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Brandeis Moodle Guides

Student Quick Start

Availability of Classes in Moodle

Active courses that have been made visible by the instructor will appear on the My Courses page. If you don't see a course that you are enrolled in, the instructor has not yet made that course available for student access. Only the instructor can publish a course in Moodle. Similarly, courses stay published at the discretion of the instructor, and may become unavailable after the end of the academic term of the course. Students are urged to download any relevant course materials before this happens, or reach out to the instructor for materials after the course has closed.

Browse Syllabi

Do you want to know more about a class before you enroll? The Syllabus Tool lets you view the syllabi that have been made public.  You can review the course expectations, required readings, and assignments.  This information helps you select the right classes for your academic goals.

How to Browse Syllabi

Follow these steps to find a syllabus:

  1. In Moodle, select the Academic Resources drop down menu from the page header. 
  2. Select Browse syllabi from the list.
  3. Select the Semester, then the school, then the academic discipline of study to browse syllabi. 
Animation that shows how to browse public syllabi.
Select play to see how to browse syllabi.

Overview

Moodle, the Brandeis learning management system, is a learning platform that enables faculty and students to engage in an online education environment. All of your courses will be hosted in Moodle. This guide provides an overview of the system, how your courses will look in it, and tips for navigating your courses.

Accessing Moodle Courses

Access your courses by going to the main Brandeis login page at login.brandeis.edu. 

Brandeis Login Page for Technology Options
Select Brandeis Moodle Courses

This page provides quick links to many of the technologies you have access to as a member of the Brandeis Community.  Select Moodle from the Menu. 

My Courses

The My Courses page serves as a hub for users to access all of their courses.  It provides a convenient way to navigate between classes, helping users stay organized. 

My Course Page for Students in Moodle
Your published courses will appear on the My Courses Page.

Active courses that have been made visible by the instructor will appear on the page.  If you don't see a course that you are enrolled in, the instructor has not yet made that course available for student access. Only the instructor can publish a course in Moodle.

Clicking on one of your listed courses will take you to that course's homepage. It will open in the same tab rather than in a new tab.

Customizing the My Courses Page

The My Courses page has filters that allows users to customize their course view. 

  1. The left drop down menu allows users to determine which courses are visible on the page. Options include:
    My Courses in Moodle Settings
    Use the options from the drop down menu to customize the view of courses.
    • All Courses
    • In Progress
    • Future
    • Past
    • Starred
    • Removed from views.
  2. The search bar allows users to search for courses by name or course number. 
  3. Another option is to sort by course name or last accessed. 
  4. Users can also select from three different display options:
  • Card - display the courses in a grid showing the name and number of the course as well as the course image that has been selected. 
  • List - display the courses in a vertical list with smaller course images on the left side of the screen.
  • Summary - similar to the List view and it displays the course summary entered on the settings page. 

Starring a Course 

Each course has a kebab menu or 3 dots.  Select this setting allows users to star a course or remove it from view.

My Course Star settings in Moodle
Use the Kebab menu to Star or hide a course from view.

What's New In Moodle

An Introduction to Navigation in Moodle

New navigation in Moodle 

Moodle includes significant new features and fixes with easier navigation and the overall look with the Course homepage in the Boost theme.

New Course Tabbed Navigation System

Prior to Moodle, most course management related options (Grades, Course Settings, Reports, etc.)  were located under various blocks on the left hand side of LATTE and could be challenging at times finding what you needed. Moodle has rearranged all the options and replaced it with a tabbed navigation system located at the top of your course page. The new system contains all the contextual management options related to the current course page, making it easier for users.

Tabbed Navigation Bar in Moodle
Access the course, grades, and the activities by selecting a link beneath the course header.

New Course Sliding Side Panels

Moodle added two sliding side panels on the left and right hand side of the course page.

Left Panel

The left panel contains the course index items. It not only provides a quick way for learners to jump to a specific course section or activity/resource, it also enables course teacher/admin to rearrange the course activities/resources by dragging and dropping them directly in the panel.

Right Panel

The right panel contains the course side blocks. Prior to Moodle 4.0 all of the side blocks were displayed on the left hand side of the course page which took up a significant amount of screen space. Now users can toggle the panel to hide the blocks and focus on the course content.

Access Course Index and Block Drawer
Press play to see how to access the Course Index and Block Drawer

 

Collapsible Course Sections

In Moodle course sections are collapsible. You are able to collapse all sections at once or collapse individual sections.

Collapsible Topics in Moodle 4
Press play to see how to collapse and expand topics