Moodle in education

2006-08-11T19:38:12Z

Ktm5007: /* General Advice */

The purpose of this page is to give an overview a course, the overall organizing feature that a teacher will use in Moodle.

If you are a '''new user''' and would like a list of all the documents that are for teachers in MoodleDocs have a look at the [[:Category:Teacher | teacher category index by clicking here]] or the See Also section at the bottom of this page. We encourage you to try the search feature on the left side of this page to find other useful pages.

==Getting started==
We are assuming that your site administrator has set up Moodle and given you a new, blank course to start with.
{| align="left"
|rowspan="2"| [[Image:Course_edit_on_new_2.jpg ]]
|-
|}
You will need to be [[Log in | logged into]] the course using an account that has been assigned [[Teacher|teacher status]] (with editing rights) on that course to use most of the features below. We have some tips if you are having [[Can not log in | trouble logging in]].

Now onto the real details. You will find the [[Course homepage|course homepage]] is broken down into [[Course sections]]. A course is created by [[Adding resources and activities|adding resources and activities]]. When writing text in Moodle you have a range of [[Formatting options]] including using [[HTML in Moodle]]

The example on the left shows a new course set up with topic sections, edit is on and there are blocks on the right side of the topics. Resourses and activities are ready to be added.
 

==Editing A Course==

To add or alter activities or resources you will need to [[Turn editing on|turn editing on]]. You can do this by pressing the button at the top right of the course homepage or following the turn editing on link in the administration block. You can turn editing off again by pressing the button or the admin block link again (now renamed turn editing off)

When editing is on you will see the following icons:

:[[Image:Edit.gif]] - the edit icon lets you alter/update whatever resource or activity it is next to by taking you to it's setup page.

:[[Image:Help.gif]] - the help icon will pop-up a relevant help window.

:[[Image:Open.gif]] - the open-eye icon means an item is visible to students. Clicking it will make the item invisible to participants and change the icon to the closed eye.

:[[Image:Closed.gif]] - the closed-eye icon means an item is hidden from students. Clicking it will make the item visible to participants and change the icon to the open eye.

:[[Image:Right.gif]] - the left icon is used to outdent course elements. There is also a right icon for indenting items.

:[[Image:Move.gif]] - the move icon allows course elements to be moved up or down throughout the course.

:[[Image:Movehere.gif]] - the move here icon appears when moving a course element. It appears only after you've clicked the move icon, and indicates the destination of the item you're moving.

:[[Image:Delete.gif]] - the delete icon will permanently delete something from the course after you confirm a warning on a second page.

:[[Image:Marker.gif]] - the marker icon allows you to make a section current.

:[[Image:One.gif]] - the one icon hides all other sections of the course, showing only this one.

:[[Image:All.gif]] - the all icon redisplays all sections in a course.

If you are running version 1.6 or above you will see a '''Student View''' toggle button at the top right of the course homepage. This allows you to see the course almost exactly as your students will see it.

==Activity modules==
{| align="left"
|rowspan="2"| [[Image:Activity_dropdown.JPG]]
|-
|}
There are a number of interactive learning [[Modules (teacher)|activity modules]] that you may [[Adding_resources_and_activities | add to your course]].

Communication and collaboration may take place using [[Chats]] and [[Forums]] for conversational activities and [[Choices]] to gain group feedback. Adding [[Wikis]] to your courses is an excellent way to allow students to work together on a single piece.

Work can be submitted by students and marked by teachers using [[Assignments]] or [[Workshops]]. Automatic marking can be achieved by using [[Quizzes]]. You can even integrate your Hot Potato quizzes by adding a [[Hotpot]] activity.

Content may be delivered and supported using [[Lessons]] and [[SCORM]] activities. Key words can be added to [[Glossaries]] by yourself or, if you allow it, your students.

[[Surveys]] and [[Database module|Databases]] are also very powerful additions to any course.

If all of that isn't enough for you then you can also [[Non-standard modules|add other modules]] that are not part of the official Moodle release!
 

