New features

Moodle 2.6 brings a lot of exciting new features for teachers, students and administrators. This page highlights a few of the most interesting.

You can also watch screen casts some of these highlights on the official MoodleHQ Youtube page: Moodle 2.6 Highlights Playlist

Full details of the release, with technical information, can be found in the Moodle 2.6 Release notes.

For teachers

Improved grading features

• Easily review and provide in-line feedback by annotating on PDF files directly within browser.
• Conveniently allocate student assignments to different markers, and control when marks are released to individual students.
• Certainty-based marking in Quizzes now provides improved feedback for learners.

Dynamic, streamlined, course management

• Quickly edit course activities and resources across all devices.
• Easily add a Single activity course format.

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  1. Annotate uploaded PDF files in browser

  Provide feedback directly within PDF file submissions by using a variety of annotating tools available, including stamps and phrases from a comment bank.

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  2. Enhanced marking workflow and allocation

  Control when marks are released for viewing, for example, when they have been reviewed and moderated. Individual markers can also be allocated assignments and these allocations will show up clearly in the gradebook.

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  3. Enhanced feedback in Certainty-based marking

  Quizzes using Certainty-based marking now provide better feedback for learners.

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  4. Easily edit course activities and resources

  Editing tools have been grouped together to in a simple dropdown menu for easy accessibility across desktop and mobile devices.

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  5. Add a Single activity course format

  Simply select and add any one activity as a standard course format which is displayed directed on the course page (This feature supersedes the old SCORM course format).

For administrators and managers

Enhanced platform management

• Create and manage bulk courses efficiently
• Simpler course and category management
• Create additional name fields
• Conveniently import and export role definition using XML file
• Restoring of very large courses possible

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  1. Bulk course creation tool

  Create multiple courses efficiently using a single CSV file. The functionality also extends to updating or deleting courses as well as importing content from another course.

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  2. Streamlined course and category management

  Easily sort, create, and delete course categories in a more intuitive interface with drag and drop functionality.

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  3. Create additional name fields

  Add and customise additional name fields to flexibly display user names in Chinese characters, local phonetic system or Romanization.

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  4. Import and export role redefinitions

  Export and import role definitions as XML files.New roles may be based on existing data:

  • role archetype
  • existing role
  • role definition XML file

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  5. Backup and restore large courses

  Backup and restore large courses Improved performance allows users to quickly backup large courses safely and if needed, easily restore the courses for use.

For all users

Experience a better learning platform

• A more user-friendly TinyMCE editor
• Easily access files from Microsoft Skydrive.
• Improved calendar handling with multiple calendar support
• Simplified username and password recovery
• Improved file management in TinyMCE editor
• Better responsive design across devices

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  1. A more user-friendly TinyMCE editor

  The improved TinyMCE editor can be resized to suit various browser widths, and features user-friendly icons and a collapsible toolbar menu.

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  2. Access files from Microsoft Skydrive

  Users can now choose to retrieve files from their Skydrive account for use in their Moodle courses.

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  3. Improved calendar handling with multiple calendar support

  Moodle 2.6 supports and displays the same date in multiple calendar system, including Gregorian, Hebrew, Islamic and more, so you can select a preferred calendar system.

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  4. Simplified username and password recovery

  Quickly retrieve username or reset password in a simpler, more user-friendly process.

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  5. Improve file management in TinyMCE editor

  Add and manage files previously embedded in a text area with the new TinyMCE Manage Embedded files plugin and Embedded files repository.

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  6. Better responsive design

  Moodle works and looks better across all devices, including desktops, tablets and phones.

See also

• Category:New features - list of pages documenting new features in Moodle 2.6