MoodleDocs - User contributions [en]

Forum settings

2008-03-20T21:06:49Z

Mmoore: /* Aggregate type */

{{Forums}}
[[Image:Adding a forum.png|thumb|Adding a forum]]To add a forum:
#In your course, click "Turn Editing On", and go to the topic or week section in which you want to create the forum.
#From the dropdown menu labelled "Add an activity", select "Forum". This will take you to the "Adding a new forum" page.

==General==

===Forum name===

A short name of the forum (e.g. "Favourite colour"), which will be displayed on the course homepage.

===Forum type===

There are four forum types to choose from:
*A single simple discussion - A single topic discussion developed on one page, which is useful for short focussed discussions
*Standard forum for general use - An open forum where anyone can start a new topic at any time; this is the best general-purpose forum
*Each person posts one discussion - Each person can post exactly one new discussion topic (everyone can reply to them though); this is useful when you want each student to start a discussion about, say, their reflections on the week's topic, and everyone else responds to these
*Q and A Forum - Instead of initiating discussions Teachers (only) pose a question in the initial post of a discussion. Students may reply with an answer, but they will not see the replies of other Students to the question in that discussion until they have themselves replied to the same discussion.

===Forum introduction===

Type the description of the forum here. Include precise instructions for students regarding the subject of the forum and, if necessary, the grading criteria.

===Force everyone to be subscribed?===

When a person is subscribed to a forum it means that they will be sent email copies of every post in that forum (posts are sent about 30 minutes after the post was first written).

People can usually choose whether or not they want to be subscribed to each forum.

However, if you choose to force subscription on a particular forum then all course users will be subscribed automatically, even those that enrol at a later time.

This is especially useful in the News forum and in forums towards the beginning of the course (before everyone has worked out that they can subscribe to these emails themselves).

If you choose the option "Yes, initially" then all current and future course users will be subscribed initially but they can unsubscribe themselves at any time. If you choose "Yes, forever" then they will not be able to unsubscribe themselves.

Note how the "Yes, initially" option behaves when you update an existing forum: Changing from "Yes, initially" to "No" will not unsubscribe existing users, it will only affect future course users. Similarly changing later to "Yes, initially" will not subscribe existing course users but only those enrolling later.

From Moodle 1.6 onwards there is an "Subscriptions not allowed" setting which prevents Students from subscribing to a Forum. Teachers may choose to be subscribed if they wish.

===Read tracking for this forum?===

If 'read tracking' for forums is enabled, users can track read and unread messages in forums and discussions. The instructor can choose to force a tracking type on a forum using this setting.

There are three options for this setting:
* Optional (default) - students can turn tracking on or off for the forum at their discretion
* On - tracking is always on
* Off - tracking is always off

===Maximum attachment size===

When students attach files to their posts, you’ll want to limit the maximum size of their posts so you don’t use up all your server space. This is especially important if you are paying a commercial hosting company for your Moodle site.

==Grade==

Forum posts can be rated using either a numerical scale or a scale made up of words. By default, only teachers can rate forum posts, though you can use a role override to allow students to rate each others’ posts (see [[Forum permissions]]). This is a useful tool for giving students participation grades. Any ratings given in the forum are recorded in the [[Gradebook|gradebook]].

If you allow posts to be rated, you can choose a scale rating using the Grade drop-down menu. You can give a number of points to each post (from 1 to 100) or you can opt for either "Scale: Satisfactory" (Outstanding, Satisfactory and Not satisfactory) or "Separate and Connected ways of Knowing" (Mostly Connected Knowing, Separate and Connected, Mostly Separate Knowing).

You can allow only posts within a certain date range to be rated. This is useful if you want to keep students focused on the most recent content.

===Aggregate type===
{{Moodle 1.9}}In Moodle 1.9 onwards, you can set an aggregate type, in other words, decide how all the ratings given to posts in a forum are combined to form the final grade (for each post and for the whole forum activity).

