Introduction to the Moodle MScN Template

 

1.  Moodle MScN-Template Overview

 

Moodle, which was developed by a dynamic, open source community, is York University’s premier course management system. Selected for its highly interactive components such as forums, assignments and chats, in addition to the easy-to-use book resource and incorporation of rich media files, Moodle became host to the online MScN program in the spring of 2008.

 

A Moodle template was collaboratively developed to imitate the look and feel of WebCT, former host to MScN courses -- thus the continuity of the left frame containing navigational links such as Quicklinks and library links, the right frame assigned mainly to administrative links with the exception of the Subject Research Guide (for aesthetic balance), and the centre frame devoted to general information and content modules.

 

This mini-manual is by no means an exhaustive account of Moodle, its many features and processes, but a convenient reference to those aspects used within the MScN template. Other Moodle resources here at York and in the general Moodle community are listed in Chapter 8 of this manual. Of special note is the vibrant community forum where you can share and receive new ideas. May you have a rich and rewarding teaching experience!

 

 

2.  An Explanation of each Inherent Block

 

Once an MScN course is approved and a “Request a New Moodle course” submitted from the “Resources for instructors” link at the http://moodle.yorku.ca page, the MScN template is applied with its inherent links:

 

Left frame                                Centre frame (course summary)          Right frame

Activities block                          MScN School of Nursing banner              Calendar block  

Quicklinks                                 Course #, Title and Section                     Administration block

Search forum block                    Year and Session                                  People block

York University Library guide       Course Instructor                                   Messages block

                                                Horizontal Rule                                      Subject Research

Moodle Tutorial link                                   guide

Announcements forum
Centre frame (Unit 1)

                                                Horizontal rule
                                                © York University, (Year)

 

Left Frame

1)      The Activities block automatically displays alphabetically ordered links leading to all of the Assignments, Books (resources), Chats, Forums and Resources that you have created. This is especially useful within those courses utilizing the Topic format in which the 2nd unit which hosts multi-forums, assignments etc. is “hidden.” See Chapter 1, section 5.

2)      The customized HTML block called Quicklinks includes information for graduate students’ such as the MScN program, learning resources and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

3)      The optional Search forum allows one to perform basic and advanced searches of the forums within the course.

4)      The built-in Library Guide displays important York University’s Library links to such things as catalogues and services to students with disabilities.

5)      The optional My Courses block provides quick access to all the Moodle courses one has access to on the Moodle@York server.*

6)      In addition, a Section block may be added to this column allowing quick access to each of the Weekly Topic sections (if chosen) which can contain as many as 25 units within a full school year.

 

Middle Frame

1)      The course summary contains the Course Number, Title, Session and Instructor information. It is also host to the Announcement forum, the official course news forum, tutorial or other resources relevant to the entire course

2)      The first unit contains all the course content, be they actual links to files within the course database, links to web pages; text pages created within Moodle; links displaying directories within the course database;  decorative horizontal label separating the above; then the University copyright year.

3)      The second unit, which is hidden after the course is launched, hosts all of the multiple assignments, forums and chats. See Chapter 1, section 5.

 

Right Frame

1)      The Calendar automatically displays from your range of pre-created activities, upcoming events such as assignment due dates. The function to manually add events to your calendar can be achieved by first clicking on the date, then choosing the New Event link.

2)      From the Administration block the Instructor can perform such functions as changing their settings, applying grades (if used), assign roles to new members, generate reports of individual students and upload files to their course database.
     From this block, Students can view their Grades (if enabled in the Administration Settings), edit their profile, view their forum posts and generate their own Activity reports.

3)      From the People block, each course member can view all of the participants’ profiles, send messages to each other and check the student group memberships.

4)      The Messages block if enabled, provides a way to see who is online and an alternative way to view messages sent via the People block. However, for official student to instructor or instructor to student contact, the easily archived private forum is recommended. See Chapter 6, section 2.

 

*Potential block – while it is not an inherent block, instructors may choose to add that block as a convenience for switching from one course web site to another within Moodle. Please see, “Adding Blocks” in Part 1, Section 2.

 

 

Chapter 1: Course Structure & Preparation for Launching

 

1.  Brief Overview of Webpage Layout

 

The MScN course web site is divided into three columns, left, middle, and right frames. Each frame is customized to include specific information.

 

Figure 1-1:  MScN Moodle Course Model

 

MScN Course Web Site Template

 

It is recommended that you leave all of the inherent blocks with the following exceptions: You may delete the “Search Forums” or the “Messages” block from the right frame, if you do not find them useful. See next page. The MScN template models the following order.

Left

Centre

Right

The left frame is dedicated to navigational links. 

1) MScN banner
2) Course Details & Session

3) Instructor Information

The right frame is mostly dedicated to calendar and administrative functions.

1) Activities block

2) Quicklinks

3) Search Forums block

4) Library Guide

5) My Courses

4) Welcome message

5) Announcement Forum

6) Content
7) Horizontal rule

8) York University copyright

1) Calendar block

2) Administration block

3) People block

4) Messages block

5) Subject Research Guide

Deleting an Unnecessary Block

 

  1. Click on the  icon in the block you want to delete.  Each block has this icon under the block name.

Figure 1-2:  Deleting Unnecessary Block

 

Moodle provides a number of other functional blocks that can be added to your course web site via the Add Blocks tool. They include Upcoming Events, Random Glossary Entry, Blog Tags, Remote RSS Feeds and others. You may add any of these blocks noting the above-recommended order.

 

Adding a New Block

 

 

  1. Click the “Turn editing on” button.

 

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the right frame for the Add Blocks tool.

