Book Image

Moodle 3 Administration - Third Edition

By : Alex Büchner
Book Image

Moodle 3 Administration - Third Edition

By: Alex Büchner

Overview of this book

Moodle is the de facto standard for open source learning platforms. However, setting up and managing a learning environment can be a complex task since it covers a wide range of technical, organizational, and pedagogical topics. This ranges from basic user and course management, to configuring plugins and design elements, all the way to system settings, performance optimization, events frameworks, and so on. This book concentrates on basic tasks such as how to set up and configure Moodle and how to perform day-to-day administration activities, and progresses on to more advanced topics that show you how to customize and extend Moodle, manage courses, cohorts, and users, and how to work with roles and capabilities. You’ll learn to configure Moodle plugins and ensure your VLE conforms to pedagogical and technical requirements in your organization. You’ll then learn how to integrate the VLE via web services and network it with other sites, including Mahara, and extend your system via plugins and LTI. By the end of this book, you will be able to set up an efficient, fully fledged, and secure Moodle system.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
Moodle 3 Administration Third Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Security – an overview


Moodle takes security extremely seriously, and any potential issues are given the highest priority. Fixed vulnerabilities of serious issues usually trigger the release of minor versions, which emphasize the importance of the subject.

The security of a system is as good as its weakest link. Moodle relies on underlying software, hardware, and network infrastructure; security can potentially be compromised in a number of areas. As the focus of this book is on Moodle and its administration thereof, we only cover the security elements of Moodle per se. The following areas are not dealt with, and it is necessary to consult the respective documentation on security issues:

  • Software: As described in Chapter 2, The Moodle System, Moodle's key components comprise a web server (usually Apache or Microsoft IIS), database server (MySQL, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, or Oracle), and a programming language (PHP). Additional PHP and operating system extensions are required, for...