What Is It?
How to setup your Moodle course.
Table of Contents
- Signing into Moodle
- Additional help for signing into Moodle.
- Accessing Course Administration
- Allows instructors a large amount of control over the course.
- Attendance Block
- Allows instructors a way to keep track of students' attendance.
- Backup Your Course In Moodle
- A way to move all content of a Moodle course to a new location.
- Blocks
- Blocks provide specialized functions in your Moodle course.
- Course Completion Tracking
- Monitor students' progress through your course, or allow students to track their own progress.
- Course Layout
- Composition of what makes a Moodle course.
- Drag and Drop Files
- How to drag and drop files into your Moodle course.
- Groups
- How to separate students into groups and assign them seperately.
- Groupings
- How to create parent groups to group your groups.
- Using Groups with Activities/ Resources
- How to use groups in Activities/Resources.
- How to Hide/Show a Course
- Choose whether students can see the course or not
- How to Import Courses
- How to copy the contents of one course into another.
- Accessing Student View
- How to see a student's view on your Moodle course.
- Icons
- Icons in Moodle and what they mean.
- Managing Course Size
- Different ways on how to limit how much you are uploading directly to Moodle.
- Setting Up Forum Subscriptions to Email
- Receive emails when a forum submission is made.
- Navigation as an Instructor
- How to navigate your Moodle course as an instructor.
- Quickmail
- How to send bulk emailing within a Moodle course.
Signing into Moodle
Step 1:
In your web browser, navigate to your Moodle using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
Enter your username and password and then select "SIGN IN."
- Note: Links to help with passwords are on the Web Sign-on page. Those who cannot log into Moodle should contact the IT Help Center.
Step 3:
On the homepage you will find a list of all your courses. Select the course relevant to the step-by-step guide you are following.
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Accessing Course Administration
What Is It?
The Administration section allows instructors a large amount of control over the course. It also contains many tools for instructors
Where Can I Access It?
The course administration buttons are all located at the top of the course, as seen in this figures below. You can also click on More or Open LMS for more course administration options.
Common Course Administration Tools
Settings:
This takes you to the page that allows the user to edit the settings for the course. (Change the Format, change the number of weeks or topics, and making the course available to students.)
Participants:
This collapsible sub-menu allows the instructor to view enrolled users and manage groups. Instructors can create groups and view all of a courses participants from here.
Filters: Options for activity name auto-linking, emoticons, and algebraic notation.
Grades: This option takes the user to the gradebook.
Course Reuse: This section allows to you import, export, reset, or restore the course you are teaching
Switch role to: This collapsible menu allows the user to view and operate Moodle from the perspective of another role. For example, if you switch your role to Student, hidden items will no longer display.
My profile settings: This collapsible menu brings the user to profile and messaging settings.
Reports: The reports section allows instructors to access every action that has occurred in the course. It can be used to look up specific detailed information on any user, what they've looked at, done, and when.
Question bank: Instructors can import question banks from their previous classes. They can also create and apply them from here.
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Attendance Block
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the course relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Turn editing on.
Step 4:
Open the navigation drawer.
Step 5:
Select "Add a block".
Step 6:
Select "Attendance".
- Note: Adding the Attendance Block without the Attendance Activity will result in the block not functioning. Make sure the Attendance Activity is added beforehand. A new block will show up at the bottom of the right column as referenced in the figure in the next step.
Step 7:
The default configuration dictates that the instructor is responsible for recording attendance. The default grading system for attendance comprises the following categories:
- Present (2 points)
- Excused (2 points)
- Late (1 point)
- Absent (0 points).
Step 8:
Select "Add." This is done to create sessions.
Step 9:
Add a date and a session description.
Step 10:
You can also add multiple sessions or reocurring sessions by accesing the "Multiple sessions" menu.
Step 11:
Once you are done editing, select "Add" at the bottom of the page.
To take attendance, you can again either use the block or an activity.
- To take attendence uing activities, select the (+) icon to add an activity.
- Through the block select "Take attendance."
