joule 1.1 Gets New Chat, Forum Tools

Moodlerooms has released an update to joule, its learning management system based on the open source Moodle platform. The latest release, version 1.1, expands support for chat and adds new forum features and enhanced administration.

Moodlerooms is a Moodle partner that provides services centered around the Moodle learning management system for both K-12 and higher education. joule is Moodlerooms' learning management system built around Moodle that provides course management, content management, a learning repository, and various reporting and assessment tools. It also offers course conversion utilities, extensibility, in-system help, authentication, automation of some administrative tasks, and themes that allow institutions to brand their systems.

The latest release expands on joule's features and provides some enhanced administrative functions. Some of the new features include:

  • New synchronous chat support for audio, video, and text;
  • Automated course archiving;
  • SIS grade book integration;
  • Support for SAML 2.0 for single sign on;
  • Improved video support, giving users the ability to "add video content to courses, create a synchronized playback of a video and document, and allow students to submit videos to assignments through Kaltura";
  • Single sign-on support for Live@Edu;
  • Support for site-, category-, and course-level themes; and
  • Exam management using Respondus 4.0.

In addition, it also provides a range of enhancements to forums, including sorting topics, flagging posts, attaching multiple files, and allowing anonymous posts.

joule 1.1 is available now. Further information is available here.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Introduces Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • laptop screen with a video play icon, surrounded by parts of notebooks, pens, and a water bottle on a student desk

    Studyfetch AI Tool Generates Video Explanations Based on Course Materials

    AI-powered studying and learning platform Studyfetch has introduced Imagine Explainers, a new video creator that utilizes artificial intelligence to generate 10- to 60-minute explainer videos for any topic.

  • interconnected geometric human figures forming a network

    CoSN: School Staffing Is the Top Hurdle to K-12 Innovation

    Hiring and keeping educators and IT staff remains the top challenge for K-12 education in 2025, according to the latest Driving K-12 Innovation Report from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

  • glowing digital brain made of blue circuitry hovers above multiple stylized clouds of interconnected network nodes against a dark, futuristic background

    Report: 85% of Organizations Are Leveraging AI

    Eighty-five percent of organizations today are utilizing some form of AI, according to the latest State of AI in the Cloud 2025 report from Wiz. While AI's role in innovation and disruption continues to expand, security vulnerabilities and governance challenges remain pressing concerns.