There are four options:
* Average of ratings (default) - The mean of all the ratings given to posts in that forum. This is especially useful with peer grading when there are a lot of ratings being made.
* Count of ratings - The number of rated posts becomes the final grade. This is useful when the number of posts is important. Note that the total can not exceed the maximum grade allowed for the forum. A count may be used if the teacher simply wants to acknowledge that a reply was given in the case students being required to make a certain number of posts in the discussion. Note: Count of ratings does not work for the "Separate or Connected Ways of Knowing" scale or custom scales due to the limitation imposed by the max grade.
* Maximum rating - The highest rating is returned as the final grade. This method is useful for emphasising the best work from participants, allowing them to post one high-quality post as well as a number of more casual responses to others.
* Minimum rating - The smallest rating is returned as the final grade. This method promotes a culture of high quality for all posts.
* Sum of ratings - All the ratings for a particular user are added together. Note that the total is not allowed to exceed the maximum grade for the forum. Note: Sum of ratings does not work for the "Separate or Connected Ways of Knowing" scale or custom scales due to the limitation imposed by the max grade.

==Post threshold for blocking==

===Post threshold for warning===

Students (only) will be blocked from posting after a specified number of posts in a given period - this option is for setting the number of posts a Student may make before receiving a warning. Set to 0 to disable warnings.

===Post threshold for blocking===

This option is for setting the number of posts a Student may make in the period defined below. Set to 0 to disable blocking. If blocking is disabled, warnings will automatically be disabled.

===Time period for blocking===

This option defines the period in which a student may make a the number of posts specified in "Post threshold for blocking".

==Common module settings==

===Visible to students===

You can hide the activity from students by selecting "Hide" here. It is useful if you wouldn't like to make the activity available immediately.

==Pre-Moodle 1.7 settings==

Note: From Moodle 1.7 onwards, forum permissions may be accessed via the Roles tab on the update/edit forum page and the override roles link.

===Can a student post to this forum?===

This option allows you to restrict students from posting new content in this forum. There are three options to choose from:

#Discussions and replies are allowed - This option leaves students unrestricted, which is the case for most forums. Thus, you choose to allow them to start new discussion topics (threads), and also to post replies within those threads.
#No discussions, but replies are allowed - This option should be chosen if only teachers are to be allowed to start new discussions. Students will still be allowed to reply within those threads (for example within the news forum on the site home page).
#No discussions, no replies - Choosing this option bars students from starting new discussion topics and replying within those threads. This is useful for the News forum when you only want teachers to post new items that appear on the course main page.

===Use ratings===

If you decide to rate posts on the forum, you will have to define settings of the three following aspects:

*Users - If you want everybody to rate posts, choose 'Everyone can rate posts'. Otherwise, pick 'Only teachers can rate posts'.
*View - If you want to keep the grades known only to the individual students graded, you should choose the option 'Students can only see their own ratings'. If there is no such a need, opt for 'Students can see everyone's ratings'.

==See also==

*[[Forum permissions]]
*Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=65162 No discussions, no replies?] forum discussion
*Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=86487 Forum Ratings - Some Students Cannot Be Rated] forum discussion

[[fr:Ajouter/modifier un forum]]
[[ja:フォーラムの追加/編集]]

Chat settings

2006-02-14T16:08:58Z

Mmoore:

{{Chats}}

== Name of this chat room ==
Begin by entering a name for your chat room. The name entered here will be the name that learners see in the course content area. Learners will click on this name to view the description of the purpose of the chat room and then to enter the chat. It is useful to name your chat room with a name that implies its purpose. For example, if you will be using your chat room for virtual office hours, then you might name your chat room “Virtual Office.” Alternatively, if the chat room is designed solely to give learners a place to socialize or discuss class activities, you might name the chat room “Student Lounge.”

==Introduction text==

Type the description of the chat here. Include precise instructions for students regarding the subject of the chat.

