moodle: getting started - swatkins.wordpress.ncsu.edu · moodle is an open source learning...

Last modified: May 28, 2014

Moodle: Getting Started

Instructor: Scott Watkins ([email protected]) E-mail:[email protected] DELTA website: delta.ncsu.edu Phone: (919) 513-7094

Overview This hands-on workshop provides a practical introduction to Moodle 2 for instructors. In part 1 of the workshop (2 hours), participants learn how to create a Moodle class, move course content from a previous class, navigate the Moodle interface, create and upload content, and create basic assignments. Other Moodle tools, such as Forums, Quizzes and Grade Book are introduced but not discussed at length. Part 2 of the workshop is an optional one-hour working session for instructors who would like to work with their own course materials or explore additional Moodle features, with support staff present to assist.

Objectives After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Request and configure Moodle spaces for use with their classes • Navigate and customize the Moodle interface • Share documents, files, and other course content with students • Identify the basic functionality of the most widely used Moodle tools • Obtain help through the LearnTech help desk

Table of Contents What is Moodle? What is WolfWare? ...................................................................................................................... 2 Creating a Moodle Space Using WolfWare ............................................................................................................. 3 Modifying an Existing Course Using WolfWare .................................................................................................... 4 Logging into Moodle .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Overview of the Moodle Interface ............................................................................................................................ 6 Configuring Moodle Course Settings ....................................................................................................................... 8 Creating Basic Moodle Content .............................................................................................................................. 10 Creating Assignments ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Communicating With Students .............................................................................................................................. 12 Conditional Activities ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Activity Completion Tracking ................................................................................................................................. 14 Next Steps: More Moodle Tools .............................................................................................................................. 15 Get Moodle Help ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Additional Resources ................................................................................................................................................ 16

Moodle 2: Getting Started

Need Help? 2 [email protected] or 513-7094

What is Moodle? What is WolfWare?

Moodle Moodle is an open source Learning Management System (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is used in many educational settings around the world as a tool for creating dynamic websites for teaching and learning. Moodle can be used to conduct fully online courses or to augment face-to-face courses with online content or activities. Moodle’s suite of activity modules offers a variety of instructional tools, such as discussion forums, quizzes, assignment submission, and grade reporting. Moodle can also be used to deliver course content in a variety of formats, such as documents, files, and HTML content. NCSU uses Moodle as its primary LMS for web-based or web-enhanced classes. Moodle is integrated with Registration & Records data, so class enrollments and adds/drops are handled automatically. Moodle is also used at NC State as a collaboration tool by campus groups and special projects, and for some Extension activities. Beginning in Summer, 2014, the version of Moodle in use at NC State is version 2.6.

WolfWare WolfWare is the name given to the set of instructional technologies that are supported by DELTA at NC State. It is an umbrella term that encompasses several specific technology tools, including Moodle, Blackboard Collaborate, Mediasite, and WolfWare Classic.



Creating a Moodle Space Using WolfWare Moodle course spaces are integrated with student rosters in particular semesters, so new Moodle spaces must be created each semester. To create a Moodle space for your class, follow these steps.

1. Log in with Unity credentials at https://wolfware.ncsu.edu. After you log in, you will see your own classes automatically, so there is usually no need to search using the search box.

2. Courses for the current semester can be found on the Current tab. Each course is contained in a

rectangular block that displays the name of the course and other information.

3. To create a Moodle space for a course, click the Add Tools button on the right side of that class’s block.

4. On the Course Management screen, click the Create Moodle Space tab on the left.



5. Configure any desired settings for your new Moodle space: a. Space Name: Use the default name or change the name. If you make changes, click the

Save name button when finished. b. Add Class Rosters: Your roster for this class will be added automatically; use this part of

the page if you want to also add any additional class rosters to the same Moodle space. Select them in the Rosters to add section, and then click the Add Checked Rosters button.

c. Add/Remove Additional People: To add extras (such as TAs or additional Instructors) to your class, search for them here by name or Unity ID. From the Role menu that appears, select their role, and then click the Add button.

d. Format: Select “Topics” format or “Weekly” format, and enter the number of course blocks you want your class to contain. This can also be changed later.

e. Availability: Set the dates between which you want students to have access to the class. The default start date is the first day of classes, and the default end date is three weeks after the end of the semester. You may change these to other dates if you prefer.

f. Theme: Choose the general appearance (colors; graphics) of your course. This can also be changed later. If you’re not sure, try the “Red Standard” theme in the NCSU category. If you choose one of the “Personalized Themes,” you can later upload your own banner graphic to your Moodle course.

g. Course Copier: If you want to copy another of your courses into your new Moodle space (such as a previous semester’s course), select the other course from the menu. Only course content (no student data) will be copied over. If instead you want to start with a blank course, do not select anything from the Course Copier menu.

