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Vanier Moodle Basics 2

Statement of Competencies and Competency Elements

Workshop Description

This workshop will introduce you to the basic elements of Vanier’s DecClic Moodle. It will teach you how to login, navigate through

the Moodle environment, manage groups, upload resources to your course pages and create discussion forums. This workshop is

intended as an introduction to Moodle and does not cover all of the pedagogical resources provided by Moodle.

For further information on Moodle resources, as well as suggestions on ways to use the resources, please see the Moodle 1.9

discussion forums at http://docs.moodle.org/19/en/Teacher_documentation

Statement of the Competencies

1. Logging in and navigating to your courses

2. Locate and identify different options in the interface

3. Understand the basic options in settings

4. Create and manage groups

5. Use Editing features

Competencies Competency Elements Page

The Following Competencies are available in Vanier Moodle Basics 1

1. Logging in and navigating

to your courses

1.1. Navigating to the Vanier DecClic Moodle site

1.2. Logging in

1.3. Navigating to personal courses

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2. Locate and identify

different options in the

course interface

2.1. Identify course name and number

2.1.1. Use the submenus list to navigate

2.2. Identify weekly outline/topic outline view

2.3. Identify class participants list

2.4. Identify the forums list

2.5. Identify the resources list

2.6. Identify the news feed on the main page

2.7. Identify the course settings option

2.8. Identify the groups list

2.9. Identify your courses list

2.10. Identify Turn Editing On options

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11-12

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18-19

3. Understand the basic

options in settings

3.1. Identify and change course full and short name

3.2. Identify and change course summary

3.3. Identify and change course format

3.4. Identify and change number of weeks/topics and set start date

3.5. Identify and change Availability: Enrolment Key

3.5.1. Unmask Enrolment Key

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4. Create and manage groups

4.1. Identify and access the groups list

4.2. Add a new group

4.3. Remove a group

4.4. Change group settings

4.5. Add students to a group

4.6. Remove students from a group

4.7. Check student list for a group

4.7.1. using “show members for group”

4.7.2. using Overview page

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25-26

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29-30

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The Following Competencies are available in Vanier Moodle Basics 2

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5. Use Editing features 5.1 Uploading resources

5.1.1. Upload a file to an appropriate place on the course site

5.1.2. Use a file you have already uploaded as a resource

5.1.3. Add an internet link to an appropriate place on the course site

5.1.4. Remove a resource

5.2. Forums

5.2.1. Identify and understand information about forums

5.2.1.a. week/section, forum, description, discussions, subscribed

5.2.2. Identify and access the news forum

5.2.2.a. Add new topic to news forum

5.2.2.b. Email all students with update

5.2.3. Add a new forum on a particular topic

5.2.3.a. start a new discussion topic within a forum

5.2.3.b. respond to a discussion topic in a forum

5.2.4. Make changes to an existing forum

5.2.5. Add a group discussion forum

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42-46

47-48

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5. Use Editing features

5.1 Uploading resources

When you want to include content for your students in your Moodle course you have to upload these resources and place them

somewhere in your Moodle course. If you have chosen to do your course layout with the Weekly Outline, it makes sense to connect

the resource with the week in which the students will use the resource. If you have decided to go by Topic Outline, you should place

the resource under the associated topic.

In the following section we will be looking at a few resources that you can place on your Moodle page.

In order to place resources on your Moodle page you must first select the Turn Editing On option. To do this click the option in either

the Administration menu or the Turn Editing On tab in the upper right.

5.1.1. Upload a file to an appropriate place on the course site

Once you have turned on the editing option you will notice that new options appear in the outline section of your course page. On the

right-hand side of each section of your outline (weekly or topic sections) you will notice two dropdown boxes. The first of these is

labelled Add a Resource. You will notice that this dropdown box is repeated in each section of your Weekly/Topic Outline.

To upload a file to your Moodle page, you must first decide where on the page you like the resource to appear. If you want it to appear

as a general file for the full course (example, a course outline) you would want to place it at the very top under Weekly/Topic Outline.

If you want it associated with a particular week or topic in your outline, you would place it with that section of your outline.

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To add your file to a particular section, click on the dropdown box under that section and select Link to a File or Website.

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You will be taken to the Add a Resource page. Here you need to enter a name for the resource. This is the name that will show up on

your Moodle course. Once you have entered a name for your file, find the section labelled Link to a File or Website and click on the

Choose or Upload a File tab.

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You will be taken to the page that lists all of the files you have already uploaded. To upload a new file, click on the Upload a File tab

on the right.

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You will be taken to the file upload page. Click on the tab labelled Browse.

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When you click on Browse you will be taken to a window showing the files on your computer. Select your file and click on open.

Your file will now appear in the box. Click on the tab labelled Upload this File.

