14. Moodle integration

‘Mahoodle’ is the common name given to the joining of Mahara + Moodle, an open source learning management system. Both systems have built-in support for each other in the form of:

• single sign-on

• assessment

14.1. Connect via LTI and web services

14.1.1. LTI setup

You can connect Mahara to Moodle using LTI as external app. This makes it possible for people with an account on the LMS to transfer directly into Mahara and also complete assignments if needed.

See also

More information on setting up LTI between Moodle and Mahara is available in the External apps’ section.

14.1.2. Mahara assignment submission plugin

A new Mahara assignment submission plugin is available for Moodle. It is based on web services and LTI rather than MNet. It will allow for the archiving of portfolios (estimated to be added about mid 2021) along with the previously available functionality.

14.2. Connect via MNet

‘Moodle networking’ (MNet) is a Moodle specific protocol to connect to other Moodle instances. Mahara has been using it for many years to allow Mahara to be connected to Moodle instances for single sign-on and assessment purposes.

Over the years, newer protocols have become available, and the Mahara projects is using LTI and web services increasingly.

MNet is still available, but not actively developed. New development efforts goes into expanding web services and LTI connections.

Refer to the comprehensive guide about setting up MNet between Moodle and Mahara for step-by-step instructions. The guide explains the steps for both Moodle 1.9 and Moodle 2.x, which are also valid for 3.x.

You can always only link one Moodle to one Mahara be it on the site level or in an individual institution. You cannot link from one Moodle into multiple institutions on Mahara.

14.2.1. Moodle to Mahara

Most of the time, Moodle is the primary system and people log in from Moodle to Mahara. However, it can also be set up the other way around. You can transfer the following information when an institution in Mahara is set up to be connected to a Moodle site:

• Login information

• Account details, see the information in the XML-RPC authentication method settings

• Content that is exported via the Moodle 2 ‘Portfolio export’ functionality

14.2.2. Mahara to Moodle

You can send information and content from Mahara to Moodle if you wish. The following are possible:

• Login information

• Submitting pages for assessment

• Displaying dashboard content

• Using Moodle’s login page

14.2.3. Link to specific Mahara page in Moodle

Normally, when you log in to Mahara from Moodle, you land on the dashboard page. However, there is a trick to go directly to a specific page in Mahara.

See also

Thanks to Gordon McLeod who published this tip.

1. In Moodle add the block Network servers to a page (temporarily) after you set up networking to Mahara.

2. Copy the Mahara URL. It usually looks like this: https://moodle.organisation.net/auth/mnet/jump.php?hostid=3.

   Note

   If you only have one MNet session to Mahara set up, the host ID is usually 3. However, if you deleted an MNet connection or have multiple ones, it might be different.

3. Paste that URL into a text editor because it is easier to make changes there.

4. Add &wantsurl= to the end of the URL to yield https://moodle.organisation.net/auth/mnet/jump.php?hostid=3&wantsurl=.

5. Copy the URL of the Mahara page to which you want to link, e.g. https://mahara.organisation.net/view/view.php?id=1234.

6. Append that URL to the Moodle jump URL, e.g. https://moodle.organisation.net/auth/mnet/jump.php?hostid=3&wantsurl=https://mahara.organisation.net/view/view.php?id=1234.

7. Delete the domain part of the Mahara URL, e.g. https://mahara.organisation.net. That leaves you with https://moodle.organisation.net/auth/mnet/jump.php?hostid=3&wantsurl=/view/view.php?id=1234.

8. Edit the remaining part of the Mahara URL to replace symbols with the URL hex code, e.g. https://moodle.organisation/auth/mnet/jump.php?hostid=3&wantsurl=%2Fview%2Fview.php%3Fid%3D1234.

See also

Common hex codes replacements for characters that you find in Mahara URLs are:

• slash / → %2F

• question mark ? → %3F

• equal sign = → %3D

• hyphen - → %2D

1. Copy the resulting URL and link your text or a navigation menu item to arrive at this specific page in Mahara.

Note

If you want to allow all your Moodle account holders to arrive at a specific page or group in Mahara, you need to make sure that they have access to the page or group. Otherwise, they would not see the content.