How to get the most from your Moodle Dashboard

Within Moodle, the Dashboard is a customisable page for providing logged in users with links to their courses and activities within them, such as unread forum posts and upcoming assignments.

By default the dashboard can be customised by users by adding or removing blocks from the page. Administrators can choose to restrict users making changes to the dashboard or even hide the dashboard completely.

In this downloadable guide we show you how to make the most of the Dashboard feature, and how to customise it to your individual needs. The guide covers:

  • Accessing and editing the dashboard
  • What a student sees
  • What a teacher sees
  • Calendar
  • Upcoming events
  • Private files
  • Online users
  • Microsoft block
  • My Courses
  • My ToDo List

We’re currently working on a Moodle support portal which will host guides like this in a central location for all our customers. For now though, you can download the full PDF version of the guide here:

[button link=”https://www.tituslearning.com/files/using-your-personal-dashboard.pdf”]Tips on how to get the most from your personal dashboard[/button]

To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your school or organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.

Competencies and Learning Plans: Monitoring performance via Moodle

Our latest downloadable guide is centred around on the rapid growth of Moodle in the workplace, and the unique tools which it offers for professional development. Many organisations worldwide are successfully using Moodle’s Competency feature to better monitor and evaluate staff training programmes or personal workplace learning objectives.

What are competencies?

Competencies describe the level of understanding or proficiency of a learner in certain subject-related skills. Competency-based education (CBE), also known as Competency-based learning or Skills-based learning, refers to systems of assessment and grading where learners demonstrate these competencies. In Moodle it is possible to create and apply frameworks for evaluating learners against competencies in Moodle.

https://docs.moodle.org/35/en/Competencies

The guide is designed for Moodle users at all levels of experience, and will walk you through the following stages of the process:

  • Creating a Scale
  • Creating a Competency Framework
  • Creating a Learning Plan
  • Assigning a Competency Reviewer role
  • Linking Competencies to a Course
  • Rating Competencies
  • Completing a Learning Plan

We’re currently working on a Moodle support portal which will host guides like this in a central location for all our customers. For now though, you can download the full PDF version of the guide here:

[button link=”https://www.tituslearning.com/files/competencies-and-learning-plans.pdf” target=”_blank”]Competencies and Learning Plans: Monitoring performance via Moodle[/button]

To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your school or organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.

Record audio and video directly in Moodle with Atto

From Moodle 3.5 onwards, course creators are able to record video and audio directly within the editing interface. This is achieved using the Atto text editor – a default option in Moodle (along with TinyMCE).

Rather than using a third party plugin, or external recording software to capture media for your course, you can now record it as you go along, which streamlines the process of setting up and populating courses considerably.

It’s very straightforward to use. Once you have the Atto text editor enabled (speak to your Moodle administrator if you’re not sure about this), simply enter editing mode, and bring up the text editor. You’ll notice that there are now two media buttons on the toolbar, one with a microphone icon – for audio, and one with a camera icon – for video (highlighted in yellow below).

Click either to get started. You may see a browser popup asking for permission to access your microphone and/or webcam – just click to agree.

Once you’ve made a recording you’ll be able to review the whole clip, and you have the opportunity to re-record it if necessary. When you’re happy with the result, simply click on “attach” to upload it to Moodle – it’s that simple!

The audio/video recording function within Atto allows you to quickly and easily add rich media to your courses, whether that’s wiki articles, forum posts, or perhaps an introductory piece on the course homepage.

Even better, if the function is enabled for students, you can allow them to submit work in the form of a sound or video recording, developing and practising new skills.

Check out more details and documentation about the Atto text editor here: https://docs.moodle.org/35/en/Text_editor

To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your school or organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.

Managing year-end procedures in Moodle

If your Moodle platform is used in an academic environment (e.g a school, college or university) there are a number of factors to consider to ensure your platform is kept organised and is prepared for the new academic year.

We’ve put together a handy guide illustrating our preferred (and often the most efficient) methods based on the hosting options that we provide at Titus Learning.

Depending on the chosen method the responsibility may lie with one person or be distributed amongst a number of individuals. This will depend upon the internal structure in place regarding the learning platform. This guide is designed to assist Moodle users of all levels of experience in completing the relevant tasks.

The guide covers a range of year-end tasks including gradebook and course backups, administering the link between Moodle and your MIS system as well as preparations for the new academic year.

We’re currently working on a Moodle support portal which will host guides like this in a central location for all our customers. For now though, you can download the full PDF version of the guide here:

Titus Learning – Academic Year End Procedures (EduLink)

To learn more about the work we’ve done with Moodle, or to find out how we could help your school or organisation improve engagement, communication and learning outcomes, book a short online demo with one of our team.