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Moodle 2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Transition

Transition | Enrollment | Courses | Build Your Course | Gradebook

What happened to my old courses?

Old courses are on the moodlearchive.augustana.edu site, and you can migrate them over with the instructions below:

How to migrate course content over from Moodle 1.9 (pre-2011-12) to Moodle 2

  1. Log into your old Moodle course at http://moodlearchive.augustana.edu
  2. Inside the course, click on the Files link on the left side.
  3. Open the backupdata folder.
  4. Click on the most recent Backup file to download it to your computer.  Make note of the file location.
  5. Log in to Moodle 2 at http://moodle.augustana.edu and enter your new course.
  6. On the left side, click Restore
  7. Under import a backup, click Choose a File... then Choose File.
  8. Locate the backup file you downloaded from moodlearchive in step 4 and click Upload this file.
  9. Click the Restore button.  Moodle will warn you that this is a "Moodle 1" course file; that is OK.
  10. Under "Restore into this course" click Continue.
  11. Only files and activities will be restored - no user data; scroll to the bottom and click Next.
  12. Again, scroll to the bottom and click Next.
  13. Finally, click Perform Restore.

View a printable PDF version of these instructions 

Enrollment

Transition | Enrollment | Courses | Build Your Course | Gradebook

How are students added/enrolled to my course?

A nightly script runs to add users who have enrolled in your course via WebAdvisor.  Students are added automatically, but not dropped automatically.  This way, you may unenroll dropped students when you are ready to do so.

How do I remove users or students who have dropped?

Go to Settings > Course Administration > Users > Enrolled Users and click on the "Enroll Users" button on the right.  Find the user, and click the "X" next to any Enrollment Methods for that user.  This will unenroll the user.

How do I manually add users to my course?

In your course, go to Settings > Course Administration > Users > Enrolled Users and click on the "Enroll Users" button on the right.  Be sure to assign the correct role (i.e., student or teacher)

How can I allow guests or self-enrollment into my course without my intervention?

Go to Settings > Course Administration > Users > Enrollment Methods and add either Guest or Self-enrollment as enrollment methods for your course. If you would like to require an "enrollment key" for self-enrollment, click on the edit icon and type your key in the corresponding field.  This "enrollment key" is a "password" that users must know in order to gain enrollment into your course.

Courses (creation, duplication, merging, editing)

Transition | Enrollment | Courses | Build Your Course | Gradebook

How do I create a course that is not associated with WebAdvisor (i.e., a departmental area or a committee)?

Send your request to the ITS Helpdesk at helpdesk@augustana.edu with the desired name and category for the course.

How do I copy a course or move content from one term to the next?

Option 1: Pick and choose some resources from a previous Moodle 2 course.

  1. Go to your new course.
  2. Click the Import link under Settings.
  3. Select the course with the original content.  You may need to search to locate the course - ie, type "BIOL-101"
  4. Click Next.
  5. Check the items from the course, and click Next.
  6. Verify your selections, and click "Perform Import"

Option 2: Back up and restore the entire course. 

  1. Go to the course with the content you wish to copy or restore.
  2. Click on Settings > Backup
  3. Important - Uncheck the "Include enrolled users" check box and click Next. If you don't do this, current student data will be copied!
  4. Scroll to the bottom and click Next.
  5. Scroll to the bottom and click Perform Backup.
  6. Now, go to your target course.  If you need to increase the number of weeks/topics to match your original course, do that first. Then, click Settings > Restore
  7. Next to the User Private Backup area click Restore (on the far right) next to the backup file you just created.
  8. You will see a summary screen. Click Continue.
  9. Next to Merge the backup course into this course click Continue.
  10. Without changing any settings, scroll to the bottom and click Next through the next two screens.
  11. Scroll to the bottom and click "Perform Restore"

I teach two or more sections of the same course.  How can I have all students view the same content/activities?

Option 1 - *Preferred* Load content into one section and link enrollments for the other(s).

Note: The advantage of this method is enrollment will be automatic through WebAdvisor.

  1. Hide the 2nd, 3rd, etc. sections by going to those sections and choosing Settings > Course Settings and choosing "This course is unavailable to students." (located about halfway down the settings page)
  2. Back in your main section with the content, modify the course name slightly to remove the course section number from the full name under Course Settings. Leave the short name as-is, as it is required for WebAdvisor enrollment.
  3. Go to Settings > Course Administration > Users > Enrollment Methods
  4. Under Add Method choose Course Meta Link as a method.  
  5. Choose the course sections you have hidden. This links your hidden section's enrollments into your main section so that students will be able to see the content.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for additional sections of the course that you wish to link.

Option 2 Load content into one section, and then use the restore function to copy it into the other(s).  

 Note:  the disadvantage of this method is that while courses will start out the same, and sections will be separate, any changes or updates will need be made in all sections.

(see above - "How do I copy or restore a course?")

I can't figure out how to edit an existing resource (quiz, activity, etc). Help?

This changed with Moodle 2.0.  Look under the Settings block for a link named "Edit Quiz" or similar.

Build your Course

Transition | Enrollment | Courses | Build Your Course | Gradebook

What is the difference between a Resource and an Assignment?

Moodle Resources

A resource is a document or file that you as the professor are providing for the students in the course. These are course materials that are intended to help the students learn and complete assignments. Since they are not student work, they do not have a place in the gradebook. Examples of resources would be class readings, videos for students to watch, etc.

Moodle Assignments

Like an assignment, test, or quiz outside of Moodle, Moodle Assignments are assigned work that the students complete and (usually) earn a grade for. Most Moodle assignments include an option to upload files or participate in the class conversation online, however there is an option for an "offline activity" which allows the professor to upload an assignment prompt and add a grade in the Moodle gradebook while requiring that the student turn in a physical copy of their assignment.

How do I add a file (i.e. PDF) to my course?

Files added to a course by the instructor are called resources (explained in greater detail above). To add a resource:

  1. Go to your course
  2. Click the Turn Editing On button at the top right of the page
  3. Go to the section in which you would like to place the resource
  4. Click on the Add a resource... dropdown and choose File
  5. Name and description are required
  6. Click Add > Upload a file > Choose your file > Click OK
  7. If you would like, you can change the name in the Save as field
  8. Click Upload this file
  9. Save

How do I edit something (i.e. PDF name, assignment availability) that I've added to my course?

First, make sure that editing is on by clicking on the Turn editing on button at the top right of the page. Then click on the image next to the resource/assignment that looks like a hand that is writing on paper. That will open up the settings for that item so that you can change and save them.

Gradebook

Transition | Enrollment | Courses | Build Your Course | Gradebook

I can't see all of my students or activities in my gradebook. Help?

You may need to scroll to the right or scroll down to see all of the contents of your gradebook.  You may wish to maximize your window and/or increase the resolution of your display.