity via the html edit integration or in a comment section once a student has submitted a response. The default permissions on Nanogong don't allow teachers to actually use the Nanogong applet in a Nanogong activity. This is why I like the html editor integration so much is that it provides the ability to add audio to any page that has the html editor.
Unfortunately there is no way to moderate a forum discussion in such a way as to approve each post before it is readable by the students. The idea behind a forum is to get a free flowing discussion about a particular topic. If each post has to be moderated you lose the intent of the forum. In my Moodle courses I just have the expectation that everyone will abide by the rules in a forum and let them post at will. If someone gets out of line I deal with them on an individual level.
If you really do want to moderate posts before students can view/listen to them you could take a look at the glossary and database module which both allow all entries to be moderated by the teacher.
thank you for the blog post. I did every steps carefully. My moodle is 1.9.7. As a student I can record sound and listen my sound but as a administrator, I cant see the student's messages. Do you know the reason for this? Can you help me? I really want to use nanogong because I cant find an alternative solution. Please help me and also thanks again for this blog.
There are a number of things that could be causing you difficulty.
Are you using the Nanogong activity? Make sure that when you test the module that you are using a student account then logging out and back in as the teacher. The default Nanogong permissions don't allow teachers to record to the activity until students have responded and then the teacher could leave an audio based comment.
You need to make sure the actual audio files are actually getting loaded to the server. If you get error messages about "Failed to establish connection to the server" then the odds are that the file didn't make it to the server.
Let me know what you find out or post a more detailed message and I can take a look. On the other hand, <shameless plug> you could hire me to take a look as well ;-) </shameless plug>
I just did a new blog post describing how to change your weblib.php file so the Nanogong html editor button will work in versions beyond 1.92. You can read the post at: http://orwinconsulting.com/blogs/randy-orwin/making-nanogong-html-editor.... Remeber that the weblib patch only works to add the ability to use the Nanogong recorder on any page that has the html editor. Are you having other problems with the Nanogong activity module?
In open source applications i like the Open Office and each time they come with advanced features and ideas which sometimes overtakes the MsOffice application. They simpy best and great.
Hi, I want to use nanogong on my moodle. the version of my moodle is 1.9.7. I found patch for 1.9.5 and installed it. But still I have problems. I can record sound and listen when I sing into my account. But when I login to the system as a tacher to listen the students' messages, there arent any messages. Is this because of the version of my mooode? If so, do you think to make a patch for upper version of moodles?
I run our Moodle at Lunarpages.com. If you look down at the bottom of the homepage there is a link to an application for free web space for any public school in the U.S. There are limitations to the free account, my uploads, (and students), are limited to 2mb in Moodle. That being said, I have greatly exceeded the 500mb storage limit, when I emailed them about it, the reply was, "don't worry about it".
When you register for your account, be sure to ask for a Linux server as they have modules that make installing Moodle and other applications much easier than the windoze server I am using. That being said, I installed and upgraded our Moodle without any professional training and I am no youngster. If I can do it, anyone can. If you are really interested in the nuts and bolts of Moodle, its the way to go. I can install and delete modules, make custom interfaces and configure Moodle just how all of the staff want it.
Thanks for the quick response. It looks like you were up early this morning! I did go ahead and add the top level menus to the bottom of every page as you suggested. That will reduce the time to scroll back to the top each time. You probably already know that the system will send out an email after you register that includes your username and password. As far as pictures are concerned I will eventually set up some kind of gallery that has information on where each was taken and tie them to the various boot camps once we get those rolling. I haven't decided if I want to set up my own gallery or just load them to Flickr and tag them and then embed the slide shows on pages on the site. Thanks again for the feedback!
I bounced around the site to get a feel for how things are put together and found it to be straight forward. I can see there are some areas that you are building but overall the site has a nice look and feel, and is easy to navigate. (you may consider lower navigation quick links so scrolling back to the top is not required)
I like the pictures you are using....and curious me would love to know where they were taken...I can tell the places of some (a small thing but personal touch and helps people know who you are if you could add the info in the corner of the pic.) I think your user sign up is slick (not sure if auto generates your username and password to your e-mail just in case I forget ;)
In moving out of Groupwise using Open Source groupware, you should check out Zimbra. We did several school district migrations from different programs (Groupwise included) to Zimbra, and it is really catching up a lot. It has a really nice Web interface , and enables collaboration features that are really useful (calendering, tasks, instant messaging, etc.)
SMay, it looks like your district is looking to move from GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange using Outlook as the client on the desktop. If the district is just looking to move because of Outlook, many email systems can use Outlook as the client. One option I would recommend is to use Zimbra as the email system and the Zimbra web based client. This removes the desktop client and only allows email via a browser like Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. Zimbra has a nice collaboration component including calendars. There is a free version of Zimbra or you can pay a fee for a fully supported version. The Michigan City Area School District in Indiana just moved all of their email to Zimbra and are very pleased with its performance and ease of use.