Figure 1-3:  Adding Functional Block

 

 

 

  1. To add My Courses block, click on the drop-down menu and select “Courses.”

 

  1. The new block will now appear in the right frame.

Figure 1-4:  Blocks for Adding Other Blocks

 

 

 

 

Moving a New Block From Right to Left Frame

 

 

  1. To move the My Courses block to the bottom of the left frame as recommended, select the red bar of the block with the left mouse button. The following icon,  will appear. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the block across to the left frame.

 

  1. The new My Courses block will now appear at the bottom of the left frame.

 

Figure 1-5:  Added the “My Courses Block”

 

2.  Types of Course Format

 

Of the two formats that can be used within the MScN courses, the MScN-Template team recommends the Topics format over the Weekly format:

 

Topics format

This is a good choice if you would like to present a clean, one-page, concise, non-scrolling web site. Two (2) topic formats can be selected. See section 3 Editing Course Settings to facilitate Topic Format. The first unit can host all of the course content. The second unit can host forums, assignments, quizzes, and other activities (which can be then hidden for aesthetic appeal). See Section 5 Hiding Multiple Forums in Topic Format for Aesthetic Appeal.

Weekly format

With this format, you specify a course start date and the number of weeks the course is to run. Moodle will create a section for each week of your course.  See Section 4 Editing Course Settings to facilitate Weekly Format. You can add content, forums, and quizzes relevant to each week. The disadvantage of this format is that it demands much vertical scrolling unless you add a “Section block” that allows the student to navigate to each unit.


3.  Editing Course Settings to Facilitate Topic Format

 

The settings page, where you set the course format, also gives you access to a number of important course options.


IMPORTANT

Please leave the following fields at the default selection: 1) Full name, 2) Short name, 3) Course ID Number and 4) Enrolments.

Making Changes to Your Course Settings

 

  1. Click “Settings” in the Administration block.
  2. Select the General course settings from the Format drop-down menus and select “Topic format.”
  3. In “Number of weeks/topics,” select 2.
  4. Scroll down and select “Save Changes.”
  5. Once changes are saved, numbered topic sections are then displayed in the centre frame.

 

Figure 1-6:  Topic Format Settings

 

4.  Editing Course Settings to Facilitate Weekly Format

 

  1. Select the General course settings from the Format drop-down menus and select “Weekly format.”
  2. In “Number of weeks/topics,” select your choice.
  3. Scroll down and select “Save Changes.”
  4. Once changes are saved, weekly section dates are then displayed in the centre frame.

 

Figure 1-7:  Weekly Format Settings

5.  Hiding Multiple Forums in Topic Format for Aesthetic Appeal

 

In order to provide a single, non-scrolling page from which all the course material can be accessed, it is necessary to “hide” the second unit chosen to host multiple forums, chats, assignments. Consequently, only the course content in Unit 1 will be displayed. See Figure 1-3. After you have set your Number of Weeks/Topics to 2 as in Figure 1-2 above, you may add your forums/chats/assignments using the Activity block.

 

Figure 1-8:  Topic Format Displaying Unit 1 Area Only With Unit 2 “hidden”

 

Once you have completed adding all the forums/chats/assignments needed, go back to your Administration/Settings as in Section 4 Editing Course Settings to Facilitate Topic Format and change the Number of Weeks/Topics to 1 instead of 2. Save your changes.

 

Those instructions have been duplicated here for your convenience.

 

  1. Click “Settings” in the Administration block.
  2. Select the General course settings from the Format drop-down menus and select “Topic format.”
  3. In “Number of weeks/topics,” select 1.
  4. Scroll down and select “Save Changes.”
  5. Once changes are saved, numbered topic sections are then displayed in the centre frame.

 

This will result in Unit 2 of the Topic Format being hidden. Both students and instructors will now be able to access the hidden material from the Activities block. See Figure 1-9 below.

 

Figure 1-9:  Displaying Activities block

 

6.  Editing Course Settings to Make Course Available to Students

 

Once you have satisfactorily built your course, and you wish to make it available to students,

 

1.      Click “Settings” in the Administration block.

2.      Scroll down to the Availability section

3.      Choose “This course is available to students” from the Availability drop-down menu

 

Figure 1-10:  Making Course Available to Students

 

The once “grayed out” course web site has now been launched and is available to students.

 

7.  Editing User Profile

 

In establishing your unique course, you may edit the settings in your User Profile. For instance, you may decide to use another course e-mail ID instead of your personal e-mail. Please note, however, that whichever e-mail you identify in your Profile will apply to all your Moodle courses.

 

  1. Click “Profile” in the Administration block.
  2. Click the “Edit profile” tab.

Figure 1-11:  Editing Profile Settings

 

On the right side of the profile from, you’ll see a “Show Advanced” button.  There are a number of profile options that are hidden by default.  These are not changed very often and can be a bit confusing for a new user.  They are indicated with a green asterisk.  The mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk and must be filled to submit the form.

 

  1. Click “Show Advanced.”

 

Figure 1-12:  User Profile Settings

 

General Options

Email address

Make sure it is an email address you check frequently and that it is correct.

Email display

If you choose to hide your email from other people, they will not be able to send you email directly from Moodle.

Email format*

Here you can select whether mail sent from Moodle is formatted using HTML or is sent in plain text.

Forum auto-subscribe*

You have the option of “subscribing” to forums, which means that new forum posts will be sent to you via email.  This is a great way of keeping current with your course discussions without having to log in and look at the forums every day.

Forum tracking*

If you choose to enable forum tracking, Moodle will highlight posts added since the last time you read the forum.

When editing text*

This option lets you choose whether to use Moodle’s native HTML editor to enter text or to use plain text. Moodle’s HTML editor is an easy way to enter formatted text into your course site.