The introduction text is designed to welcome learners to the chat and to provide information regarding the purpose of the chat room. The introduction can be as simple or as complex as you would like. As an example, you could simply explain that the chat room is being made available for learners to collaborate on group projects. A chat could also be used for structured discussions of course content; in that case, the Introduction text might present a specific list of questions to be addressed or the protocols to be followed.

It might also be beneficial to let the learners know in the Introduction text who will be able to see the transcripts of the chat sessions. The instructor will be able to see every part of any conversation that takes place in the chat room. However, you can choose to make these transcripts visible to all learners as well. When working with younger learners, experience has revealed that discussions in the chat rooms are more likely to be on-task and appropriate when the learners are aware that their discussions can be viewed by the instructor and/or other learners. The same may well be true with adult learners.

==Next chat time==

The day and hour of the next chat session.

If you wish to schedule chat sessions for or with your learners, then you can use this setting to publish a time and date for the next chat. The date you select here will be displayed on the course calendar along with a link to the chat room. Realize that setting a date and time here will not restrict access to the room at other times, it is merely a tool to communicate with your learners; to let them know when they can expect to find you or other learners in the chat room. If you wish to make the chat room unavailable, you must hide it from the learners.

To choose a chat time, use the drop down menus to choose the day, month and year. Then, set a time with the last two fields on the line. Note: the time is based on a 24 hour clock or “military time,” so 14:00 refers to 2:00 p.m.

For courses involving users across different time zones, it is useful to know that the time you set here will be adjusted to match the time zone of the user viewing it.

If you do not wish to publish chat times, then you can disregard the date and time settings here and then choose not to publish them in the next step.

==Repeat sessions==

You can choose any out of four options allowing to schedule the future chat sessions:

# '''Don't publish any chat times'''--If you prefer not to schedule chats for the chat room, select this setting. This option will cause Moodle to disregard the date and time set above for the Next chat time. Not publishing chat times could be used to indicate to learners that the chat room is available at all times for them to use.
# '''No repeats - publish the specified time only'''--This setting will cause only the date and time selected for the Next chat time to be published. The date and time will be displayed on the course calendar as well as when the learners click on the title of the chat room in the course content area. Published chat times could be used to schedule special events or meetings or simply to help learners identify a common time in which they can expect to find other learners in the chat room.
# '''At the same time every day'''--In some situations, you may need to schedule a chat session for the same time every day; this setting allows for this option. The scheduled chats will then be based on the time of day you selected above for the Next chat time. Scheduled daily chats are useful for scheduling daily office hours or work sessions with learners.
# '''At the same time every week'''--To schedule a chat for the same day and time every week, select this option. When this option, the scheduled chats will be on the same day of the week at the same time you indicated in the Next chat time area above. If you regularly give assessments on the same day of the week, this setting could be useful for scheduling review sessions prior to each assessment. You could also schedule a weekly chat to meet and review key ideas and questions related to the week’s content—assessment or not.

==Save past sessions==

You can determine the number of days.

When users participate in a chat session, a record, or complete transcript of the session is created. As the instructor, you can choose how long these transcripts are saved and available for viewing. You may wish to never delete the messages from a special chat room used for discussions between learners and visiting authors, but you may choose to keep transcripts from an open, informal chat room for only 30 days.

If you have any concerns about discussions that might take place in your chat room, you may want to keep transcripts for an extended period of time to allow the transcripts to be used for documentation. Likewise, you may find the documentation provided by the transcript to be useful for accreditation or evaluative purposes. Another consideration is how long you expect your learners to need access to the transcript. For instance, if learners are using the chat room to collaborate on a group project, you won’t want to delete the messages until that project is completed and assessed.

==Everyone can view past sessions==

You can decide here whether or not allow everyone to view past chat sessions.

