ConversionThingy 2

ConversionThingy 2 is a program that reads ANGEL 7.3 and 7.4 course archives and converts their course content into native objects in Moodle 1.98 and Moodle 2.0 backup files.  The conversion brings in as much as it can reasonably translate from the one LMS to the other: most of the items ordinarily located under the ANGEL Lessons tab get shifted, including folders, pages, url links, files, discussion forums, dropboxes, assessments, surveys, and WIKIs. Also included in the conversion are gradebook categories and assignments (along with their content linkages and weights), grade scales (mapping number/letter grades),  chat rooms, resource tab links, team ids (and descriptions), and question banks, as is the syllabus, whether it was constructed on a template, uploaded as a file, or linked to an external resource. Converted materials turn up not just as linked file resources (as they presently do with the IMS Common Cartridge imports), but as native Moodle objects that can be further manipulated, configured, and edited as though they had been created in Moodle in the first place.

As of mid-January 2011, ConversionThingy 2 also generates Moodle 2 backup files from Moodle 1.98 backups. See the Technical Notes page for details.)

For many courses, the conversion time is a few seconds longer than it takes to unzip the archive. Some courses--particularly those involving a considerable number of random questions, will take a little longer to process, but the average processing time is likely to be around 30 seconds.  In most instances, a faculty member will be able to convert all of his/her courses in just a few minutes.

ConversionThingy 2 supports batch processing, allowing multiple files to be cued for conversion at once. And with each conversion, a log of local conversion statistics and a conversion report file are generated on the system running the conversion.  A copy of the conversion report--indicating what was converted and if any difficulties were encountered--also gets tucked into the "Files" area of the Moodle archive.

There's no fee for personal uses of the ConversionThingy 2 application, and a "What's it worth to you" fee for academic institutions--you figure out how much the program's output is worth and pay accordingly (see the License and the "What's It Worth" links for details). Commercial organizations, hosting companies, consultants, and other interested parties should enquire about a commercial license.