Ajax and JavaScript*

Ajax is the set of programming tools that enables dynamic web interfaces.  Leave this on default settings.

Screen reader*

Selecting this option lets Moodle know you are using a screen reader. In the near future, this will change the layout of Moodle pages to make it easier for the screen reader to interact with Moodle.

Time zone

Be sure to set the time zone to your local time, not the server’s local time.

Preferred language

Setting your language here makes it your default language for all pages.

Description

Tell your Moodle community a little about yourself.  If you don’t want to, just put a space in here so you’re allowed to submit the form.

 

  1. The remaining optional fields allow you to include personal details about yourself including your photo or a representative image and contact information. Your picture will appear by your postings in the forums, in your profile, and on the Participants page.

 

  1. Click the “Update profile” button at the bottom of the page.

Figure 1-13:  Editing User Profile

 

Disabling Forum Post Forwarding to Email

 

You may change your choice about receiving forum posts in your e-mail. In order not to receive each forum post via e-mail, there are two methods to do this:

 

Method 1

Method 2

1.  Click “Profile” in the Administration block.

2.  Click “Edit profile.”

3.  Click the “Show Advanced” button.

4.  In the drop-down menu next to “Forum auto-subscribe” select “No: don’t automatically subscribe me to forms”

1.  Click “Forums” in the Activities block.

2.  Click “Unsubscribe from all forums.”

 

Uploading a Profile Picture

  1. Click on “Profile” in the “Administration” block.
  2. Click on “Edit Profile” tab.
  3. Scroll down to the “Picture of” section.

 

Figure 1-14:  Uploading Profile Picture

  1. Click the “Browse” button to locate the picture file.
  2. Locate the file in the pop-up window.
  3. Click “Open” and the pop-up window will disappear.
  4. Enter a description of the picture.
  5. Click the “Update profile” button.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Assigning Roles

 

Student enrolment within Moodle is automatic, once registered. However, you may occasionally need to manually assign roles to deferred students, non-editing teacher and teacher. Moodle facilitates this manual assignment of roles.

 

1.  Adding a Deferred Student


To assign a user the role of deferred student, go to the course webpage:

 

  1. Click “Assign roles” in the Administration block.
  2. Click “Student” under the Roles column.
  3. On the “Roles” page, there are two columns, as shown in the figure below.
  4. The left column lists users who currently have that role, and the right column lists users who do not.

 

Figure 2-1:  Manually Assigning Students

 

  1. Find the deferred student you would like to add to your course by typing in their York
    e-mail in the search box of the right-hand column.  Though you could search by name, it is preferable and more efficient to use the student’s York e-mail.
  2. Once their name shows up in the right column, select that user, check the check box next to the eye, and click the “Add button.” See Figure 2-1. This allows the deferred student to be “hidden” from the class.

 

IMPORTANT

Those deferred students who are being manually enrolled must have an active Moodle account. To get an active Moodle account, they must have logged in to the Moodle server that currently hosts the course web site. For example, they go to the http://moodle.yorku.ca page, select the Fall 08-09 link and login, then log out.

 

 

2.  Adding Teacher

 

You may wish to add another teacher to your course who can either be seen or “hidden” from the students’ view. An example of a hidden teacher would be an e-learning support person who needs to have access to all areas of the site or “teacher rights.”

 

  1. Click “Assign roles” in the Administration block.
  2. Click “Teacher” under the Roles column.
  3. On the “Roles” page, there are two columns, as shown in the Figure 2-1.  Though you could search by name, it is preferable and more efficient to use the teacher’s York e-mail.
  4. Select that user and click the “Add” button.
  5. To “hide” a teacher, after advancing through Steps 1 to 3, check the hidden icon as in Figure 2-2, in the following section, before you click the “Add” button.

 

3.  Adding non-editing Teacher

 

Follow the directions in see Section 2 Adding Teacher exactly as instructed.  Non-editing teachers should generally be hidden, so perform this extra step.

 

Figure 2-2:  Using Checkbox to Add “Hidden” non-editing Teacher

 

4.  Student View/Access

 

Student users can do all of the following:

 

- Post in forums
- Edit wiki pages
- Participate in a chat

- Submit assignments
- Receive scores or grades
- Take quizzes

- Contribute glossary entries or comments

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Building Your Course Content

 

1.  File Types Displayed by Moodle

 

The DOC file extension is used by several word processing programs such as Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect and is ideal for its good text formatting capability. However, DOC files can be different versions, and can only be opened in their native word processor like MS Word.

 

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems. The purpose of this file type is for cross platform file compatibility, hence its portability.  The PDF file type is ideal if you do not want the viewers of your document to be able to modify your document.

 

The Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is a popular choice for multi-content files such as

links, text, borders, tables, images, and Java applets. Web filtered HTML file types are the only files used in the Book Resource (See Section 4 Using the Resource Block to Display Your Course Files).

 

Small Rich Media files such as MP3s (10 to 20 MB) or RAMs can be supported directly by Moodle. Videos and expansive audio files should however, be located on a streaming server, and from Moodle, resource links can be used to access them.

IMPORTANT

Though the resource, Display a Directory can host all the above file types, web-filtered HTML is the only option used by the Book resource, a popular choice for MScN courses.

 

2.  Resource Options Drop-down Menu & Organizing Content

 

After clicking “Turn editing on,” the “Add a resource” menu becomes available.

