• Moodle for Faculty

    This course is designed to introduce you to Moodle and its basic features and functionalities. This course is arranged by topic and includes both text and video tutorials in each section. If you need additional help or resources, please start with the FAQs listed below. Happy Moodling!

    Moodle Frequently Asked Questions 

  • Getting Started

    • Chatham's current Learning Management System (LMS) is Moodle, a place for sharing resources, documents, grades and much more with students. 

      Browser Recommendations

      The following browser recommendations and settings will improve your experience using Moodle and ensure access to the activities and tools in your Moodle courses.

      If you are having issues accessing Moodle, clearing the Browser's cache may help to resolve problems. If the issue persists please report your problem to the Chatham University Helpdesk for assistance at http://services.chatham.edu or 412-365-1112.

      Accessing Moodle

      To access Moodle go to http://moodle.chatham.edu or click on icon on my.Chatham. Login with your Chatham username and password in the upper right. Login with your username only, not your full email address.

      login

      Moodle Dashboard

      The first page you will see is the Moodle dashboard. It lists all of your courses. If you can't find a course, enter the course number in "Search courses". If you still can't find a course, click the "Request a Course (Faculty only)" link to request a course.

      dashboard

      Using the Breadcrumb Trail

      In web design the breadcrumb trail is a navigation aid used in user interfaces. It gives users a way to keep track of their location within programs or documents. Breadcrumbs typically appear horizontally across the top of a web page, usually below title bars or headers. They provide links back to each previous page the user navigated through to get to the current page or—in hierarchical site structures—the parent pages of the current one. Breadcrumbs provide a trail for the user to follow back to the starting or entry point. Here is an example of the Moodle Breadcrumb Trail:

  • Adding Content

    • Adding a File using Drag and Drop

      The file resource is the way to provide easy access to necessary files for learners. While it is generally best to provide content directly within Moodle, file resources are important for those files that learners need to keep on their computers for activities or future reference. You will notice that many of the files will display an appropriate icon such as the Microsoft PowerPoint logo. Note: File resources can be set to open in a pop up or forced download.

      The fastest way to add a File resource to your course is to use "drag and drop."  This lets you drag files from your computer directly into a Topic Section of a Moodle course. 

      Step 1: On your course home page, click Turn editing on (top right). Editing icons and links will appear.

      Step 2: Locate the Topic where you will add the file. NOTE: If you are using the Collapsed Topic format in your course, first open the section.

      Step 3: Scroll down (if needed) so that you can see the bottom of the Topic. 

      Step 4: Arrange your computer desktop windows so that you can view both your browser window and your files on your computer (e.g., in an open folder or on your desktop).

      drag and drop image

      Step 5:

      • To upload a single file:
        Drag a file from your computer into the bottom of a course Section. An indicator stating "Add file(s) here" will show where the file will appear in the course section when you release your mouse button.
      • To upload multiple files at once:
        Hold down the CTRL key (COMMAND+click for Mac) and click the file names, then drag into the Section in Moodle. An indicator stating "Add file(s) here" will show where the files will appear in the course section when you release your mouse button. The file(s) will appear in the Moodle section titled for the file name (without a file extension, i.e., no .pdf).

      • Other Ways to Add Content

    • Assignment Activity

      • Adding an Assignment

        1.  On your main course page, click Turn editing on (top right). Editing icons and links will appear.

        turn editing on

        2.  Locate the Topic or Weekly Section where you want to add the assignment. (If you are using the Collapsed topics format, open the Section.)

        3.  At the bottom-right of the Section, click + Add an activity or resource. The Activity chooser will open.

        add an activity or resource

        4.  In the Activity Chooser, select Assignment and click Add. The Adding a new Assignment page will open.

        select assignment from list

        5.  Configure settings for the assignment. For more information on these options, see Assignment Settings

        6.  Click Save and return to course to return to your main course page.

        Save and Return to course

      • Additional Assignment Options

      • Grading Assignment with Moodle Grader

        Moodle displays the assignment in a user-friendly PDF format – regardless of what file type the student submitted. The interface allows teachers to perform a range of tasks, including: Highlighting and annotating text. This allows teachers to directly refer to particular points in student submissions. On being returned, this lets students see exactly which part of their work is being referred to.

        • Downloading the submission in its original format for offline viewing.
        • Notifying students once feedback has been added to their work.
        • Entering feedback comments, files and audio

        After teachers have finished marking, Moodle converts and returns the marked assignments to students as easy-to-view PDF files. 

      • Group Assignments

    • Turnitin Assignments

      Turnitin Assignment 2 is now Feedback Studio, which includes both Originality Checking and GradeMark. To get started, do the following: 

      • Click Add an activity or resource
      • Select Turnitin Assignment on the left and then Add
      • Add a name and summary for assignment
      • Select your preferences for Turnitin Advanced Options
      • Click Save and return to course

      For more information on how to use Turnitin, please review the link below or email instructionalservices@chatham.edu.

