Upload
others
View
27
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 1 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Introduction to Moodle: Lesson 1
Setting Up a Course Homepage
Browser Choice:
PC: Firefox or Internet Explorer
Mac: Firefox. Do not use Safari, because some screens do not display correctly
You will have access to Moodle through myWofford. Click on the Moodle.Wofford.edu link in
the Systems Links channel under the Terriers tab.
You also can reach the Moodle site directly with the URL http://moodle.wofford.edu .
You will see an overview of the courses you are
teaching. Only one is listed in the example here,
but you probably will see more. Initially, the
text will be in a light gray font.
Click on the name of a course you want to set
up in Moodle.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 2 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
The Course Homepage
At the beginning, your course Homepage
will look something like this.
The Homepage has three columns:
Left: Menus
Center: Course Information
Right: Miscellaneous
In the first part of this lesson, we will
concentrate on adding course information in
the center section.
Setting Up Your Course
The first thing you need to do is set up your course. Click on Settings in the
Administration menu.
This will bring you to an “Edit Course
Settings” page.
Most of the course already will be set
up. Here are some things you might
want to change.
You may want to change from a
Topics format to a Weekly format.
(see the next page)
The Course start date probably will
have been set to the first day of the
term. You can change the start date if
you like.
You may want to set the course up so
that the students do not see the
gradebook at first.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 3 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
One of your choices will be to arrange your Moodle course Homepage with a weekly or topics
format. The default setting is topics.
If you choose “Topics,” the blocks in the center section will correspond to the number of topics
you specify (15 by default). If you choose “Weekly,” the center section of the Homepage will be
divided into blocks, each corresponding to one week of the course.
We will use the “Weekly” format in these lessons. You can use either a
topics or weekly format for your courses. You also can specify the
number of topics or weeks.
If you plan on using the gradebook, you may want to leave “Show
gradebook to students” set to Yes. You can change this to No if you do
not want to show the gradebook until later in the term.
Finally, all courses are initially set
up so they will be unavailable to
students. I generally leave the
Moodle page for a course as
unavailable until I have the page set
up. To make your course available
in Moodle, change Availability to This course is available to students.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 4 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
When a course has been made available to students, the font for the course description in your
overview of courses will change from light gray to black.
Click on Save Changes when
you are finished.
In these lessons, the Homepage
shows a weekly outline
beginning on June 1 because I
used a Weekly Format and June
1 as the starting date
Metacourses
If you teach only one section of a course, you may skip this part. If you teach two sections of
the same course, you should read the below. A metacourse is the way to go for multiple
sections.
A metacourse is a combined course page to be used when you have more than one section of the
same course. Instead of duplicating information on separate Moodle pages for the two sections,
you can use the metacourse page as a combined course page for both sections. All information
that is shared by the two sections can be entered once on the combined course page.
An example might be the Bio 150 sections. Suppose there are three
Bio 150 sections in Moodle (150A, 150B, and 150C). Jason
Womick can set up a metacourse named Bio 150 Meta, with the
three sections as children. All students in the three Bio 150
sections automatically become students in the Bio 150 Meta
course. Almost all of the information for the course then can be
entered once on the Bio 150 Meta page.
When I teach two sections, I use the metacourse Moodle page for
all information except the gradebook. It simplifies transferring
grades at mid-term and the end of the term if the gradebooks for the
two sections are separate.
Jason Womick will be glad to set up a metacourse for you.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 5 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Adding Information to the Course Homepage
At the beginning, the Miscellaneous column on the right probably shows the
latest news, upcoming events, and a log of recent activity. Let’s make some
changes in this column.
Click on the Turn editing on button in the upper right of the Moodle
window.
Adding General Information
Now, let’s move to the center column that contains specific information about your
course. First we will put in the course’s title and brief description.
With editing on, click on the text edit icon under “Weekly outline”.
In the text editing workspace, enter
the name of the course. Designate it
as the largest heading, Heading 1,
and Center the text.
Click on Save changes when you are
finished.
The name of the course
will be surrounded by a
gray rectangle. Text that
has been set up with
“Heading 1” size will be
surrounded by this
rectangle for emphasis.
If you don’t want the
rectangle, you can specify the size of the text without specifying that it is Heading 1.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 6 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
You also can add some descriptive text
below the tile, if you so desire.
This text would have Normal size.
Adding an Image
Suppose you would like to add an image. You
want the picture to be placed to the left of the
descriptive text.
Position the cursor to the left of the word “This.”
Click on the insert image icon above the text
editing workspace.
In the “Insert Image” window that appears, click on
Browse to find the image.
When you have found the image, click on Upload.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 7 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
At this point, you should see
the name of the image in the
File Browser window, in this
particular case,
“Internet_Visualization.gif”
(#1 in the picture on the right).
