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There are several formats for a course homepage (see below). Most course formats have [[Blocks (teacher) | block areas]] on the left and right sides, with course [[Category:Modules|Activity modules]] and [[Resources]] grouped by [[Course sections | sections]] in the center column. 
{{Courses}}
 
 
== Standard view of a blank course==
== Standard view of a blank course==
Generally speaking, the first or top section is not numbered and was designed for general information and to contain activities and resources useful during the courseMost courses will have at least one additional [[Course sections | section]]. 
Our examples will be for a course homepage that is the standard default for a new install on a siteThere are many course options that determine a course's appearance and make it look very different from our examples. The example course has a header, a footer (both content largely determined by a theme) and 3 columns in the middle.   
 
The look of your course homepage also depends on which block areas you choose to appear using the Blocks field. All of the blocks can be moved up or down or to the other outside column according to one's liking. Activities and resources can be moved to any place within the center columnAnd the HTML editor can turn a plain homepage of text into a visual riot if required.


Here are basic elements of a course page and links to Moodle documentation.  
Here are basic elements of a course page and links to Moodle documentation.  
[[Image:Course edit on new 3w.JPG|thumb|600px|none|Example of Weekly format, teacher view, edit off - [https://docs.moodle.org/en/images_en/d/dc/Course_edit_on_new_3w.JPG full resolution here]]]
[[Image:Blankcourselayout.png|thumb|600px|none|Example of Weekly format, teacher view, edit off - [https://docs.moodle.org/20/en/File:Blankcourselayout.png full resolution here]]]


===Parts of a course homepage===
===Parts of a course homepage===
Using the above image, here are the parts of a typical course homepage.  It is possible to move and hide parts of the page and different themes display blocks in different regions,  so not all courses will look like this.
{| style="width:75%; height:200px" border="1"
{| style="width:75%; height:200px" border="1"
|-  
|-  
| Column left || [[Course sections]]-Center || Column right
| Column left || Course sections - Center || Column right
|-
|-
|-  
|-  
| *1 [[Course_settings#Full_name|Course full name]] || *7 Section header & [[News forum|News topic]] || *10 [[Log in|Login information]]
| *1 [[Course_settings#Full_name|Course full name]] || *6 Section header & [[News forum|News topic]] || *9 Login information
|-   
|-   
| *2 [[Course_settings#Short_name|Navigation bar]] ||*8 Current week - First section || *11 [[Getting_started_for_teachers#Editing_course_section|Edit on button]]
| *2 [[Course_settings#Short_name|Navigation bar]] ||*7 Current week - First section || *10 Turn editing on button
|-
|-
| *3 [[Course_settings#Summary|Course description]]|| *9 Future week  - Second section|| *12 [[Latest News block|Latest news]]
| *4 [[Navigation block]]|| *8 Future week  - Second section|| *11 [[Latest News block|Latest news]]
|-
|-
| *4 [[Participants|Participant list]]||  || *13 [[Upcoming Events block|Upcoming events]]
| *5 [[Settings block]]||*14 "Show only this section" || *12 [[Upcoming Events block|Upcoming events]]
|-
|-
| *5 [[Forum module|Forum list]]||  || *14 [[Recent Activity block|Recent activity]]
| *15 "Switch role to"||  || *13 [[Recent Activity block|Recent activity]]
|-
|-
| *6 [[Course administration block|Course administration block]] || ||  
| *16 User profile settings ||  ||
|-
| *17 Site Administration || ||
|}
|}


==Examples of course formats==
==Moving elements on your course's homepage==


===Topic format example===
There are some variations in how you move things around on your course's homepage. Moving whole [[Blocks]] (the regions to the side(s) of the screen) is different from moving Sections (the central stack of regions in Topic or Weekly format where the main content is displayed) or their individual resources and activities.
[[Image:Course top topic mu1.jpg|thumb|300px|none|Example of Topic format.  Click on image to enlarge]]
This is a downloaded version of demo.moodle.org, using the Topic course format.


===Weekly format example===
===To move a Block===  
[[Image:Course top weekly mu1.jpg|thumb|300px|none|Example of Weekly format, teacher viewing as student]]
Blocks appear at the side(s) of your course area. To move one,
This is a downloaded version of demo.moodle.org, using the weekly course format.
#Turn Editing On and *click and release* the Block's crossed arrows icon. Place holders - zones with a dashed border - appear on the screen indicating the possible areas where your Block can appear.
===Social format example===
#Click the placeholder where you want the Block appear. On course area homepages, you can move Blocks from one side to the other, but not into the middle.
[[Image:Course top social mu1.jpg|thumb|300px|none|Example of Social format.  Click on image to enlarge]]
#The block should now appear in the location you chose.
This is a downloaded version of demo.moodle.org, using the Social course format. The existing activities  seemed to disappear.  The teacher added two forums and a student added a third popular topic.


