Identified date- 5/16/24 - Resolution determined 5/22/24
Categorization of issue (translating a legacy workflow to a new system, deprecation of existing hardware/software)
The current LATTE backup files lack the new Moodle’s H5P site-level libraries, so restored activities don’t work and can’t be reset. So far going to a LATTE site, downloading the files, and uploading them to the Moodle site manually does allow the past content to be used.
H5P is a container format which represents over 50 different activity types, and is used in all sorts of websites. In LATTE the H5P plugin activity allowed an instructor to construct a package of content and an activity type, and hosted it within the course. Restoring a course from one term to another requires setup at the course level. Brandeis’s Moodle implementation uses the same mechanism as LATTE, allowing past content to be migrated from LATTE to Moodle (rather than requiring instructors to build content from scratch using the new tool).
Identified date: implementation - Resolution determined.
Categorization of issue (translating a legacy workflow to a new system)
When Moodle 3.11 course backups created in LATTE are restored in Moodle’s 4.3 instance, External tool connections won’t work and need to be replaced.
An LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) integration instance in a course shell is an activity that points to an activity that is hosted in an external-to-Moodle application. Voicethread, Perusall, and Echo360 activities all share this common characteristic - the LATTE item is a set of instructions that tell the external asset to connect with a specific course or gradebook in LATTE. When a Course is restored within the same LMS, the newly established Moodle 3.11 integration needs to be re-connected to the External tool. Since Moodle courses are hosted in an entirely different site with different software (Moodle 4.3+) the 3.11 integration instance needs to be replaced with a new compatible version of the same course integration.
Identified date: Implementation - Resolution determined.
Categorization of issue (translating a legacy workflow to a new system)
As part of the migration implementation from LATTE to Moodle, course backups were shared with instructors via Box. A small number of LATTE courses were too big to migrate, often because of locally embedded video files that instructors don’t even use.
In some cases instructors removed the embedded video player code from their course shells - but did not actually remove the files that occupy so much space within the course shell. The solution is to use the “Manage Files” button in the ATTO html editor to list the hidden video files, and delete them from the course. After the course backup process will easily generate a much smaller backup file that is more manageable to transfer using Box.
Identified date: Implementation
Categorization of issue (translating a legacy workflow to a new system)
An artifact of the LATTE “Hybrid Course Shell” is extensive utilization of image icons for section headings, that are actually hosted by LATTE. These images will slow the loading of the course page in Moodle, and will not work if the viewer doesn’t have access to LATTE. In the Spring 2025 term when LATTE is deprecated all these icons will stop loading.
The recommendation is to remove all such styling from the Moodle course shell.
Identified date: Implementation - Resolution detemined
Categorization of issue (translating a legacy workflow to a new system)
An artifact of the LATTE “Hybrid Course Shell” is extensive utilization of hidden inline CSS styling commands. These are problematic because they were not written with a modern and responsive website in mind, and force certain artificial width and sizing constraints. These have been shown to interfere with the ability for the course to flow in different page orientations (such as on a mobile device) and prevent links from working.
The recommendation is to remove all such styling from the Moodle course shell. This includes the Blue “Brandeis Banner,” the gradient blue section separators, and the icons that are hotlinked to LATTE.