Introduction to

Moodle for Teachers

Workbook

Edition 6
December 2016
Document Reference: 3756-2016
Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Contents
1. Get started
Log in and access a course ............................................................................................. 1
Choose a course format .................................................................................................. 2
Add names and summaries to topics ............................................................................... 3
2. Add basic resources
Files ................................................................................................................................ 4
URLs ............................................................................................................................... 5
Images ............................................................................................................................ 6
Videos ............................................................................................................................. 9
Moodle pages................................................................................................................ 10
3. Improve the appearance of your course
Add labels ..................................................................................................................... 11
Move resources............................................................................................................. 12
Hide topics and resources ............................................................................................. 13
4. All about blocks
Hide and dock blocks .................................................................................................... 15
Add and delete blocks ................................................................................................... 16
5. Creating accessible courses
6. Help resources
Staff Moodle Help course .............................................................................................. 17
Moodle help................................................................................................................... 17
Helpline ......................................................................................................................... 17

If you require this document in an alternative format, such as large print, please
contact Catherine Koppe in the Digital Skills & Training team by email
[email protected] or phone 0131 6513233
Copyright © IS 2017

Permission is granted to any individual or institution to use, copy or redistribute this document
whole or in part, so long as it is not sold for profit and provided that the above copyright notice and
this permission notice appear in all copies.
Where any part of this document is included in another document, due acknowledgement is
required.
Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 1

1. Get started
Log in and access a course
1. Open a web browser and navigate to www.moodle.is.ed.ac.uk
2. Click on the red Login with EASE button and login if prompted.

The Moodle Dashboard will load. Moodle is divided into two columns. The narrower
column on the left displays small boxes called blocks. Blocks display navigation links
and supplementary information such as the calendar and news.
The Navigation block is always at the top left – it provides a useful way to move around
within Moodle.
The breadcrumb trail appears above the Navigation block and can be useful to find
your way around Moodle.
On the right is the content area, which on the Dashboard page displays an overview of
the courses you have access to.

All Moodle teachers have access to the Staff Moodle Help course, which contains
resources to support people creating Moodle courses.

Tip: You can change the layout of the My courses page, including which courses are
displayed in the Course overview, by clicking on the Customise this page button.

1 Get started
2 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Choose a course format
Tip: If you are attending a training session the instructor will advise you which course to
use for the practical sessions. If you are working through this workbook in your own time
you can use any playground course that you can access as a teacher. If you do not have
access to a playground course please email [email protected] and request that one
is set up for you.

There are six course formats available in Moodle:

 Grid format – Replaces the topics with a grid of icons (one for each topic) with
short titles.
 Single activity format – The course consists of a single activity, for example a
Quiz or SCORM package.
 Social format – A forum is displayed on the course page.
 Collapsed Topics – The course page is organised into topic sections that can be
expanded or collapsed.
 Topics format – The course page is organised into topic sections.
 Weekly format – The course page is organised into weekly sections, with the first
week starting on the course start date.

1. On the Moodle Dashboard page, click on the name of the course you want to
edit. This will take you to the course’s home page.
2. Find the Administration block and click Edit Settings.

Here you can change your course’s name and summary information.
3. Under Course start date choose today’s date.
4. Click to expand the Course format section. Under Format choose Topics
format.
5. Under Number of sections choose 3 from the menu.
6. Go to the bottom of the page and click on the Save and display button.

Tip: The Course layout option allows you to switch between displaying the whole
course on one page (Show all sections on one page) and displaying each topic on a
separate page (Show one section per page).

1 Get started
Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 3
Add names and summaries to topics
Each topic box has an area at the top where you can put a heading or title for that topic
section. As well as the numbered topics there is also an unnumbered section above
them that can be used for a subheading and general information about your course.
1. Click on the Turn editing on button at the top right of the content area.

2. In the heading section above the topics, click on the Edit menu and choose Edit
section.

3. Un-tick the Use default section name box.

4. Type Polar Bears in the Section name box.
5. Type ‘Everything you ever wanted to know about polar bears.’ in the Summary
box.
6. Click on the Save changes button.
7. Using the Edit menu each topic, rename the three topics as ‘Resources’, ‘Map’
and ‘Video’.
8. Click the Turn editing off button at the top right of the course’s home page.

Your course will look something like this:

1 Get started
4 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers

2. Add basic resources

Files
You can add any sort of file that you want your students to download - for example Word
documents, PowerPoint presentations or PDFs.
1. Turn on editing.
2. Click on Add an activity or resource in the Resources topic.

3. Choose File (towards the bottom of the list), click the Add button.
4. Enter the Name ‘Document 1’ and the Description ‘Test document’ for the file
you will be adding.
5. Drag a Word document file onto the blue arrow in the Select files area; release
your mouse button when the text changes to “Drop files here to upload”.
Alternatively you can click on the Add… button to choose a file to upload.