 

Figure 3-1:  Web Page Layout in Edit Mode

3.  Preparation of Course Files to be Uploaded to Moodle

 

Your Moodle course may contain Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML and even small audio files (10 to 20 MB each) in your Moodle course. You may upload one file at a time via the Administration/Files’ “Upload A File” function. However, if all your work for the entire course duration is complete, you may Zip the folder that contains all the subfolders and files and upload them to the Files directory area of Moodle. This establishes them locally in the Moodle course, but they are not yet accessible to students until you create resources which link them to the main page. The Steps below outline the procedure to first Zip, Upload, then Unzip an entire folder and its contents.

 

Once all your course files are ready to be uploaded, from Windows Explorer:

  1. Highlight the main folder containing all the subfolders and files.
  2. Right mouse click the main folder.
  3. Choose “Zip/Archive” OR “Send to,” “Compressed (zipped) folder.”
  4. Give it a name, for example, NURS5115A.zip.

 

From your Moodle course, go to Administration/Files

  1. Select “Upload a file.”
  2. Browse to your hard drive, double click the zipped file.
  3. Select “Upload this file.”
  4. Next, select the checkbox in front of the file and choose “Unzip.”
    Folder and subfolders will be extracted; you may then delete the zipped file.

 

4. Using the Resource Block to Display Your Course Files

 

To display your files on the course page, you may use any of the following Resource Options:

 

Figure 3-2:  Book Resources

 

Resources Options Available

Book

Once used, displays a table of contents with navigational links leading to each subsequent chapter (file) within a folder.

Insert a label

Creates a space within the unit on the main page to display either headings, horizontal rules or pictures.

Compose a text page

Allows you to create a mini independent window displaying text only, and can serve as reminders, weekly objectives etc.

Compose a web page

Allows you to create a more elaborate web page including hypertext links, images etc.

Link to a file or web site

Allows you to link to a specific file in the file database, or to an external web site. An example of a link to a file could be a small mp3 file and a link to a web site could be a link to a video on a streaming server.

Display a directory

Allows you to link to a particular folder on your Files directory, for example Module 1.

 

Adding a Resource

 

Simply click “Turn editing on” and for the chosen topic, select from the drop-down menu you would like to add.

 

5.  Employing Internal & External Links

 

Adding a Link to a File Already on the Moodle Server

 

  1. Click the “Turn editing on” button.
  2. Select “Link to a file or web site” from the “Add a resource” drop-down menu.

 

Figure 3-3:  Adding a Link to a File or Web site

 

  1. Type a name and summary for this link.
  2. Click “Choose or upload a file.”
  3. Click the check box next to the file you want to link to.
  4. Click “Choose” and the popup window will disappear.
  5. Click the “Save and return to course.”

 

Adding a Link to a Web Site Outside of Moodle

 

  1. Click the “Turn editing on” button.
  2. Select “Link to a file or web site” from the “Add a resource” drop-down menu.
  3. Type a name and summary for this link.
  4. Type in the URL of the web site you would like to link to.
  5. Click “Save and return to course.”

 

An Example of Uploading an mp3 File Named “madeInHolland.mp3” to the Course

 

  1. Prepare the mp3 file and make sure it is on the hard disk.
  2. Select “Link to a file or website” from the “Add a resource” drop-down menu.
  3. Type the name and summary for this link.
  4. Click “Choose or upload a file”.
  5. Click the “Upload a file” button and a pop-up window will appear.

 

Figure 3-4:  Files Already on Server

 

  1. Click “Browse” button to find the mp3 file.
  2. Select the file and click “Open”.
  3. Click “Upload this file”.

 

Figure 3-5:  Finding the mp3 File

  1. Notice the mp3 file is now uploaded to the server.

 

Figure 3-6: mp3 File Appears on the Server

 

  1. Click the “Choose” link beside the mp3 file name and date information and the pop-up window will disappear.
  2. Select the remaining options as you like.
  3. Click the “Save and return to course” button.

 

Now the mp3 file will appear in the middle frame of the Moodle course web site in the topic that it was added to.  Students can now click on the link and download it.

 

6.  Preparation of Files to be Uploaded to the Book Resource

 

A completed document must be converted to web-filtered HTML before it can be uploaded to the Book resource. To convert a Microsoft Word document to web-filtered HTML:

 

  1. Click “File.”
  2. Click “Save as Web Page.”
  3. Click “Web Page Filtered” in the drop-down menu.
  4. If the title is empty, choose “Change Title”  and enter appropriate title.
  5. Click “Save.”

 

Note: Some may not have the option, Save as Web Page
In that case, choose Save As, then Web Filtered, then name it, Example.htm

 

Once all your course files are converted to web-filtered HTML, from Windows Explorer:

 

  1. Highlight the main folder containing all the subfolders and files.
  2. Right mouse click the main folder.
  3. Choose “Zip/Archive” OR “Send to,” “Compressed (zipped) folder.”
  4. Give it a name, for example, NURS5115A.zip.

 

From your Moodle course, go to Administration/Files:

  1. Select “Upload a file”.
  2. Browse to your network drive.
  3. Double click the zipped file.
  4. Select “Upload this file.”
  1. Next, select the checkbox in front of the file and choose “Unzip.”
    Folder and subfolders will be extracted; you may then delete the zipped file.

 

7.  Uploading Files to the Book Resource

 

To upload, perform the following functions:

 

  1. Click on the drop-down menu of “Add a resource” and select “Book.”
  2. Fill in the Book details such as name and summary.
  3. Click the “Save and display” button.
  4. Select “Import”.
  5. Select “Choose,” select the checkbox of the appropriate sub-folder, then “Choose”.
  6. Select “Import” once again, then “Continue.”

 

Figure 3-7: Book Display

 

Editing a Resource

 

The following describes the functions of the buttons available for each resource once created.

 

The edit icon lets you alter/update whatever resources or activity it is next to by you to its setup page.

The help icon will pop-up a relevant help window.