Instructors in a course can always view transcripts from sessions in the chat rooms. However, you also have the option to make these chat transcripts available to all of the learners in the course. If you select Yes for this setting, learners can click on the title of the chat room and then view past sessions to see any interactions that have taken place in the chat room. If you select No here, then only the instructors in the course will have access to the transcripts. If learners need access to a specific transcript though, the instructor can always copy the transcript and share it with learners in the form of a document.

==Visible to students==

You can hide the activity from students by selecting "Hide" here. It is useful if you wouldn't like to make the activity available immediately.

Changing the Visible to students setting is the equivalent of opening or closing the eye on the course page to hide or display an activity for learners. If you choose Show, then learners in the course will be able to see this assignment. If you choose Hide, then only the instructor will be able to see the assignment.

[[Category:Teacher|Course/mod/chat]]

Chat settings

2006-02-14T15:59:13Z

Mmoore: /* Name of this chat room */

{{Chats}}

== Name of this chat room ==
Chat

==Introduction text==

Type the description of the chat here. Include precise instructions for students regarding the subject of the chat.

==Next chat time==

The day and hour of the next chat session.

==Repeat sessions==

You can choose any out of four options allowing to schedule the future chat sessions:

# Don't publish any chat times
# No repeats - publish the specified time only
# At the same time every day
# At the same time every week

==Save past sessions==

You can determine the number of days.

==Everyone can view past sessions==

You can decide here whether or not allow everyone to view past chat sessions.

==Visible to students==

You can hide the activity from students by selecting "Hide" here. It is useful if you wouldn't like to make the activity available immediately.

[[Category:Teacher|Course/mod/chat]]

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T20:38:00Z

Mmoore:

{{Assignments}}

==Assignment name==

Give your assignment a name (e.g. “Report on Topic Content”). The name entered here will be the name that learners see in the course content area. Learners will click on this name to view the details of the assignment and, if applicable, submit their work.

==Description==

The description of the assignment, which should include precise instructions for students regarding the subject of the assignment, the form, in which it should be submitted, the grading criteria etc.

Use this area to describe the assignment and explain what learners are expected to do to complete this task. The assignment description can be as brief or as expansive as you feel is necessary to meet the needs of your learners. However, it is to your benefit to provide as much detail and information as possible, especially at the start of the course while you are still establishing procedures. Generally, the more information you are able to provide here the fewer questions and problems your learners will have completing the task.

The assignment description field can also be used to provide information or resources related to the assignment. An instructor, for example, could provide some literature, a video clip, an image, or a link to a webpage, and then ask the learners to use these materials in completing the task. (Alternatively, the instructor could post these items using the Resource Module and refer students to them in the assignment details. See the section titled Resource Module for more information.)

Finally, if you are adding rich content, tables, etc. to your description, it is best to expand the HTML editor into full screen mode so you can make your webpage document look nice when participants view it.

==Grade==

The grade for the assignment is specified here. Choosing a number will become the maximum grade for this assignment. Apart from the numbers, one of the descriptive grades which have been defined for this course can also be picked.

If you will not be giving a grade for the assignment, choose No Grade.

==Available from==

Setting this date prevents students from submitting their assignments before this date.

The Available from date setting allows an instructor to set a day and time at which learners can begin submitting the assignment. This setting does not, however, hide the activity from the learners. Instead, the learner will see the activity, be able to view the instructions and use any materials you have include in the description, but the learner will not be able to submit or complete the assignment until the Available from date.

To activate the Available from date, make sure that the check box is marked. Then, use the drop down menus to choose the day, month and year. You can also set a time with the last two fields on the line. Note: the time is based on a 24 hour clock or “military time,” so 14:00 refers to 2:00 p.m.

If you do not wish to use the Available from option, just remove the check from the checkbox by clicking on it; the rest of the field will turn gray and the date will be ignored.

==Due date==

And this prevents students from submitting their assignments after this date.

The Due date field works in much the same way as the Available from field with a few small differences. The checkbox activates the Due date option and you have the same ability to select a day, month, year, and time. If the checkbox is empty, then the due date will be not be applied.

