Welcome to Moodle! To get you started we’re going to go over some basic interface skills so you can get the most out of exploring your options in an online course before moving onto good habits and what tools may help you implement those habits!
Welcome to Moodle! To get you started we’re going to go over some basic interface skills so you can get the most out of exploring your options in an online course before moving onto good habits and what tools may help you implement those habits!
Pay attention to how your mouse/cursor appears when you move it around the screen. It will almost always change—and give you some insight as to what you can do—when it can interact with whatever you are hovering over (such as the I-beam cursor you see when you can enter text.
We send out emails before each term (from online@clackamas.edu) with reminders and links to our checklists, as well as notes about upcoming updates and any associated downtime. Please read them! They contain vital information to help you successfully navigate the upcoming term.
Some Moodle pages will darken and load a pop-up window called User Tours. These pop-up windows help guide first-time users and/or inform more experienced users of changes within Moodle. They may also appear for just-in-time announcements on rare occasions. Please read them.
After a User Tour ends, you can always review the tour again by clicking on the “Reset user tour on this page” link at the bottom of the page.
Look for the Faculty drop-down menu in the red Moodle Primary Navigation Bar. The drop-down items contain key information for faculty, such as contact information for Moodle support, step-by-steps and troubleshooting for our most frequently asked questions, and helpful links and resources. We advise checking this menu regularly as some steps may update or change after a term ends or Moodle applies an update. Be sure to review the Start of Term and End of Term checklists so you can make sure your courses are ready as soon as you think your preparation is done.
In almost any application you can look for menus and buttons to make changes to what you see. Generally in Moodle, you will first need to Turn editing on to make any changes. Once you’ve done that, Moodle tends to rely on Edit and Settingssometimes with a menu with more options such as a down arrow, drop-down menu, or three vertically aligned dots. Smaller changes, like editing titles, may be controlled with a pen/pencil icon.
Sometimes these items are not plainly displayed to save space, but you can usually find them inside another menu.
Learn more about Editing in Moodle.
Many applications have different roles to access different content. For example, there are many instances in Moodle where teachers can access items that students cannot; this is usually indicated by items being hidden from students. These hidden items will appear grey or ghostly and will sometimes (but not always) be labeled as such. There will usually be an eye (open or closed) symbol or language like hide, show, hidden, visible, and available to indicate if an item in Moodle can be seen by students.
Look for the tell-tale…
Learn more about Moodle Roles and Moodle Visibility.
It’s especially important in an online environment that you regularly check-in with your students so they feel welcomed and supported. Here are some suggestions:
Class-wide messages are a great way to welcome students to your course, provide standard college-wide reminders (like enrollment deadlines and holidays closures), and course announcements (like upcoming deadlines, projects, or important meetings).
Students need timely feedback on work so they can improve… which is an important part of learning.
Students may/may not realize they’re falling behind so reaching out to them first can make a difference to their success.
No one tool will fit your every need. Use the tools as intended… and you can save lots of time down the road in terms of accessibility, device compatibility (desktops, laptops, smart phones, etc.), and consistency across courses for students and faculty. If you have to “hack” a tool to make it work, it’s not the right tool and will likely result in frustration later on.
Need help? Please email online@clackamas.edu and we’ll share what insights we can to maximize Moodle functionality and efficiency going forward.
Ready for more? Check out our Welcome to Moodle articles for a more in-depth look at tools commonly used in Moodle, or see some of our articles that are overviews of available Moodle tools. This is a great place to explore some of the options available to you!