Chamilo User Day en Latinoamérica Mayo 2013

BeezNest fixes new Chamilo security flaws in 48h

Secunia gave the Chamilo Security team full details of three security flaws detected in version 1.9.4 on Monday the 4th of March 2013. These flaws were detected by Fernando Muñoz, a regular contact for Chamilo in terms of security. We are very grateful for his and Secunia’s work.

Within less than 48 hours, the Chamilo Security team, part of BeezNest‘s development team, has reviewed, patched, published and communicated a fix to its community through the Chamilo wiki and Chamilo Security team’s Twitter account, doing its best effort to inform everyone in time.
In fact, a patch was available within 12h, but it took us some time to go through the right communication channels and make the patch accessible to the greatest number.

Our fast turn around time on this security issue is a reflection of the priority and focus we place on security. Security is more than a side item for us, it’s part of our core principles.

At Chamilo, we embrace security research and show our appreciation to all involved. Thank you for helping us make Chamilo better!

BeezNest offers hosting, development and maintenance services for any Chamilo LMS portal. Feel free to contact us for a quote if you need help. Chamilo is free software and you are absolutely not forced to use our services. We can help you out if you need it, that’s all!

Database schema for Chamilo 1.9.4

A lot of people have been asking for a database schema of Chamilo 1.9. Here it is. The editable format can be found in the documents for Chamilo LMS: http://support.chamilo.org/documents/57

Chamilo LMS 1.9.* database schema

The image itself weights 3.2MB and has a few colours to try and focus on the important parts. All the tables in semi-circle at the bottom are course-specific data tables

Videoconferencia nativa en el navegador con WebRTC

WebRTC (Comunicaciones en Tiempo Real para la Web) está madurando muy rápido. Para los muy interesados y algo pacientes, este vídeo de Google I/O 2012 les interesará un montón!

Para los que, como nosotros, están interesados en lo que se puede hacer con esto y Chamilo LMS, pues queda claro que muchísimo.

A partir de la red social de Chamilo, uno se podría directamente conectar a otro usuario por videoconferencia sin sobrecargar el servidor de Chamilo (conexión directa). Con IPv6 y un poco de multicast, podríamos tener un solo docente dictando a miles de estudiantes en simultáneo sin necesidad de integración de Ustream, Livestream, JustinTV ni nada de esto.

Para probar WebRTC con la videoconferencia en Firefox en Ubuntu *hoy*, aquí va un pequeño procedimiento a seguir en el navegador para, primero, instalar una versión inestable de Firefox nocturno (versión 21 al momento de escribir estas líneas) en paralelo a su versión actual (cortesía de otro blog):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox-trunk

Después de esto, un enlace “Navegador Web Nightly” aparecerá en el menú de Ubuntu: Aplicaciones > Internet > Navegador Web Nightly.

Una vez lanzada esta versión, ir aquí con esta nueva versión. Al momento de escribir estas líneas, los demos son un poco inestables todavía, pero la idea es que por lo menos uno puede verificar que su webcam y su microfono están tomados en cuenta por los distintos demos disponibles.

Pues ahí va… El futuro de Chamilo tiene videoconferencia como Skype integrada al navegador (si tienes el buen navegador)!

Cursos de desarrollo especializado Chamilo LMS 1.9

En BeezNest estamos actualizando nuestro equipo de desarrollo a las
nuevas estructuras de desarrollo en Chamilo LMS 1.9.

Por ello, de todas maneras estaremos dictando unos cursos internos
*informales* en las oficinas de BeezNest Latino (oficina de Miraflores, Lima, Perú)

Nuestra infraestructura no nos permite trasmitir en buena calidad estos
cursos en streaming (principalmente por una obra que se está ejecutando
al costado de nuestro edificio), pero si desean, y aunque nuestro local
esté modesto y les advertimos con muy poca anticipación (falta menos de
una hora para el primero), estos cursos son abiertos a paticipación de
personas externas, y ustedes tanto como sus colegas están bienvenidos (previa
coordinación telefónica para evitar reventar el local) para participar
en ellos. Coordinar con Michela al 01/7195191.