You can specify various
properties of the image: border
thickness, alignment, and white
space around the image, if you
like.
1. Double-click on the name of the image
2. This will add its URL to the Image URL text box.
3. Enter alternate text for the image in the Alternate text box.
4. Choose a number for the Border thickness (in pixels). I usually choose 1.
5. Specify the Alignment of the image. I have selected Left to align the image to the left of
the text.
6. Specify the Spacing. This is the blank space that will be left around the picture, so that
the text will not be placed right next to the picture. I usually choose 5 to 10 for both the
horizontal and vertical spacing.
7. The Size of the picture is given in pixels. You can change this if you want.
Click OK when you are finished.
You should see the picture
displayed below the text. You
may need to move the text
down a row to position it below
the top of the picture.
Save your changes.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 8 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Posting a Document
You probably will want to post documents such as a syllabus or course schedule to the Course
Homepage.
In the Add a resource
menu, select Link to a file
or web site.
In the next screen do two things:
Enter the name you want to give
the document, for example
“Syllabus,” in the text box.
Click on Choose or upload a file
Click on Upload a file in the next window.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 9 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
In the following window, browse to the file you want and click on Upload this file. Finally,
choose the document you have selected.
You now should see the name of the file in the
“location: text box.
Click on Save and return to course.
A link to the document now will
be on the Homepage.
You can post any kind of file:
Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint,
audio, video, etc.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 10 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Linking to a Web Site
You also can add a link to an external web site. Let’s add a link to the Honor Code on the
Wofford web site:
http://www.wofford.edu/uploadedFiles/studentLife/0708HonorCode.pdf
From the Add a resource menu select Link to
a file or web site.
Type in “Honor Code” as the name.
If you so desire, you may add a
summary in the “Summary” text
editing workspace.
Enter or paste in the URL of the
Honor Code web page in the
Location text box.
Click on Save and return to course at the bottom of the page.
You will see a link to the Honor Code on the course Homepage
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 11 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Posting News or an Announcement
If you would like to post a general news item or an announcement, click
on the News Forum link that is already on the Course Homepage.
NOTE: If you are “practicing” with Moodle while you build your page
for a course, you probably do not want to send automatic email
messages to your students when you post an announcement. See the
Appendix on how to NOT force everyone to be subscribed. You can change this when you are
ready to use the Course Homepage for real.
Click on Add a
new topic
Enter a Subject and some text describing
the news or announcement in the
“Message” text editing workspace.
The text can include a hyperlink to an
external web page on the subject. To
insert a hyperlink, select the text that will
be hyperlinked, click on the hyperlink
icon, and enter the URL of the external
web page
When you click on Post to forum, you will see it in the list of discussions.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 12 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
On the example course page, you also will see the forum you have posted
listed under Latest News.
Adding a Label for a Week or Topic
One of the first things we may want to do is add a title to first week or topics block .
Choose the Insert a Label resource in the
week or topic block you want. Make sure
you use the “Add a resource” menu under
the topic or the week you want.”
Enter the subject for the week or topic in the
“Label text” text editing workspace – here I
simply used “Example: Week #1.” Center the
text and designate it as Heading 3 in size.
When you click on Save and return to the
course, you should see the label. With
editing turned off, it will look like this.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 13 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Moving an Item
What if, perish the thought, you make a mistake and
place a resource in the wrong section? For example,
suppose that you chose the upper resource drop-down
menu and put the label in the upper section rather
than under the first week.
We want to move this label down. This is easy to do.
Move the cursor over the four-way arrow icon in the
editing row below the label. When you do, the cursor will
change into a larger four-way arrow shape.
Hold the mouse button down and drag the label where
you want it, Drop it in place. (In my experience, this
takes a little practice.)
You now should see the label in the correct place.
Adding a Text Page
An alternative to posting information in a document, such
as a Word or PDF file, is to post it on a text page. Let’s
post a text page in the first weekly block. In the Add a
resource menu, select Compose a text page.
Enter the Name of the text page.
Note that the first text editing
workspace is for a summary of the
resource.
The text that will go on the text
page is entered below in the
Compose a text page section.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 14 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
When you have added the text, click on Save and return to course.
The text page link will be in the first weekly block where you placed
it. You will see the text on the page if you click on the link.
The summary will be displayed if you click on the Resources link in the Activities
menu
Hiding an Item from Students
As a teacher, you would like to see recent activity in your Moodle course, but
may not want students to see it. In the Recent Activity block, click on the
open eye icon in the editing icons row below “Recent Activity.” This will
“close” the eye.
A closed eye indicates that the students cannot see this information.
Switching to a Student Role
A quick way to view a page as a student will see it is to switch your role.
