Moodle Plugins!
What are they? And why are they important?
Plugins are a flexible tool set, allowing Moodle users to extend the features of their sites. At moodle.org, our plugins directory contains hundreds of plugins, each of them capable of extending the features of Moodle’s core functionality.
To date, there are 1,249 community plugins available for Moodle, submitted by 692 contributors.
With more and more plugins being submitted on a regular basis, Moodle community members and users have asked for particular features that would allow them to find and easily access the plugins that they really need.
And so here at Moodle HQ, we’ve listened and started on a project that aims to achieve two important outcomes:
- improve the overall user interface and experience of the plugins directory
- using more of the latest functionalities and technology of Moodle core versions to power the plugins directory
Today we are pleased to reveal the first stage of Moodle’s longer term plugins project – a fresh new front page.
Through initial research into the look and feel of similar sites globally, analysing recommended patterns of UI development, through to building and testing a number of prototypes, Moodle HQ has worked with community members to achieve this first and important milestone.
Today we are pleased to reveal the first stage of Moodle’s longer term plugins project – a fresh new front page.
Through initial research into the look and feel of similar sites globally, analysing recommended patterns of UI development, through to building and testing a number of prototypes, Moodle HQ has worked with community members to achieve this first and important milestone.
With this new interface, you can expect the following from the Moodle plugins directory:
- a modernised front page that lets you see the plugins card appear instantly as you change the filter form so there is no need to reload whole page
- ability to search plugins based on ‘purpose’ and whether they can be used for communication, assessment, collaboration or administration. This tagging will enable Moodle users to look and find the right plugin based on their requirements.
- more advanced filtering options by using the ‘area’ search fields and also ‘plugin type’ drop-down menu to refine your search for the right plugin.
- more accurate and relevant search results, displayed in a user-friendly way as a result of rewriting the whole plugins search engine.
- and importantly, have more fun when browsing the plugins directory because it is more user-friendly and accurate! A bit like surfing, as these new features in the plugins directory are being powered by the latest Moodle core functionalities.
View our walkthrough video below.
Try out Moodle’s new plugins directory interface today and join the conversation to let us know what you think in our plugins traffic forum.
