The easiest way to play with your own installation of Moodle is through an install script that comes with most web hosting sites (some might say to install Moodle on your computer would be easier, but I disagree). I’ll mention two that I am familiar with because used both of the services.

1 and 1 Hosting seems to be about the most reasonable price with a lot of features. As of this writing, you can get (through the end of June 2008) most than you’ll need for $48 a year. They bill monthly, so you can skip a Starbucks run or two and you should be fine. The documentation is nice and the set up process was painless (you can even get a domain name through the site at no charge). 

I’ve used Siteground.com for two years and they seem to be a tad more expensive, but in return you’ll get an insane amount of storage space (750mb), more databases (if you care) and some of the best and fastest customer service on the internet. They also have free domain names with their package deals. 

After you are signed up and have received confirmation messages via your email, you want to head to the quick install scripts for web applications. For 1and1.com it’s the “Click n Build” button and just follow the dialogue boxes to install Moodle on your site. 

Siteground uses the more popular cPanel interface along with the Fantastica installer scripts (which I think gives you access to more FOSS web apps than 1and1.com). You’ll scroll down to “Software/Services” and click on the “Fantastico De luxe” and you’ll find the Moodle app to install (scroll down to “Other Scripts”. Like 1and1.com, you’ll just follow the dialogue boxes and you’ll have your Moodle site set up and ready to take for a spin.

If you’re saying that you don’t got no money, but still want to play around with your own version of Moodle, head over to the Download section of the Moodle site, choose your operating system from the top menu and follow the directions (I’ve install this on my eMac at home, and it worked fine).

Next in this little series, we’ll address the question “So, I got Moodle installed…now what?” We’ll look at some things you can try out on your own Moodle site.