ITC Student Guide to Moodle

| 1 I T C M o o d l e S t u d e n t G u i d e P a g e

© 2013 ITC Distance Learning

MOODLE is a free open-source course management system (CMS) that teachers can use to develop online courses, or to enhance their face-to-face classes and create an online component.

Moodle Introduction

What is Moodle? Moodle is a web-based learning environment that allows you to access your course materials online and make use of a number of useful built-in facilities to enhance your learning experience.

It brings the dynamics of a classroom environment to the Internet. It allows teachers and students to interact in a ‘virtual classroom’ in much the same way as in a standard classroom. The difference is that it can be done from any place in the world, at any time and with the resources of the Internet as support.

Moodle courses can be developed as fully interactive classrooms where you may be involved in online group discussions or collaborative group work. Other courses may not involve a lot of online discussion and course material may be presented as a structured set of files (such as Word documents and PowerPoint presentations). It depends on the learning material, your tutor, and the best way to deliver the course.

Some of the advantages of Moodle to support your education at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) include:

• Increased access to important course information

• Additional learning support where materials and tools are available

• Undertaking aspects of studying anytime, almost anyplace.

To make the most effective use of this system:

• Ensure you know how Moodle is to be used within a specific course

• Exploit the opportunities provided (follow links to readings, participate in discussion forums, complete quizzes, etc.)

• See Moodle as additional support, not a failsafe to missing classes



• Don’t leave online work to the last minute.

With each module studied, Moodle will become a more familiar and welcoming learning environment. Eventually, Moodle will simply become another tool used to support learning. As with any classroom, it is a changing environment - expect each module to apply different tools and techniques. Join in, ask questions, and participate as you would in any classroom.

Logging In: Go to http://moodle.itc.edu and type your username and password in the Login block located

on the top right side of the screen and click the Login button, or click on the Login link in the top right corner of the ITC Moodle Home Page.

You will then be taken to this login screen.

-Use your ITC Network Log on information issued by the IT Helpdesk -You will be taken to the Moodle Home page. Site News will be located top center of the Home Page, Your courses will be listed directly below the Site News. -When you’re finished using Moodle, go up to the top right corner and click Logout.

Editing Your Profile: Click on the Administration block at the left. Then, click “My Profile Settings.” Expand and then click “Edit Profile”

You can now edit information about yourself. Anything with a red asterisk is required.

http://moodle.itc.edu/



ITC’s Moodle system uses LDAP to authenticate users so key profile information is taken from the users network profile and cannot be edited (ie. First & Last name, and email address)

Although, you may alter many of the settings most should be left as they are in order to ensure that Moodle functions for you at its best.

Field Email address Email display Email digest type Forum auto-subscribe

Setting and explanation Your Email Address is set to your my.itc.edu account automatically and can't be changed. This is done to ensure that third party email filters do not stop your communication from your course It is up to you which of these options you select but our advice is to keep in mind that the purpose of Moodle is collaboration and communication. This setting determines how you receive any posts from Forums to which you are subscribed, allowing you to receive messages individually or on a daily basis. This setting lets you decide if you want email copies of posts that are added to forums. If you set this to subscribe, the system will automatically email you copies of new posts in



New picture

forums that you post in, unless you manually override it when posting. When inserting a picture it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the appropriate copyright clearance. To insert a picture click the browse button and search your computer for a picture. Make sure that the file is not larger than the maximum size listed. The image file will be cropped to a square and resized down to 100 x 100 pixels

-You can upload a photo of yourself which other users will see. Here’s How: Click the “User Picture” link, then click “Add,” then “Upload a file (at the left),” then the “Choose a file” button. Select the picture and then click Open. Finally, click the “Upload this file” button and then “Update profile” at the bottom. -Remember that other Moodle users can see what you have included in your Profile.



What Will I Find In Moodle? After logging in, you should see your name at the top of the screen and have access to all the courses that you are enrolled in.



Accessing a course To access a course in Moodle, just click on the name of the course in the “My courses” list. This should take you to the home page of the course. The Course page you see as a student has Blocks on both sides and the main content through the middle. The image below highlights some of the features. There are a number of blocks available for your instructor to include or leave out as they see appropriate. Blocks can also be customized (e.g. moved to a different location by your instructor). This means aach course in Moodle contains similar items, but may look completely different depending on how your instructor has set up the course and what resources the course contains.



