One result of the increasing integration of technology into teaching and learning is that all practitioners need to be more aware of the physical limitations and impacts of digital systems. As the proliferation of new data centers for AI applications reminds us, digital data storage might be called “the cloud”, but it depends on physical infrastructure with a significant social and environmental footprint down here on Earth.
We therefore encourage you to consider smart management of your storage footprint as part of being a good digital citizen 🌎♻️🌳💚🤖
N.b., The maximum upload file size on the Bilkent Moodle is now 500 MB.
This means you cannot upload a course backup file or a media file larger than that.
The reason for this strict policy is that the Bilkent Moodle server is facing a sharp and unsustainable increase in disk storage demand. Overflow of allotted disk space has begun to destabilize the system and cause it to crash, especially towards the end of the semester. Moodle admins have limited the file upload size in an attempt to identify the sources of the problem.
We ask faculty to be avoid uploading very large content and media files to their Moodle courses. For instance, a 2GB video uploaded to my Moodle course doesn’t just take up 2 GB of data storage. It is duplicated on the server when when I backup and restore the file to a new semester Moodle site. If a course is taught (and copied, and backed-up) every semester, this quickly becomes unsustainable.
One way to decrease the storage footprint of your Moodle course is to remove uploaded files and share links to large course content files with students through cloud file-sharing services instead.
For other practical tips on how to reduce your course’s storage footprint on the Bilkent Moodle server, see this guide: How can I reduce the size of my course backup (.mbz) file?
If you have questions or concerns about reducing your course’s data footprint, please get in touch with Moodle support at moodle@bilkent.edu.tr.