6. When you’re finished configuring settings, click the Create My Moodle Space button at the

bottom. It may take up to an hour for a new blank Moodle space to be created, and using the Course Copier may increase the time required, depending on the size of the class and how many courses are currently also being copied by other instructors.

Modifying an Existing Course Using WolfWare After your Moodle course is created, you can edit most course settings within Moodle itself. But for settings configured in WolfWare, such as course theme, roster additions, or availability dates, you can only modify the settings in WolfWare. The screens used to modify course settings are almost identical to the screens used to create the Moodle space. To modify an existing Moodle space for your class, follow these steps.

1. Log in with Unity credentials at https://wolfware.ncsu.edu. 2. In the course block, click the Manage button. 3. On the Course Management screen, click the Manage Moodle tab on the left. 4. Modify the settings you wish (see Creating a Moodle Space above for details), and then click the

appropriate Save button.



Logging into Moodle To access Moodle (and other WolfWare tools), log in at https://wolfware.ncsu.edu with your Unity credentials. Your classes for the current semester are displayed, with icons that indicate various actions you can take (such as Add Tools or Manage). Other tabs show other semesters and any project sites you have access to. To access an existing Moodle space for a class, click the Moodle logo icon in that course’s block.

Although it is possible to create browser bookmarks directly to a Moodle course, or to the Moodle home page, be aware that Moodle at NC State uses multiple servers, and so the “My Home” link within Moodle may not take you to everything you’re looking for. For example, project spaces and course spaces are maintained on separate servers. The WolfWare site (wolfware.ncsu.edu) is the best place to find all of your classes and projects across multiple semesters.



Overview of the Moodle Interface When you log in to your course, there may be multiple columns on the home page. The look and feel of a Moodle course depends on the theme selected. Generally, one (wider) column contains your course content and activities, and one or more (narrower) columns contain various tool blocks. In the screen shot below, the Navigation block has been collapsed, and the Administration block has been “docked” on the left side of the screen.

• Blocks: Elements within the course page are organized into “blocks.” The main part of the page contains a series of course blocks, and the side column(s) contain other blocks with different functions. Blocks in the side columns can be rearranged, hidden, or removed. Your Moodle course is created with certain standard blocks visible, but you can remove those you don’t wish to use, and you can add a variety of others if desired.

o To move a block: click Turn editing on, and then drag the block by clicking and holding the block’s title bar.

o To collapse/expand a block: click the triangle in the block’s upper right corner. o To remove a block: click Turn editing on, and then in the block, click the Actions menu (it

looks like a gear) and select Delete. o To add a block: click Turn editing on, and then select a block to add from the Add a block

menu that appears in the lower right part of the screen.



• Course Format: Course blocks are generally organized into Topics (shown as numbered blocks) or Weeks (shown as weekly date ranges). The course format can be set to use either the Topics or Weekly format (among other choices) in the course Settings (Administration block – Edit settings).

• Built-in Help: Some Moodle features have a question mark icon next to them. Click this icon for pop-up information about a particular feature.

• Common Icons: The same icons are used throughout Moodle. The pencil icon next to an item means

that you can edit or update that item, the red X means delete, and so on. Mouse over an icon to display what the icon does.

Navigation

Breadcrumbs In the top left part of the screen, a row of links displays your current location within Moodle. Click on any link in this breadcrumb trail to navigate to that page. For example, click My Home to go to your front page of the current Moodle server, where your courses on that server are listed. Click the name of your course to go to the front page of the current course.

Navigation block The Navigation block appears on every page of the site. It contains an expanding tree menu that opens to the page that you are currently displaying. The Navigation block contains links to the various parts of Moodle that you can access, including your courses, your profile, and your Private Files area.

Customization Turn Editing On button The Turn Editing On button, in the upper right, activates editing functions. Click this before making changes to your course, and click it again (Turn editing off) when you’re finished editing. The Dock The Dock allows you to move any blocks (other than course blocks) to the far left side of the screen, which frees up more area on the main part of the screen for course content. To move a block to the Dock, click the dock icon in the upper right corner of the block. Mouse over the block name in the Dock to access the contents of that block. Click the dock icon again to return a docked block to the main part of the screen, or click the icon below all of the docked blocks to remove all blocks from the Dock at once. The Dock is a user-specific feature. Each individual user can configure his or her own Dock, and it will retain this configuration, across multiple Moodle sessions and/or using multiple computers. The Dock is also server-specific, so Dock settings on different Moodle servers are separate.



