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Course FAQ: Difference between revisions

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==How do I get rid of the teachers' names on my course descriptions?==
==How do I get rid of the teachers' names on my course descriptions?==


*By default Moodle will show names of teachers on course descriptions. If you don't want this, uncheck the role in ''Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.''
By default Moodle will show names of teachers on course descriptions. If you don't want this, uncheck the role in ''Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.''


==How do I add the names of non-editing teachers to my course descriptions?==
==How do I add the names of non-editing teachers to my course descriptions?==


*By default Moodle will only show names of teachers on course descriptions.If you want to add other roles, check the role in ''Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.''
By default Moodle will only show names of teachers on course descriptions. If you want to add other roles, check the role in ''Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.''


==Some of my courses have the course summaries showing but some only have an information icon. Why?==
==Some of my courses have the course summaries showing but some only have an information icon. Why?==


*Categories which have fewer than ten courses will show the full summary but those with more will only show the information icon. If you want them all to show the full summary then change the value of the Courses with summaries limit (courseswithsummarieslimit) setting in ''Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Courses''.
Categories which have fewer than ten courses will show the full summary but those with more will only show the information icon. If you want them all to show the full summary then change the value of the Courses with summaries limit (courseswithsummarieslimit) setting in ''Site Administration > Appearance > Courses''.


==I can't upload files to my course. I get the message that my 'filetype cannot be accepted'==
==I can't upload files to my course. I get the message that my 'filetype cannot be accepted'==
*Make sure you are not trying to upload to the course summary files area in''Administration>Course administration>Edit settings.''
*Make sure you are not trying to upload to the course summary files area in the 'Edit settings' area of course administration.
*This upload area is only for files describing the course and by default only image files are allowed (so that a screenshot may be displayed next to the summary).
*This upload area is only for files describing the course and by default only image files are allowed (so that a screenshot may be displayed next to the summary).
*If you wish to upload files into your course, make sure you are first on the main course page itself, not in the settings of the course.
*If you wish to upload files into your course, make sure you are first on the main course page itself, not in the settings of the course.
==Why can I only add one hyperlink to a page or label?==
You are probably using Internet  Explorer 8 or later. Try either switching to Firefox or click the icon to change to Compatibility mode (which is in effect Internet Explorer 7) and then you will be able to make more than one link.
==How can I prevent teachers from being able to duplicate course activities?==
*Edit teacher role
*Untick 'allow' on capabilities: ** moodle/backup:backuptargetimport ** moodle/restore:restoretargetimport
*See forum post here http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=204488#p891807


==How can I prevent teachers from being able to add a particular resource or activity?==
==How can I prevent teachers from being able to add a particular resource or activity?==
*From ''Site administration>Users>Permissions>Define roles,'' edit the teacher role and untick "allow" on the capability of the module you wish them not to add - for example ''mod/workshop:addinstance''
From ''Site administration>Users>Permissions>Define roles,'' edit the teacher role and untick "allow" on the capability of the module you wish them not to add - for example ''mod/workshop:addinstance''


==I don't want the new activity chooser. How can I get the old dropdowns back?==
==I see two dropdown boxes instead of the Add an activity or resource link==
 
* Check in your user preferences >Course preferences that you have 'Enable activity chooser 'ticked
* A teacher can temporarily disable it in ''Administration > Course administration'' and an admin can disable it site-wide via ''Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Ajax and JavaScript''
* Check you have Ajax enabled - the link does not appear without Ajax enabled.


==Why am I getting dates in the future on a course I have restored?==
==Why am I getting dates in the future on a course I have restored?==
*If you restored a course with user data but set the enrolment date for the present time, then logs, forum posts and so on will still be set at the same time distance from the start of the course. So if your original course began in 2010 and participants posted in a forum in 2012, then if you restore your course to begin in 2014, all those posts will have a date of 2016 on them. See MDL-44961
If you restored a course with user data but set the enrolment date for the present time, then logs, forum posts and so on will still be set at the same time distance from the start of the course. So if your original course began in 2010 and participants posted in a forum in 2012, then if you restore your course to begin in 2014, all those posts will have a date of 2016 on them. See MDL-44961


==How can I make my course home page look more like a web page?==
==How can I make my course home page look more like a web page?==
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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.
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.