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 open eye.

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.

This icon shifts the item right a little.  There is a corresponding left icon.

The move icon allows course elements to be dragged to up and down, side to side positions throughout the course.

The move icon allows course elements to be moved up or down throughout the course.

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.

The delete icon will permanently delete something from the course after you confirm a warning on the second page.

The marker icon allows you to make a section current.

The one icon hides all other sections of the course, showing only this one.

The all icon redisplays all sections in a course.

 

 

 

Chapter 4: Employing Groups & Groupings

 

1.  Difference Between Groups & Groupings

 

Groups

 

Group: a cluster of students within Moodle that

1.      Can remain permanent throughout the course

2.      Can have identical and the same number of assignments

Groups can either be

1.      VISIBLE = group work can be viewed by ALL students (students can only participate, however, in their own group) OR

2.      SEPARATE = group members can see only their group work.

 

If you would like to organize your course into simple, permanent groups that have identical assignments, you need GROUPS.

IMPORTANT

Never delete groups after a completed activity – you will lose all their work.

 

Groupings

 

Grouping:  a cluster of pre-created groups within Moodle that

1.      Can be rotated throughout course

2.      Can have isolated, customized assignments assigned to specific groupings

 

An added advantage of Groupings within Moodle is that it allows the facilitation of a Private forum with each student in the course.  To do so, you will first  have to create a group for each student.  It is important when creating the Private forum, that you choose “Separate Groups” as the group mode.

IMPORTANT

When creating an Activity assigned to groupings, it will not automatically create one per each grouping.  As a result, each grouping activity will have to be created separately.
Never delete groupings after a completed activity; just create new ones as necessary.

 

2.  Creating Groups & Groupings

 

Creating a Group

 

  1. Click “Groups” in the Administration block.
  2. Click the “Create group” button.
  3. Select the settings and enter group information.
  4. Click “Save.”

 

Adding a User to a Group

 

  1. Click the group name on the Groups page.
  2. Click the user name under the Members of column.
  3. Click the “Add/remove users” button.
  4. Click on the user name under the Potential Members column.
  5. Click the “Add” button.

 

Figure 4-1:  Adding/Removing Users to a Group

 

Removing a User From a Group

 

  1. Click the group name under the Groups column.
  2. Click the “Add/remove users” button.
  3. Click the user under the Existing members column.
  4. Click the “Remove” button.

 

Creating a Single-student Group for the Purpose of a `Private Forum’

 

To do so, you would first have to:

 

  1. Click “Groups” in the Administration block.
  2. Click the “Create group” button.
  3. Select the settings and enter the individual student’s name.
  4. Click “Save.”
  • You will repeat the steps above for each student, then
  1. Click the group name on the Groups page.
  2. Click the individual’s user name under the Members of column.
  3. Click the “Add/remove users” button.
  4. Click the “Add” button.

Repeat the steps above for each student, until all the students are assigned to their individual groups.

P.S. If you use this one-student group function, you would then have to create Grouping (comprising of individual groups) for the purpose of assigned Activities and shared Forums.

 

Creating a Grouping

 

A grouping is constructed by collecting multiple groups into one set.

 

  1. Click the “Groupings” tab on the Groups page.
  2. Click the “Create grouping” button.
  3. Enter a name and description for the grouping.
  4. Click the “Save changes” button.

 

Adding Groups to a Grouping

 

  1. Click the “Groupings” tab.
  2. Click the “Show groups in grouping” icon.
  3. Click a user from the Potential members list.
  4. Click the “Add” button.

 

Figure 4-2:  Adding Groups to a Grouping

 

Note:  To remove a group from a grouping, in step 4, click “Remove” instead of “Add.”

 

3.  Assigning Groups/Groupings to Activities

 

To assign an activity to a group, within the Common module settings you would choose either “Separate groups” or “Visible groups” for the Group mode field as instructed in section 1 Difference Between Groups and Groupings.

 

To assign an activity to a grouping, within the Common module settings for the activity:

 

  1. Click “Show Advanced.”
  2. Select “No groups” for the Group mode field.
  3. Select the grouping you want from the drop-down menu.
  4. Check the “Available for group members only” checkbox if you do not want other Groupings to see the Activity.
  5. Click “Save and return to course.”

 

Figure 4-3:  Adding an Activity to Groupings

 

 

 

Chapter 5: Using Moodle Assignments

 

1.  Assignment Types

 

There are five Assignment types:

 

Upload a Single File

This allows each student to upload a single file in any format, including a ZIP file.

Offline Activity

Students can see a description of the assignment, but they cannot upload any files.

Online Text

This allows students to input text online.  You can grade the assignment online and, if necessary, add inline comments or changes.

Advanced Uploading of Files

This allows each student to upload one or more files in any format.  As the teacher, you can also upload one or more files for each student, either at the start or in response to their submission.  A student may enter notes describing their submitted files, progress status, or any other relevant information.

Turnitin

This integration within Moodle allows the instructor to stay within the course atmosphere while performing tests to identify unoriginal work by matching to outside sources.

 

2.  Assignment Creation

 

Once you have decided on the basic type of assignment, you can very quickly create a place for students to upload, or enter their responses to the materials as in the “online text.”

 

  1. Click “Turn editing mode on.”
  2. Select the assignment type from the “Add an activity drop-down menu.”

 

Figure 5-1:  Adding an Assignment in the Resource Option

 

  1. Enter the name and description of the activity.
  2. Select the grade scale you want to use.
  3. Set the dates or disable them.
  4. Set whether you want to prevent late submissions or not.
  5. It is recommended that you leave the default setting intact.
  6. Click “Save and return to course.”