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You will now be taken bake to the page that lists all of your files. You will notice that your file is in now added to that list. To upload

this file as a resource to your course, check the box on the left side of the file you want. Then click on the Choose label on the right

hand side.

Note: in your files page you can also manage your files by creating folders and placing your files in those folders. To do so simply use

the options in the dropdown box labelled With Chosen Files

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Once you click Choose, you will be taken back to the Add New Resource page, with your file listed in the box for Link to a File or

Website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and Return to Course tab.

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Your resource will now appear in your Moodle Course outline area, listed under the section you chose.

Note: you can use this same method to upload any type of file. If you upload sound or video files it will stream when you click on it.

Note: If you wish to make changes to your resource click on the icon just right of the resource that looks like a pencil and paper and

called update.

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5.1.2. Use a file you have already uploaded as a resource

If you have already uploaded a file to your Moodle site and wish to place it in your course outline, you do not need to upload it to

Moodle again. This is very helpful if you are using the same resource across multiple courses or in another version of the same course.

To place a resource you have already uploaded on your Moodle site go to the Resource dropdown box under the section in which you

want to place the resource. Again, choose Link to a File or Website.

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You will be taken to the Add a Resource page. You will need to enter a name for the resource. Once you have entered a name for your

document, find the section labelled Link to a File or Website and click on the Choose or Upload a File tab.

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You will be taken back to the page listing all of your files. Look through your files and find the file that you want to use. Check the

box on the left of the file and then click on the label Choose on the right.

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Once you click Choose, you will be taken back to the Add New Resource page, with your file listed in the box for Link to a File or

Website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and Return to Course tab.

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Your resource will now appear in your Moodle Course outline area, listed under the section you chose.

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5.1.3. Add an internet link to an appropriate place on the course site

If you want to add a link to a webpage you follow the same basic steps as you did for adding a file. Click on the dropdown box

labelled resources in the area of your Moodle site that you want to add the link. Choose Link to a File or Web Site. This will take you

to the Add New Resource page. Enter a name for your resource. In the section entitled Link to a File or Web Site, enter the address for

the website in the box labelled Location. Click on the Save and Return to Course tab at the bottom.

Note: if you don’t know the address of the webpage you can click on the Search for Webpage tab. It will open a new window and

allow you to search for the page you want. Once you have found the page simply copy the URL and close the search window. Remove

the http:// from the Location box and paste the URL that you copied.

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When you return to the main course page you will see your webpage listed in your Moodle course outline. If you click on the link it

will take you directly to the webpage.

Note: By default all of the resources you place in your Moodle site will open in the same browser window. If you want it to open in a

new browser window you will have to change this option for the resource. You can do this either when you originally add the

resource, or by editing the resource (see note for competency 5.1.1. page #). Under the section entitled Window, choose the New

Window option in the Window dropdown box.

5.1.4. Remove a resource

If you wish to remove a resource from your Moodle course outline click on the red X, called delete, to the right of the resource you

wish to remove.

Chose the yes option on the next page when you are prompted to confirm your choice.

Note: This action will only remove the resource from your Moodle course outline. It will not remove it from your list of uploaded

files.

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5.2. Forums

You can create discussion forums in your Moodle course to allow your class, or groups within your class, to have a space for

discussions. Like the resources, the discussion forums are linked to sections within your Moodle course outline. If you would like to

have a general discussion forum you could place it in the general section, in the area just below the label Weekly/topic Outline. If you

would like it to be a discussion associated with a certain week in the course or a topic, place it in those sections on your Moodle

course outline.

5.2.1. Identify and understand information about forums

You can access a list of all of the forums in your Moodle course by clicking on the Forums label under the Activities menu on the left-

hand side.

5.2.1.a. week/section, forum, description, discussions, subscribed

When you enter the Forums page you will see something like the following:

The forums on this page are divided by General and Learning. General forums are those listed for the course, in the first section of

your Moodle course outline under Weekly/Topic Outline. Learning are forums associated with particular sections.

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If we look at the General Forums, we will notice that the first section, under the label Forum, gives the name of the forum. The second

section, under the label Description, gives the description for the forum. The third section, under the label Discussions, gives the

number of discussions that have been started in that forum. The last section is labelled Subscribe and indicates if you are subscribed to

that forum. If you are subscribed to a forum, you will receive updates in your email when members have posted comments or created

new discussion topics in that forum. If you do not wish to receive emails make sure that subscribe is set to No.

Under the section for Learning Forums the layout for the forum information is the same as that with the General forums. However, the

first section is now called either Week (if you are using the Weekly format) or Section (if you are using the Topic format). This

section lets you know with which week or topic the discussion has been associated.

5.2.2. Identify and access the news forum

A Moodle course by default comes with one forum already set, and all members of the course are automatically subscribed to the

forum. This is the News Forum. This forum can be used to send information and updates to your students.

