In a master stroke of synchronicity, I was looking for a download of Drupal 4.7 to test out the Quiz module just yesterday afternoon. This morning, I see that Drupal 4.7.0 Beta 1 was released! So, I grabbed a copy of it and set up a fresh install on my desktop. Some really nice refinements to Drupal. The configuration side of things is starting to make sense. Good to see them giving it some proper love.
I dropped the Quiz module into place, and started creating a quiz. Looks pretty straightforward, and the quiz questions have exactly the kind of functionality that I’ve built into quiz tools previously (for multiple choice quizzes, the ability to have per-answer feedback, random/notrandom, tracking time in quiz, etc…) – but I can’t seem to take a quiz.
I’m sure it’s just a minor hiccough with the new Drupal 4.7.0 Beta 1, or perhaps an incompatibility between the older Quiz module code and the new Drupal code. Once that’s worked out, I think this could be a pretty solid informal testing tool, or a great option for outside-the-LMS testing.
Now, to see if I can convince Quiz.module to start letting people take quizzes…
I’ve also been playing with various CMS options, and so far Drupal is feeling like the right balance between flexibility, control, and ease of use. Joomla just feels to “heavy” for novice users. WebGUI is waaaay to over-the-top enterprise-application heavy (borking MySQL on my desktop box when I tried to test it). Drupal is a nice, light, fluid system…
In a master stroke of synchronicity, I was looking for a download of Drupal 4.7 to test out the Quiz module just yesterday afternoon. This morning, I see that Drupal 4.7.0 Beta 1 was released! So, I grabbed a copy of it and set up a fresh install on my desktop. Some really nice refinements to Drupal. The configuration side of things is starting to make sense. Good to see them giving it some proper love.
I dropped the Quiz module into place, and started creating a quiz. Looks pretty straightforward, and the quiz questions have exactly the kind of functionality that I’ve built into quiz tools previously (for multiple choice quizzes, the ability to have per-answer feedback, random/notrandom, tracking time in quiz, etc…) – but I can’t seem to take a quiz.
I’m sure it’s just a minor hiccough with the new Drupal 4.7.0 Beta 1, or perhaps an incompatibility between the older Quiz module code and the new Drupal code. Once that’s worked out, I think this could be a pretty solid informal testing tool, or a great option for outside-the-LMS testing.
Now, to see if I can convince Quiz.module to start letting people take quizzes…
I’ve also been playing with various CMS options, and so far Drupal is feeling like the right balance between flexibility, control, and ease of use. Joomla just feels to “heavy” for novice users. WebGUI is waaaay to over-the-top enterprise-application heavy (borking MySQL on my desktop box when I tried to test it). Drupal is a nice, light, fluid system…
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Adam – thanks. I’ll be avoiding WebGUI. The first thing it did was kill my local MySQL server so it could light up its own. That’s so messed up. It’s now blacklisted.
Rob – you should be fine with 4.7 beta – the final release should be out before too long, and I haven’t seen any Big Scary Bugs that would stop using it. That being said, 4.7 is just an evolution over 4.6 so there aren’t any huge new killer features – so you could stick with 4.6 stable and upgrade relatively painlessly later. The biggest gotcha with that might be making sure to update any modules to 4.7 compatible versions when you do update the Drupal code. There should be a handy dandy update manager in Drupal…
Sami – thanks for the tip about using CVS to keep the code up to date. Now, if only they’d switch to using Subversion… 😉
Rob, I would say start building with 4.7 beta now. It’s kind of buggy, but not something you can’t put up with. Actually better yet, instead of the beta just checkout HEAD using CVS and keep that updated via cvs and you can build your site.
Hey D’Arcy – I’m in agreement with you about Drupal, and I did download the Beta although I haven’t had enough time to play – uh, I mean examine all the affordances available by that particular content management system. I’ve got a project in mind for Drupal but I’m wondering if 4.7 is worth the wait, or should I start building in 4.6.x now (I want to stick with stable releases instead of beta software, if possible).
Hints of my project are at http://stigmergicweb.org/generic if you haven’t seen it before.
I’d stay away from WebGUI if I were you. I’d also recommend that EVERYBODY stay away from webGUi. I’ve managed it for over two years now, and it just keeps getting shoddier, slower, and more difficult to update. WebGUI burns so many bridges upon updating, and is put together so badly that it is a wonder if even runs.
I totally agree! 🙂 I have yet to test out 4.7 beta, but yeah Drupal is definitely moving along nicely.
Sami – thanks for the link! That’s pretty insanely timely – I’m currently reviewing a few CMS packages to use in the next rev. of the Learning Commons website, and for use with new clients as well. Drupal’s in the lead, and the showcase will definitely help. Thanks!
I just wanted to drop a link here for the Drupal Showcase. I recently released the site and I thought some of the community here in the echochamber could use the link So without further adieu here’s the link: Drupal Showcase.
Hi D'Arcy,
I'm thinking of installing the Quiz module myself and playing around with it. Did you ever find a way to allow users to actually take the Quiz?
Also, can you set it up so that it installs a link directly into the text to take the quiz (ie read this, now take this quiz?).
Dave