*See [[Course formats]] for a way to show only one section per page.
See [[Stealth activities]] for information on how to do this in a Moodle course.
*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 [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.
*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.
 
==I am unable to edit a topic summary: the edit icon doesn't work any more (is not clickable)==
 
*This often happens if something copied and pasted from another source, such as MS Word has corrupted your topic summary. [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=194072&parent=845434 This forum post] suggests three possible solutions.


==Where can I find a list of all course resources and activities?==
==Where can I find a list of all course resources and activities?==
You can find a list of [[Resources|resources]] (ie static pages and folders etc) here:
You can find a list of [[Resources|resources]] (ie static pages and folders etc) here:


<code><nowiki>http://yourmoodlesite.net/course/resources.php?id=x</nowiki></code> where x is the course ID number, for example http://school.demo.moodle.net/course/resources.php?id=115.
<code><nowiki>http://yourmoodlesite.net/course/resources.php?id=x</nowiki></code> where x is the course ID number.


If you wish to see the list of [[Activities|activities]] such as quizzes, then use a URL such as this <code><nowiki>http://yourmoodlesite.net/mod/quiz/index.php?id=x</nowiki></code> where x is the course ID number,for example http://school.demo.moodle.net/mod/quiz/index.php?id=115
If you wish to see the list of [[Activities|activities]] such as quizzes, then use a URL such as this <code><nowiki>http://yourmoodlesite.net/mod/quiz/index.php?id=x</nowiki></code> where x is the course ID number.


Change the activity name according to the activity you need to see listed.
Change the activity name according to the activity you need to see listed.
==Is it possible to download all files from a course?==
It is possible, but not easy. See http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=208003#p907058
==I get an error message "paging_bar requires a per page value"==
If you go to ''Administration >Site administration > Courses > Miscellaneous > Add/edit courses'' and get the above coding error detected message, then see this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=163731 this forum thread] on Moodle.org for how to fix it.
==Can I put a course in more than one category?==
No. However, there is a workaround. With the Single activity course format, it is possible to add a URL as the single activity. The URL can be a redirect to a course in a different category, thus giving the appearance of a course in more than one category. (Thanks to [http://howtomoodle.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/y/7311B9ED44D4A667/674A3269F9138A492018F019E6F15D33 How to Moodle Winter Newsletter].)


==Is there a shortcut URL to a course?==
==Is there a shortcut URL to a course?==
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Try this using the course shortname: URL (Moodlesite)/course/view.php?name=shortname to navigate directly to a course.
Try this using the course shortname: URL (Moodlesite)/course/view.php?name=shortname to navigate directly to a course.


Check out the tracker item for clean URL's: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-28030
Check out the tracker item for clean URLs: MDL-28030


==What happens to my course content if I change the format from one format to another?==
==What happens to my course content if I change the format from one format to another?==
(For standard course formats only) If you change from Topics to Weekly or Weekly to Topics, then the only real difference will  be in the titles of the sections. If you change to Social format then you will just have a forum and if you still want access to your other activities you need to add the "Social activities block". If you change to the Single activity format you will only see the activity you chose to display, and your other activities will be "orphaned", not visible to students but available to you in a greyed out section. If you then revert back from Single activity to Topics or Weekly format you will need to un-hide those orphaned sections.
'''For standard course formats only''': If you change from Topics to Weekly or Weekly to Topics, then the only real difference will  be in the titles of the sections. If you change to Social format then you will just have a forum and if you still want access to your other activities you need to add the "Social activities block". If you change to the Single activity format you will only see the activity you chose to display, and your other activities will be hidden from students but available to you in a greyed out section. If you then revert back from Single activity to Topics or Weekly format you will need to un-hide those sections.