Lunes 4/02/2013: 10am-1pm:
* El proceso de validación y calidad de código en Chamilo LMS
* Proceso de instalación (a nivel de código y estructura de datos) de
Chamilo LMS 1.9
* Global.inc.php: inicialización del sistema
* Estructura de página principal de cursos

Martes 5/02/2013: 10am-1pm
* Pruebas unitarias y sus ventajas para la calidad de software
* Generar pruebas unitarias
* Herramientas de curso (estructura de datos y requerimientos para crear
más herramientas)

Miércoles 6/02/2013: 10am-1pm
* Sistema de plantillas Twig
* Herramienta de ejercicios
* Herramienta de foros

Jueves 7/02/2013: 10am-1pm
* Sesiones
* Herramientas de reportes
* Herramientas de administración

No habrá entrega de certificados. Se trata de un curso de participación
libre con el objetivo de capacitar a futuros desarrolladores de Chamilo.

No es necesario participar a todos los cursos, pero no habrà material
digital/impreso distribuido, por lo que… lo que no se ve, se pierde.

Aprendizaje basado en el funcionamiento del cerebro

Según investigaciones en el ámbito de como el cerebro aprende (“Brain-Based Learning”, por On Purpose Associates, 2004), los siguientes elementos son válidos para un mejor aprendizaje:

1. El cerebro puede encargarse de varias actividades a la vez (por ejemplo, escuchar y oler)
2. El aprendizaje implica todo el cuerpo
3. La búsqueda del sentido de las cosas es inato y viene por aplicación de patrones
4. Las emociones son críticas para la generación de patrones
5. El cerebro procesa el todo y las partes en simultáneo
6. El aprendizaje involucra la atención concentrada y la percepción periférica
7. El aprendizaje involucra procesos conscientes e inconscientes
8. Tenemos dos tipos de memoria: espacial y “rote” (memoria por repetición sin ser necesario el entendimiento)
9. El aprendizaje y el entendimiento se mejoran si los hechos están insertados en memoria espacial, o memoria natural
10. Los retos y las amenazas disminuyen la eficiencia del aprendizaje

Chamilo LMS favorece varios de estos elementos:

1. Chamilo permite el uso de varios medios (vídeos, audios, textos, imágenes y juegos) y facilita su elaboración por el docente (herramientas de dibujo, grabación y generación de audio, etc)
2. El docente puede fácilmente transmitir elementos de cursos que involucren el resto del cuerpo. El uso de Chamilo desde su casa permite a los alumnos practicar gestualmente sin el freno de la vergüenza
3. La integración de definiciones propias de vocabulario, incluyendo, por ejemplo, elementos históricos mediáticos, permite encontrar sentido en lo enseñado. Generar sentido y emociones depende altamente de la manera en la cual el docente decide presentar el contenido.
4. (idem punto 3)
5. La presentación de contenido de aprendizaje en formato de cursos (todo) con varias herramientas para temas específicos (partes) permite al cerebro trabajar sobre ambos contextos (global y parcial)
6. Presentar contenido que combine concentración y percepción es hecho factible por la facilidad con la cual Chamilo permite la integración de medios
7. (idem punto 6)
8. A través de la posibilidad, para Chamilo, de elaborar lecciones con mini-pruebas tras cada capítulo, se pueden “animar” las memorias espaciales y ote para cada tipo de contenido presentado. Típicamente, 5 páginas de texto/medios serán seguidas de una mini-prueba de 5 preguntas que asegura que el cerebro del estudiante se despierte al objetivo concreto del aprendizaje
9. (idem punto 8)
10. Por el uso de una herramienta de aprendizaje como Chamilo LMS, que permita el aprendizaje al ritmo personal del estudiante, se puede reducir las amnazas y el estrés y optimizar el ambiente de aprendizaje. El aprendizaje durante espacios temporales más tranquilos (en casa, de vacaciones, etc) permite la elaboración mental de conceptos más complejos y su respectivo aprendizaje. La capacidad, para Chamilo LMS, de funcionar en ambientes móviles, le permite fácilmente ser usado en cualquier situación.