The main parts of the homepage of a course (1) The navigation bar – each Moodle page has a horizontal navigation bar at the top. The navigation bar tells you where you are in the course and it allows you to return to the course page (if you click the short name for the course) at any time. (2) Course contents area – this is located in the middle of the screen and consists of course sections. The first section usually has general information about the course. The remaining sections contain course resources (such as text documents, PowerPoint slides, HTML pages, images, etc) and activities (such as forums, quizzes, etc). (3) Side blocks – most Moodle course pages have a left and right column either side of the course contents area. These contain small boxes called blocks. These can give you additional information relating to your course or allow you to navigate to different parts of the course. You will see different blocks depending on what your instructor has set up in your course. Examples include: The Activities block lists and allows navigation between the different activities available in your course

The People block contains a link to the list of course participants

The Calendar block can be used to signal forthcoming eventsat course level or by students to remind themselves of course deadlines.



Docking Side Blocks: Docking allows the user to collapse a block, thus opening up more of the screen for the course content.

Undocked Docked

To dock a block, simply click the docking icon. But note that not all blocks can be docked. If the docking icon is not visible then that block cannot be docked. You will need to dock all the blocks on one side of the screen to receive any real benefit from docking.

Click to dock a block

Click to undock a block

Expandable/Collapsible Blocks A very handy feature is the ability to expand and collapse content inside of some blocks. This allows the user a lot of freedom to easily navigate to exactly where they want to go, while not being overwhelmed by too much information.

Inside of a block, look for an arrow that points to the right, or down. This means that the content can be expanded or collapsed.

In the image below, note the square beside My Home – the square indicate that the item is not expandable. Now look at the icon to the left of My profile. The right facing arrow indicates that this item is expandable, but has not yet been expanded. Compare it to the down pointing arrow to the left of Current courses. This item has already been expanded, and its content is indented below the Current courses heading.



It is important to realize that these arrows are toggle buttons. Click once and they expand, click again and they collapse. To save screen real estate keep the content you don’t need collapsed until you need it. This is especially important for the Navigation block because it can get so long that it moves the important information in your Settings block down out of view. The quick way is to simply click the arrow beside of Current Courses. This will collapse all of the course links down and save a ton of space.



Navigation:

1) Navigation Bar: Replaces the former term Breadcrumb Trail at the top. The links at the top of the screen that take you back one-step-at-a-time to other areas of Moodle.

2) Navigation Block: At the left side of a Moodle course (by default).



Identifying Content Content in the online course environment will belong to one of two categories: activities and resources. Activities will require action from you the student, and resources will be instructional content. Below is a list of the most common activities and resources and the icons that identify them in the online course environment:



How To Submit Assignments Step 1: Locate the link to the assignment; links to assignments are always located in the Topic or Weekly Sections down the center of the Moodle course page. Note: If your instructor has added the Activities block to the course, you can also locate assignments by clicking on the Assignment link in the Activities block.

Step 2: Click the link to the assignment. The Assignment submission screen will open.

Step 3: Read the instructions provided in the assignment description (At top of page), click Add Submission.

Step 4 (A- Online Text): An entry screen will open where you can type or paste your response into the text editor, then click Save Changes.

Step 4 (B - File(s) Upload): When you are required to a file or files, the File Submission screen appears.

You can drop and drag a document into the submission area or click ‘Add’ to use a file browser.



If you click the Add button on the top left of the file submission window, the File Picker window appears. From the File Picker window:

1. Click Upload a file 2. Browse for the file on your computer, then select the file 3. Click Upload this file button.

Or

Drag your file(s) into the designated area in the File Submissions area



Step 5: Once your files or files are selected, Click Save changes. Once you have ‘Saved changes’ a submission status page will open.

Note: If allowed, you can add comments to your instructor on this page. You can also edit your submission (such as changing the upload document to a newer version). You will be able to edit your submission up until the due date.

Naming Convention For Submitted Files Files being submitted for assignments should include your first name, last name, course number, and assignment title (example: John Doe-IBSL_0501-Old Testament Paper.docx).

Forums Forums in Moodle allow teaching staff and students to exchange comments and questions in a public discussion space, within the Moodle site. This allows everyone in the site to share information and benefit from each other’s opinions and input. Simply, it's a place where messages can be posted for public display. Depending on the type of forum, you may be able to start a new topic, or only reply to a topic or previous reply.

Step 1: Locate the link to the forum. Links can be found in the Topic or Weekly Sections down the center of the course page. Depending on the course layout you may need to toggle a section open



to see the links within it. If your instructor has added the Activities block, click Forums for a list of links to all forums in the course.

Step 2: Click the link to a forum. The forum screen will open.

