1. Managing and Tracking Learning in Moodle
What’s in Your Toolbox?
Managing and Tracking Learning in Moodle

2. Framing the Challenge
Moodle has a wide array of reports available at multiple contexts with varying available levels of staggering and detailed data outputs.
BUT
Almost all of these reports reside in different places and require multiple clicks in and out of pages to access them.

3. Framing the Challenge
The list is pretty extensive, and each context has its own data set particularities.

4. Desperately Seeking Solutions
Offline spread-sheets
(yes, this is a real spread-sheet used in real courses)
Over the years instructors have come up with all kinds of desperate attempts to track what we need to track in various areas of Moodle, from spreadsheets designed to track forum participation specifics to our own combinations of grader reports categories with shifting organizational patterns. The example shown was created by my English department a few years back, not by me. At the time, there was no other way to track types of contributions to forums the way they wanted to use forums.

5. Better, Stronger, Faster
Bionic Moodle: Plugins
Configurable Reports
Partner or vendor-specific dashboard reports enhancements
University-developed initiatives
In the past few years some promising plugins have started to make these tracking capabilities available in one place. Like the 6 Million Dollar Man or the Bionic Woman’s enhancements, these plugins make an instructor better, stronger, and faster at seeing where interventions are needed.
Examples and links:
Community Contributed for All: Configurable Reports (
Partner and vendor-specific dashboard reports enhancements
University-developed initiatives (University of Sussex:
These are wonderful additions. But is there something the average instructor can do without having to add on tools or bang their heads against reporting schemas for hours on end to get what they need?

6. Step 1: Know Useful Core Reports
+ Export to spreadsheet
If completion tracking is enabled in your course (course settings area), and if your activities have been set up to be marked complete based on view/post/grade triggers, the completion reports become invaluable pulse check resources for overall course activity and completion patterns. The report export will also provide date/time details if you need to track that learners completed training prior to working in the field.
Activity completion = shows ALL activities in the course, even those that may not be crucial for pass/fail expectations. This is the report that will show you who may have looked at those additional resources you posted and therefore availed themselves of materials that would give them an edge in passing the exams.
Course completion = shows only those activities you have marked as being crucial for passing the course. This report will only become available if you have set course completion criteria in the Course completion settings area linked just under the Edit settings link in your course administration menu.

7. More Useful Core Reports
When I am teaching or training, I use the logs report a LOT, but that is a topic unto its own for a different day. Usually logs are handy mostly when trying to assess if a student really was trying to submit something that didn’t come through as a post in Moodle.
To track progress and send intervention notes to students, I often used the participation report for those key assessment activities that provide “make it/break it” course discussion background material or for activities that have tight dependent deadlines(such as pre-writing exercises that are set in a string of domino assignments that need to be completed in a timely manner).

8. Step 2: Use the Dashboard
Note: Some activities need dates to show up here
Forums will show number of new posts since you last logged in to the site.
The course overview area will show you all the courses where you are enrolled either as a student or an instructor. Activities with due dates or forums with new posts will be highlighted as places needing your attention here. Clicking on the hyperlink “You have … that need your attention” will give you more information on the specific activity in that course.
This is pretty handy, but it can also be overwhelming in courses where there are upwards of 55 to 75 activities. Another limitation is that it is a feature that cannot be leveraged in courses where there are asynchronous rolling deadlines on activities.

9. Step 3: Create Your Own Course Quick Links
Similar attempts have been made by developers in the past.
See “MyView advanced personal dashboard for Moodle” by Nadav Kavalerchik
Unfortunately, time waits for no instructor, so if you are not in control of which features and development projects will be budgeted and approved by your institution/organization, what can you do now with the tools you have at your disposal?
A: Create your own HTML Quick links blocks based on the code keys I’m about to give you.
Block 1: Manage Deadlines
Block 2: Track Progress
Dashboard>>Customize this page
Add html blocks

10. Review Report Sources Content Management Reports: Activities Block
Progress Tracking Reports: Course Administration

11. Document Sources of Interest

12. Configure HTML Block
Process is same as configuring HTML blocks in your courses
See Moodle tutorial by Mary Cooch here

13. Tips
Use cheat sheet aggregation of sample Quick Links texts at end of presentation to bookmark target report url “suffix” code for yourself. Copy/paste reports link info of interest to you into your own text doc.

14. Cracking id codes
Course id = the number at the end of the address when you look at your course main page
Badge id = the number at the end of the address when you look at the badge settings page for a specific badge

15. Tips
Use only those reports types that are useful to you. Copy, paste, and save completed html code into text doc in case of unexpected dashboard reset.

16. Sample Finished Dashboard

17. Sample Reports
Assignments

18. Sample Reports
Quiz

19. Sample Reports
Database

20. Tracking Badges = Tracking Certifications
Manage badges
Badge recipient list
Isn’t there a simpler way to track and/or certify completion for a course? A way that will also me when someone achieves certification?
Yes. Badges hooked to course completion or activity completion requirements.
Manage Badges = where you monitor current completion criteria.
Badge recipient list = where you can see at a glance who has certified.

21. Make your dashboard YOURS.
Concluding thoughts
Make your dashboard YOURS.

22. Take-Aways
Link to 2015 Moodle Core Reports Prezi that frames types of available core reports:
share
Link to public Google doc with Quick links HTML starter code you can use to copy/paste into your own blocks:
u7mti4Iuk/edit?usp=sharing
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