Reorientation for Moodle 2 Staff Guide

File Repositories With Moodle 2’s file repository system: Duplicate files are only stored once, saving disk space. When you upload a file, Moodle gives it the same permissions as the resource or activity you upload it to. (For example, a file may belong to a file resource, a forum post or a wiki page). You access repositories using the new File picker interface. The new system manages resources files and keeps track of their usage in activities, e.g. when an image is used on a content page. Metadata about each file (author, date, license information) is stored in the database. You can now copy documents and media into Moodle from external content repositories (Google Docs, Flickr, YouTube, Wikimedia, Mahara) using an interface similar to a standard Open dialog box. You can also import files from your desktop or by specifying a URL.

Workshop Activity Moodle 1.9: The Workshop tool is fairly cumbersome and complex; it takes a great deal of time and concentration to become familiar with it. It has only been maintained sufficiently to keep it operational. Moodle 2: The new Workshop tool has been completely rewritten. The interface is more user- friendly and the process is more streamlined and better signposted. Workshop activities proceed as follows: 1.Teacher creates assessment tasks and sets up the grading strategy. 2.Students submit responses. 3.Peers and/or teacher assess the submissions. 4.Moodle calculates the grades for both students’ submissions and their assessment of others’ submissions.

Wiki Activity Moodle 1.9: HTML and Creole editing formats are available. Teacher has to choose which HTML mode to allow, whether to allow file upload, auto-linking options and student admin options. Moodle 2: The Wiki activity has been completely rewritten. HTML, Creole and Nwiki (a Mediawiki-like markup language) editing formats are now available. File upload is automatically available. The Adding a new Wiki page has been simplified and, as with all activities, you can Restrict access to wikis, and set Activity completion conditions.

Course Completion and Activity Completion Moodle 1.9: The Gradebook is the only place where it is clear which activities/courses have been completed by students. It is not possible to tell whether a student has viewed a resource or an activity. Moodle 2: Comprehensive completion indicators have now been integrated into Moodle at both activity and course level. Using the Restrict access and Activity completion sections on the Adding a new [Activity] page, you can now define when the system considers that a student has completed the activity. You may, for example, require that a certain number of posts are put up, that a grade is assigned or a particular grade is achieved, that a choice is made or that a student manually marks a resource as having been viewed. You can now specify a course completion condition for all students. This can be based on activity completion, or on achieving a certain grade, meeting deadlines or other criteria. This standard can be used as a prerequisite to other courses, allowing ordered progression and scaffolding. You and your students can access reports on students’ progress through a course or series of courses.

Roles and Permissions Moodle 1.9: An instructor can assign Teaching Assistant, Student and Guest roles within a course. Moodle 2: All roles are assigned by the system administrator. Individuals’ roles can be viewed within a course : (in the Settings block: Under Course administration, click Users > Permissions > Check permissions) Only the system administrator can change roles. Instructors can determine access to resources and activities using the Restrict access section of the Adding page.

Private Files In Moodle 2, each user has access to a private files area where they can upload and manage a set of files. Access the private files area using the Navigation block : (My home > My profile > My private files) or add the My private files block. In the File picker, Private files displays as a repository from which you can select files to use in a course.

Navigation Moodle 1.9: Moving around a Moodle 1.9 course can be quite laborious, requiring a lot of clicking through pages. Moodle 2: The new standard Navigation and Settings blocks on every page shows different links depending on whether you are at course level or resource/activity level, allowing you to jump elsewhere quickly.

Comments Moodle 1.9: Instructors rely on such tools as forums and glossaries to allow student input and commenting. Moodle 2: User comments (on glossaries, databases, blogs etc) are now managed centrally and handled and displayed consistently throughout Moodle. Comments can be added and deleted without loading a new page. The new Comments block can be added to any course page.

New Blocks Comments—allows comments to be added to any page. Great for student feedback. My private files—allows access to a user's private files using the File picker. Quota management is available. Course completion status—reports on the completion status of your courses. All blocks can now be docked, so that only their title is visible, in a tab at the top left- hand corner of the course page. To dock a block, click the docking icon at the top right of the block (hover your mouse over it and the identifying text ‘Move this to the dock’ displays). To undock, hover over the docked block's tab and click the undocking icon. Note that if you dock the Navigation block, it will no longer be immediately obvious when menu options become available, or change, depending on the page you are on or the action you perform. Also, some operations, such as downloading grades from the Gradebook, can be quite difficult to perform in a docked block.