In previous sections of this tutorial, we looked at Moodle's structure. In this lesson, we will explore how to add syllabi, readings, and other information or activities to your Moodle course.

NOTE: Once your course is ready, you need to make your course visible for students to view it!

 

 

Get Started — Turn editing on

To edit your course, start by clicking on the Turn editing button at the top left corner of your course.

This option gives you access to the tools for editing your course.

 

Item Editing Tools

When you turn editing on you’ll see editing tools.

 

Edit section headings

The previous lesson, Course Design and Settings, explained how your course is segmented into different sections, either by weeks or topics. You can customize and move sections around by using the editing options available. Section editing options are illustrated below.

1. You can use the pencil icon to change the name of your section.
2. The edit week option lets you change your section name AND add further information, such as due dates and images.

 

Drag and drop files from your desktop

You can drop files directly into your Moodle contact area. Find your syllabus on your desktop and drag it to the location where you want it in your course. By default, Moodle will display the name of the file. However, we can easily rename this with the pencil “edit title” tool, the same way you can edit a section heading.

 

Move items

There are two ways to move items in your course.

1. When you mouse over an item, you will get a cross-hatch icon. Then you can drag and drop an item up or down.
2. If you select the Move option from your edit item drop-down menu, you'll see a list of everything in your course and can select the spot where you want the item.

Add an Activity or a Resource

If you want to enhance your site with sound, videos, explanatory text, web links, discussion forums, quizzes, assignments, etc., you can do so from the Add an activity or resource menu.

To add an activity or resource, turn editing on and look for the “+ Add an activity or resource” link.

Text and media area ('label' until 2023/2024 Moodle)

The Text and media area is a very simple, useful resource, that lets you put descriptive text, images, sound and video directly on your main course page.

 

Link to External Web Pages

 

Many faculty want to add web links to their Moodle page. You can do this with the URL resource.

Make Your Own Web Pages

If you have a lot of content, you can make your own web pages in Moodle by selecting the Page option from the resources list. The is similar to the Text and media option, but links to a separate page. Thus, even if you typed a very long page, you just see a short name and maybe a description on your main page.

Files

Most of the time, it is easiest to add files by dragging and dropping them from your hard drive. However, if you want a description for your file, or to want to restrict access to certain dates, you’ll need to add the file from the Resources menu, or edit settings to a file that you already dragged to your page.

Folders

Folders let you group lots of files together, another way to keep your main page from getting too long. If you add folders, you get the familiar resource menu. Drag your articles to the content area–you can also select them via the file picker. Save and open the new folder at your course site. You see your description and files. You can edit/add to/delete from this folder at anytime.

More!

Along with the options above, you can use Moodle to collect assignments, hold discussion forums, give quizzes, and more. In addition to these standard Moodle activities, Haverford’s Moodle implementation includes options for lecture capture, blogs, and wikis.

Switch User Role

If you want to see how students (or other roles) see your course, select the Switch role to … option available from the dropdown menu in the upper right corner; the menu below your name.

If you try this, you will notice that students do not see the dear professor letter or the getting started instructions. If you have switched roles, the menu changes to allow you to return to your normal role.

Reuse Materials—Copy Labels, Files, Quizzes, etc. Into Multiple Courses

You can copy material between course sites using the backup, restore and import functions.

 

Get Help

Once you add materials, you may want to experiment with different looks and Moodle tools. Feel free to contact hc-techlearn or your subject librarian for help.