    • Forums Activity

      • Creating a Discussion Forum

        Instructors and students can communicate and collaborate using Moodle Forums. Instructors can create discussion topics or, depending on the forum type, allow students to originate topics. Course members can then "post" replies, and "subscribe" if they want to receive an email copy of each post made to a particular forum.

        Forum Types

        There are multiple forum types in Moodle. Some forum types allow only the instructor to start a new topic, and others allow students to start new topics. 

        Choose the type(s) of forums that make sense for the activities you are asking your students to do:

        • A single simple discussion allows for only one topic started by the instructor. This is best suited for short-term, focused conversations.
        • Each person posts one discussion allows each student to only start one new topic or conversation within the forum. Students are not limited in the number of replies they can post within those topics.
        • Q and A forum allows an instructor to pose a question to students. Students must post their response or answer before they can view other students’ responses.
        • Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format allows for the “standard” usage of a discussion forum with multiple topics arranged in a “blog" style format with the first post prominent and comments behind a link. Students may start new topics in this format.
        • Standard forum for general use allows for the “standard” usage of a discussion forum with multiple topics arranged in a threaded conversation. Students may start new topics in this format.

      • Grading a Discussion Forum - Using a Rubric


      • Grading a Discussion Forum - Using Ratings

    • Media Forums and VoiceThread

      VoiceThread is a totally web-based application that allows you to place collections of medial like images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of an asynchronous conversation.  VoiceThread allows people to make comments using any mix of annotations, text, audio and video. Below is an example.


      How to Use VoiceThread 

    • Quiz Activity

    • Additional Activities

      An activity is a general name for a group of features in a Moodle course. Usually an activity is something that a student will do that interacts with other students and or the teacher. There are 14 different types of activities in the standard Moodle that can be found on the "add an activity" drop down menu. Below are directions and examples of additional Moodle activities.

    • Gradebook

      The Gradebook in Moodle can help you organize and manage information about the students in your course. For example:

      • Students can view their own grades in individualized reports that protect student privacy.
      • You control which grades are visible to students, and when.
      • Course members with Teaching-Assistant (Non-editing Teacher) level access are considered graders and can enter scores.
      • When grades are awarded from within a Moodle activity, scores are automatically added to the gradebook.
      • Scores can also be manually added or edited (Overridden) in the gradebook.
      • Scores in the gradebook can be imported and exported. 
      • Moodle records a history of changes made in the gradebook allowing you to audit who made changes and when.

      How Grading Works in Moodle

      In order for Moodle to easily aggregate scores automatically, entries in the gradebook are numeric by default. (Letter grades can be displayed based on percentage using a grading scale you set up). The default score for each activity is 100. You can then control the weights of individual activities, or categories of activities, to aggregate a final score for the class. 

    • Course Organization

      There are two standard blocks on every page - the Navigation block and the Administration block. 

      The Navigation block provide easy access to view various sections of the Moodle site and includes

      • Dashboard- a personalized home page displaying links to the courses a user is associated with and activity information (such as unread forum posts and upcoming assignments)
      • My courses - expands to show courses the user is enrolled in.

      The Administration block provides you with easy access to change various settings of a Moodle site. It is the first place to look and trying to find a setting. Below are additional instructions on how to navigate in Moodle.  

    • Importing Content

      Course activities and resources may be imported from any other course that the teacher has editing permissions in. This will allow teachers to re-use instead of re-creating one or more activities or resources. Faculty should use the Import option in the Administration block if the material currently resides in Moodle. If you have a backup file (.mbz), you should use the Restore option in the Administration block. 

    • Creating Course Backups

      Courses are saving in Moodle for one full academic year. After the academic year, courses are removed from Moodle and stored on a backup system, however faculty are responsible for their own course backups. Directions are sent out each term to remind faculty to backup their courses. Please refer to the directions below on backing up the entire course, as well as exporting a copy of your gradebook. 

    • Synchronous Class Tools

    • Technology Tutorials

      Hoonuit is an online software training resource for Chatham faculty, staff and students. Hoonuit provides training on over 250 of the most commonly used software applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Moodle and many more. The site breaks down each application into manageable tasks and explains each task through a one- to three-minute tutorial. To access the site, first login to my.Chatham then look for Technology Tutorials (Hoonuit) in Quick Links under the calendar on the left. If prompted, please use your Chatham username and password.

      Save

    • McGraw Hill Connect


      • McGraw Hill Connect Logo

        McGraw-Hill Connect is a digital teaching and learning environment that saves students and instructors time while improving performance over a variety of critical outcomes.  Connect now fully integrates with Moodle.  McGraw-Hill Connect provides users sign-on access in Moodle and gradebook sync functionality.

        If you need assistance using McGraw-Hill Connect, please contact 

        McGraw-Hill Customer Experience Group (CXG):

        Phone: 1-800-331-5094

        Self-Service:

        http://mpss.mhhe.com/contact.php


        Click Here to Learn More

    • Panopto: Video Capture

      Panopto provides integrated video recording, live streaming, video management, and inside-video search. Panopto can be added to any Moodle course and can be accessed by going to http://chatham.hosted.panopto.com.