Moodle Administration - A Book Review

Nov 7th 2008
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Recently a representative from Packt Publishing contacted me to ask if I was willing to write a review of their newly released book on “Moodle Administration“. To sweeten the deal they even agreed to send me a free copy of the book. Well, not one to turn down my first official freebie I was happy to oblige. But I stressed that sending me the book would not guarantee a positive review as I refuse to sell out (well not unless they sent me a new car or something) my fellow Moodlers. Well after reading the book I see why they were not concerned. So without further ado lets get into the review.

About the Author

“Moodle Administration” is written by Alex Büchner, a co-founder and technical lead with Synergy Learning, the UK’s largest Moodle partner. This to me was an important first step. It means Alex has hands on experience in dealing with the intricacies of Moodle administration. We are not talking theoretical knowledge but experience gained from hands on experience.

Unlike many technical leads I have dealt with, Alex also has the ability to speak in plain English, the ability to translate technical jargon and concepts into language and definitions that makes sense to the average reader. I have not met Alex yet, but hope that when I finally reach a UK moot that I can meet up with him and pick his brains in more depth personally. It is this ability to connect with the author that first made this book a pleasure to read.

About the Book

I want to point out that this book is not just a technical manual. What I was expecting when picking up this book was a series of chapters that outline various Moodle admin functions in a “Step 1: Do this, Step 2: do that” approach. While this would have been perfectly OK and would have made for a useful book, instead they have gone for a more informative approach. Moodle admin is more about putting in a series of settings and policies. It is about understanding why these policies are in place and the thought processes gone through to create them.

It is this vital element that has been missing from other admin books that I have read. Why would I use different methods of Authentication? What is good practice for theme development, How should I set up a server? Do I use a hosted provider or create my own? The author appears to go out of his way to explain the rationale behind various decisions and the impacts that these have on the site and its users.

The book also takes the time to provide some of the information behind how Moodle operates, not just as a product but also as a company. Some time is spent explaining the Moodle rationale, it’s business and development models as well as detailing what a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is, how moodle fits inside this definition and the skill-sets required for an effective VLE administrator.

The technical side of the book that does go down the “Step 1: Do this, Step 2: do that” model does so in a logical and not overly detailed manner. Each step is clearly stated and explained while not going into stupid levels of depth. Useful screen grabs and tips are dispersed throughout these pages as well to add additional explanation and to clarify potentially confusing steps.

So, to sum up. . . .

Having read this book I now intend to not only recommend it strongly to others, but I also hope to find a way to factor it in price wise as part of my Moodle training kits whenever I run face to face Administration training.

This book is a detailed, well thought out and a very thorough walkthrough of the Moodle administration process from the early decision making processes through to final deployment and management and as such is the only book of it’s kind currently on the market. While others go into the details of “how”, this is the first book I have seen that takes the time out to explain “Why”.

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