VCS Guide for Online Course Participants

VCS Guide for Online Course Participants connect PD is the online learning network/community for VCS professional development. Moodle is the online learning platform that is used to create and provide online learning opportunities. What is Moodle? Moodle is an open source Course Management System that universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, business and individual instructors use to deliver online courses and to supplement face-to-face courses. Online learning may take the form of an online course that is either facilitated or self-paced, with a facilitator who oversees the course and determines successful completion. connect PD and Moodle are also used to provide blended learning opportunities. This means that the professional development activity is offered face-to-face and is blended with online activities that extend and support the learning. Further, connect PD and Moodle are used to provide a venue for face-to-face participants to receive support and continue learning through collaboration and sharing best practices throughout the implementation phase of the Professional Development activity. The purpose of this Participant Guide is to provide online course participants with information on how to use this learning tool and get the most out of online learning. In this guide you will be introduced to the basics of using Moodle as part of your professional learning. The most appropriate use of this manual is to have it at hand while you use Moodle for the first time. This Participant Guide contains the following helps for using Moodle for online learning: TOPIC Page(s) Accessing Moodle Courses in My PGS 2 Moodle Course Home Page Design and Customization 2-3 Moodle Navigation 4 Navigating within a Moodle course 4-6 Course Blocks 7 Submitting Assignments Moodle 8-9 Taking Assessments in Moodle 9-11 Participating in Forums 12-14 Viewing Grades in Moodle 14-15 Logging out of Moodle 15 Viewing your PD Transcript and Printing a Certificate of Completion 15-16 1

Accessing Moodle Courses in My PGS After logging into My PGS, the courses that you are currently enrolled in are listed in the My Courses block on the homepage. Simply click on the course title link in the My Courses block and you will be directed to the online learning for that PD activity. Note: If you are in a face-to-face training, the course facilitator may or may not be using the Moodle. However, for online courses, blended learning, and courses that offer online support and follow-up resources, a Moodle home page will be created and look similar to the one below. Moodle Course Home Page The screen that you see below is the course home page. A course front page is divided into three main sections. The center section contains all of the course content. Left Column: Navigation block Settings block Center Column: Course Content Right Column: Course blocks, as determined by the course creator. 2

Customize a Course Home Page The blocks on the left and right of the course pages can be collapsed or DOCKED. Docking the blocks opens up more of the screen and allows for an uncluttered view of the course content. UNDOCKED: In the example below all three columns are displayed. None have been docked. DOCKED: In the example below the left and right columns have been docked, allowing a wider view of the course content. All docked blocks are docked on the left. To access the contents of the block while docked, simply scroll over the block title and the contents will pop up for easy access. TO DOCK A BLOCK: click the docking icon (grey rectangle) in each block. Note that not all blocks can be docked. If the docking icon is not visible then that block cannot be docked. Selecting the (-) icon will collapse the contents of the block; the block title will remain. TO UNDOCK BLOCKS: blocks can be undocked one at a time or all at once. To undock one block, scoll over the block title on the left. In the pop-up click on the blue docking icon. To undock all blocks at once, click the blue docking icon below all of the docked blocks on the left. 3

Here is a link to a quick (a little over a minute) video showing you the Docking feature: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ge91mknkjw Moodle Navigation The Navigation Block in the left column allows you to navigate to the Moodle home page. This area is not fully developed so we will skip this for now, except for one item. At the bottom of the Navigation block, there is a link to My Courses. From here you may access other courses without returning to the My PGS home page. Just click on the arrow next to My courses to expand the list of courses you are associated with. Click on the course title link to navigate quickly to the front page of the course. Navigating within a Moodle Course There are a number of ways to move around in your course. Navigation Block The Navigation block in the left column allows you to navigate within your course directly to any topic listed below the course title. Each topic title listed under the course title is a hyperlink to that section of the course. The Breadcrumb Trail The breadcrumb trail shows the pages you have passed through to get to your current location. As you move through the course it will change to reflect your current location. The breadcrumbs are shown in the top left corner of each page and clicking on them will take you to that point in the course. The example below shows the path from the course home page, to Module 2 and then to Assignment D1. Simply click on a link in the breadcrumb trail to return to that area of the course. Click on the course name to return to the course home page. 4