Click on Switch role to . . . and select Student.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 15 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
When you are ready, click on Return to my normal role to see the Teacher’s
view again.
If you switch to the Student role, it will turn editing off. You will need to Turn
editing on again when you return to your normal role.
Adding a Block in the Miscellaneous Column
Let’s add a calendar in the right-hand miscellaneous
column. Under Blocks, click on Add and select
Calendar.
You will see a calendar at the bottom of the column.
Moving a Block in the Miscellaneous Column
Let’s make the calendar more prominent by moving it to the top of the column. If
you move the cursor over the shaded area at the top of the calendar block, the
cursor will change its shape into four arrows. If you hold down the mouse button,
you can drag the cursor to where you want and then drop it. Drag the calendar to
the top of the column.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 16 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Deleting a Block in the Miscellaneous Column
To avoid clutter, you may want to remove block(s) from the Miscellaneous
column. In editing mode, clicking on the X icon in a block’s editing row will
delete the block from the column.
Showing Only One Week or Topic
One problem with Moodle course pages is that a long list of weeks or topics with many activities
can produce a very long web page. Because scrolling up and down a long web page can be a lot
of trouble, you or your students may want to hide weeks before and after the current week.
In the non-editing mode, clicking on the
Show One Week icon for a given week
will hide all weeks except that one.
Hiding a Week from the Students
You may not want your students to see the
activities awaiting them in future weeks. If
not, with editing on, click on the open eye
icon in the week blocks you do not want them
to see. Clicking on the open eye icon will
close the eye. Clicking on the closed eye icon
will open it again.
The students will see “Not available” by the dates of the
weeks you have hidden.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 17 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Moodle Docs
Moodle is very well documented. If you have a
question about an individual setting you can
click on the question mark icon beside the
drop-down list for the setting. If you want more
information about the settings on the page,
click on Moodle Docs for this page, which
will be found at the bottom of the page. I have
found this information to be extensive and
quite useful.
The Moodle Gradebook
Although it is not absolutely necessary, it is useful to start setting up the Moodle gradebook for
your course early in the process.
See Lesson #2 for instructions on setting up a Gradebook in Moodle.
Recording Attendance
To set Moodle up so that you can record
attendance, in the section at the top of the page,
click on Add an activity and then Attendance.
If you have set the Moodle gradebook up
with Graded and Nongraded categories do
the following:
In the Grade category menu, choose
Nongraded if you do not plan on
including attendance in the grading
for the course.
Grades if you plan on including
attendance in the grading for the
course.
Save and return to the course.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 18 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
In this example, I have chosen to record attendance, but not include it
in the grading.
You now will see “Attendance” included in the list of links in the
weekly outline.
Click on the Attendance link.
You will be told that no session
exists for the course. To add
sessions, click on the Add tab.
Under Create multiple sessions, enter the start and
end dates of your course. Suppose that your course
meets on MWF from June 1 through July 30.
Enter this information and click on Add multiple
sessions.
If you click back on the Attendance tab, you
will see that the dates for the class have been
filled in.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 19 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
NOTE: When you click back on the Attendance tab, if you still see a “No Session exists for this
course” message, then do the following.
If you still see “No session exists for
the course,” you need to change the
Course start date in the Settings for
the course.
Click on Settings in the Administration menu.
Change the Course start date as described on page 2 of this lesson.
You also can set up “nonregular” single class sessions
– a field trip for example.
You can specify the number of points you want to give
for attendance under the Settings tab.
You can give a grade of “0” for all categories if you
don’t want attendance to count toward the points in the
course.
When you are ready to take attendance, click on the Attendance link, the
Attendance tab, and the green circle by the class session you want. Fill in the
attendance and click on OK.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 20 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Note: An easy way to record attendance is to click on the
“P” link, which will record all students in the class as
present. Then you can change the few who are absent, late,
or excused.
Moodle Lesson 1 – Homepage 21 Version: Moodle 1.9.5+
Revised: Aug 20, 2011
Appendix: News Forum – Forcing Everyone to be Subscribed
The default setting on the News Forum is to force everyone to be subscribed to the forum. This
means that all users will be sent an email message whenever you post an announcement on the
forum.
Forcing everyone to be subscribed may be a good thing when you are using the News Forum as
part of your class – you probably want your students to be aware an announcement has been
posted. On the other hand, it is not a good thing if you are testing your Course Homepage as you
develop it prior to the course.
While you are testing your Course Homepage, I would recommend
turning this feature off. With editing turned on, click on the Edit icon
beside the News forum.
In the “Updating” page, change Force
everyone to be subscribed to No.
Save and return to the course.
When you are ready to use your Course Homepage, you can change this option back to Yes.