Note: You are currently viewing documentation for Moodle 3.11. Up-to-date documentation for the latest stable version of Moodle may be available here: User quick guide.

User quick guide

From MoodleDocs

So you've got a new Moodle account? What now? This page will help you navigate around your site as a student or teacher.

Your profile

You can access your profile from the user menu top right. It's where you see your name and an arrow. Click there (1) to open up the menu (2) Clicking the Profile link will then display other options, such as a list of your courses, any forum and blog entries and a link to edit your profile (3).

Your profile page

Clicking the Edit profile link will allow you to change certain information such as your timezone, add an avatar, description and, optionally, extra contact details. You cannot normally change your username and your admin might have restricted other changes too.

When you upload an image, it will appear in the user menu by your name and also on your Dashboard page.

Your notifications and messages

Your site can alert you when you have new messages from your teacher and other participants. You can receive alerts about new forum posts or graded assignments and more.

You can receive these alerts via email or pop up, and you can control how you receive them from Preferences > Message preferences in the user menu. The documentation Messaging gives more detail.

Sending a message

If your Moodle admin has set the site up for the mobile app, you can also receive alerts on your mobile phone. See Moodle Mobile for more information.

Your courses

How you find courses depends on how the administrator has set up the site.

Site front page - Some sites display all their courses on the front page and students click to enrol themselves into a course. When you are logged in, some site front pages may display only the courses you are enrolled in (to avoid clutter and confusion).

List of available courses


Dashboard - This is your personal page which you can customise and view your enrolled courses and outstanding tasks. More information in the section below.

Your dashboard

Every user has their own dashboard which they can customise. The screencast Dashboard gives a brief introduction to this, and the documentation on Dashboard gives further information.

Your dashboard

You can access your dashboard quickly, from the user menu top right and your site may redirect you automatically to your dashboard once you are logged in.