Navigating through the Course Content The middle section of the course home page is where the course creator posts everything you need to read or complete for the course. All links to assignments, resources, web sites, discussion forums, and quizzes/exams will be located in this main middle section of the course home page. Generally, reading material, assignments, etc. will be presented in the order the facilitator wants you to go through the information, similar to the example to the right. The example shows the Introductory Materials, presented in the order intended for the participant to access and read. Simply click the links to the items provided and then proceed down through the list from top to bottom as you complete each item. This is the best way to navigate the course. Course content may be displayed in a several ways. On the example below, all of the sections of this course are displayed on one page. This example shows the first two Modules of this course, however, there are four more Modules. To access the remaining content, simply scroll down the page. Note the Activity Completion boxes to the right of each course resource. If this feature is enabled these boxes are provided for checking off when an item has been viewed or completed. This will help you keep track of which items you have completed in the course. 5

Another way the course content may be presented is that each section of the course is displayed on a page of its own. The example below shows the same course as previously shown, but in a different format. The content for each section is opened by clicking on the section title. This summarizes the types of items contained in the section when it is expanded. The Progress note indicates how many items have been completed. After opening the section, the content for that section will display as shown below. Current Topic Checkboxes may be provided allowing users to mark completion. Some items may autocheck. Easily navigate to previous topics, next topic, or back to main course page. Course Resources Course resources (web pages, links to other web sites, documents, videos) are located in the course content area. Each course resource type is denoted by an associated icon. Some are shown below: video assignment assessment/quiz pdf file folder with files web page To access a resource, click on the hyperlink title. 6

Course Blocks In addition to the blocks mentioned previously, there are other blocks that are located in the left and right columns of a course. These blocks fulfil a range of functions. Please note that course layouts vary according to the settings established by the course creator and the facilitator in each particular course. Below are some of the blocks that are most commonly used in courses. Activities Block The Activities Block is an option that is included in most courses. This block displays all of the available activity types in the course and organizes them by function (course resources, assignments, quizzes, and forums). The Activity Block makes it easy to see and quickly access all course activities and resources. Clicking on the text to the right of the activity icon will display a list of all of the available activities of that type. In the example to the right, all of the quizzes in the course are quickly displayed by clicking on Quizzes from the Activities block. Calendar Block The Moodle calendar provides a calendar function for all of your Moodle courses. If the course facilitator has entered completion dates for various tasks and activities they will appear automatically in your calendar. Use the color coded icons at the bottom of the calendar to access the global, course or user calendar. Group calendars are provided if courses have established groups within a course. Latest News Block The course facilitator may post announcements and updates about the course. Recent posts made in the News Forum are displayed in the Latest News block, along with a link to older posts. A final note about navigation! While it is possible to navigate between pages by using the Back and Forward navigation buttons on your web browser, this is NOT recommended. You will obtain more consistent results by using the navigation options within the website and course pages. This is especially important when taking an online quiz or submitting work so that you don t get bumped out and lose your work. 7

Submitting Assignments All assignment pages display the following information: There are 3 assignment types in Moodle: offline activity; online text; and upload assignment files. Offline Activity: These are assignments that are course requirements but do not require submitting anything online to the facilitator. For examples: Attendance at a face-to-face session or reading a chapter in a book does not require that you upload a file for successful completion. Online Text Assignment: In this assignment, you will enter your response directly in the text box provided. Click the button under the submission/grading status. The Assignment Name is listed at the top of the page. Assignment directions Submission Status & Grading Status will be reflected after it has been submitted & graded. The Submission text box will open. Type your online response according to the assignment directions. Click the button. Upload Assignment files: With this assignment you will upload a file or multiple files to complete the assignment. The instructor will be able to download your file, grade the assignment, and provide feedback. If you use Firefox, you can simply drag and drop your files into the file area. If not, follow the next steps to upload your files. To upload: Click the Add button Click Browse on the File picker page Select the assignment file(s) from your documents 8

