Review: Remote Learner Adobe Connect Pro Module

Adobe Connect Pro

Today’s review Module is the Activity Module: Remote Learner Adobe Connect Pro Module. This module provides the interface between the popular Adobe Connect Pro and Moodle.

Background
This module for Moodle is created by Remote-Learner.net and sponsored by Adobe. It was first created back in March 2010 for Moodle 1.9 and was one of the first community modules upgraded to Moodle 2 in Jan 2011.

Its a full integration between the Virtual Classroom system Adobe Connect Pro and Moodle to provide room creation and scheduling.

I have used this module quite a bit, and the module features in the book Moodle 2.0 for Business in the chapter on web conferencing.

For this test I used the hosted version of Adobe Connect Pro. If you register (free) for Adobe.com you can get a hosted free trial to test out the service, which I strongly recommend doing.

What does it do?

This is a feature rich activity for Moodle, which a teacher can use to schedule a virtual session in Adobe Connect Pro from within Moodle. The teacher is able to choose from a range of settings for the activity as shown below including:

• the name
• description
• start time/end time

Room Settings

The teacher can also select which type of session to set up be it a meeting, or training session which related to settings on the Adobe Connect Pro server.

Once it is set up, the teacher can then assign roles to the newly scheduled room. The activity has 3 different roles namely Adobe Connect Host, Presenter and Participant. It is optional to assign these, but this can allow for giving a student a presenter/host role for a session so that they can present their project work, or facilitate etc.

One nice feature is that the activity adds the scheduled class into the course calendar.

The integration which works completely where someone has a full Adobe Connect Pro server, and with a slightly reduced feature set on the hosted Adobe Connect Pro product where there is no Single Sign On.

Is it simple to install?

This module is managed by a Moodle Partner Remote-Learner and the source is available in Contrib on moodle.org. The plugins entry page links to the downloadable zip file. The zip when downloaded holds contains the files for the activity module. You need to upload the adobeconnect folder to your mod folder in your Moodle site.

When upgrading through the notifications page, I got no errors and it just installed. There was quite a few new global settings which must be configured based on your Adobe Connect account either on the Hosted solution, or the local server if you have one. It is important to check each setting with your Adobe Connect admin settings.

After that is was easy adding activities to courses.

Is there documentation for it?

The plug-ins page has very clear explanation about the features module. There is a very detailed Moodle Docs page for this module. It also covers the settings changes that are needed if you are running your own Adobe Connect Pro server.

There is a link to the discussion about the plugin which has solid and timely feedback from the developers.

The README has clear instructions for installation and for the enterprise support if needed.

Is it easy for the teacher/admin to use?

Once the admin has set the module up correctly and fully tested the setup, setting up this activity is very straight forward. Once the teacher creates the room, they can then allocate roles if required. After that its just join when ready. The whole process is nice and simple.

Is it easy for the learner/student to use?

Unlike some other modules, this actually creates a calendar entry for the course so that it appears in the upcoming events / calendar for the student. This helps the student especially if they are subscribing to their calendar using Google Calendar or Outlook etc..

Upcoming Events

For the student its really just click to join. Depending on the type of server the institution has (hosted or dedicated), the student has a single sign-on or not (hosted has no SSO).

If the student has missed the session, the activity also displays the recording list if there are any.

Does it do what it promises?

Yes. This is comprehensive integration. The ability to manage the full settings including scheduling, role assignment and provision of access to recordings from within Moodle makes the whole process simpler for the teacher and student. The key plus for me on this module is the use of the Moodle course calendar for scheduled sessions.

Stars: 5 out of 5 stars for this block.

**Standard Reminder**

These reviews check out the plugin for usability not for security. If you are considering installing any module on your site you should also check that is secure and does not impact the server performance.