==Resources==
{| align="left"
|rowspan="2"| [[Image:Resource_pulldown_menu.JPG]]
|-
|}
Moodle supports a range of different [[Resources|resource types]] that allow you to include almost any kind of digital content into your courses. These can be added by using the [[Adding_resources_and_activities | add a resource]] dropdown box when editing is turned on.

A [[Text page]] is a simple page written using plain text. Text pages aren't pretty, but they're a good place to put some information or instructions. If you are after more options for your new page then you should be thinking about adding a [[Web page]] and making use of Moodle's WYSIWYG editor.

Of course the resource may already exist in electronic form so you may want to [[File or website link|link to an uploaded file or external website]] or simply display the complete contents of a [[Directory|directory]] in your course files and let your users pick the file themselves. If you have an [[IMS content package]] then this can be easily added to your course.

Use a [[Label|label]] to embed instructions or information in the course section.
 
==Blocks==

Each course homepage generally contains blocks on the left and right with the centre column containing the course content. Blocks may be added, hidden, deleted, and moved up, down and left/right when editing is turned on.

A [[Blocks (teacher)|wide range of blocks]] exist that provide additional information or functionality to the learner or teacher. These are included with the standard Moodle package but a range of [[Non-standard blocks]] exist which an administrator can add.

===Administration Block===

All of the links in the administration block are only available to teachers of the course. Students will receive their own version of the block which will display a link to their own gradebook and, if enabled, their own course logs.

Features in the administration block allow teachers to manage [[Students | student]] and [[Teachers | teacher]] enrollments and their [[Groups | groups]], view the course [[Grades | gradebook]], create custom [[Scales | grading scales]] and access the Teacher forum. The teacher forum is a private forum only available to teachers of that course. It can be used to discuss the course content, the direction the course could take or even to attach files to that can be shared among the course teachers.

You can change the way students (and other teachers) access and view your course by exploring the [[Settings]] option in the [[Administration | administration block]].

There are lots of possible ways to set up a course using blocks, but teachers may be particularly interested in [[Settings#Format | course formats]] which change how the course is presented to the learner. The weekly format is suitable for courses that have a clear start date and activities are presented in weekly blocks. Topic formatted courses are actually presented in a similar way but with the dates removed so activities can belong to general or specific areas of study. The social format doesn't use much content at all and is based around just one forum which is displayed on the main course page.

In the course homepage there is a white square icon on the top right of a [[Course_sections | section]] which can be used to expand and collapse sections. You can also use the lightbulb icon to mark a topic as current.

Another much used feature of the adminstration block is the [[Files]] link. From here you can upload any digital content for inclusion in an activity, resource, course section or for a direct download. These files can be moved, renamed, edited directly on the server (if they are HTML or text) or deleted. You can also create a directory and display the whole contents of that directory to course students using the add resource drop down in any course section.
Of course if your content resides out on the web then you don't need to upload the files at all - you can link directly to them from inside the course using the link to file or website option.

==General Advice==

* Subscribe yourself to all of the [[forum]]s so that you can keep in touch with your class activity.
* Encourage all of the students to fill out their [[Edit profile|user profile]] (including photos) and read them all - this will help provide some context to their later writings and help you to respond in ways that are tailored to their own needs.
* Keep notes to yourself in the private "Teacher's Forum" (under Administration). This is especially useful when team teaching.
* Use the [[Logs]] link (under Administration) to get access to complete, raw logs. In there you'll see a link to a popup window that updates every sixty seconds and shows the last hour of activity. This is useful to keep open on your desktop all day so you can feel in touch with what's going on in the course.
* Use the [[Recent_activity|Activity Reports]] (next to each name in the list of all people, or from any user profile page). These provide a great way to see what any particular person has been up to in the course.
* Respond quickly to students. Don't leave it for later - do it right away. Not only is it easy to become overwhelmed with the volume that can be generated, but it's a crucial part of building and maintaining a community feel in your course.
*Don't be afraid to experiment: feel free to poke around and change things. It's hard to break anything in a Moodle course, and even if you do it's usually easy to fix it.
* Use the [[Navigation bar|navigation bar]] at the top of each page - this should help remind you where you are and prevent getting lost