===Other format examples===
===To move a Section===  
There are also [[SCORM/AICC module|SCORM]] and [[LAMS]] course formats.
To move a Topic or Week section:
#turn editing on
#click the up or down arrow to move the section


==Course themes==
===To move a Resource or Activity===
Some sites may allow teachers to select [[Themes |themes]] for their courses that are different from the Moodle site homepage. A theme can effect colours, font sizes and page layouts.
To move an individual Resource or Activity within or between sections:
#click the up/down arrow
#Empty boxes will appear and your chosen item will temporarily disappear from view.
#Click into an empty box where you want your item to  be moved to and it will reappear in its new location.


In [[Course settings#force|course settings]], Teachers will see a "Force theme" drop down menu in the general section that contains a list of available themes.  Non-editing teacher can not alter this setting.  The default course theme is the site theme or the category theme.
==Moving by dragging and dropping==
If the administrator has enabled Ajax  for the site and course editing in ''Settings > Site Administration > Appearance > Ajax and Javascript'' then the icon will appear as a crosshair which may be dragged and dropped to wherever you want to move the section or individual item to.


The site administrator or course manager should look at [[Theme_settings]] or Administration>Configuration>Variables (older versions of Moodle) and change the allowcoursethemes to yes.
==Displaying activity descriptions on the course page==
 
{{Moodle 2.2}}In Moodle 2.2 onwards, activity and resource descriptions can be displayed on the course page just below the link to the activity or resource by clicking the 'Display description on course page' checkbox in the activity or resource settings.


==Drag and drop==
Be aware that drag and drop for course sections currently (25th Feb 2008) has an issue and only support dragging a course section onto an adjacent section. Fix on the way: MDL-11539
==Tips and tricks==
==Tips and tricks==
===Make your course home page look more like a regular webpage===
===Make your course home page look more like a regular webpage===
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''More advanced example''
''More advanced example''
*There is a youtube video that gives an example of how to do this [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XtHPUh_BaxM here]  
*There is a youtube video that gives an example of how to do this [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XtHPUh_BaxM here]The video is of a Moodle 1.9 course but the principle still applies.
*You can actually set up your whole course using this method.
*You can actually set up your whole course using this method.
*Set  your course to have two topics (or more if you wish)
*Set  your course to have two topics (or more if you wish)
*Ignore topic 1 - do not place anything in it.
*Ignore topic 1 - do not place anything in it.
*In topic 2, use the resource: ''Compose a webpage'' to make webpages relating to your units of work/topics
*In topic 2, use the resource: [[Page]] to make pages relating to your units of work/topics
*Add all your resources to topic 2
*Add all your resources to topic 2
*Copy the resources urls into the relevant webpage as hyperlinks
*Copy the resources urls into the relevant webpage as hyperlinks
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*Go back to course settings and set the number of visible topics to 1.
*Go back to course settings and set the number of visible topics to 1.


The student will only see the top of the page. When they click on a link in the header, they are taken to the hidden webpage resources, where they select the resource or activity they wish.  This creates a very short visual page but keeps all the course material within the course.
The teacher will see the hidden sections as "orphaned" items on their course page. However; the student will only see the top of the page. When they click on a link in the header, they are taken to the hidden webpage resources, where they select the resource or activity they wish.  This creates a very short visual page but keeps all the course material within the course.
 
==See also==
 
*[[Course sections]] - some information about weekly and topic sections
*[[Blocks (teacher)]] - some links to different types of blocks
*[[Adding/editing_a_course]] for more information about a course
*For Administrators - Administration block, configuration, variables and interface [[Theme_config#Course_themes |settings]].


[[es:course/view]]
[[es:course/view]]
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[[ru:Главная страница курса]]
[[ru:Главная страница курса]]
[[ja:コースホームページ]]
[[ja:コースホームページ]]
[[Category:Teacher|Course/view]]
[[sk:kurz/prehľad]]
[[sk:kurz/prehľad]]
[[de:Kursseite]]
[[de:Kursseite]]

Latest revision as of 09:39, 7 November 2011

Standard view of a blank course

Our examples will be for a course homepage that is the standard default for a new install on a site. There are many course options that determine a course's appearance and make it look very different from our examples. The example course has a header, a footer (both content largely determined by a theme) and 3 columns in the middle.