Chamilo LMS es un sistema de gestión y distribución de cursos virtuales desarrollado, entre otros, por BeezNest. Se puede descargar en la página oficial de Chamilo. Puede contactar a BeezNest para una propuesta formal de implementación y asistencia en ventas@beeznest.com.

Varnish stops file download after 60 seconds

The default installation of Varnish 3 on Debian-based system (including Ubuntu) will set a default timeout for sending files to users (i.e. for users files download) to 60 seconds.

To change this limit, it is necessary to update your default Varnish configuration, in /etc/default/varnish.

For example, if you have something like this:

DAEMON_OPTS="-a :80 \
             -T localhost:6082 \
             -f /etc/varnish/default.vcl \
             -S /etc/varnish/secret \
             -s malloc,256m"

make sure you add the send_timeout param, like this (see the -p line):

DAEMON_OPTS=”-a :80 \
-T localhost:6082 \
-f /etc/varnish/default.vcl \
-S /etc/varnish/secret \
-p send_timeout=900 \
-s malloc,256m”

This will obviously increase the maximum download time to 900 seconds (15 minutes), which will make it much more practical and less stressfull to download large files.

The logic behind this very short limit is that, if you’re optimizing your site with Varnish, you shouldn’t make it busy with handling one long-term connection with a large file like this (meanwhile, thousands of other connections could have been treated) and your large files should reside on a CDN or something like this.

Chamilo 1.9.4 released, clear the way!

Today we release Chamilo 1.9.4, with a number of notable improvements in speed, usability and features, but you know… that’s nothing compared to what we’re preparing for version 1.10. We’ve got a pocket full of kryptonite ready to blow your eyes out this year, but let’s focus on 1.9.4 for now. You can download it from here: http://www.chamilo.org/en/download. The free campus will be upgraded, probably this week-end, to have everybody enjoying the improvements.

For this great release, I’d like to personally thank our AMAZING team. We’ve all been hard at work, and they deserve some praise. In particular, thanks to Julio, Yoselyn, Hubert, Jérémie, José, Laura, Noa and, of course, Michela for their efforts in all directions, helping Chamilo spread like crazy and helping build this brilliant piece of software that you’re probably downloading already. Many more people deserve thanks. They’ve all (I hope I didn’t forget anybody) figuring in the Chamilo 1.9.4 credits. My sincere apologies to the Chamilo translators for having failed once again to distinguish their contributions and thank them properly for that. You make Chamilo a better tool for your communities and this is invaluable!

You can find the full changelog of Chamilo 1.9.4, as always, on http://stable.chamilo.org/documentation/changelog.html, but if you prefer a short version, have it here:

• Teachers can now generate an export in PDF all the certificates of their students at once (and print them as one big file)
• Improvement to the attendances tool, allowing you to mark “late” students and warning you about overlaps
• Stylesheets can now be uploaded *and downloaded* directly from the admin page, so happy editing!
• Exercises now generate score reports by questions categories (nice!)
• You can now group questions by the same media resource (a large text, a video, etc)
• LP image is now shown as a starter icon on the course homepage if you want to
• You can now create student classes through CSV import
• General reports now show IP address to identify where this student was connecting from (you know… his exam seemed so good, for once…!?)
• Considerably improved learning path usability
• Single Sign On class has improved security with blocking per IP (or IP range) the Single Sign On origin
• Improved responsive design: better positionning of most blocks
• HTML5 support improvements
• WCAG improvements (alt/title tags and other stuff)
• SEO improvements: H1 and H2 tags reorganized
• BigBlueButton plugin improvements and fixes
• Fixed issues with IE9 (with and without compatibility mode) in exercises
• Fixed problem with accentuated chars in image zones question types
• Fixed issues with files upload in HTTPS
• Fixed XLS questions import
• Fixed courses copy bugs
• Translation to Tagalog

