UH-Ordering a new course area

Suomeksi: HY-Uuden kurssialueen tilaaminen

A Moodle course area in the University of Helsinki is created either

• in the My teaching page by connecting the Moodle area with Weboodi, see Creating a new course area
• or by ordering a new course area by filling a form, without connecting to WebOodi (this guide).

The order form for a new course area is in Moodle in the right column, in the block “Instructions for teachers” > Request a new course area. Course areas can be ordered only by the members of the teaching staff. You must login to Moodle to fill in the form. If you are a student looking for instructions for course registration, please see the Student’s Guide to Moodle. N.B. The Open University course areas are ordered from an education specialist of the discipline in question.

In order to fill the order form for the course area, first login to Moodle with your personal University of Helsinki account. After logging in, fill in the form by following the instructions (N.B. choose also the course category, usually your faculty). You can see the categories on the [categories page].

The teacher can edit all the information requested in the form (except the course category) in the course area settings after the course area has been created. If you need to change the category or you need additional advice for ordering the course area, please contact moodle@helsinki.fi.

Moodle administration creates the ordered course areas within three working days (excluding holidays). Usually the course area orders can be delivered within the same working day or the next. The teacher will always receive an automatic confirmation by email when the course area has been created. The email also has a quick guide for opening the course area.

The course must be opened for students when the course area is ready (Actions menu (Gear menu on the top right) > Edit Settings > Course visibility > Show > Save and display).

User data is not automatically synchronized from WebOodi, so when you use this way to create a new course area, the students and the teachers must be added to Moodle with either self enrolment or adding them one by one. Self enrolment is opened and the (optional) enrolment key added in the course area settings.

Linking the Moodle course area with to the course page

Add the Moodle area in My teaching in the Moodle tab. The address to the course area in visible for the students in the course page and in My studies. The enrolment key, if one is used, is shown only for the students registered for the course in WebOodi.

The order form

When you order a new course area in the University of Helsinki, you must fill in the following information:

• The course name: The full name of the course area. The name can contain several words, special characters, spaces or characters å, ä or ö. It is recommended to name the course area in, for example, the following way: “WebOodicode coursefullname, term/period”, here e.g. “581328 Introduction to databases, spring 2018”. (If needed, with the teacher’s name in the end, if there are several parallel groups with their own course areas).
• The course abbreviation: The course area abbreviation can be, for instance, the course code, the code of the institute or an abbreviated version of the course name. Choose an abbreviation that is recognizable for the students also. The abbreviation is shown whenever a long name is tricky, for example in the navigation bar in the header and in the subject field of emails sent from Moodle. The recommended maximum length of the abbreviation is 15 characters.
  • The abbreviation must be unique: the form will notify you if that is not the case.
  • The abbreviation cannot contain special characters or characters å, ä or ö, and you should not use spaces as it makes the search process harder.
• Category: The courses are sorted into categories by faculties and independent institutes. From the drop-down menu, choose a suitable category for your course area. The course can only be in one category at a time.
• Summary: This summary text is visible also for students who have yet to register for the course area. In the summary you can tell, for example, the intended audience of the course, who can register for the course, and what is taught on the course, where, and by whom. The summary can also be shown on the course area main page by adding the block Course summary.
• Additional information: Fill in additional information regarding the course, for example the wanted language (if not Finnish) and information about any other teachers.

See also: Creating a new course area.