GOLDEN – Geospatial Model for Distance Education

A Moodle local plugin that turns your Moodle instance into a WebGIS. It geolocates every active user from the lastip column of mdl_user with a local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, then renders a Leaflet map with three views:

1. Cluster — every student as a clustered marker.


2. Choropleth — students coloured by their overall grade (or a single course grade).


3. Hotspot — kernel-density heatmap weighted by inverse grade, to surface regions where learners need academic support.

All processing is performed locally; no data ever leaves your Moodle server.

Repository naming convention

When publishing the source to GitHub (or any VCS), name the repository:

moodle-local_golden

This follows the official Moodle pattern moodle-{plugintype}_{pluginname}. The directory inside Moodle remains local/golden/ and the plugin component remains local_golden — only the repository name uses the dashed prefix.

Requirements

• Moodle 3.8 or newer


• PHP 7.1 or newer (PHP 7.4 / 8.x also supported)


• A MaxMind GeoLite2-City.mmdb file (free, registration required at https://www.maxmind.com/)

The official MaxMind DB reader library (Apache 2.0) is bundled with the plugin under lib/MaxMind/ — no Composer step is required.

Installation

1. Unzip local_golden.zip into the Moodle codebase under <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/.


2. Visit Site administration ' Notifications so Moodle runs the upgrade.


3. Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind and place it at <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/data/GeoLite2-City.mmdb (or override the path in plugin settings).


4. Visit Site administration ' Reports ' GOLDEN Map.

Capability

local/golden:view — granted to the Manager archetype by default.

Architecture

| Layer | Files |
|---|---|
| Page entry | index.php (data-fetch + access + render only) |
| Output API | classes/output/dashboard.php (renderable + templatable) |
| Template | templates/dashboard.mustache (all HTML markup) |
| AMD module | amd/src/dashboard.js + amd/build/dashboard.min.js |
| External Service | classes/external/get_map_data.php + db/services.php |
| Domain | classes/data_service.php, classes/geoip_resolver.php |
| Privacy | classes/privacy/provider.php (null_provider) |

The browser calls the External Service via core/ajax — no custom AJAX endpoint, no bespoke JSON wire format.

Privacy

Only mdl_user.lastip, mdl_course records and grades obtained through the standard grading API are read. Geolocation runs locally via MaxMind GeoLite2. No outbound network requests to third parties.

License

GPL v3 or later — see LICENSE.

Author / Maintainer

Kamran Mir

Institute of Geographical Information Systems (IGIS)

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)

Islamabad, Pakistan

" kmir.phd21igis@student.nust.edu.pk

GOLDEN – Geospatial Model for Distance Education

A Moodle 4.3+ local plugin that turns your Moodle instance into a WebGIS. It
geolocates every active user from the lastip column of mdl_user with a
local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, then renders a Leaflet map with three views:

1. Cluster — every student as a clustered marker.


2. Choropleth — students coloured by their overall grade (or a single
   course grade).


3. Hotspot — kernel-density heatmap weighted by inverse grade, to surface
   regions where learners need academic support.

All processing is performed locally; no data ever leaves your Moodle server.

Requirements

• Moodle 3.8 or newer


• PHP 7.1 or newer (PHP 7.4 / 8.x also supported)


• A MaxMind GeoLite2-City.mmdb file (free, registration required at
  https://www.maxmind.com/)

The official MaxMind DB reader library (Apache 2.0) is bundled with the
plugin under lib/MaxMind/ — no Composer step is required.

Installation

1. 
   

   Unzip local_golden.zip into the Moodle codebase under:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/
   
   

   
   


2. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Notifications so Moodle runs the upgrade.

   
   


3. 
   

   Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind and place it at:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/data/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
   
   

   
   

   Or configure a custom path in
   Site administration ' Plugins ' Local plugins ' GOLDEN.

   
   


4. 
   

   (Recommended) Install the official reader:

   
   

   That's it — the MaxMind DB Reader is bundled with the plugin, no Composer step required.

   
   


5. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Reports ' GOLDEN Map.

   
   

Capability

local/golden:view — granted to the Manager archetype by default.
Grant it to any role you want to expose the dashboard to.

Privacy

The plugin only reads mdl_user.lastip, mdl_course and the grade API.
Geolocation is resolved locally via MaxMind GeoLite2. No outbound network
requests are made to third-party services.

License

GPL v3 or later, matching Moodle.

Author / Maintainer

Kamran Mir
Institute of Geographical Information Systems (IGIS)
National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)
Islamabad, Pakistan
" kmir.phd21igis@student.nust.edu.pk

GOLDEN – Geospatial Model for Distance Education

A Moodle 4.3+ local plugin that turns your Moodle instance into a WebGIS. It
geolocates every active user from the lastip column of mdl_user with a
local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, then renders a Leaflet map with three views:

1. Cluster — every student as a clustered marker.


2. Choropleth — students coloured by their overall grade (or a single
   course grade).


3. Hotspot — kernel-density heatmap weighted by inverse grade, to surface
   regions where learners need academic support.