But 1.9.4 is just one step further from 1.9.0, with 1.10 looming in th background for the big leap. 1.9.6 should be ready in about two months from now (mid March?), with just around 50 issues to review and fix (which will give us plenty of time to look at other important Chamilo stuff), then 1.10 should come out somewhere around May (that’s a very wide guess). I don’t want to sell it too early, so you’ll just have to believe that what is coming is much more than what 1.9 was in comparison to 1.8. With 1.10, we should get a large foot into the large corporate environment scale, with Chamilo being used progressively by hundreds of thousands of users on a few portals, with more features, better efficiency (still) and a more reliable behaviour.

To match our ambitions, we’ve worked even harder so that Chamilo could now be automatically tested, documented, analyzed (and soon packaged) by our brand new Jenkins server at http://testing.chamilo.org. With this one, we’ll be able to optimize our review cycle, spending more time on important stuff, and less time fighting against undetected regressions. Including the new Symfony framework bits that we’ve been adding recently, Chamilo LMS (just that branch) has now about 1 million lines of code, which makes it a huge development project, so it was time for us to get armed with the proper weapons. Two new developers (maybe more) will soon be joining the team as well. Our previous projects have won us a long series of good relationships and we are on our way to grow, both as an association and as a group of companies. Talking about that, the association subscribed almost 50 new personal members last year, so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate to check out the guide on how to become a member.

Our crowdfunding portal is on its way too, so you’ll be able to show your support for a specific feature. More about this soon…

And finally, Chamilo certification exams will soon be updated to Chamilo 1.9.4. You can buy an exam attempt at https://shop.beeznest.com. The process is completely automated. Video courses will be available for sale soon too.

Want to have your own Chamilo 1.9.4 portal? Why not try Chamihost for free for 15 days?

Oh, by the way, today’s Chamilo’s 3rd birthday!

The amazing Chamilo project is warming up for 2013. Are you?

Answering to different addresses with Chamilo

One possible annoying element of Chamilo is it can only answer to one address at a time. This simply comes from a very old codebase and the fact that, at some point in the past, it wasn’t that easy to get the address from the URL or the HTTP headers in a reliable way.

Nowadays, though, it’s completely reliable to say that your host is (in PHP) $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], so you could hack the configuration file of Chamilo (main/inc/conf/configuration.php) like this:

$_configuration['root_web'] = 'http://my.chamilo19.net/';
if (!empty($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'])) {
$_configuration['root_web'] = 'http://'.$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].'/';
}

This might have a security impact, we are still assessing this. However, it is likely that this does not really impact security, as other similar systems (like Drupal, Joomla, etc) also let the HTTP_HOST determine the web root path. One alteration to this would be to manually allow for the definition of a “list” of authorized hosts.
If we cannot find any clear reason to prevent the use of this technique in Chamilo, it is likely versions starting from 1.10 will rely on this to avoid the strict dependency on the host defined in $_configuration['root_web'].
There will likely be a requirement on $_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'] as well to identify cases where we use HTTPS (SSL certificates).

Kudos to GMP Perú for passing this requirement on to us so we could work on it and find a good solution.
BT#5737

BeezNest to launch cloud hosting for Chamilo LMS

At the beginning of December, BeezNest will be launching its new, low-cost cloud hosting service for Chamilo LMS 1.9. This will enable non-technical teachers to host their own Chamilo LMS portal by only completing a form and scheduling a monthly payment depending on the number of users subscribed to the platform.

We hope this will give teachers a greater commodity regarding their course material and will give a gentle push in the right direction for the improvement of educational methodologies, making it easier for them to put their contents online and keep track of their students’ progress.

This cloud hosting will respect the philosophy of free software by giving you full access to the application’s souce code.

More information about this very soon!