Since the Navigation and Settings blocks are context-sensitive, their contents change regularly, which can be distracting. Try moving your Navigation and Settings blocks to the Dock for a cleaner interface.

Configuring Moodle Course Settings To view or modify course settings, Navigate to the Administration block – Course administration – Edit settings. The Edit settings page has multiple sections that can be expanded or collapsed one at a time or all together. Several course settings are described below.

General • Course full name: appears in course list • Course short name: appears in breadcrumbs and course email

subject lines • Availability - displays whether or not students can currently

access the course, based on the availability dates that are configured in WolfWare.

• Course Start Date: determines the start of the first week for a course that uses Weekly format. This setting has no impact on course availability to students.

• Course ID number: an identifying number used by WolfWare; this number is not displayed anywhere in the course.

Description • Course summary: displays in the Moodle course list • Course summary files: displays in the Moodle course list (limited to one small image)

Course format • Format: determines the overall layout of the course page. The two most common formats are

Weekly (course is organized into weekly sections) and Topics (course is organized into topic sections).

• Number of sections: determines the number of course blocks (weeks or topics) that are displayed. • Hidden sections: This sets whether course blocks that are hidden appear in a collapsed display or

are completely invisible to students. • Course layout: determines whether all of the course content is displayed on one page or if the

course blocks are split across multiple pages.



Appearance If a personalized theme is used in the course, then some of these settings will instead appear in the “Course / Theme Settings” section.

• Force Theme: to change the course theme, use the Manage Moodle Space tools in WolfWare. • Force language: determines what language is used in the Moodle interface (does not affect course

content). • News items to show: sets how many recent News Forum items appear in the Latest News block

on the course page. • Show gradebook to students - This sets whether or not your students can see the grade book.

Students can only view their own grades, not the grades of others. • Show activity reports - This setting determines whether a student can view their own activity

reports via their profile page. These reports show their activity and contributions in the current course, such as forum posts or assignment submissions. These reports also include their detailed access logs.

Course/Theme Settings This section only appears if you are using one of the personalized Moodle themes.

• Color Scheme: select the general color scheme that you prefer • Header Image: drag the image you wish to use as your banner image into this box.

Files and uploads • Legacy course files: a feature from a past version of Moodle that in general should not be used. • Maximum upload size - The file size limit for any single file being uploaded to the course, by an

instructor or a student. This course setting limit determines what limit will appear within course activities such as Assignments.

Completion tracking • Enable completion tracking: determines whether the Completion Tracking feature is activated in

activities throughout the course. If enabled, then “Your Progress” will appear on the course page and activities’ settings will include Completion Tracking settings.

Groups The Groups setting at the course level determines the default for the course; individual activities within the course can have different group settings.

• Group mode: o No groups - no sub-groups; everyone is part of one big community. o Separate groups - group members can only see their own group; others are invisible. o Visible groups - group members work in their own group, but can also see other groups.

• Force group mode: causes the group setting at the course level to override any group settings that might be present within individual activities.



• Default grouping: if Groupings are configured in the course, determines which Grouping to use for new members of the class that are added.

Role renaming These settings allow the displayed names for roles used in the course (e.g., Instructor, Student) to be changed. New role names will appear on the course Participants page and elsewhere within the course.

Creating Basic Moodle Content

Editing the course page After you add items to your course, you can edit those items by clicking the Turn editing on button in the upper right. An Edit menu will appear to the right of each item in the course. Click the Edit menu to reveal various editing tools. Icon Function Location

Move: click and drag this icon to move an item. Left of item title

Edit title: renames an item directly on the course page. Right of item title

Edit settings: used to make changes or edit the associated item. Edit menu

Move right or left: increases or decreases indention. Edit menu

Show or hide: makes an item visible (or invisible) to students. If the icon is a closed eye, students are unable to see the item.

Edit menu

Duplicate: creates a copy of a resource or activity. Edit menu

Assign roles: enables you to override a user’s Student role within a particular item in the course.

Edit menu

Delete: permanently removes the item from your course. Edit menu

Adding documents and files Many types of files can be uploaded into a Moodle course, such as Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint slides, audio and video files, etc. To upload a file from your computer: Quick method (no settings configured)

1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Drag and drop the file onto the course section where you would like it to appear. 3. Edit the title of the file by clicking the Edit title icon.