Step 12:
You should see a list of attendance sessions. You can filter this list by the buttons in the upper right of the list (All, All past, Months, Weeks, Days). Find the session you want to take attendance for and select the triangle button.
Step 13:
Now for each student, you can log their attendance by using the radio buttons on the right side and leave a remark.
Step 14:
To make your own attendance system and let the students log themselves, select "Status set" which is located in the drop-down menu labeled "More." Click the drop down menu of status sets and select "New set of statuses".
Step 15:
In the drop-down menu located on "Status set 1 (P E L A)", select "New set of statuses."
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Backup Your Course in Moodle
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one which is relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Select "Course reuse" under the "More" drop-down menu.
Step 4:
Select "Backup" which is located in the drop-down menu in the top left corner.
Step 5:
Choose the settings that you want included in the backup and select next.
- Do not select "Include enrolled users"
Step 6:
Select the items you want included in the backup. If you want all of your content, select "All", and you will backup all of your course's data.
Step 7:
Select "Next."
Step 8:
Confirm your settings and review. If everything looks correct, select "Perform backup."
- This step may take a few minutes depending on the size of your course
Step 9:
Once the backup is complete, select "Continue."
Step 9:
Here you can see your backup and the option to download your file.
Step 10:
Open up a file viewer window and select downloads folder. Inside there, you will find your Moodle backup file. You can drag and drop it to your desired location.
Step 11:
After you save your course backup to a safe place, it is important to delete the file from Moodle. Follow the steps below on how to delete the backup files.
Step 12:
Access your Moodle course and select "Course Reuse" under the "More" button on the top of the page.
Step 13:
Once you open the page, select "Restore" from the menu in the top left.
Step 14:
Next select "Manage backup files."
Step 15:
Select the backup file.
Step 16:
Select "Delete."
Step 17:
Repeat steps 15 and 16 until all of the backups are removed from the "Course backup area" and "User private backup area."
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Blocks
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Select the arrow to the top right part of the page.
Step 4:
Select "Add a block."
Step 5:
Select any block you want to add to your course.
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Course Completion Tracking
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Completion tracking must be enabled in the course settings by selecting "Settings."
Step 4:
Select the drop-down menu for Completion Tracking. Select "Yes" to enable it.
Step 5:
Under the "More" drop-down menu, there is a section for "Course completion".
- You can set conditions for assignments that need to be met before the assingment is completed.
Step 6:
To enable tracking of an activity you will want to go to the activities “Edit Course Completion Settings” page and then find the "Condition: Activity Completion" section.
Step 7:
In order for this tool to work, you have to enable acitivity completion for each assignment you want track. You can access this when making an assignment or editing one.
Options for setting up an activity:
Completion tracking: This sets how the activity will be tracked. (Options: No tracking, Conditions, Manual)
Require view: If this is selected the student will need to view the activity for it to be complete
Require grade: It can be set that the student must be graded to be complete and/or that they have submitted the activity to be marked complete.
(Options under Require view and Require grade are not available unless tracking is set to Conditions)
Expect completed on: This option is used to keep track of deadlines in the tracking reports. This is not shown to students and only will appear on the report.
Step 8:
The completion report can be found in the Course Administration. To access this click the drop down menu in the top right and select "more."
Step 9:
Navigate to Reports and select "Activity Completion."
Step 10:
The report will show the students in your course and a tabular view of whether or not they have completed the activity. This report can be downloaded by following the links on the bottom of the report.
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Course Layout
What Is It?
Moodle courses are primarily composed of the Central Column and Blocks.
Central Column
The content in your online course is displayed in the central column, Course content can be organized by topics, weeks, or pages. This tutorial is organized by topics. It's important to remember that each instructor decides how to organize his/her course, so online courses do not all look the same. If you have trouble finding your way around in your online course, speak up and ask the instructor for guidance.
Blocks
A block is an element or widget that appears on right side of the screen. Each block provides a specialized function. Instructors decide which blocks to make available in a given course, so students will notice some variation in blocks between courses.
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Drag and Drop Files
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
In the top right part of the page you have the ability to turn the edit mode on/off. Turn the edit mode to on.
