Text and Media Resource

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The Text and Media Resource was previously called the Label resource in prior to Moodle 4.1.

This resource allows you to place content directly on the course page, as opposed to creating a link to takes users to another page.  Text and Media can be used to help us format the course page, emphasize certain pieces of information, and (embed information not otherwise available in Moodle).

Adding Text and Media Resource in Moodle

Adding a text and media resource is just like adding any other resource. They can be easily duplicated for a consistent look across weeks without needing to reenter the same data, images and formatting.

Enter your course and turn Edit mode on.

Turn Editing On button is found in the top-right corner of a Moodle page you have permission to modify content for.

Scroll to the section where you want to add a Text and Media resource.

Click the corresponding Add an activity or resource link.

Select Text and Media area from the Activity Chooser.

Enter your content into the Text box under the General section using the text editor.

Click the Save and return to course. 

Review your text and media resource.

If you want to make changes, click on the Edit menu (three vertical dots) next to the text and media resource and select the Edit settings option.

Examples of Effective Text and Media Resources

Example of Text and Media being used for Section headers and class summaries

Editing Turned On

Editing Turned off (What Students See)

Why are the above examples effective?

  • They feature just enough media (pictures) to make the topic easy to spot and identify.
  • Small, non-vital headers for visually breaking up assignments by time (in-Class vs Homework) so again, students can easily find the work they need.

Are there problems with the above examples?

Yes! Visible in the first shown section are reading assignments (not highlighted). While they don’t take up much space, any student determining work solely by the Navigation block will NOT see those instructions to read chapters.

Instead consider:

  • Putting reading instructions like that into a Page Resource with a breakdown of WHY to read and what to look for (perhaps a study guide)
  • Putting reading instructions within a no-credit practice quiz to encourage reading the chapters and then testing their knowledge in a low-stress environment.

Text and Media resources aren’t for everything

Strengths
  • A great way to break up and clarify or drive home OTHER content by adding:
    • reminders
      supplemental information or clarification for another activity or resource
    • separators
      horizontal rules, line breaks or supplemental images.
    • headings
      Sort your course content by:
      • Activity types such as: Reading, In-class Activities, Homework Assignments
      • Time: Monday Meeting, Wednesday Meeting, Friday Meeting
  • Easy to move around course and duplicate for consistent look from week to week.
Weaknesses
  • Not listed in the Navigation Block and may be missed
    some students primarily navigate courses from that block
  • Too many or too long labels can cause issues.
    Consider tucking long instructions and multimedia into a Page resource or within the relevant Moodle Activity (Put Assignment instructions inside the Assignment activity’s Description)
    • Long labels can increase scroll time making it hard for students to find relevant data and make students feel overwhelmed
    • Lots of multimedia like sound, images or video can cause your page to take longer to load, making it much harder for students on slower connections to access their course.