I am an a proponent of district's looking closely at open-source software as a cost savings measure for not only the district, but also for the families of the students that we are working with. With that said, I know that the main concern that my district's technology department would have with making this type of move would be the Outlook issue. They are currently working on moving from Groupwise to Outlook.
What open-source email program would you suggest that not only provides email, but also calendar features similar to Outlook?
Hello David, I am glad that you found something that you can take back to your schools. That is why we do these labs. People need to know what is available in the open source arena that can have a powerful impact on teaching and learning.
Hey Jeff, I am glad you enjoyed the conference and that you learned some things. It is also comforting to know that I am not the only band director to leave the ranks and go into tachnology.
I will look into the newest version of phpESP and see what I can do. In the mean time, take a look at the Lime Survey and see if it does what you want. As far as Joomla, how is that working out for you? I started with Joomla because it was easy to get started, but found in the long run I couldn't do the things I needed to do with user access control. I am now a big Drupal fan and with the addition of views and cck, I wouldn't use anything else at this point.
Thanks again. I hope to see you at another conference. Stop by and say hello.
Hello Ronnix, I really appreciate your comments. Once of my goals, now that my personal life is returning to some kind of normalcy, is to spend more time posting about free and open source software and the impact it can have on teaching and learning. If I appear to be wandering again, please ping me and rattle my chain.
Anonymous, your point is well taken and no, these free hosting companies and other non-Moodle partners probably do not contribute financially to the ongoing development of Moodle. The point made in this post isn't to bypass Moodle Partners, but to recognize those providers that allow teachers to get their feet wet and experience Moodle before entering the obstacle course of convincing their IT and instructional technology departments to take a look at Moodle in their organization. This is a very painless way to take Moodle for a test drive.
Let me express a word of warning here for those that are using or plan to use a free Moodle hosting company, these free hosting solutions are basically for a single class size install and not designed to run an entire district. As I have pointed out in many of my discussions with folks about Moodle, if you want to take Moodle to the next level you w ant to host your own server or get hosting from a Moodle partner. I have sent a number of folks to talk to partners about large installations.
Now I would like to argue the point that " ...non-Moodle partner hosting sites don't provide any support to the Moodle project,..." I agree that most of them don't support the project financially in any way, but the open source philosophy doesn't just look at support as paying a fee for hosting or support.
There are a number of ways that I believe these non-Moodle partners do support the Moodle project. They provide boatloads of free advertisement which does bring new Moodle users to the community. Many of the hosting companies have wonderful tutorials that provide assistance to the community. Other non-Moodle partners spend time in the forums answering questions and helping users solve problems. In some cases, don't ask me for evidence, there may actually be individuals working with these companies that actually work on code or the addition of 3rd party modules. There are lots of ways to support an open source community aside from the financial end of things.
I will now climb down off my soap box and return you to your regularly scheduled blog perusal.
It's important to note that these free hosts and other non-Moodle partner hosting sites don't provide any support to the Moodle project, wheras Moodle partners give 10% of their revenue to support the ongoing development of Moodle. Moodle partners can be found at Moodle.com.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful and beneficial to your readers.
Oes TsetnocPhreakaholicKerja Keras Adalah Energi Kita
After sevearl frustrating hours of trying to get Nanogon installed I figured out what you have. I wish I had found this site before I started. I have several Moodle site running and Nanogong is installed on all of them. Teachers and students find Nanogong very useful. I pass your link to other Moodle users so they can use Nanogong.
Lambda Solutions has been pretty good with their Moodle hosting plans for me. They're experts at what they do and are a leading Moodle Partner. Check them out lambdasolutions.net
Thanks for the update David. As soon as I get a minute I will add the new version to my site and test it out. I know there are a few issues that need to be worked out but I think they may be related to how the assignment module filter strips out the javascript code. I posted in the forums a while back but haven't received any bites on my questions.