 

If you require explanations for the fields, click on the question mark button next to the setting for a description. Depending on which assignment type you choose, you will see a few different settings in addition to the General settings and the Common module settings. Each assignment’s settings look different.

 

Figure 5-2:  General Settings

 

Figure 5-3:  Common Module Settings

 

 

 

Illustrations of Settings

 

Advanced Upload

Online Text

 

Figure 5-4:  Options for Advanced Uploading of Files

 

Figure 5-5:  Options for Online Text

 

Upload a Single File

Offline Activity

 

Figure 5-6:  Options for Uploading a Single File

 

No settings are needed for this assignment type. The advantage is that it creates a blank column within the Moodle Gradebook allowing you to manually add extra grades.

 

Turnitin

 

Figure 5-7:  Turnitin Options

 

Turnitin – York’s CNS has created a plug-in from Turnitin which creates a seamless process from Moodle to check the originality of student work. Create a Turnitin assignment in Moodle and set the grade and the due dates. Once you “Save and Return to Course,” you will be re-directed to the Turnitin environment where you can function as usual within Turnitin.

 

3.  Assignment Marking & Feedback

 

  1. Click on the assignment you would like to mark.
  2. Click on the “View submitted assignments” link.

 

Figure 5-7:  Assignment Options

 

  1. Click on the student’s submission.
  2. Save the file to a disk and open up the file.
  3. Review the student’s submitted paper.
  4. When ready, click “Update” under the Status column for that student.
  5. Select the grade from the drop-down menu.
  6. Type your feedback in the textbox.
  7. Check the “Send notification emails” checkbox.
  8. Click “Save changes.”

 

Figure 5-9:  Grading and feedback window

 

The student will then be notified that there is assignment feedback.

4.  Quick Grading

 

Students’ grades and feedback for students can be given in a quick manner by choosing to allow the quick grading option.  This enables the display of many students and their assignments on a single webpage along with the ability to assign a grade to it and enter feedback.

 

  1. Click “Assignments” in the Activities block.
  2. Click the link under the Submitted column of the assignment you wish to grade.
    Note that the link will say how many assignments have been submitted.

 

Figure 5-10:  Display of All Assignments

 

  1. Check the box next to the field “Allow quick grading” at bottom of page.
  2. Click “Save preferences”.
  3. Next to each student’s name is the field Grade; there will be a drop-down menu to select a grade.
  4. Under the Comment field, there is a textbox for feedback on the student’s assignment.
  5. Repeat steps 6 & 7 for all students on the page.
  6. Check the box next to the “Send notification emails” field, if you want students to be notified of feedback and grading (via email), at bottom of page.
  7. Click “Save all my feedback”.

 

Figure 5-11:  Display of Webpage with Quick Grading Turn On

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Communicating Within Moodle

 

1.  Forums

 

Types, Creation & Defining Forums

 

In addition to the news forum, Moodle has four basic forum types:

 

A single, simple discussion

You can create only one discussion in this forum.  This will keep the conversation focused on one particular topic.

Each person posts one discussion

Each person in the class can start only one discussion. Each discussion can then have multiple replies.

Q & A forum

This forum requires students to post their perspectives before viewing other students’ postings.  After the initial posting, students can view and respond to others’ postings.

Standard forum for general use

There can be one or more discussions in this forum, and anyone with permission can post multiple discussions.

 

Adding a Forum to a Class

 

  1. Click the “Turn editing on” button from the Administration block.
  2. Select “Forum” from the “Add an activity” drop-down menu in the course section where you would like to add to the forum.
  3. Enter the forum name.
  4. Select the forum type from the drop-down menu.
  5. Enter the forum introduction.
  6. Select the remaining forum options (see descriptions below).

 

Figure 6-1:  Forum Settings

 

 

 

 

 

General Settings options

Force everyone to be subscribed?

If you select “Yes,” everyone in your course will automatically receive emails of new posts.  Otherwise, people can choose whether to subscribe.

Read tracking for this forum?

Read tracking highlights unread forum posts.

Maximum attachment size

You can limit the maximum size of your students’ posts.

 

  1. Leave the RSS options as is.
  2. Leave the Grade options as is.
  3. Select the “Post threshold for blocking options.”

 

Figure 6-2:  Additional Forum Settings

 

Post threshold for blocking options

Time period for blocking

You can choose to restrict the number of posts in a given time period by a student by selecting a time period or selecting “Don’t block” to not put any restrictions.

Post threshold for blocking

Maximum number of posts before blocking is activated.  Setting of “0” will disable blocking.

Post threshold for warning

The number of posts before the student is warned he/she is approaching the limit.  Setting of “0” will disable warning.

 

  1. Select the Common module settings.
  2. Click the “Save and return to course” button.
  3. The forum name is now a link in the course section where this forum was added.

 

2.  Private Forum

 

You can opt to have the student communicate with you via the `Private forum' instead of
e-mailing to either your personal OR course e-mail.

To do so, you would first have to:

  • Create an individual group for each student -- you can assign the specific student's name to each single group. Go To Administration/Group and proceed.
  • Next, create a forum called Private forum in the course summary area and set it to separate groups. Go to the Activities block and proceed.

P.S. If you use this function, you would then have to create Grouping (comprising of individual groups) for the purpose of assigned Activities and shared Forums.

 

Creating Forums Hidden from the Middle Frame

 

Please see Chapter 1, Section 6 Hiding Multiple Forums in Topic Format for Aesthetic Appeal.

 

Accessing Hidden Forums

 

To access forums hidden from the middle frame on the main page:

 

  1. Click “Forums” in the Activities block.
  2. All forums including hidden ones are shown.

 

Figure 6-3:  Accessing Forums from Activities Block

 

Searching Forums

 

All of the forums within a course, including hidden forums, are searchable.  Performing a forum search can find useful information easily. All forums within the course are searched simultaneously.