Alternate method (can configure settings)



1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select File. Click the Add button. 3. Give the resource a name. This will be the name displayed for your students to click on to access

the uploaded file. 4. In the Content area, you can either drag and drop a file into the file upload box, or click the Add

button to open the File Picker in order to choose a file from your computer or a repository. 5. Select any other options you wish for your uploaded file. 6. Click Save and return to course.

Adding folders You might have a folder full of files that you want to share with students. To add an entire folder to Moodle, use your computer’s operating system to compress the multiple files into a single .zip file, and then upload the .zip file to Moodle. Quick method

1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Drag and drop the zip folder onto the course section where you would like the folder to appear. 3. When prompted, select “Unzip files and create folder,” and then click “Upload.” 4. Edit the title of the folder, if desired, by clicking the Edit title icon.

Alternate method

1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select Folder. Click the Add button. 3. Enter a name (required) and a description for the folder. 4. In the Content area, you can either drag and drop the zip file into the file upload box, or click the

Add button to open the File Picker in order to choose the zip file from your computer or a repository.

5. To unzip the zip file, click its icon, and then click the Unzip button. 6. Select any other options you want, and then click Save and return to course.

Creating pages of HTML content 1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select Page. Click the Add button. 3. Enter a name for your page (required) and a description if desired. Add your page content in the

Page content area. 4. Select any desired settings, and then click the Save and return to course button at the bottom of

the page.

Using labels to create headings 1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select Label. Click the Add button.



3. Enter the name of the label, images, links, or media in the Label text field. 4. Click Save and return to course.

Adding links to websites (URLs) 1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select URL. Click the Add button. 3. Give a name, and enter the description. 4. Enter the URL in the external URL field. 5. Configure any other options. 6. Click Save and return to course.

Creating Assignments Assignments are (usually) graded activities in Moodle in which students are required to do something. Some typical uses of assignments are essays, projects, or homework activities. To add an assignment to your course,

1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click the Add an activity or resource link, and select Assignment. Click the Add button. 3. Give the assignment a name, and enter the description. 4. Select any other options that you like (see settings below). 5. Click Save and return to course.

Assignment Settings Assignment settings are highly configurable. Listed below are some of the most important settings:

• General: The Assignment name and Description fields are required fields. • Availability: set open/close dates; prevent late submissions, etc. • Submission types: configure what students will submit. • Feedback types: provide feedback to students through comments, uploaded files, etc. • Grade: set a maximum score, or choose an alternate grading method, such as a rubric.

Communicating With Students

Using the Announcements Forum The Announcements Forum is used to communicate to all members of the class at once. It is a special forum that is built into every Moodle class. Important points about the News Forum:

• Everyone in the class is automatically subscribed to this Forum, so everyone in the class will receive copies of all posts via email.

• Only Instructors can post to the News Forum; Students cannot post messages here. • The “Latest News” block on the course home page displays links to any messages posted to the

News Forum.



To post a message to the Announcements Forum:

1. Click the Announcements link in the top course block. 2. Click the Add a new topic button. 3. Enter the Subject line, and type your announcement in the Message area. Files can be attached if

desired. 4. Click Post to forum to send out the announcement.

Sending messages to individuals or groups Moodle does not provide the features of a full email client, but you can send basic email messages through Moodle to class members. To send a message to a student:

1. Click the Participants link in the People block. 2. Locate the student(s) to whom you wish to send a message. Check the box in the Select column. 3. Below the list of users, use the With selected users menu to select Send a message. 4. Enter your message and click Preview, then click Send message.

Sending messages to students who haven’t completed an activity Use Moodle’s Participation Report to identify students who haven’t completed a particular activity, and send a message only to those students.

1. In the Administration block, click Reports à Course participation. 2. Select the desired settings from the dropdown menus.

a. Activity module: select an activity. b. Look back: select a time frame. c. Show only: select a class role, such as Student. d. Show actions: select views and/or posts associated with the activity.

3. Click the Go button. The participation report is displayed, with a “Yes” or “No” listed for each student. Check the boxes in the Select column next to students with a “No.”

4. Use the With selected users menu to select Send a message. Click OK. 5. Enter your message and click Preview, then click Send message.

Synchronous (real-time) chat Moodle has a built-in Chat module that can be used to facilitate real-time text chat between course members. Some instructors use this feature to hold virtual office hours, or to facilitate communication between groups of students working together. To create a chat room:

1. On the main course page, click the Turn editing on button. 2. In the course block where you want to add a chat room, click Add an activity or resource. 3. Under Activities, select Chat. 4. Enter a name and description for the chat room, and select any other desired settings.