6. When the file has uploaded, click the Save and return to course button at the
bottom of the page.
7. Find and click on the Document 1 you just added to the Resources topic and
check that it opens in Word.

Tip: You can also add files by dragging and dropping them directly into a topic on the
course home page. This only works with editing on.

2 Add basic resources

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 5
URLs
1. Check that editing is still turned on.
2. Click on the Add an activity or resource in the Resources topic, choose URL
and click Add.
3. Enter the Name ‘Polar Bears International website’ and the Description
‘Conservation through research, stewardship, and education’.
4. Enter www.polarbearsinternational.org in the External URL box.
5. Click to expand the Appearance section and choose In pop-up from the Display
menu.
6. Click the Save and return to course button at the bottom of the page.

Tip: You are advised to open external URLs in pop-ups because it is considered to be
the most accessible of the four available options.

Your Resources topic will now look like this:

It is good practice to tell people if a URL is going to open in a pop-up window – we will
add a label to do this in chapter 3.

2 Add basic resources

6 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Images
There isn’t a specific option to add an image in Moodle so we will add one using the
Label resource.
1. Open http://tinyurl.com/polar-bear-map in a web browser and save the image
Polar_bear_range_map.png to your computer.
2. Go to your Moodle training course and check that editing is turned on.
3. Click on Add an activity or resource in the Map topic. Choose Label and click
Add.
4. In the Label text editor click on the Insert/edit image icon.

5. Click on the Find or upload an image… button.

6. The File picker will open, make sure that Upload a file is selected.
7. Click on the Browse… button, locate the Polar_bear_range_map.png file and
click Open.
8. Delete the text in the Author field so it is blank and change the Choose license:
drop-down menu to Public domain.

2 Add basic resources

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 7
This image came from the Wikimedia Commons website, where it is explicitly stated it is
in the public domain. Be aware of the copyright status of images downloaded from the
internet.
9. Click on Upload this file.
10. Type ‘Map showing Polar Bears’ range in the Arctic’ in the Image description,
then click the Insert button.

Tip: It is important that you include a useful image description to improve accessibility for
visually impaired people using screen readers

11. In the Label text editor, press return to create a new line under the image and
type ‘Map of Polar Bears’ Range’ as the image title.

Text below the image could also be used to display any copyright information.
12. Click the Save and return to course button at the bottom of the page. The map
image should be displayed in the second topic.

The image looks too big on the page.

13. To change the image size, click on the Edit link at the top right of the image.
Choose Edit settings from the menu.

2 Add basic resources

8 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
14. Click once to select the image in the Label text editor and click on the Image
button.
15. Click on the Appearance tab, make sure the Constrain proportions box is
ticked and type 200 in to the first Dimensions box. The second box should
automatically update when you click outside the first box.
16. Click Update.
17. Click Save and return to course.

2 Add basic resources

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 9
Videos
Tip: Media Hopper, the University of Edinburgh’s media management service, has a
Moodle plugin. If you want to add videos from Media Hopper to your Moodle course you
can find full instructions in the Staff Moodle Help course.

1. Check that editing is turned on.

2. Click on Add an activity or resource in the Video topic. Choose Label and click
Add.
3. In a new browser tab, go to www.youtube.com. Find the video you want, click on
the Share button, then Embed, and copy the embed code.
4. Return to the Moodle tab. In the Label text editor, click on Toolbar toggle.

5. Click on the Edit HTML source button.

6. Paste the YouTube video embed code into the HTML source editor.
7. Click the Update button.

You can embed YouTube videos in your course as you are not making a copy of the
video, just linking to it. Make sure you consider the copyright of any other sort of video
you want to include.
8. Click the Save and return to course button at the bottom of the page.
9. Play the video embedded in the Video topic.

2 Add basic resources

10 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Moodle pages
A Moodle course does not have to be just the home page - you can add pages to the
topics. Pages are a useful way to add information without making the home page very
long. Reading lists, videos and images can all be put on their own page.
1. Check that editing is turned on.
2. In the Resources topic, click on Add an activity or resource. Choose Page and
click Add.
3. Type ‘Reading List’ for the page Name and ‘Books to read’ as the Description.
In the Page content editor type ‘Andrew, M. (1990). Nanook the polar bear’.
Enter a new line and type ‘Wikipedia Polar Bear Article (this link opens in a new
window)’.
4. Select Wikipedia Polar Bear Article and click on the Link button.

1. In Link URL type ‘http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear’.

2. Choose Open in a new window from the Target menu.
3. Click on the Insert button.
4. Click the Save and return to course button at the bottom of the page.
5. Click on the Reading List link to view the page.

2 Add basic resources

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 11

3. Improve the appearance of your course

Add labels
1. Check that editing is turned on and you are on the course home page.
2. In the Resources topic, click on Add an activity or resource. Choose Label
and click Add.
3. Type ‘The following link will open in a pop-up window:’ in the Label text editor.

