In the Summer of 2023 IT upgraded to Moodle 4.1. This article covers basic navigation for the Boost theme enabled during this update.
Navigation Bar
The Navigation bar includes three tabs (Home, Dashboard, My courses) that you can use to access your courses and other added Moodle blocks.
- Home includes a “Search Course” box as well as a list of courses in which you are enrolled. You cannot customize this tab and the “Edit Mode” button is not visible.
- Dashboard is the default landing page when you log into Moodle. By default it contains a “Course Overview” block and a “Calendar” block. You can add or delete blocks under this tab, customizing it to your preferences.
- My courses contains a single “Course Overview” block. You can change the courses displayed by using the sort options, but you cannot delete the block and the “Edit Mode” button is not visible.
Profile Menu
Clicking your profile icon reveals a menu that includes:
- Your Profile, Grades, Calendar, and Messages
- Moodle and Panopto Frequently Asked Question links
- A Log out option
- Moodle Preferences
Moodle Preferences
Selecting Preferences from the Profile menu allows you to customize various Moodle settings, including
- Changing your Start Page (from the default Dashboard)
- Changing your text Editor preferences
- Editing your Profile information
Edit Mode Slider
The Edit mode slider appears in the upper right corner of the Dashboard page. Moving this slider to the on position, will allow you to add and delete blocks from the Dashboard page and Dashboard Block Drawer.
If you are a teacher in a course, you will also see the Edit mode slider when you open your Moodle courses. Move the slider to the on position to begin editing content in your course. Students do not see the Edit mode slider when they open their courses.
Block Drawer
Blocks are elements that add extra information or functionality to a Moodle site or course. Clicking the Open Block Drawer button on the Home or Dashboard pages reveals several Moodle blocks with quick access to various features. You cannot change blocks on the Home page.
You can, however, customize the blocks in the Block Drawer on the Dashboard by sliding the Edit Mode toggle to the on position and clicking the Add a block button. Use a block’s Move and Actions buttons to move or delete a block from the drawer.
Course Index
The Course Index provides a table of contents for a course. Clicking on a topic heading, activity, or resource in the Course Index takes you to its location in the course, making items easier to find and eliminating excessive scrolling.
To reveal the Course Index in a course, click the Open course index button.
If you hold a teacher role in a Moodle course, you can also move an activity or resource to a different location in a Moodle course by turning Edit Mode on and dragging the item to its new destination in the Course Index.
Course Menu Bar
The Course Menu Bar contains settings and options related to a specific course. Tabs displayed in the bar differ depending on your role in the Moodle course.
Course Menu Bar (Teacher role)
- Course – use this tab to view the course
- Settings – includes general course settings, such as Course description, Course image, Course format (Topics and Weekly), Completion tracking, Course visibility (hiding a course from students)
*Note: Do not change the Course Short Name, as this will break the automatic add/drop process for course participants. - Participants – lists course participants. Students are enrolled automatically through the registrar, but you can manually enroll people who are not registered for the course but need to view content.
- Grades – provides access to Grader report, Gradebook setup, Scales, Grade Import/Export features.
- Reports – view logs and other course statistics
- More – includes Question banks, Recycle bin, Course reuse items (course backup, import, restore), Course completion settings
Course Menu Bar (Student role)
- Course – use this tab to view the course
- Participants – lists course participants.
- Grades – use to view your own grades
- Competencies – displays competencies if setup by teacher