 

The Search Forums block on your course page enables you to quickly search for a particular word within a forum post. If you obtain more than one page of results, you may wish to try an advanced search.  An advanced search enables you to refine your search in any/all of the following ways:

 

These words can appear anywhere in the post

One or more words you type in here will be found in all the places in the post they appear.

This exact phrase must appear in the post

The phrase you enter must appear exactly as you enter it.

These words should NOT be included

Identifying words you don’t want can help narrow down the resulting list of messages.

These words should appear as whole words

The search engine will return posts that contain your words as part of a larger word.  For example, if you search for “cat,” posts with the word “catalog” will be returned.  Selecting whole words will look for a space before and after the words you have entered.

Posts must be newer/older than this

This narrows down the number of posts according to time limits.

Choose which forums to search

This enables searching within one forum only.

These words should be in the subject

If you know the subject line of the posts you want, you can limit your searches by the subject line.

This name should match the author

If you only want posts from certain authors, enter their names here.

 

 

3.  Sending Announcement to All Students Through A Forum

 

A forum could be created and designated the “Course Announcements” forum.  This forum is created like any other forum.  Once it is created, “Topics” can be added to this forum to distribute information about the course throughout the semester.

 

  1. Refer to Section 1 Forums to create the forum and name it “Course Announcements”.
  2. On the main page, click “Course Announcements” in the first topic.
  3. Click the “Add a new topic” button.

 

Figure 6-4:  Forum Topic Settings

 

  1. Enter the name of this topic as the “Subject.”
  2. Enter the message in the “Message” textbox.
  3. Click the “Post to forum” button.

 

4.  Chats

 

A Chat tools allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion via the web.  It contains several features for managing and reviewing discussions.  Chats can be added to specific weekly sections or, they can be added and “hidden” on the second topic unit. See Chapter 1, Section 6. Hiding Multiple Forums in Topic Format for Aesthetic Appeal.

 

 

Adding a Chat Tool

 

1.  Click “Turn editing on” in the Administration block.

2.  From chosen area, click “Chat” in the “Add an activity” drop-down menu.

3.  Type the name of this chat room.

4.  Type the introduction text.

5.  Select the chat settings (explained below).

6.  Click the “Save and return to course” button.

 

Figure 6-5:  Chat Settings

 

Chat Settings

 

Next chat time

            The date you select here will be displayed on the course calendar along with a link to the chat room. If you do not wish to publish chat times, then you can disregard the date and time settings and choose not to publish them in the next step.

 

Repeat sessions

            There are four options, explained below.

 

Don’t publish any chat times

If you prefer not to schedule chats for the chat room, select this setting.  The Chat room will always be open for entrants.

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.

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.”

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.

 

Save past sessions

            Set the number of days you want the transcripts of the session to be kept on record.

 

Everyone can view past sessions

            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.

 

5.  People Block

 

Participants include teachers and students within the course. Clicking on Participants from the People block takes you to a page from which displays all the course participants and their Last access information. Clicking on individual participants further shows their Profile and other tabs, such as forum posts and activity reports as in Figure 6-6 below. One of the main reasons for this block however, is to conveniently send messages to one another. Messages can be sent to individuals or multiple students. These messages can be accessed either through the Message block, or via their e-mails, depending on their Message settings.

 

Figure 6-6:  People/Participant Block

 

Sending a Message to One Participant

 

  1. Click on “Participants” in the People block.
  2. Click on the participant’s name.
  3. Click on the “Send message” button.
  4. A new window will open. Type the message.
  5. Click the “Send message” button.

 

Figure 6-7:  Message Window

 

Sending a Message to Multiple Participants

 

  1. Click on “Participants” in the People block.
  2. Click the check boxes of the users.
  3. Click “Add / send message.”

 

Figure 6-8:  Sending Message to Multiple Participants

 

  1. Type the message.
  2. Click the “Preview” button.
  3. Click the “Send message” button.

 

6. Message Block

 

The Message Block allows participants to send and respond to messages while on-line. It is not restricted to course participants only, but extends to all York University Moodle members. This method of messaging is not recommended as the primary means of communication within the course, but serves as a fast and easy means of communicating while in Moodle. For serious communication between Instructors and students, see Section 2 Private Forums.

 

 

Sending a Message

  1. Click on the “Messages…” link in the Messages block.
  2. Click “Search.”
  3. Type the user’s name.
  4. If applicable, click the “Only in my courses” check box.
  5. Click Search.
  6. Click the user from the search results.
  7. Type the message.
  8. Click the “Send message” button.

 

Figure 6-9:  Message Block

 

Reading and Replying to a Message

 

When you are sent a message, the Messages window will pop-up. Also, the Messages block will display the name of the person sending the message with a link to read the message. If you have set the email option, then you will get a copy of the message in your email after the time you have specified if you are not logged in.  After reading a message, you may type a reply, and then click on the "Send message" button.

 

Sending a Message to All Participants

 

  1. Click “Participants” in the People block.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
  3. Click “Show all x” where x represents the number of participants.
    Now all participants are on one page.

 

Figure 6-10: Select to Show All Participants

 

  1. Click “Select all.”
  2. Select from the drop-down menu, “Add / send message.”

 

Figure 6-11: Selecting to Send Message

 

  1. Type the message in the text-box.
  2. Click “Preview.”
  3. Click “Send message.”

 

7.  Choice

 

Moodle allows for the quick gathering of input from students by professors through the Choice activity.  It acts as a poll to find out student opinions on a course related issue.

