Tip of the Week
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TOW: The Moodle Resource Website is Ready to Help!
Are you new to using Moodle at Trinity College? Or are you a Moodle veteran who suspects something simple has changed, or you’re missing a step? The Moodle Resource Website, at commons.trincoll.edu/moodle/, probably has the answers you’re looking for, including: How to make your course visible to students How to add your TA How to upload files How to import materials from a previous semester … and more! Visit commons.trincoll.edu/moodle/ to get started. If there is a topic that you would like to see included on the site, email your Instructional Technologist. If you need immediate help on your Moodle course, the STA desk is the fastest way to get help. Visit…
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TOW: Using Moodle Scheduler to set up student appointments
If your class uses Moodle regularly, the Scheduler plugin is very useful for setting up appointments with students in your class, either individually or in groups. (Outside of Moodle, a handy way to schedule appointments is with the WASS scheduler.) Start by turning on editing in Moodle, and then click on ‘Add an activity or resource.’ In the box under Activities, choose Scheduler and click ‘Add.’ A new page will appear called ‘Adding a new Scheduler’ where you enter in a name (required). This page contains numerous options for setting up the appointments, including limiting how many times a student can make an appointment, whether there will be a grade…
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TOW: Audio Feedback in Moodle, with PoodLL
If you’ve noticed a blue puppy dog icon as an option in Assignments, Quizzes and Forums in Moodle, you probably didn’t realize it was an indicator for a tool that will let you give audio files as feedback. Meed PoodLL, a Moodle plugin that lets you (and students) record audio directly in Moodle, without having to go through a separate upload process. PoodLL can do a lot, but perhaps one of the most helpful features is the ability to provide audio feedback to student assignments. You just need to make sure the PoodLL option is checked in the Feedback Type area of the Assignment or Quiz you’re working with in Moodle. This…
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TOW: Never lose a password again!
We all have a dizzying array of passwords for the Web-based tools we use: Amazon, the bank, your Twitter account, email, your newspaper subscriptions, it’s endless. The passwords we use are the keys to valuable information in our lives, yet too often we fall into bad habits like storing passwords on post-its, or recycling the same password for multiple sites. Fortunately, several companies provide an easy solution to this problem. Password managers keep track of all of your accounts and automatically fill in your credentials when you need to login to a Web site, so that you don’t have to go hunting for that post-it note or rely on your memory!…
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TOW: Two important default settings for Moodle Gradebook
As we approach the start of the semester, now is the time to set up your gradebook in Moodle. The Moodle Gradebook has many different options for setting up a gradebook, including the use of weighted categories or total points. You can use a Moodle assignment to collect and grade assignments within Moodle, or you can just create a gradebook item and enter in the grades by hand. It allows students to track their progress throughout the semester, and faculty can give personalized feedback to each student on assignments and scores. We want to highlight here two default settings for the Gradebook that are set when the courses are created.…