All processing is performed locally; no data ever leaves your Moodle server.

Requirements

• Moodle 4.3 or newer


• PHP 8.1 or newer


• A MaxMind GeoLite2-City.mmdb file (free, registration required at
  https://www.maxmind.com/)


• Optional but recommended: geoip2/geoip2 installed via Composer for the
  official MaxMind PHP reader.

Installation

1. 
   

   Unzip local_golden.zip into the Moodle codebase under:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/
   
   

   
   


2. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Notifications so Moodle runs the upgrade.

   
   


3. 
   

   Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind and place it at:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/data/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
   
   

   
   

   Or configure a custom path in
   Site administration ' Plugins ' Local plugins ' GOLDEN.

   
   


4. 
   

   (Recommended) Install the official reader:

   
   

   cd <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden
   
   composer require geoip2/geoip2
   
   

   
   


5. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Reports ' GOLDEN Map.

   
   

Capability

local/golden:view — granted to the Manager archetype by default.
Grant it to any role you want to expose the dashboard to.

Privacy

The plugin only reads mdl_user.lastip, mdl_course and the grade API.
Geolocation is resolved locally via MaxMind GeoLite2. No outbound network
requests are made to third-party services.

License

GPL v3 or later, matching Moodle.

Author / Maintainer

Kamran Mir
Institute of Geographical Information Systems (IGIS)
National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)
Islamabad, Pakistan
" kmir.phd21igis@student.nust.edu.pk

GOLDEN – Geospatial Model for Distance Education

A Moodle 4.3+ local plugin that turns your Moodle instance into a WebGIS. It
geolocates every active user from the lastip column of mdl_user with a
local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, then renders a Leaflet map with three views:

1. Cluster — every student as a clustered marker.


2. Choropleth — students coloured by their overall grade (or a single
   course grade).


3. Hotspot — kernel-density heatmap weighted by inverse grade, to surface
   regions where learners need academic support.

All processing is performed locally; no data ever leaves your Moodle server.

Requirements

• Moodle 4.3 or newer


• PHP 8.1 or newer


• A MaxMind GeoLite2-City.mmdb file (free, registration required at
  https://www.maxmind.com/)


• Optional but recommended: geoip2/geoip2 installed via Composer for the
  official MaxMind PHP reader.

Installation

1. 
   

   Unzip local_golden.zip into the Moodle codebase under:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/
   
   

   
   


2. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Notifications so Moodle runs the upgrade.

   
   


3. 
   

   Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind and place it at:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/data/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
   
   

   
   

   Or configure a custom path in
   Site administration ' Plugins ' Local plugins ' GOLDEN.

   
   


4. 
   

   (Recommended) Install the official reader:

   
   

   cd <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden
   
   composer require geoip2/geoip2
   
   

   
   


5. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Reports ' GOLDEN Map.

   
   

Capability

local/golden:view — granted to the Manager archetype by default.
Grant it to any role you want to expose the dashboard to.

Privacy

The plugin only reads mdl_user.lastip, mdl_course and the grade API.
Geolocation is resolved locally via MaxMind GeoLite2. No outbound network
requests are made to third-party services.

License

GPL v3 or later, matching Moodle.

GOLDEN – Geospatial Model for Distance Education

A Moodle 4.3+ local plugin that turns your Moodle instance into a WebGIS. It
geolocates every active user from the lastip column of mdl_user with a
local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, then renders a Leaflet map with three views:

1. Cluster — every student as a clustered marker.


2. Choropleth — students coloured by their overall grade (or a single
   course grade).


3. Hotspot — kernel-density heatmap weighted by inverse grade, to surface
   regions where learners need academic support.

All processing is performed locally; no data ever leaves your Moodle server.

Requirements

• Moodle 4.3 or newer


• PHP 8.1 or newer


• A MaxMind GeoLite2-City.mmdb file (free, registration required at
  https://www.maxmind.com/)


• Optional but recommended: geoip2/geoip2 installed via Composer for the
  official MaxMind PHP reader.

Installation

1. 
   

   Unzip local_golden.zip into the Moodle codebase under:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/
   
   

   
   


2. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Notifications so Moodle runs the upgrade.

   
   


3. 
   

   Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind and place it at:

   
   

   <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden/data/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
   
   

   
   

   Or configure a custom path in
   Site administration ' Plugins ' Local plugins ' GOLDEN.

   
   


4. 
   

   (Recommended) Install the official reader:

   
   

   cd <MOODLE_ROOT>/local/golden
   
   composer require geoip2/geoip2
   
   

   
   


5. 
   

   Visit Site administration ' Reports ' GOLDEN Map.

   
   

Capability

local/golden:view — granted to the Manager archetype by default.
Grant it to any role you want to expose the dashboard to.

Privacy

The plugin only reads mdl_user.lastip, mdl_course and the grade API.
Geolocation is resolved locally via MaxMind GeoLite2. No outbound network
requests are made to third-party services.

License

GPL v3 or later, matching Moodle.