Step 4:
Move your web browser over so that you can see your desktop
Step 5: Locate the file on your desktop
Step 6: Drag the file onto your course outline and drop
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Groups
For more information on groups and groupings navigate to Understanding Groups and Grouping.
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Select "Participants."
Step 4:
Select the drop-down menu located on the top left part of the page.
Step 5:
From the drop-down menu select "Groups."
Step 6:
The Auto-create groups button allows teachers to have the system create groups automatically based on the number of enrolled students and the number of groups needed. Select "Create group" to begin editing a new group.
Step 7:
Now you should be seeing the group creation page. A name for the group is required; the other settings are optional. After editing the settings, click the Save changes button at the bottom of the page. This will take you back to the group manager page. The name of the group just created should be visible in the Groups window.
Step 8:
The group now needs students added to it. In order to add students, select your new group and click Add/remove users. A new page will open to add students. From this page click the student's name and the button labeled Add.
Step 9:
Select the student's name, then select "Add."
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Groupings
For more information on groups and groupings navigate to Understanding Groups and Grouping.
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one which is relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Select "Participants."
Step 4:
Select the drop-down menu located on the top left part of the page.
Step 5:
From the drop-down menu select "Groupings."
Step 6:
Select "Create grouping."
Step 7:
The next page has some options to change the name, description and ID number of the grouping. After you are done editing, select "Save changes."
Step 8:
Select the group's name, then select "Add."
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Understanding Groups and Grouping
Many of the activities and resources in Moodle have the option to utilize groups and groupings. Teachers can combine students into groups to create group assignments, peer review activities, discuss in group forums, and more.
Here is an example with 8 students broken into 4 groups, A though D:
Groupings can be created from multiple groups. Groupings are typically used when a teacher would like groups to work together on different projects throughout the year.
Another way groupings are used, are private discussions. Students might be editing papers, or just collaborating on a project, where the discussion shouldn't be seen by the rest of the class. To do this, teachers place each student in their own group. Then groupings are made by combining each student's group with that of another student.
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Back to Groups
Back to Groupings
Using Groups with Activities/Resources
For more information on groups and groupings navigate to Understanding Groups and Grouping.
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Group and groupings can be used to control access or visibility of a particular assignment or resource. These options are located on each assignment or resource's settings page.
Step 4:
Select "Settings."
Step 5:
Set the Group submission settings and the common module settings as outlined in the figure below.
- Group Submission Settings - This determines how the group submits their assignment. Each student individually or the group as a whole.
- Common Module Settings - Changing this option from "No groups" makes this assignment a group assignment. "Separate groups" allows each student in the group to turn-in/view their own group's data, but does not allow one person to see the others data. "Visible Groups" allows each group's data to be seen by the students in other groups
Step 6:
Under the restrict access section you have the option to add restrictions as shown in the figures below.
- Restrict Access - Clicking the "Add restriction" button will display many different options on criteria for preventing access. These options include allowing only a single group, or grouping, to access this activity/resource.
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How to Hide/ Show a Course
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one relevent to this article.
Step 3:
Select the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the course, then select Edit Settings.
Step 2: Under General set Course Visibility to hide or show.
- Hidden courses cannot be seen by students until Course Visibility is set to show.
- Courses are initially set to Show when they are first made.
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How to Import Courses
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Step 2:
All of your courses are listed on the homepage. Select the one one relevent to this article..
Step 3:
Select the drop-down menu located to the right of "More."
Step 4:
Select "Course Reuse."
Step 5:
Find the course that you would like to import. Either select from the recommendations given or use the "Search" option.
Step 6:
Select "Continue" after you have found and selected the course.
Step 7:
Select the desired settings for the imported course and then select "Next".
Step 8:
Choose the contents you would like to include in the import and then select "Next."
Step 9:
Review the settings to make sure everything is right. If it is all correct, select "Perform Import" at the bottom of the page.
Step 10
You will then be redirected to a page which shows the upload progress.
Step 11:
Once the upload has finished you will be brought to a page which states "Import complete. Click continue to return to the course." This means that your course has uploaded correctly.