As with the Available from setting, the Due date defines when learners are able to submit their assignment. However, with the Due date settings, you also have the Prevent late submissions option (below the date and time fields). Setting Prevent late submissions to Yes will prevent learners from being able to submit this assignment after the Due date. If you set Prevent late submissions to No, then learners can submit the assignment as long as the assignment is visible or accessible to them.

Both the Available from and Due dates are displayed for learners in the assignment details, but the Due date is also marked in the course Calendar as a visible reminder for participants. Furthermore, the indicator on the calendar will actually link learners directly to the activity!

Your use of the Available from and Due date settings will probably be dependent on the overall structure of your course. If you are facilitating an open ended course or a course with rolling enrollment, then you might find it easier to not apply the Available from and Due date settings (uncheck the boxes). This arrangement will allow the learners to access the assignments according to their own schedule and progress within the course. Alternatively, if you are working within a more structured format or adhering to a timeline, the Available from and Due date settings are useful for keeping learners on schedule. Using the Available from setting will make it possible for learners to preview upcoming activities, while at the same time, prevent them from finishing the course in the first week and not returning for additional activities or information. Likewise, the Due dates help keep the learners from lagging too far behind and decrease the likelihood that the learner will become overwhelmed by having to complete several weeks worth of work at once.

==Prevent late submissions==

Set to "No", assignments submitted after the due date will be marked as late, but students will still be able to submit them. Set to "Yes", assignment submission will be blocked after the due date.

==Assignment type==

With the Assignment type setting, you will define how learners will complete the assignment and turn it in to the instructor. Assignments can be set up as offline activity, online text, or upload a single file.

;Upload
:A student can upload a single file. This could be a Word document, spreadsheet or anything digital. Multiple files could be zipped and then submitted.After learners upload their files in this arrangement, the instructor will be able to open the submission and then use the Moodle interface to assign a grade and offer comments as feedback.

:In addition to using this activity to collect work from learners, some instructors and learners use this module as a tool for transferring projects from one location to another. For example, if an instructor offered learners an assignment of this form, the learner could upload a file he was working on at school and then, once home, retrieve it from the assignment screen to continue his work. With the right settings (offered on the next screen), the learner can then submit the new file from home to use at school again.

;Online Text
:This assignment type asks users to compose and edit text, using the normal editing tools. The online text assignment can be set up to allow learners to compose, revise and edit over time or such that the learner only has one opportunity to enter his or her response. Furthermore, with the online assignment, instructors can grade the work online and even edit and/or provide comments within the learner’s work.

:The online text assignment is ideal for journaling and composition work.

;Offline assignment
:This is useful when the assignment is performed outside of Moodle. It could be something elsewhere on the web or face-to-face. Students can see a description of the assignment, but can't upload files. Grading works normally, and students will get notification of their grades.

:The offline activity has a number of different applications. In general, the offline activity is designed for activities completed outside of the online environment. Additionally, if you are using the Moodle gradebook, the offline activity gives you the capability to add gradebook entries for assignments completed outside of Moodle or for non-graded activities within Moodle.

:Specifically, an instructor in a hybrid or blended environment (combination of face-to-face and online instruction) may use the offline activity type of assignment to assign a project that the learner will physically present to the instructor at a face-to-face session. This arrangement allows the instructor to communicate the project expectations online while creating an entry for the project in the Moodle gradebook.

:In another example, consider the instructor who gives reading assignments or assigns problems for practice. These activities wouldn’t necessarily be turned in for a grade, but the instructor needs a tool for communicating the assignment details. The offline assignment, with its unique icon, could be used as a consistent visual cue for the learners; learners would come to know that they can always look for the assignment icon to see what work they need to complete.

