Skip INTRODUCTION TO THE MOODLE GUIDE FOR FACULTY

Topic outline

  • The Basics

    • Your first step when using your Moodle site: click the Turn Editing On button:  

      (You won't see it on this page, but you will when you're in your own course).

      Add Text
      Once editing is on, you may simply want add some text to one of the class sections.

      1. PageHow to Add Text Page


      2. Add a Link to a File
        You can add files to Moodle by simply dragging and dropping them from your computer onto the Moodle site- wow! (Note for Mac Users: Drag & drop does not work in Safari! Use Firefox or Chrome.)

        If you want options for bulk uploads or organizing your files, see the Files & Info section below.

        1. PageHow to Add a Link to a File Page

        2. Icons
          Once you've added a file or label to your course, you'll see little icons next to each item. Hover your mouse over one, or read below to see what they do. Editing needs to be on to see these icons.

        3. PageWhat do all those icons do? Page


        4. Make Your Moodle Site Available to Students
          Are students complaining that they can't see your Moodle site? Whoops- let's make it available. 

        5. PageHow to Make Your Moodle Site Available to Students Page

      3. People

        • Your "profile" in Moodle stores your contact information and additional info like Office Hours.

        • PageHow to Edit Your Profile Page

        • Give Students and TA's Access to Your Moodle Site

          Students who are registered for your course on TheHub will be added to Moodle automatically. If a student needs access to your Moodle site before their registration is processed, you can add them in yourself. You will need to add TA's yourself.

        • PageHow to Give Access to your Course Website Page


        • The Participants List lets you view your students' profiles, keep notes, and track their Moodle activity.

        • PageThe Participants List: Top 5 Useful Things Page


        • Take Attendance
          The attendance activity lets you keep track of student attendance. It also lets students see their own attendance history.

        • PageTaking Attendance Page


        • Guest Access
          If you want to give a someone who is not enrolled in your class access to your Moodle site it may be possible, but there are privacy and copyright concerns to take into account. Read the policy below to see how it works. 

        • PageGuest Access Policy Page

      4. Communicating

        Forums

        Forums are great tools for communication and collaborating. Remember that in this new version of Moodle, students can easily insert images and video INTO their posts! They can also attach files to posts for peer review.

      5. Text & Media

        Wherever you see a text editor, you have a powerful tool at your disposal. Not only can you enter and format text, you can use it to insert pictures, links, even embedded video and audio.

      6. Organizing Your Files & Information

        Most of you will be fine with adding files to Moodle via drag-and-drop. This section outlines further possibilities in Moodle like creating folders to hold files, and adding files in from outside places like Dropbox and Google Docs. 

      7. Assignments

        You can set up an assignment to allow students to submit work to the Moodle site. The assignment function has been re-designed for Moodle 2. You now just have one assignment type, but can choose if you want that assignment to let students upload files, enter text, or both, or neither.

      8. Course Settings & Formatting

        The Course Settings allow you to pick a different format for your course sections (date-specific, weekly, or free-form topics), and make other adjustments to how your course website works. It's also where you can pick a new theme (color scheme and layout) for your course.

      9. Other Features

        We've just scratched the surface of Moodle so far- it can do a LOT. When you're ready to explore some of the other features, check out the links below.

        Wiki- You and your class can work collaboratively to build a basic website, perhaps to use as a repository of collective knowledge gained during the course, or as a side project exploring a certain topic. Now that students can directly upload images and media the Wiki is MUCH more useful.

        Blogs- If you'd like a non-public system for students to record thoughts and reflections, the blogs within Moodle can be useful. Get into the Blog system by adding the Blogs Block to your course. Blogs are tied to the user, not the course, but the Blogs Block gives you options for writing and viewing posts related to the course. 

        Glossary- The class can work collaboratively to create a glossary of terms, with each student adding entries.

        Quiz- You can build a bank of quiz questions and use them in a various quizzes.

        For the motherlode of information, visit Moodle.org, the official Moodle help & how to site.