// pre-fill user information
$query = ” SELECT
EA7RECORDS.FIRSTNAME, EA7RECORDS.NICKNAME, EA7RECORDS.LASTNAME
FROM
EA7RECORDS,
ADDRESSLINKS,
PHONELINKS,
ADDRESSLINKPHONES
WHERE
NUM LIKE ‘$user->username” . ‘@sfuhs.org’ . “‘ AND
ADDRESSLINKPHONES.PHONESID=PHONELINKS.PHONESID AND
PHONELINKS.ADDRESSLINKSID=ADDRESSLINKS.ADDRESSLINKSID AND
ADDRESSLINKS.PARENTRECORDID=EA7RECORDS.EA7RECORDSID”;

mssql_connect ( “sqlsrv”, “[user]”, “[pwd]” );
$result = mssql_query ( $query );
$row=mssql_fetch_array($result);
if ($row[’NICKNAME’]) {$row[’FIRSTNAME’]=$row[’NICKNAME’];}
mssql_close();
if ($row[’FIRSTNAME’]) {$user->firstname = $row[’FIRSTNAME’];}
if ($row[’LASTNAME’]) {$user->lastname = $row[’LASTNAME’];}
$user->email = $user->username . ‘@sfuhs.org’;

A couple of similar changes allow Moodle to automatically recognize users based on their web site login and bypass the Moodle login screen. I understand that Moodle has developed an API for single sign-on but have not yet seen detailed documentation on it.

We don’t import course and student enrollment information. All of our courses are set to auto-enroll when a student visits it for the first time, so this process mostly takes care of itself.

I’m hoping that a combination of a few pieces will give me what I want. I’m looking for SchoolTool to eventually be that bridge between SIS and CMS.

I’m curious too about what you’re looking for with respect to SIS integration. What are you hoping to achieve?

-Tim
http://technosavvy.org

http://cdc.humboldt.edu/moodle/mod/netpublish/view.php?id=3&section=9

http://edublogr.blogspot.com/2005/10/reflections-on-merger.html
see michaelp’s comments

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=20527
a classic debate

http://instructionaltechnology.editthispage.com/newsItems/viewDepartmentBlackboard

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=22640&parent=107125

This is old (moodle has moved forward… and i imagine blackboard has too)
but still a classic
http://www.humboldt.edu/~jdv1/moodle/all.htm

cheers.

We are a high school district in Illinois with 2 high schools and we are entirely PC with a Novell network and a aging student information system.

We use the Blackboard Community System and have had a great deal of success witht the platform. It integrates nicely with our SIS and their snapshot tool makes setting up courses a breeze, and they are constantly updated with class roster changes and additions. This is a significant advantage over Moodle, as I understand that it does not integrate with SIS’s. We purchased the server with the software installed from Blackboard and it has worked flawlessly over the past two years. We’ve installed it, and no considering updates, have not touched it. The uptime has been fantastic and the system may have been down several hours over the past two years.

I should mention that we have 407 students in two buildings, 1800 PC’s and 407 teachers. In two years, we have gone from 0 use to 225 participants, so acceptance has been outstanding. We have a range of uses, from announcements and assignment posting to complex uses that merge a wiki tool with discussion boards. We have integrated several building blocks with Blackboard, including Turnitin.com integration, Discussion Board Grader (from Joliet Junior College in Illinois, and free), and Lectora, with provides free form Web development for our more advanced users, with a direct capability to publish that Web content directly into Blackboard. We have recently added a building block by LearningObjects.com that adds blog and wiki capability into Blackboard.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the product. I know Blackboard gets bashed alot, but it has worked in our district exceptionally well. You should know that their support is not good, and they have a revolving door with their reps as they get promoted as the company grows.

We simply tired of having teachers build ineffective Web sites. Blackboard has given us the capability to have a wide variety of online support for our students, with some amazing and creative applications of the various tools to create very dynamic learning enviroments.

Contact me through email and I’ll send my phone if you would like to talk directly. See you at the Illinois Tech Conference.

Sincerely,
David

David Jakes
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Community High School District 99, Downers Grove, IL

wow. what a fun question.

I’m currently in a very lively debate around these issues… check out Leigh Blackall’s post, and the debate on it follows through the link at the end of his post.

In terms of moodle and integration… i would be suprised if there wasn’t a way to tie in moodle to your SIS. There are 10 different ways of accessing databases included in the base release, and if it doesn’t exist now, you could pay someone in the open source community to patch into your SIS for less than it would cost to purchase a Blackboard license.

In terms of the difference between a VLE (virtual learning environment)/LCMS (learning content management system) and a CMS (content management system) there are a host of choices that could suit your situation. I’d love to hear more about what you have in mind, what you need it for, and what your plans are for it in the future. Would love to give an opinion (i know you’ll find this surprising ) but I’d have to know a little more. If you don’t feel comfortable posting that here, feel free to contact me. But on a quick look… you look like you need a MU blogging platform not a teacher centered CMS.

I found the Novell install of moodle a little trying. (but i’m not exactly a novell certified pro either, the linux/windows install is super easy)

cheers,

dave.

What we are moving toward is Wordpress for those teachers that are ready to put something online, and once they’re comfortable with that, moving them toward using Moodle.

Are there any shortcomings of Moodle that you can think of that doesn’t work for you?

The problem with .LRN is that it is based on a dying platform (Open ACS), but I suppose, as a happy user of Manila, you’re used to that kind of thing.

I’m one of the .LRN developers you met. My company website is solutiongrove.com. It has contact info, please give me a call and tell me more about your project and I’ll update you on where .LRN is now.

Thanks
Caroline