==How can I move items easily on a course with lots of activities?==
==How can I move items easily on a course with lots of activities?==
See the Tips and tricks section of [[Course homepage]] for a method allowing you to avoid scrolling issues when  moving an activity or resource in a  busy course.
See the Tips and tricks section of [[Course homepage]] for a method allowing you to avoid scrolling issues when  moving an activity or resource in a  busy course.
==Can I put a course in more than one category?==
No. However, there is a workaround. With the Single activity course format, it is possible to add a URL as the single activity. The URL can be a redirect to a course in a different category, thus giving the appearance of a course in more than one category.
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:FAQ]]



Latest revision as of 07:54, 7 December 2019

How do I get rid of the teachers' names on my course descriptions?

By default Moodle will show names of teachers on course descriptions. If you don't want this, uncheck the role in Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.

How do I add the names of non-editing teachers to my course descriptions?

By default Moodle will only show names of teachers on course descriptions. If you want to add other roles, check the role in Administration > Site Administration > Appearance > Course contacts.

Some of my courses have the course summaries showing but some only have an information icon. Why?

Categories which have fewer than ten courses will show the full summary but those with more will only show the information icon. If you want them all to show the full summary then change the value of the Courses with summaries limit (courseswithsummarieslimit) setting in Site Administration > Appearance > Courses.

I can't upload files to my course. I get the message that my 'filetype cannot be accepted'

  • Make sure you are not trying to upload to the course summary files area in the 'Edit settings' area of course administration.
  • This upload area is only for files describing the course and by default only image files are allowed (so that a screenshot may be displayed next to the summary).
  • If you wish to upload files into your course, make sure you are first on the main course page itself, not in the settings of the course.

How can I prevent teachers from being able to add a particular resource or activity?

From Site administration>Users>Permissions>Define roles, edit the teacher role and untick "allow" on the capability of the module you wish them not to add - for example mod/workshop:addinstance

I see two dropdown boxes instead of the Add an activity or resource link

  • Check in your user preferences >Course preferences that you have 'Enable activity chooser 'ticked
  • Check you have Ajax enabled - the link does not appear without Ajax enabled.

Why am I getting dates in the future on a course I have restored?

If you restored a course with user data but set the enrolment date for the present time, then logs, forum posts and so on will still be set at the same time distance from the start of the course. So if your original course began in 2010 and participants posted in a forum in 2012, then if you restore your course to begin in 2014, all those posts will have a date of 2016 on them. See MDL-44961

How can I make my course home page look more like a web page?

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.

See Stealth activities for information on how to do this in a Moodle course.

Where can I find a list of all course resources and activities?

You can find a list of resources (ie static pages and folders etc) here:

http://yourmoodlesite.net/course/resources.php?id=x where x is the course ID number.

If you wish to see the list of activities such as quizzes, then use a URL such as this http://yourmoodlesite.net/mod/quiz/index.php?id=x where x is the course ID number.

Change the activity name according to the activity you need to see listed.

Is there a shortcut URL to a course?

Try this using the course shortname: URL (Moodlesite)/course/view.php?name=shortname to navigate directly to a course.

Check out the tracker item for clean URLs: MDL-28030

What happens to my course content if I change the format from one format to another?

For standard course formats only: If you change from Topics to Weekly or Weekly to Topics, then the only real difference will be in the titles of the sections. If you change to Social format then you will just have a forum and if you still want access to your other activities you need to add the "Social activities block". If you change to the Single activity format you will only see the activity you chose to display, and your other activities will be hidden from students but available to you in a greyed out section. If you then revert back from Single activity to Topics or Weekly format you will need to un-hide those sections.

How can I move items easily on a course with lots of activities?

See the Tips and tricks section of Course homepage for a method allowing you to avoid scrolling issues when moving an activity or resource in a busy course.

Can I put a course in more than one category?

No. However, there is a workaround. With the Single activity course format, it is possible to add a URL as the single activity. The URL can be a redirect to a course in a different category, thus giving the appearance of a course in more than one category.