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Accessing Student View
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Note: If you are having any issues accessing Moodle please navigate to the Login section.
Step 2:
On the homepage, you have the ability to choose from various courses. Select the one one relevent to this article..
Step 3:
Select the drop-down menu located at the top right part of the page as outlined in the figure below.
Step 4:
Select "Switch role to..."
Step 5:
Select "Student."
Step 6:
You will now be able to view the course as a student.
Step 7:
To switch back select the drop-down menu located to the top right part of the page.
Step 8:
Select "Return to my normal role."
Step 9:
You will now return to the "teacher" role.
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Icons
This is a list of icons on Moodle and what they mean.
| Icon |
Meaning |
|
Turn edit mode on/ off |
|
Drop-down menu |
|
Edit |
|
Settings |
|
Move assignments up/ down |
|
Move right |
|
Hide from students |
|
Duplicate |
|
Assign Roles |
|
Delete |
|
Personalized Learning Designer |
|
Additional Information |
|
Add an assignment/ resource |
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Managing Course Size
What Is It?
Moodle has a maximum upload size of 500MB. If your course backup is over that size, it will take significantly longer for the I.T. department to restore your course. Here are ways you can keep your course under the limit while keeping all the functionality and content.
OneDrive
With your Office365 account, 1TB of space is available for you to upload larger files such as videos, audio files, or large PowerPoint presentations. Once files are uploaded to the OneDrive get a link with the share button and include that link to the file in the course.
Learn more about the OneDrive
Legacy Files
Every time you upload a file to a course on Moodle, it is saved to the main Moodle database. Even after you delete the file from the course, it will be in that database. These files are "Legacy" and get backed up and carried over every time a course is backed up. These files should be cleared out regularly.
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Setting up Forum Subscription to Email
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Note: If you are having any issues accessing Moodle please navigate to the Login section.
Step 2:
On the homepage, you have the ability to choose from various courses. Select the one relevent to this article..
Step 3:
Select the drop-down menu located at the top right part of the page as outlined in the figure below.
Step 4:
From the drop-down menu select "Preferences."
Step 5:
Under "User Account" select "Forum preferences."
Step 6:
You will have three options for notifications via email.
-
No Digest: one email for every new post.
-
Complete: once-daily email containing all new forum posts.
-
Subject: once-daily email containing only the subjects of new forum posts.
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Navigation as an Instructor
Moodle has several built in methods of navigation:
Breadcrumbs
The navigation bar near the top of your screen provides clarity about 'where' in the course you may be at any given time. This is called a breadcrumb bar and your bar will look similar to what is outlined in the figure below.
Course Navigation Tabs
Course navigation tabs allow for you to navigate between sections related to a specific course.
Navigation Tab
The navigation tab is located at the top left part of the page. This allows for you to navigate through Moodle.
Course Index
Use this to navigate through course activities by weeks/sections.
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Outcomes
NOTE - Outcomes and outcome sets for the non-legacy outcomes MUST be added by the I.T. Help Desk. To add a new outcome please contact the Help Desk by submitting a ticket on our website with what set you would like the outcomes in (including whether it is a new set or not), the names of the outcomes, any documentation numbers or identification numbers it should be listed under, and a description of each outcome.
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Quickmail
Quickmail is a block that provides selective bulk emailing within courses.
Step 1:
On your web browser, navigate to your Moodle homepage using the following link:
https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/
Note: If you are having any issues accessing Moodle please navigate to the Login section.
Step 2:
On the homepage, you have the ability to choose from various courses. Select the one relevent to this article..
Step 3:
On the top right part of the page, turn the edit mode on.
Step 4:
There is a grey arrow on the top right part of the page. Select this to open the block drawer.
Step 5:
Select "Add a block."
Step 6:
Scroll down until you find "Quickmail." Then select "Quickmail."
Step 7:
Now that you have added "Quickmail," select "Compose course message."
Step 8:
Specify which users you want to message. You also have the option to exclude specific users.
Step 9:
Select "Send message" to send your message. Select "Save draft" to save your message as a draft.
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