Conditional Activities Conditional Activities enable instructors to restrict the availability of any activity according to certain conditions that must be met by the student before that activity becomes available to that student. For example, you might create a Quiz that is followed up with an Answer Key document that explains the answers, but you don't want the students to access the Answer Key until they have gotten at least an 80% on the Quiz. Moodle’s Conditional Activities feature allows you to do this kind of selective release of content. These conditional availability settings appear in the "Restrict access" section of each activity’s settings. Restricted items can display a message to students about the restriction, or can be made completely invisible. Using Conditional Activities allows you to restrict access to course items based on:

• date - the item is unavailable outside of a specific date range. • grade obtained - the item is unavailable until the student has a certain grade in the grade book for

one or more other course items • user profile information – the item is unavailable based on criteria from user profiles (useful for

making an item available to a single student) • activity completion - the item is unavailable unless the completion status of one or more other

course items matches your criteria. See Activity Completion Tracking below.

Activity Completion Tracking The Activity Completion feature allows the instructor to set completion criteria in a specific activity's settings. Different types of activities have different completion criteria options; for example, a Page might have the requirement to “require view;” a Quiz might have the requirement to “require grade;” while a Forum might have the requirement to “require posts/discussions/replies.” To enable Activity Completion in a course, go to Administration à Course administration à Edit settings and in the Completion tracking section, set Enable completion tracking to “Yes.” After Activity Completion is enabled, students will see a “Your Progress” column on the main course page, and a checkbox beside each activity that tracks completion status, and the instructor will see an “Activity completion” section in the activity’s settings. In these settings, the instructor can indicate what represents completion of that activity, with one of three options:

• Do not indicate activity completion – no checkbox will be displayed next to the activity. • Students can manually mark the activity as completed – this allows students to check the box

themselves when they feel that the activity is complete • Show activity as complete when conditions are met – this checks the box automatically when

the completion criteria (set by the instructor) are met Students can see their own completion status, and instructor can track activity completion for all students by viewing the Activity Completion Report: - This allows teachers to view activity completion reports in Administration à Course administration à Reports à Activity completion.



Next Steps: More Moodle Tools In your Moodle course, when you click “Add an activity or resource” you’ll see the Activity Chooser, which contains a list of the various Activities and Resources that you can add to your course. For a description of any of these, click an item on the left to see a description of the item on the right. You might use a lot of these built-in tools in your Moodle course, or you might use only a few. In today’s workshop, we discuss some of them, such as Resources and Assignments, but as you learn more about Moodle, which other Moodle features should you explore? Listed below are some of the more widely used Moodle tools.

Using Forums for class discussions The Forum module allows students and teachers to exchange ideas by posting comments. There are five basic forum types. Forum posts can be graded by the teacher or by other students. A forum can contribute significantly to successful communication and community building in an online environment.

Using Quizzes for tests or self-assessment The Quiz module allows instructors to design and build quizzes consisting of several question types, including multiple choice, true or false, and short answer questions. These questions are kept in a Question Bank and can be re-used in different quizzes.

Using the Grade Book to provide feedback to students All of the grades for each student in a course can be maintained in a course grade book. The Grade Book includes multiple ways for the instructor to view, calculate, and analyze grade data, and allows students to view their own grades. Final end-of-semester grades in Moodle can be automatically submitted through WolfWare to Registration & Records.



Get Moodle Help

LearnTech help desk DELTA’s LearnTech help desk provides assistance to faculty related to Moodle and other learning technologies at NC State. LearnTech provides help via telephone and email, and can also provide in-person 1-on-1 instructional consultations.

• Phone: 919-513-7094 (on campus, 3-7094) • Email: [email protected] • Web: http://delta.ncsu.edu/get-help/ • Hours:

o Sunday, 11am – 8pm. o Monday through Thursday, 8am to 8pm. o Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Additional Resources Many schools and organizations around the world use Moodle; sometimes searching the Web can be useful in answering Moodle questions. See also:

• WolfWare: https://wolfware.ncsu.edu/ • Moodle FAQs: http://delta.ncsu.edu/knowledgebase-topic/moodle/ • Moodle Community (users worldwide, not just NCSU): http://moodle.org • MoodleDocs (documentation for version 2.6): http://docs.moodle.org/26/en/Main_page • Teaching With Moodle (faculty site): go.ncsu.edu/teachingwithmoodle



Please evaluate this workshop at https://apps.delta.ncsu.edu/fdms/evaluation.php

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