:Finally, the offline assignment, as mentioned previously, is a tool for making entries in the Moodle gradebook. Perhaps an instructor wants to assign a grade for contributions to a class wiki; however, the wiki itself is an ungraded activity. The instructor could use an offline assignment to create an entry for the wiki contribution grade in the Moodle gradebook. In this example, however, the instructor may choose to hide the actual listing of the assignment in the Moodle course since it is primarily being used for the purpose of making a gradebook entry.

After filling in all of the data above, click Next to proceed to the [[mod/assignment/details|assignment details]] page.

[[Category:Teacher]]

Moodle in education

2006-02-13T20:00:33Z

Mmoore:

<p class="note">'''Note for contributors:''' Design and/or style improvements to this page are welcome :-) Please add additional teacher documentation links to the See also section.</p>
__NOTOC__
__NOEDITSECTION__
{| cellpadding="1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0 15px 0; width: 100%;"
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background:#e4e4e4;" align="center" | <h2 style="border: 0; margin: 0">[[Activity modules]]</h2>
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 100%;" | [[mod/assignment/index|Assignments]] | [[mod/chat/index|Chats]] | [[mod/choice/index|Choices]] | [[mod/forum/index|Forums]] | [[mod/glossary/index|Glossaries]] | [[mod/hotpot/index|Hot Potatoes]] | [[mod/lesson/index|Lessons]] | [[mod/quiz/index|Quizzes]] | [[mod/scorm/index|SCORM]] | [[mod/survey/index|Surveys]] | [[mod/wiki/index|Wikis]] | [[mod/workshop/index|Workshops]]
|}

{| cellpadding="1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0 15px 0; width: 100%;"
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background:#e4e4e4" align="center" | <h2 style="border: 0; margin: 0">[[mod/resource/index|Resources]]</h2>
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 100%;" | [[course/mod/text|Text page]] | [[course/mod/html|Web page]] | [[course/mod/file|File or website link]] | [[course/mod/directory|Directory]] | [[course/mod/label|Label]]
|}

{| cellpadding="1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0 10px 0; width: 100%;"
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background:#e4e4e4" align="center" | <h2 style="border: 0; margin: 0">[[Blocks]]</h2>
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 100%;" | [[Activities]] | [[Administration]] | [[Calendar]] | [[Courses]] | [[Course/Site Description]] | [[HTML]] | [[Latest News]] | [[Messages]] | [[Online Users]] | [[People]] | [[Quiz Results]] | [[Random Glossary Entry]] | [[Recent Activity]] | [[RSS feeds]] | [[Search Forums]] | [[Section Links]] | [[Upcoming Events]]
|}

{| cellpadding="1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0 10px 0; width: 100%;"
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background:#e4e4e4" align="center" | <h2 style="border: 0; margin: 0">[[Tools]]</h2>
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 100%;" | [[Gradebook]]
|}

{| cellpadding="1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0 10px 0; width: 100%;"
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background:#e4e4e4" align="center" | <h2 style="border: 0; margin: 0">[[Teaching with Moodle]]</h2>
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 100%;" | [[Teaching FAQ]] | [[Teaching Good Practices (K-12) | Good Practices (K-12)]]
|}

== See also ==
*[[Using Moodle book]]
*[[course/view|The course homepage]]
*[[Course sections]]
*[[Formatting options]]
*[[HTML in Moodle]]
*[[Presentations]]
*[[Moodle manuals]]
*[[Adding resources and activities|Adding resources and activities to your course]]
*[[Non-standard modules]]
*[[Non-standard blocks]]
*[[Teaching FAQ]]
*[[Teaching Best Practices (K-12) | Teaching with Moodle - Good Practices (K-12)]]

[[Category:Teacher]]

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T17:18:01Z

Mmoore:

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T17:07:51Z

Mmoore:

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T17:06:13Z

Mmoore: /* Description */

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T17:05:39Z

Mmoore: /* Assignment name */

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T16:58:07Z

Mmoore: /* Description */

Assignment settings

2006-02-13T16:53:38Z

Mmoore: /* Assignment name */