Hi there,You may be interested to know that we have just released a new version of NanoGong, version 4.As you probably know, NanoGong is a popular open source solution for handling the voice on the web, both by itself and as a component of a Learning Management System (LMS), particularly Moodle. There have been more than 4,000 genuine downloads of NanoGong from our server to date, with about 80% of downloads for use with Moodle.NanoGong version 4 has the following new features related to Moodle: * Support for most recent versions of Moodle (prior to Moodle version 2.0) * Support for unlimited NanoGong messages on one page in Moodle * Teachers can control the maximum voice recording duration within the NanoGong Moodle activity control * Moodle grades are now correctly linked in the NanoGong activity module * You can now backup/restore a NanoGong activity using the standard Moodle backup/restore feature * Italian, German and Spanish language packs added (thanks to Francesco Scolastra, Joachim Vogelgesang, Detlef Anschlag and Enrique Robredo)
New features related to using NanoGong by itself as well as within Moodle: * A 'pause' feature and a volume level display has been added to the NanoGong playback/record functionality * Improved operation in Mac environments (thanks to Matthew Bockol) * Several bug fixes/other fixes for improved performance
Updated information about NanoGong, including demonstrations and downloads, is available at the NanoGong web site:http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong
Here is a brief summary of the main NanoGong features, both old and new. NanoGong and Moodle Integration ( http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/moodle.html )NanoGong 4, the newly released version of the applet, has been further integrated into Moodle. You can put voice messages almostanywhere, such as in assignments, forums and quizzes in Moodle.Using NanoGong with Moodle: * Any user can create audio content using a specially extended HTML editor * Students can submit multiple voice messages to their teachers using the NanoGong Moodle activity (messages can then be graded by teachers) * Students can slow down or speed up the speed of the voice recording, or jump to any position in time in the recording * NanoGong activities can be backed up/restored using the Moodle backup/restore feature The NanoGong Applet ( http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/info_applet.html )NanoGong 4 can also be used as a simple applet in a web page (without Moodle) to let people * record their voice * play it back, at different speeds if desired * save the recording to the local hard disk, preserving any changes in speed, if desired * send the recording to an arbitrary web siteIf NanoGong is used by itself it doesn't need any complicated setup procedure, and doesn't require a special server of any kind.NanoGong works over both unsecure (http) and secure (https) connections. Try out NanoGong 4You can try NanoGong 4 at the NanoGong website: * Try out the NanoGong 4 applet by itself: http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/try.php * Try out NanoGong 4 in Moodle: http://gong.ust.hk/moodle * Try some more advanced use of NanoGong, which uses special web page programming: http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/nanogong_api.html Download NanoGong 4NanoGong and the Moodle integration code remain open source. You are welcome to download it by submitting the request form here:http://gong.ust.hk/nanogong/downloads_form.htmlThanks a lot!Dr. David Rossiter and Gibson LamThe Gong projecthttp://gong.ust.hk andhttp://gong.ust.hk/nanogong
Hi Eda,
If you are trying to add teacher recorded audio in a Nanogong Activity, the only place you can provided recorded feedback is in the description of the activity via the html edit integration or in a comment section once a student has submitted a response. The default permissions on Nanogong don't allow teachers to actually use the Nanogong applet in a Nanogong activity. This is why I like the html editor integration so much is that it provides the ability to add audio to any page that has the html editor.
Unfortunately there is no way to moderate a forum discussion in such a way as to approve each post before it is readable by the students. The idea behind a forum is to get a free flowing discussion about a particular topic. If each post has to be moderated you lose the intent of the forum. In my Moodle courses I just have the expectation that everyone will abide by the rules in a forum and let them post at will. If someone gets out of line I deal with them on an individual level.
If you really do want to moderate posts before students can view/listen to them you could take a look at the glossary and database module which both allow all entries to be moderated by the teacher.
I hope this helps
thank you for the blog post. I did every steps carefully. My moodle is 1.9.7. As a student I can record sound and listen my sound but as a administrator, I cant see the student's messages. Do you know the reason for this? Can you help me? I really want to use nanogong because I cant find an alternative solution. Please help me and also thanks again for this blog.
Hi eda,
Let me know what you find out or post a more detailed message and I can take a look. On the other hand, <shameless plug> you could hire me to take a look as well ;-) </shameless plug>
Hi seaghan,
I just did a new blog post describing how to change your weblib.php file so the Nanogong html editor button will work in versions beyond 1.92. You can read the post at: http://orwinconsulting.com/blogs/randy-orwin/making-nanogong-html-editor.... Remeber that the weblib patch only works to add the ability to use the Nanogong recorder on any page that has the html editor. Are you having other problems with the Nanogong activity module?
In open source applications i like the Open Office and each time they come with advanced features and ideas which sometimes overtakes the MsOffice application. They simpy best and great.
Hi, I want to use nanogong on my moodle. the version of my moodle is 1.9.7. I found patch for 1.9.5 and installed it. But still I have problems. I can record sound and listen when I sing into my account. But when I login to the system as a tacher to listen the students' messages, there arent any messages. Is this because of the version of my mooode? If so, do you think to make a patch for upper version of moodles?
I run our Moodle at Lunarpages.com. If you look down at the bottom of the homepage there is a link to an application for free web space for any public school in the U.S. There are limitations to the free account, my uploads, (and students), are limited to 2mb in Moodle. That being said, I have greatly exceeded the 500mb storage limit, when I emailed them about it, the reply was, "don't worry about it".