Here are basic elements of a course page and links to Moodle documentation.

Example of Weekly format, teacher view, edit off - full resolution here

Parts of a course homepage

Using the above image, here are the parts of a typical course homepage. It is possible to move and hide parts of the page and different themes display blocks in different regions, so not all courses will look like this.

Column left Course sections - Center Column right
*1 Course full name *6 Section header & News topic *9 Login information
*2 Navigation bar *7 Current week - First section *10 Turn editing on button
*4 Navigation block *8 Future week - Second section *11 Latest news
*5 Settings block *14 "Show only this section" *12 Upcoming events
*15 "Switch role to" *13 Recent activity
*16 User profile settings
*17 Site Administration

Moving elements on your course's homepage

There are some variations in how you move things around on your course's homepage. Moving whole Blocks (the regions to the side(s) of the screen) is different from moving Sections (the central stack of regions in Topic or Weekly format where the main content is displayed) or their individual resources and activities.

To move a Block

Blocks appear at the side(s) of your course area. To move one,

  1. Turn Editing On and *click and release* the Block's crossed arrows icon. Place holders - zones with a dashed border - appear on the screen indicating the possible areas where your Block can appear.
  2. Click the placeholder where you want the Block appear. On course area homepages, you can move Blocks from one side to the other, but not into the middle.
  3. The block should now appear in the location you chose.

To move a Section

To move a Topic or Week section:

  1. turn editing on
  2. click the up or down arrow to move the section

To move a Resource or Activity

To move an individual Resource or Activity within or between sections:

  1. click the up/down arrow
  2. Empty boxes will appear and your chosen item will temporarily disappear from view.
  3. Click into an empty box where you want your item to be moved to and it will reappear in its new location.

Moving by dragging and dropping

If the administrator has enabled Ajax for the site and course editing in Settings > Site Administration > Appearance > Ajax and Javascript then the icon will appear as a crosshair which may be dragged and dropped to wherever you want to move the section or individual item to.

Displaying activity descriptions on the course page

Moodle 2.2

In Moodle 2.2 onwards, activity and resource descriptions can be displayed on the course page just below the link to the activity or resource by clicking the 'Display description on course page' checkbox in the activity or resource settings.

Tips and tricks

Make your course home page look more like a regular webpage

Often when a course has a lot of content, students and teachers find the long scrolling tedious and would prefer a 'neater' appearance with hyperlinks to sections in a similar way to the way pages on websites work.

  • Anchors/section links can help. But the course page can still be long.
  • Hiding the activities shortens the list for students, but then they can not be selected by students.

One method which might be useful is to put the activities into sections which are then made 'unseen' to the student.

Basic Example

  • Set the number of topics in the course setting to 1 more than students will see.
    • For example, you plan on the students being able to see 6 topics, set it for 7.
  • Add activities in topic 7, such as a quiz (in our example)
  • Get the url of your quiz
    • Copy it and keep it somewhere (such as notepad) for later use
  • Go back to course admin>settings and change your topic/weeks to 6
    • Or one fewer than you had before
  • The section with your quiz will no longer be on the page that the student sees
  • In another section, make a hyperlink to the quiz using its url
    • You can also put it in a topic summary, label or
    • as a resource (link to a file or website)

You will find that the quiz is accessible to students even though the section does not physically appear on the course page for the students. You have shortened the page.

More advanced example

  • There is a youtube video that gives an example of how to do this hereThe video is of a Moodle 1.9 course but the principle still applies.
  • You can actually set up your whole course using this method.
  • Set your course to have two topics (or more if you wish)
  • Ignore topic 1 - do not place anything in it.
  • In topic 2, use the resource: Page to make pages relating to your units of work/topics
  • Add all your resources to topic 2
  • Copy the resources urls into the relevant webpage as hyperlinks
  • In topic 0, the course summary make hyperlinks -or better- images hyperlinked - to each webpage which contains the activities of that unit/topic
  • Go back to course settings and set the number of visible topics to 1.

The teacher will see the hidden sections as "orphaned" items on their course page. However; the student will only see the top of the page. When they click on a link in the header, they are taken to the hidden webpage resources, where they select the resource or activity they wish. This creates a very short visual page but keeps all the course material within the course.