This week sees the much anticipated release of the latest LTS (Long Term Support) version of Moodle – version 3.9. As usual, we’ve put together a list of the key improvements and new features included in this upgrade, with separate sections for teachers, administrators, and general users.
The overarching theme for this upgrade is improvements to the user experience, whether via changes to the interface to make it easier to use, improved integration with other services facilitating imports and exports or allowing users to give direct feedback to Moodle HQ on how they use the platform.
There’s also a strong community focus to the Moodle 3.9 release, with many of the new features having been requested by Moodle users around the world, and in some cases funded by the Moodle Users Association.
If you’d like a more in-depth look at the latest version of Moodle, feel free to contact us for a quick online demonstration.
New features available to all users:
– You can now add H5P activities and make them gradable.
– There’s an improved search and filtering interface for participants
– The navigation within Books has been simplified to make them easier to use
– The Atto editor has received some accessibility improvements
– Selected links are now much clearer – another accessibility win
– Moodle now has a “go to top” link at the bottom of each page – a relief for mouse wheels!
– Bulk deletion is now available for private files.
New features available to teachers:
– There’s a new content bank for H5P which allows you to store, upload and create content, and grading and attempt tracking are now available to teachers.
– Improvements to the Activity chooser allow you to locate the items you need more quickly, as well as starring particular items and viewing recommendations made by other users.
– The Safe Exam Browser is now more configurable, so you can ensure it meets your requirements, e.g. for Quizzes.
– The “turn editing on” button has been made brighter and more prominent in the Boost theme
– A new completion condition based on “previous” means that you can now move between activities without worrying about losing your activity completion settings.
– The new federated social network site MoodleNet is available for you to search and import content (preview: https://moodle.net/discover)
New features available to Moodle administrators:
– Full integration of H5P and new admin settings available.
– SEB is now fully integrated (thanks to a community project!)
– Recommendations can be set for activities, and the display of the Activity chooser is configurable, allowing you for example to specify tabs.
– Licences can now be added from the updated admin settings.
– User tours can be restricted by start and end date.
– A new MUA-funded feature allows you to quickly copy courses.
– Full integration with the new federated social network, MoodleNet, is now available.
– Open Badge 2.1 is now supported, allowing you to add new backpacks.
– You can now add a direct feedback link to the site for users to contribute suggestions to Moodle HQ.
As always, we’ll be testing the new version over the coming weeks and will be in touch with each of our clients to discuss individual upgrade schedules. If you have any questions about Moodle in the meantime, please feel free to get in touch with us or book an online demo.