== See also ==
*[[Teaching with Moodle]]
*[[Teaching do's and don'ts]]
*[[Teaching FAQ]]
*[[Tips and tricks]]
*[[Student FAQ]]
*[[Presentations]]
*[[Moodle manuals]]
*[[Using Moodle book]]
*[https://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:Lesson Lesson Module Basics]
*[http://moodle.tokem.fi/mod/book/view.php?id=5116&chapterid=256 For a course checklist in english]

For an index of teacher topics go [[:Category:Teacher | here]]:

[[Category:Teacher]]
[[es:Documentación para Profesores]]
[[fr:Documentation enseignant]]
[[nl:Documentatie voor leraren]]

Student FAQ

2006-08-11T19:31:45Z

Ktm5007: /* Why is my course average so low? */

{{FAQ}}

This article is intended to prepare teachers for the kinds of questions their students may ask about their Moodle courses. The article could also be given to students (either printed, copied electronically or simply linked to) but the conents may need to be modified depending upon the age / ability of the students concerned

=Access and Navigation=

==Why can't I log in?==
There could be many reasons but the most probably is you have simply forgotton your password, are trying the wrong one or are entering it incorrectly. Some other things to think about include:
* Does you username or password contain a mixture of upper and lower case letter? It should be entered exactly
* Are cookies enabled on your browser

==How do I jump between my courses?==

* Course block if it has been added
* Go back to the homepage and then use the main course block (if it has been added!)

==How do I get back to the homepage?==

Use the navigation trail at the top left of the page or the button at the very bottom of the course

==How to I find course X?==
If you are not already enrolled in a course you can search for it by name and description.

=Course Content=
==Where have all of the weeks / topics gone?==
You have probably clicked on the [[Image:One.gif]] icon. To reveal all of the other weeks / topics you need to click on the [[Image:All.gif]] icon which you will see in the right margin of the week / topic.
You can also use the dropdown box underneath the displayed week / topic to jump to a hidden section

=Emails and Forums=

==Why am I not getting any e-mails and others are?==
Chances are your email address in your profile is either wrong or disabled. It could also be that you are not subscribed to the forums that are generating emails. AOL users may also not receive e-mails if the administrator has banned the use of AOL email addresses.

==How can I stop all of these e-mails?==
E-mails are an essential part of the way moodle works. They are used to keep you up to date with what is going on. If you wish to reduce the amount of emails you get you could:
* Edit your profile and change your e-mail settings to digest
* Unsubscribe from non-essential forums (although they are there for a reason!)
* Disable your e-mail address in your profile although this is not recomended and may go against in house rules.

=Assignments and Grades=

==Why is there no upload box?==
This is either because:
* The assignment has now closed
* The assignment is not yet open
* You already uploaded something and the settings prevent resubmissions

==How can I see my recent assignment feedback?==
There are many ways you can access their feedback.
The most common method is by simply going to the same place where you uploaded the work.
Another common method is to follow the link in the recent activity block (if the teacher has included it on the course).
Another method would be to access the grade book and then follow the link for the required assignment.
Depending upon how the assignment was set up, you may receive an email when it has been marked with a direct link to the feedback.

==Why is my course average so low?==
Don't panic! The moodle gradebook takes into account unmarked and unsubmitted work. In other words, you start with zero and as you progress through the course and complete graded activities the percentage will steadily rise

=Quizzes=

==Which button do I press when I have finished a quiz?==
The depends upon what you want to do ....

==See Also==
*[[Student documentation]]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=43084 AOL - no friend of education!] forum discussion

[[Category:Teacher]]
[[Category:Student]]
[[Category:FAQ]]

[[es:FAQ Estudiante]]

MoodleDocs - User contributions [en]

Moodle in education

Student FAQ