To compose a new forum topic, read the instructions provided in the forum description (top on page). Click ‘Add a new discussion topic’ button.

This brings up an editor where you can type in your subject title (this will be the text displayed as a link in forum) and message. You can also upload a document in the ‘attachment’ area.



When you are ready to post your message, click on the 'Post to forum' button.

Reading & Replying Click a Topic Title (not the class member's name) to open and read what has been posted so far on the discussion.

Click Reply to post your response.

If it is a single-topic or blog-like forum, click Discuss this Topic to read what has been posted so far, then click Reply to post your response.

If your instructor is allowing students to start new topics, at the top of the page you will be able to click Add a new discussion topic to start a new discussion thread.

Step 3: In the Subject field (required), type a brief but descriptive subject line. In the Message field, enter your reply. You can use the HTML Editor toolbar to format text as well as to add images, links to media, or equations.

Step 4: This screen is also where you may be able to control whether you receive email notifications for new posts. If you don't want to receive emails, set Subscription to I don't want em ail copies of posts to this forum.



Note: Sometimes you will not be able to change the Subscription mode depending on the settings your Instructor has made.

Displaying Messages At the top of a discussion posting, you will see a drop---down menu. It will probably be set to 'Display replies in nested form' and is a common way of viewing forums. The two most common settings are:

• Display replies in threaded form - Only the post starting the discussion will be displayed in its full form; replies will be reduced to the headlines (including information about the author and date) and organized chronologically; replies will be shifted towards the right so that only replies to the same post are in the same line.

• Display replies in nested form - All posts are displayed in their full forms; replies will be reduced to the headlines (including information about the author and date) and organised chronologically; replies will be shifted towards the right so that only replies to the same post are in the same line.



Testing in Moodle: Testing in Moodle is very user friendly and most students like it. Moodle tests are computer graded which allow the student to receive their grade immediately in most cases. However, there are a few very important things you need to know before taking your first test in Moodle.

• When your instructor is ready for you to take a test typically a link will appear. Be sure you've read any information provided by your instructor as to when you should take the test. Never enter a test unless you are prepared to complete it.

• It is important to plan the time you'll take your test. Once you start a test there is no "turning back". You should take your test at a time when you'll have few distractions.

• When you click on the link to a test you'll be taken to an overview screen where you can learn a little about the quiz. Included will most likely be the due or close date for the quiz and the time limit if applicable.

• Occasionally your instructor may password a test. If you are asked for a password when trying to enter a test you'll need to obtain the password from the instructor. Be very careful of capitalization when keying passwords.

• When you are ready to attempt the quiz click the Attempt Quiz Now button

• Your test may be timed. If so, you'll see a timer appear in the Quiz navigation block located on the top left when you enter your test. This timer will count down the time you have left to complete your test. In Moodle you will be kicked out when the time limit is up so please be sure to finish your test and submit it PRIOR to the time running out.



• The student interface for quizzes has undergone a lot of improvement in this version of Moodle. It is now easy for students to keep up with where they are on the quiz and to flag questions they want to come back to. Take note of the new Quiz Navigation block at the top, left side of the screen when in the Quiz. Each number represents a question.

• Also notice that for each question you can choose to “Flag Question”. This allows a student to mark a question so that they remember to come back to it later.

• The Quiz navigation block will tell you a lot of information about your status in a quiz. When a question has been flagged, its corresponding number in the Quiz navigation block will now have the upper, right corner colored in red. As you move through a quiz, questions will be shaded gray as they’re answered. Notice in the image below that questions 2 and 5 have been flagged. Questions 3 and 4 have been answered.

• When the student is done with the quiz, they will click the Finish attempt link to be taken to a summary page prior to submitting the quiz for grading.

• The Summary page clearly shows the student which questions were flagged and which questions have been answered. From this screen they can click any question to return to it. When they’re completely finished with the quiz they will click the Submit all and finish button to submit the quiz for grading.



• Most of your test questions are graded as soon as you click Submit. Your instructor decides how much information you'll see next. You may only see your score or you may see each question and the correct answer. For each question, note how many points you were awarded. Your score will appear in the gray box at the top of the page.

• You may miss a fill in the blank question due to spelling. If so, contact your instructor. They may or may not give you credit for the question.

• If your test includes essay or short answer questions those must be graded individually by your instructor. You are not awarded any points for those questions until the instructor has graded them.

• To come back later and review your tests, simply click on the name of the test from your course page, then click your grade.

Documents

ITC Student Guide to Moodle