You can make changes the font such as bold, italic, superscript, using the buttons at the
top of the Label text editor. These are similar to the usual Microsoft Word formatting
commands. Click on the Toolbar Toggle button to display them all:

Tip: If you want to have headings, use the heading styles in the Format menu as this
improves accessibility.

If you know HTML you can use the Edit HTML source button to edit the page in HTML:

4. Click on Save and return to course.

The Resources topic should look similar to this:

3 Improve the appearance of your course

12 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Move resources
1. Check that editing is turned on.
2. Click and hold the Move resource (crossed arrows) icon next to the “The
following link…” label in the Resources topic.

3. Drag the link so that it is above the Polar Bears International website URL
before releasing it.

The Resources topic should now look like this:

3 Improve the appearance of your course

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 13
Hide topics and resources
Both whole topics and individual resources can be hidden in Moodle. This can be used
so that students cannot see areas you are working on. Students can’t see hidden
resources, but other teachers can.
1. Check that editing is turned on.
2. Click the Edit menu at the top right of the Video topic and choose Hide topic.

3. Click the Edit menu to the right of the Document 1 file in the Resources topic
and choose Hide.

4. In the Administration block, click Switch role to…, then Student.

3 Improve the appearance of your course

14 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers

You are now viewing your course as a student – notice that neither the Video topic, nor
the Document 1 file link, is visible.
5. Click Return to my normal role in the Administration block.
6. Turn editing on again and click Edit > Show topic next to the Video topic and
choose Show from Document 1’s Edit menu to make them visible again.

Tip: By default hidden topics are listed as “Not available”. To completely hide hidden
topics ensure you are on the course home page, then choose Edit settings in the
Administration block. Expand the Course format section and choose Hidden sections
are completely invisible from the Hidden sections menu.

3 Improve the appearance of your course

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 15

4. All about blocks

Blocks appear to the left (and sometimes right) of the main Moodle content. They usually
take information from another part of your course (such as a glossary or forum), or from
an external site (such as a RSS feed).
You can set the order of blocks in each column. Students cannot add, delete or move
blocks but they can hide them or put them into the dock.
Some blocks need configuring before they will display information.

Hide and dock blocks

1. Click once on the Hide block icon at the top right of the Navigation block (top
left) to hide it. Click again to show it.

2. Click on the Dock icon in the Navigation block to dock it on the left side of the
screen.

3. Hover over Navigation in the dock and click on the Undock icon to move the
block back to the main area.

4 All about blocks

16 Introduction to Moodle for Teachers
Add and delete blocks
1. Check that you are on the course home page and that editing is turned on.
2. Find the Add a block block at the bottom of the left column. Choose Course
Contents from the menu.
3. Click on the Actions (cog) icon in the Table of contents block. Choose
Configure Table of Contents block from the menu.

4. Expand the On this page section and note the Region and Weight menus.

The Region determines whether the block appears to the right or left of the content area.
The Weight determines where the block appears in the column. The lower the weight the
higher the block will appear in the column, relative to the weights of the other blocks in
the column. It is not recommended that you choose a position above the Navigation or
Administration blocks, as these important blocks should to be easy for users to find.
You can also set the block’s default region and weight in the Where this block appears
section. This affects how it appears on other pages.
5. Click the Cancel button.

Tip: You can also move a block by dragging and dropping when editing is on (click on
Move icon the block’s blue header).

To delete a block:
1. Check that editing is turned on.
2. Click the Actions icon of the block you want to delete. Choose Delete from the
menu.
3. You will be asked if you are sure that you want to delete the block, click Yes.

4 All about blocks

Introduction to Moodle for Teachers 17

5. Creating accessible courses

It is important to make sure that your Moodle course is as accessible as possible for
disabled users. Accessible content will be more useable and therefore benefit all users.
This page has important advice from Information Services about how to create an
accessible virtual learning environment (VLE) course:
http://edin.ac/1PrFQqF
Any PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations or other files that you include in
your Moodle course should also be accessible. This page has advice about creating
different types of accessible materials:
http://edin.ac/1iLC9SG

6. Help resources
Staff Moodle Help course
All Moodle teachers have access to the Staff Moodle Help course, which contains
resources, including forums and frequently asked questions, to support people creating
Moodle courses:
https://www.moodle.is.ed.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=15

Moodle help
Use the Moodle Docs for this page link at the top right of every page in Moodle to see
context-specific help.

Helpline
If you have any problems using Moodle please contact Information Services’ Helpline:
 Web: Self-service portal http://ed.unidesk.ac.uk/tas/public (preferred)
 Email: [email protected]
 Phone: +44 (0)131 651 5151
 Availability: IS Helpline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

5 Creating accessible courses