User quick guide

So you've got a new Moodle account? What now? This page will help you navigate around your site as a student or teacher. Note that this guide is quite generic: your Moodle site might look different. The video Finding your way around might be useful to you.

Your profile

You can access your profile from the user menu top right. Click the arrow to open up the menu:

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. Depending on the administrator's settings, you may also see a QR code to help you connect to the Moodle app and a Privacy and Policies setting where you can request an export of your data, ask for your account to be deleted or view the policies and agreements.

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.

Your notifications and messages

Your site can alert you when you have new messages from your teacher and other participants. If your teacher has enabled group messaging you will receive daily digests of group messages as well.

You can receive these alerts via email or from the message drawer on the site (accessed by clicking the speech bubble icon (1 in the screenshot) top right). From the messaging drawer you can also send yourself private reminders.

You can control how you receive messages from Preferences > Message preferences in the user menu or by clicking the cog from the message drawer (2) in the screenshot above. The documentation Messaging gives more detail.

You can receive notifications about new forum posts or graded assignments and more. If your Moodle admin has set the site up for the mobile app, you can also receive alerts on your mobile phone. You can customise your notifications from Preferences > Notification preferences or by clicking the cog from the Notifications icon top right.

Important information

How you find courses depends on how the administrator has set up the site. You might see three links: Home, Dashboard, Courses:

Home - 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 home pages (site front pages) may display only the courses you are enrolled in (to avoid clutter and confusion).

Dashboard - This is your personal page which you can customise and view a timeline of any outstanding tasks. More information in the section below.

My courses - This is where you see courses you are enrolled in and can search and filter them. More information in the section below.

Your dashboard

Every user has their own dashboard which they can customise. The documentation on Dashboard gives further information.

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.

My courses

Once you are enrolled in courses you will see them on your My courses page:

You can filter which courses you see by clicking the first arrow/field: