Lecturers Manual

An Electronic Classroom
E-learning is the name of a program that allows the classroom to extend onto the web. This program
allows a common place for students to go for many classroom resources. Using e-learning, you can post
news items, assign and collect assignments and resources, and more. This manual seeks to introduce you
to the features of this program.

Icons
Show or hide item. If you want to keep an item in your course, but dont want your
students to see it, you can use this to hide it from them.
Delete item. Removes the item or block from your course. Resources and activities will be
permanently removed; blocks can be added again using the Blocks menu.
Move right or left. You can move blocks to the left- or right hand columns. You can also
use this to indent items in the middle column.
Move up or down. Moves items up or down in their respective columns.
Edit/Update
Assignment
Assign Roles
Duplicate
Grades
Search
Event
Course
Group
Backup

To start, type the web address in the address bar. Download the manual by clicking the click here link. To
log in, click on login in the upper-right corner. This will bring you to the login screen:

After successful login you will be presented with a screen showing some courses you will be lecturing
else you will see list of available courses.

How can you see courses you are lecturing?

Click my courses link under navigation block to see courses are lecturing

Click the course and you will be presented by the following screen;

Click editing on button either with the button top right or the link in the Course Administration block to
make changes to the course. With the editing turned on, each item on your course homepage and each
section/block will have icons next to it which all perform different functions such as edit /move / copy/
delete/ hide.

Managing your course

The Course Administration section of the Settings block allows Lecturers to manage different aspects of
their course.

Edit Settings - this takes you to the Course settings page. You can change its format from Weekly to
Topic or alter the number of sections .etc
Users view enrolled users
Filters - can enable or disable any allowed Filters for your course.
Grades allows you to view, add and edit your students' Grades.
Backup/Restore - these links allow you to make copies of your course or bring in courses backed up
elsewhere.
Import - can import activities into your course here.
Publish - can publish your course to one of the Community hubs here.
Reset allows removing all old user information at the end of an academic year or session in order to start
afresh.

Making changes to course setting

To make changes to the course settings, click edit settings under administration block and you will be
presented with the following screen;

NB: Dont change anything on the general section

Full Name, Short Name, and Course ID number are already populated for you when you receive your
course shell.
The full name of the course appears at the top of the page when viewing the course, and also in
course listings.
The short name appears in the breadcrumb trail at the top of the page.
The Summary is displayed when a reader clicks on the info icon and when the course appears in
a list. Click into the Summary text box and type and informative summary of your course.

Course Format
The course format setting controls the format for the center column of your course page, the main content
area of your course. Choices include the Topics, Weekly, and Social formats.
The Topics format organizes your resources by numbered sections that you can name and categorize any
way you want.

The Weekly format organizes your course into weeks based on the Start Date. All resources and
activities reside in week-by-week sections. Below is an example of a Weekly format.

The Social format turns the entire course into one large discussion forum, with the latest discussion
topics displayed on the course page. Replies to a topic are added and read by clicking on Discuss this
topic. Below is an example of the Social format.

The Weekly format is good if there is a clearly defined schedule and you want to reinforce deadlines with
students.
The Topic format is better if students are self-directed in their learning, or if the course is broken down
into topics that are sequential, but dont necessarily last a week.
Remember You can start with one format and then change to the other if its not working for you!
Course Start Date This is populated with the first day of the semester. If you have chosen the Weekly
format for your course, this date will be the starting date shown in your weeks.
Note that this date does not have anything to do with when your course is available to students. See the
Availability setting below.
Hidden Sections this setting determines how a section looks to students when you hide it. The hidden
sections are always available to instructors.
If you choose shown in collapsed form, students will see the titles or dates of hidden sections, but they
will be greyed out and students will not be able to enter them.
If you choose completely invisible, students will not know the hidden sections are there.
If you choose to make hidden sections completely invisible to students, a hidden section can be a handy
place to store resources or activities that you are working on but not ready for students to see, or that you
might want to use later in your course. (Its easy to move items from one section to another.)
News Items to Show For Weekly and Topic formats, a News forum is automatically added at the top of
the course in Topic 0.
This is a place for you to make announcements to students.
Students cannot post to this forum only instructors.
Items in the News Forum display in the Latest News block as well.
Show Grade book and Show Activity Reports This setting applies to students. Regardless of the
setting you choose here, Lecturers and Administrators can always see the grades and activity reports for
your class.
Maximum Upload Size This setting limits the size of files that students can upload to your course. The
site-wide limit is 64MB; you cannot exceed that limit in this setting.

Working with Your Course Page

Navigation
Moodles navigational features will help you get around your course.
Breadcrumb Trail

course.

Like many software applications, it has a breadcrumb trail for navigation in the upper left hand
corner, In this example, we have navigated from the home, to the course page for CS101

You can click on any of these links to navigate back to the home front page, your course page, etc. Its
difficult for you or your students to get lost when you remember that you can navigate back using the
breadcrumb trail.

Viewing Your Course

Resource types enable almost any kind of web content to be inserted into the course

Activities, such as forums and quizzes, enable interactive content to be added to the course.

Adding Static Course Material

Static course materials are resources that students read but don't interact with, such as web pages,
graphics, and Adobe Acrobat documents. This chapter teaches you how to add those resources to a
course, and how to make best use of them.

Insert a file
The file module enables a Lecturer to provide a file as a course resource. Where possible, the file will be
displayed within the course interface; otherwise students will be prompted to download it. The file may
include supporting files, for example an HTML page may have embedded images or Flash objects.
Note that students need to have the appropriate software on their computers in order to open the file.
A file may be used

To share presentations given in class

To include a mini website as a course resource
To provide draft files of certain software programs (eg Photoshop .psd) so students can edit and
submit them for assessment

After clicking the add button, you will be presented with the following screen;

Select the file or create the folder first.

Insert a Folder
The folder module enables a Lecturer to display a number of related files inside a single folder, reducing
scrolling on the course page. A zipped folder may be uploaded and unzipped for display, or an empty
folder created and files uploaded into it.
A folder may be used

For a series of files on one topic, for example a set of past examination papers in pdf format or a
collection of image files for use in student projects
To provide a shared uploading space for Lecturers on the course page (keeping the folder hidden
so that only teachers can see it)

After clicking add button, you will be presented with the screen below. Click create folder button to
create folder then add necessary files.

Insert IMS
An IMS content package is a collection of files which are packaged according to an agreed standard so
they can be reused in different systems. The IMS content package module enables such content packages
to be uploaded as a zip file and added to a course as a resource.
Content is usually displayed over several pages, with navigation between the pages. There are various
options for displaying content in a pop-up window, with a navigation menu or buttons etc.
An IMS content package may be used for presenting multimedia content and animations.

After clicking add button, you will be presented with the following screen;

Click the choose a file button and locate the IMS package.
Click save and return to course button if you are done or Click save and display button.
Insert a label
The label module enables text and multimedia to be inserted into the course page in between links to other
resources and activities. Labels are very versatile and can help to improve the appearance of a course if
used thoughtfully.

Labels may be used

To split up a long list of activities with a subheading or an image

To display an embedded sound file or video directly on the course page
To add a short description to a course section

After clicking add button, you will be presented with the following screen;

Type the text in the provided space. Choose any of the option on the menu bar like inserting a link,
inserting video.
Compose a page

The page module enables a teacher to create a web page resource using the text editor. A page
can display text, images, sound, video, web links and embedded code, such as Google maps.
Advantages of using the page module rather than the file module include the resource being
more accessible (for example to users of mobile devices) and easier to update.
For large amounts of content, it's recommended that a book is used rather than a page.
A page may be used

To present the terms and conditions of a course or a summary of the course syllabus
To embed several videos or sound files together with some explanatory text

After clicking add button, you will be presented with the following screen;

Add a URL
The URL module enables a teacher to provide a web link as a course resource. Anything that is freely
available online, such as documents or images, can be linked to; the URL doesnt have to be the home
page of a website. The URL of a particular web page may be copied and pasted There are a number of
display options for the URL, such as embedded or opening in a new window and advanced options for
passing information, such as a student's name, to the URL if required.
Note that URLs can also be added to any other resource or activity type through the text editor.

The Add an activity menu

The Add an activity menu allows you to add assignments, chats, forums, and more. These differ from
resources in that they are interactive they encourage and in some cases require student participation.
There are several options available in the Add an activity menu:

This activity allows you to create

Assignments
The assignment activity module enables a Lecturer to communicate tasks, collect work and provide
grades and feedback.

Advanced uploading of files

This type of assignment allows each participant to upload one or more files in any format. These might be
a Word processor documents, images, a zipped web site, or anything you ask them to submit.
This type also allows you to upload multiple response files. Response files can be also uploaded before
submission which can be used to give each participant different file to work with.
Participants may also enter notes describing the submitted files, progress status or any other text
information.

Submission of this type of assignment must be manually finalised by the participant. You can review the
current status at any time; unfinished assignments are marked as Draft. You can revert any ungraded
assignment back to draft status.

Maximum Size: Choose the maximum file size for any single file uploaded by the students.
Allow deleting: Can a student delete a submitted file or not?

Maximum number of uploaded files: Decide how many files should be submitted for the task.
Allow notes: Do you want to provide your students with a place to write some notes, e.g. to
explain which file is which.

Hide description before available date: If you choose to do this, the task instructions will be
hidden and replaced by: Sorry, this assignment is not yet available. Assignment instructions will
be displayed here on the date given below.

Email alerts to teachers: If Moodle knows your email address and you choose yes you will
receive an email each time a student submits work to you.

Enable Send for marking: If you choose yes the student clicks a button which says Send for
marking when they are uploaded the finished files. If no, the work appears as submitted as soon
as a file has been uploaded by the student.

Online text

Allow resubmitting: If yes students can resubmit their work. If No and a student submit work
by accident and theres no way back.
Email alerts to teachers: If Moodle knows your email address and you choose yes you will
receive an email each time a student submits work to you.
Comment inline: If yes you will be able to type in amongst the text that your student submits.
Choose No and your feedback is kept separate.

Upload a single file

Allow resubmitting: If yes students can resubmit their work. If No and a student submit work
by accident and theres no way back.
Email alerts to teachers: This is the same as in the other assignment types above. If Moodle
knows your email address and you choose yes you will receive an email each time a student
submits work to you.
Maximum size: Same as in advanced uploading of files. Choose the maximum file sizes for the
file students upload.

Offline Activity

Marking Assignments
When students submit work you can access it by clicking on the assignment and following the link in the
top right hand corner which says View submitted assignments or No attempts have been made on this
assignment. This link takes you to a list of students enrolled on the course.

To enter assignment marks, type in the text boxes and click update when done.

Forums
The forum activity module enables participants to have asynchronous discussions i.e. discussions that
take place over an extended period of time.
There are several forum types to choose from, such as a standard forum where anyone can start a new
discussion at any time; a forum where each student can post exactly one discussion; or a question and
answer forum where students must first post before being able to view other students' posts. A teacher can
allow files to be attached to forum posts. Attached images are displayed in the forum post.
Participants can subscribe to a forum to receive notifications of new forum posts. A teacher can set the
subscription mode to optional, forced or auto, or prevent subscription completely. If required, students
can be blocked from posting more than a given number of posts in a given time period; this can prevent
individuals from dominating discussions.
Forum posts can be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a
final grade which is recorded in the gradebook.
Forums have many uses, such as

A social space for students to get to know each other

For course announcements (using a news forum with forced subscription)
For discussing course content or reading materials
For continuing online an issue raised previously in a face-to-face session
For teacher-only discussions (using a hidden forum)
A help centre where tutors and students can give advice
A one-on-one support area for private student-teacher communications (using a forum with
separate groups and with one student per group)
For extension activities, for example brain teasers for students to ponder and suggest solutions
to

Chats
The chat activity module enables participants to have text-based, real-time synchronous discussions.
The chat may be a one-time activity or it may be repeated at the same time each day or each week. Chat
sessions are saved and can be made available for everyone to view or restricted to users with the
capability to view chat session logs.
Chats are especially useful when the group chatting is not able to meet face-to-face, such as

Regular meetings of students participating in online courses to enable them to share experiences
with others in the same course but in a different location
A student temporarily unable to attend in person chatting with their teacher to catch up with work
Students out on work experience getting together to discuss their experiences with each other and
their Lecturer
A question and answer session with an invited speaker in a different location
Sessions to help students prepare for tests where the Lecturers, or other students, would pose
sample questions

Adding Blocks to your course

Blocks appear to the right and left of the central work area into which you add your Activities and
Resources. There are many standard blocks which allow you, for example, to display a Calendar, share
Quiz results, display RSS feeds, add personalised content, show who is online or allow Comments on
your course .etc. A Lecturer can add new blocks when the editing is turned on by clicking the "add block"
drop down menu at the bottom right of the screen:

Edit Profile
My Profile settings link under administration block allows you to change information about yourself.

Click my profile settings link under administration on the left hand side then click
Edit Profile
Change password
Messaging
To do some changes

Change Password

Groups
Allow a Lecturer to organize students and participants to one or more groups within a course. This is
useful for group-based course activities

Backup
A course can be saved with some or all of its parts by using the course backup. Although the System
administrator will set a schedule of site wide backup for all courses, Lecturer are encouraged to save their
own backup locally for safekeeping. Files are initially backed up in the Administration area and stored in
a backupdata folder. A backup file can also be uploaded to your computer or other drive.

Import
Course data may be imported from any other course for which the professor has editing rights. This will
allow professors to re-use instead of re-creating one or more activities and resources (objects). This
feature will not import student or professor data, such as forum posts and discussions. It will only import
the structure and files for the activities.

Reset
Allow you to empty a course of user data, while retaining the activities and other settings. Please be
warned that the items you choose to delete cannot be retrieved once you reset the course.

Reports
Allow the lecturer to look at course/site logs and user activity reports.