There are two ways to access the News Forum. You can access the News Forum by clicking on the Forums label under the Activities

Menu, then clicking on the News Forum label on the Forums page. You can also access the News Forum by clicking on the News

Forum label in the first section of your Moodle course outline, under Weekly/Topic Outline.

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When you enter a topic for discussion in the News Forum it will post it to the Latest News menu on the right side of your Moodle

course. It will also send an email to all the students in the class. Only the teacher may add topics to this forum.

5.2.2.a. Add new topic to news forum

To add a new topic to the news forum go to the News Forum page by clicking on the label on the Forums page, or from the label on

the Moodle course outline. On the News Forum page click on the Add New Topic tab.

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You will be taken to the Add New Topic page. Here you will be able to enter a name for the topic and your message.

When you have finished entering your message, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Post to Forum tab.

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5.2.2.b. Email all students with update

When you enter a new topic in the news feed it will also send an email to all the students in the class. The system will wait 30 minutes

before sending the email in case you wish to make changes. If you want to send it right away, check the box to the right of the Mail

Now label.

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5.2.3. Add a new forum on a particular topic

If you want to create a new discussion forum, you will first need to decide where it should be on your Moodle course outline. You can

create a general discussion for the course and place it in the general section, just below the Weekly/Topics Outline. If you want the

discussion to be associated with a particular week or topic, place the discussion in the corresponding section.

To create a new discussion form you have to have the editing option on. To do this click on the Turn Editing On option in either the

Administration menu to the left, or the Turn Editing On tab in the top right.

To add a new discussion forum, locate the dropdown menu labelled Add an Activity in the section where you wish to place the

discussion forum. Select the Forum option from the list.

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You will be taken to the Editing Forum page. Here you can enter the name of the forum and a short description of the function of the

forum.

When you have finished, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Save and Return to Course tab.

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5.2.3.a. start a new discussion topic within a forum

Any member of a course may start a new discussion topic or respond to discussions started by other members. This will allow your

students to develop their own conversation in their Moodle classes.

To start a new discussion topic, first choose the forum to which you wish to respond. To do this, simply click on the forum label in

either the Forum page or in the Moodle course outline.

Once you are on the page for the forum you want, click on the Add a New Discussion Topic tab.

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You will be taken to the Add a New Discussion Topic page. Here you can enter the title for the discussion and the question or issue

you want to present.

When you have finished entering your discussion topic, scroll down and click on the Post to Forum tab.

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Once you post your discussion topic you will be told that you have 30 minutes to edit it if you wish to make any changes. This means

that the system will delay for 30 minutes before it sends out an email to anyone subscribed to the discussion. If you wish to make

changes before that message goes out you must do so in the next 30 minutes.

5.2.3.b. respond to a discussion topic in a forum

If you wish to respond to a discussion forum, first choose the forum to which you wish to respond. To do this, simply click on the

forum label in either the Forum page or in the Moodle course outline.

When you go to the Forum page you will be shown the list of discussion topics. Next to each topic you will see who started the

discussion and the number of replies to the discussion

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To see the discussion for one of the topics, click on the name of the discussion topic.

You will be taken to the discussion page, where you will be able to see all of the discussion for that topic. To reply to a particular post

within the discussion, click on the Reply label in the bottom right corner of that post.

You will be taken to a window where you can see the original post and can enter your own response. Scroll down and click on the

Post to Forum tab when you are done.

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5.2.4. Make changes to an existing forum

If you have created a forum and then later wish to change some of the setup options for the forum you can go back and edit these

changes.

To edit a forum, go to the page for the forum by selecting it from the Forum page. Click on the Update this Forum tab in the top right

corner.

When the Turn Editing is on, you can also go to the Edit Forum page by clicking on the update icon, the pencil and paper located to

the right of the forum in the Moodle course outline

This will take you back to the Edit Forum page where you can make changes to the Forum settings. Scroll down and click on the Save

and Return to Course tab when you are done.

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5.2.5. Add a group discussion forum

You can also make discussion forums that are only accessible by members of a group. To do this you must first designate groups in

the Moodle course. To do this see competency 4 above.

To create a group discussion forum, follow the same steps as you would for setting up a regular forum as described in competency

5.2.3. above. On the Editing Forum page, scroll to the bottom of the page. Here you will see a section entitled Common Module

Settings. Under this section you will see a dropdown box labelled Group Mode. If you select separate groups from the dropdown

menu, it will create separate discussion forums for each of the groups you have created in your Moodle class. The separate groups

option will allow only members of the group to view and comment on the discussion. If you choose the visible groups option, all

members of the class will be able to view the discussion; however, only members of the group will be able to post to the discussion.