START HERE -----> Finding your way around Moodle

How you navigate around Moodle depends partly on the theme that we will be using, but some common features are explained in the following video and the text underneath it. 

There is a user menu at the top right when you are logged in and this has quick links to useful areas of Moodle. You can edit your profile from there or change your preferences.

You can access messages and notifications from the icons at the top.

Dashboard, either in the user menu or the nav drawer takes you to a customizable page with links to your courses and activities needing attention.

You can also navigate around using Moodle's navigation bar (which others call a breadcrumb trail) at the top of your screen.

Documentation links:

(These links to Moodle documentation open in a new window.)

• Messaging
• Dashboard

Every user in Moodle has their own personal or customizable page called 'dashboard'.

The administrator may have set default items to be present on the page and you can expect to see an overview of your courses and anything needing attention such as assignments. You can also click the 'Customize this page' button to add elements (blocks) of your own choice. You can also move side blocks into the centre if you want them to be larger and more prominent - the 'Recently accessed items' block for example  

Documentation links:

(This link to Moodle documentation opens  in a new window.)

Dashboard

Course overview

A Moodle 'course' is a space on a Moodle site into which you can add resources or activities for your learners. The video and text underneath guide you through a Moodle course.

A 'course' can be a simple page with documents for one teacher and one class, or a complex page with many different activities shared by teachers and several classes. It can be always available or  have start and end dates, and learners can access it in a number of ways, such as enrolling themselves, being enrolled by their teacher, or by the Moodle administrator.

A course can display its materials in a number of ways or 'formats' for example in weekly sections or (named) topic sections. You can show all the sections at once or just reveal one at a time.

You can also add elements known as 'blocks' to the right, left or both sides of your central learning area depending on your theme.

Documentation links:

(These links to Moodle documentation open in a new window.)

• Courses
• Course settings

As a teacher you have some control over the appearance and layout of your course. For example, (if your institution allows it) you can change the full name or short name of the course, the course image, and you can change the layout of the main learning area. The video and text underneath show you how to add and modify your course sections and course information.

Changes are made by clicking the gear top right and clicking Edit settings. This is where you can,  amongst other changes:

• change your course name and the colored course image (see video below)
• set start and end dates. These dates affect whether the course shows in the Future or Past sections of the dashboard course overview.
• set your course up in weekly sections or numbered topics (which you can rename.) 

You can always go back and change any settings if needed.

Here is how you add a course image to make your course stand out on Moodle:

Documentation links:

• Course settings
• Course formats

(These links to Moodle documentation open in a new window.)

If you have chosen weekly sections or topic sections for your course layout then you can rename these if you wish. You can also move sections up or down and quickly add or remove sections. This video and the text underneath show you how.

To rename a section, turn on the editing, click the pencil icon next to the section name, type your new section name and press Enter. It  will appear in the nav drawer too.

Sections may be moved by dragging and dropping (if your browser and Moodle admin settings allow it), deleted, hidden and highlighted. Sections may be added by clicking the + under the bottom course section.

Documentation links:

Course homepage

(This link to Moodle documentation opens in a new window.)

As you start typing text into Moodle you'll notice it has its own custom editor, known as Atto. The video and the text underneath tell you more about adding and editing text in Moodle.

Atto is Moodle's purpose-built editor for text. Amongst its features are the ability to drag and drop images directly into the text box and the option to check how accessible your content is for people with restricted sight. Content you add to the Atto editor is saved automatically at regular intervals, so you don't have to worry about losing it. 

Documentation links:

• Atto editor
• Text editor FAQ

(These links to Moodle documentation open in a new window.)