 

  1. Click the “Turn editing on” button in the upper right corner.
  2. Select “Choice” from the “Add an activity” drop-down menu.
  3. Type the name of the choice or poll the question in the textboxes.

 

Figure 6-12:  Choice Name and Question

 

  1. Select whether you want to limit the number of responses.
  2. Type the different choices available to the student.  Not all 5 choices needs to be filled.  If more choices are needed then click on the “Add 3 fields to form” button.
  3. Select whether you wan to put a time limit on this poll.

 

Figure 6-13:  Time Restriction on Choice

 

  1. Fill in the remaining options.  They are explained in the table below after the screenshot.

 

Figure 6-14:  Miscellaneous Settings

 

Miscellaneous Choice Settings

Display Mode

If there are only a few choices, and a bit of text each then positioning them horizontally would be fine.  Having a lot of choices and/or a lot of text in each choice would benefit from positioning them vertically.

Publish results

Here you select whether you and your students will be able to see the results and when.

Privacy of results

Allows the option of displaying the student’s name along with his/her response.

Allow choice to be updated

Selecting “Yes” will allow the student to change his/her response.

Show column for unanswered

If set to “Yes”, this will display a column showing how many participants have not answered the choice activity yet.  If set to “No”, the results will include only the participants who already voted.

 

  1. Fill in the Common module settings.
  2. Click the “Save and return to course” button.

 


Chapter 7: Grading In Moodle


1.  Grade Displays

 

You may use the built-in Grade Tool in Moodle, or you can choose to import an excel file displaying the final grade breakdown.  When using either, you need to establish student access to their grades in Moodle.

 

Displaying Grades in Moodle

 

  1. Click “Settings” in the Administration block.
  2. Scroll to the General settings options.
  3. Select “Yes” in the drop-down menu for the field “Show grades.”

 

Figure 7-1:  Show Grades Drop-down Menu

  1. Click the “Save changes” button at the bottom.

 

Student Access to Displayed Grades

 

From the student view, it is a simple step to see their grades.

 

  1. Click “Grades” in the Administration block.

 

Figure 7-2:  Grade Access

  1. A breakdown of the graded assignments that you have previously created will be displayed.

 

Figure 7-3:  Grades Breakdown

 

2.  Using the Gradebook in Moodle

 

It is highly recommended that you commit to a grade markup totalling 100% and e-mail fsc@yorku.ca with your total course percentages to be formularized. When creating all the on-line graded assignments, please note however, that the “out-of marks” allowed in the individual assignment settings can be different from the final percentage weighting of the course. The above-mentioned formula will synchronize this.

 

In addition, if you need an additional participation grade column to complete the overall grade total of 100%, to accommodate this, you will need to create an “Offline Activity” assignment.  You may then manually enter your participation grades from the grade tool.

 

Adding an Offline Activity to Accommodate Manual Grading

 

  1. Click “Turn editing mode on.”
  2. Select the assignment type from the “Add an activity drop-down menu.”

 

Figure 7-4:  Adding an Assignment in the Resource Option

 

  1. Enter the name and description of the activity.
  2. Select the grade scale you want to use.
  3. Set the dates or disable them.
  4. Set whether you want to prevent late submissions or not.
  5. It is recommended that you leave the default setting intact.
  6. Click “Save and return to course.”

 

Offline Activity

No settings are needed for this assignment type. The advantage is that it creates a blank column within the Moodle Gradebook allowing you to manually add extra grades.

 

Once you create all your assignments and activities:

 

  1. Click “Grades” in the Administration block.
  2. A spreadsheet containing all the names of the students and columns for each gradable assignment and offline activity.

 

For more details about grading, it is recommended that you attend one of the Faculty Support Centre’s (FSC) workshops on grades (http://www.fsc.yorku.ca/workshops).

 

3.  Importing Final Grades in Moodle

 

If you decide not to use the built-in Grade Tool in Moodle, you may import an excel file for the final grades. It is highly recommended, however, that you first download the original student spreadsheet from the Grade Tool in order to preserve the integrity of the unique Student IDs. 

 

Downloading Spreadsheet from Moodle

 

To export a Grade spreadsheet:

 

  1. Click “Grades” in the Administration block.

 

  1. Select “Export to Excel Spreadsheet” in the “Choose an action” drop-down menu.

 

  1. Set your choices in the Options and Grade items to be included.

 

  1. Click the “Submit” button.

 

  1. Preview the spreadsheet.

 

  1. Select “Download.”

 

  1. Once you have downloaded the Moodle Grade spreadsheet, you may create additional columns, if necessary.

Figure 7-5:  Exporting to Spreadsheet

 

Re-Importing Spreadsheet to Moodle

 

  1. First, save your spreadsheet as a CSV file (comma delineated).

 

Figure 7-6:  Saving Excel Workbook

 

  1. In Moodle Click “Grades” in the Administration block.
  2. Select “Import from CSV” from the “Choose an action” drop-down menu.

 

Figure 7-7:  Importing a CSV File

 

Figure 7-8:  Import File Options

 

  1. Click “Browse” to find the CSV file.
  2. Leave the other options on default.
  3. Select “Upload grades”.
    The following page will be displayed.

 

Figure 7-9:  Options

  1. Select “Map” from “ID number” drop-down menu.
  2. Select “userid” from the “Map to” drop-down menu.
  3. Choose the other criteria accordingly.
  4. Click “Upload grades.”

 

 

 

Chapter 8: Other Moodle Resources

 

Other helpful Resources for Instructors exist at the following links:

 

Moodle@York

 

 

 

 

 

General Moodle Community

 

 

  • Moodle Documentation

http://docs.moodle.org/en/Main_Page