When you register for your account, be sure to ask for a Linux server as they have modules that make installing Moodle and other applications much easier than the windoze server I am using. That being said, I installed and upgraded our Moodle without any professional training and I am no youngster. If I can do it, anyone can. If you are really interested in the nuts and bolts of Moodle, its the way to go. I can install and delete modules, make custom interfaces and configure Moodle just how all of the staff want it.
Carl
Thanks for the quick response. It looks like you were up early this morning! I did go ahead and add the top level menus to the bottom of every page as you suggested. That will reduce the time to scroll back to the top each time. You probably already know that the system will send out an email after you register that includes your username and password. As far as pictures are concerned I will eventually set up some kind of gallery that has information on where each was taken and tie them to the various boot camps once we get those rolling. I haven't decided if I want to set up my own gallery or just load them to Flickr and tag them and then embed the slide shows on pages on the site. Thanks again for the feedback!
Hey Randy -
I bounced around the site to get a feel for how things are put together and found it to be straight forward. I can see there are some areas that you are building but overall the site has a nice look and feel, and is easy to navigate. (you may consider lower navigation quick links so scrolling back to the top is not required)
I like the pictures you are using....and curious me would love to know where they were taken...I can tell the places of some (a small thing but personal touch and helps people know who you are if you could add the info in the corner of the pic.) I think your user sign up is slick (not sure if auto generates your username and password to your e-mail just in case I forget ;)
Well...that's first impressions. Nice work!
Bre
We're trying to edit weblib.php to get this to work.
Suggestion: might the developers provide a patch for V1.9.4?
In moving out of Groupwise using Open Source groupware, you should check out Zimbra. We did several school district migrations from different programs (Groupwise included) to Zimbra, and it is really catching up a lot. It has a really nice Web interface , and enables collaboration features that are really useful (calendering, tasks, instant messaging, etc.)
SMay, it looks like your district is looking to move from GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange using Outlook as the client on the desktop. If the district is just looking to move because of Outlook, many email systems can use Outlook as the client. One option I would recommend is to use Zimbra as the email system and the Zimbra web based client. This removes the desktop client and only allows email via a browser like Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. Zimbra has a nice collaboration component including calendars. There is a free version of Zimbra or you can pay a fee for a fully supported version. The Michigan City Area School District in Indiana just moved all of their email to Zimbra and are very pleased with its performance and ease of use.
I am an a proponent of district's looking closely at open-source software as a cost savings measure for not only the district, but also for the families of the students that we are working with. With that said, I know that the main concern that my district's technology department would have with making this type of move would be the Outlook issue. They are currently working on moving from Groupwise to Outlook.
What open-source email program would you suggest that not only provides email, but also calendar features similar to Outlook?
Very good post, thanks a lot.
Hey Jeff, I am glad you enjoyed the conference and that you learned some things. It is also comforting to know that I am not the only band director to leave the ranks and go into tachnology.
I will look into the newest version of phpESP and see what I can do. In the mean time, take a look at the Lime Survey and see if it does what you want. As far as Joomla, how is that working out for you? I started with Joomla because it was easy to get started, but found in the long run I couldn't do the things I needed to do with user access control. I am now a big Drupal fan and with the addition of views and cck, I wouldn't use anything else at this point.
Thanks again. I hope to see you at another conference. Stop by and say hello.
Anonymous, your point is well taken and no, these free hosting companies and other non-Moodle partners probably do not contribute financially to the ongoing development of Moodle. The point made in this post isn't to bypass Moodle Partners, but to recognize those providers that allow teachers to get their feet wet and experience Moodle before entering the obstacle course of convincing their IT and instructional technology departments to take a look at Moodle in their organization. This is a very painless way to take Moodle for a test drive.
Let me express a word of warning here for those that are using or plan to use a free Moodle hosting company, these free hosting solutions are basically for a single class size install and not designed to run an entire district. As I have pointed out in many of my discussions with folks about Moodle, if you want to take Moodle to the next level you w ant to host your own server or get hosting from a Moodle partner. I have sent a number of folks to talk to partners about large installations.
Now I would like to argue the point that " ...non-Moodle partner hosting sites don't provide any support to the Moodle project,..." I agree that most of them don't support the project financially in any way, but the open source philosophy doesn't just look at support as paying a fee for hosting or support.
There are a number of ways that I believe these non-Moodle partners do support the Moodle project. They provide boatloads of free advertisement which does bring new Moodle users to the community. Many of the hosting companies have wonderful tutorials that provide assistance to the community. Other non-Moodle partners spend time in the forums answering questions and helping users solve problems. In some cases, don't ask me for evidence, there may actually be individuals working with these companies that actually work on code or the addition of 3rd party modules. There are lots of ways to support an open source community aside from the financial end of things.
I will now climb down off my soap box and return you to your regularly scheduled blog perusal.
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