Submitting Assignments (continued) Click Upload this file. The name of the file you attached will display here. Click Save changes. The file is now uploaded. Submission Status: now reflects that the assignment has been submitted for grading, the date submitted and the file name. Taking Assessments Testing in Moodle is very user friendly. Moodle quizzes are computer graded which allow the participant to receive their grade immediately in most cases. However, there may be parts of a quiz that require the facilitator to review before you are given a grade. To access the assessment, click on the link next to the quiz icon. This opens the quiz overview page which provides the following information: Quiz Title Quiz information and directions: be sure to read this before you get started. When you are ready to begin the quiz click the Attempt Quiz Now button. Number of attempts & grading method; if there is a due date, it will be listed here. 9

Taking Assessments (continued) There are numerous types of quiz questions, including: Matching Embedded Answers (Cloze) Multiple Choice Multiple Answer Short Answer True/False Calculated Essay The questions may be displayed one question per page or multiple questions on pages within the quiz. In the example below, only 1 question (multiple choice) is displayed on the page. The quiz interface makes it easy to keep up with where you are in the quiz and to flag questions you may want to return to. Quiz Navigation block: Each number represents a question; question with the dark border is the one you are currently working with. To move to a new question, simply click the number. Use the Next button to advance to the next page. Question block: Provides status of completion; marks (score) earned; participants can choose to Flag questions, which allows you to mark a question to remind you to come back to it later. As you move through a quiz, questions will be shaded gray as they are answered. When a question has been flagged, its corresponding number in the Quiz navigation block will now have the upper, right corner colored in red. Notice in the image to the left: questions 2 and 5 have been flagged. Questions 3 and 4 have been answered and the user is currently on question 6. Quiz Attempt Summary: At the end of the quiz, you'll view a summary of your attempt, prior to submitting the quiz for grading. This shows any questions that may have been unanswered by accident. Click on Return to attempt to finish review or edit your answers. To return to an individual question, click on the question number. Click on Submit all and finish to complete this attempt. You will also be given a Confirmation warning that confirms that you want to close the attempt. 10

Taking Assessments (continued) Your facilitator decides how much information you will see next. The screen may or may not display, depending on the options selected by the course facilitator. This view allows you to review the answers you submitted in your attempt. You may not edit your responses since your attempt has been submitted. Quiz status, grade & feedback Red and green indicate item correctness. After review, click Finish Review. Most of your test questions are graded as soon as you click Submit. If your test included essay or short answer questions, those must be graded individually by your facilitator and you are not awarded any points for those questions until the facilitator has graded them. Summary of All Attempts Next, you will see a summary of all of your attempts on this quiz. The number of attempts allowed is determined by the course facilitator. Attempts allowed This quiz chooses the highest grade of all attempts. This quiz allows 2 attempts there is still one attempt remaining. 11

Participating in Forums Discussion boards in Moodle are called Forums. Forums may or may not be a part of the course, depending on the course creator. The Forum activity enables participants to post and reply to topics, comments, suggestions, questions, etc. You may experience several different types of forums in your classes. The example used here is a simple forum. To access a forum, click on the forum title next to the forum icon. The image below shows what you see when you first open the forum. Forum prompt/ instructions are at the top of the page. After reading the forum instructions, click here to add your response to the prompt above. In the Discussion column is a link to the posts already made in response to the prompt and the discussion/responses of others to that post. The text in the link is the same as the subject line of the post. In the Started by column is a link to the profile of the poster. In the Replies column is the number of responses to the original post. The Last post column shows who most recently posted to the discussion and when. To begin a new discussion in response to the forum, click the Add a new discussion topic button at the top of the forum page. This will open the screen on the right. When finished click If the forum allows you to add attachments, add them in the same way they are uploaded for assignments. Enter the subject and your message. 12

Participating in Forums (continued) To respond to a peer s post, click on the link to the discussion. After clicking on the discussion link above the post becomes visible (shown below). You will not only see the text of the post, but also a drop-down menu enabling you to change the way the thread is displayed in the browser. Click here to reply. The screen below opens for your reply. Since you are responding to a post, the subject carries over from the original post. This field is editable. Enter your message in the text box. When finished, click to submit your response. 13

Participating in Forums (continued) After you have clicked the Post to forum button, you will see a page reminding you that you have time to edit the post before it is emailed to others if they have requested to receive emails for each post. Click the Continue link. You posting will display with the option to edit or delete. NOTE: Remember - when posting to a forum all other participants in the course can view your posts. Note the subscription options: Viewing Your Grades It is recommended that you leave the Subscription field set to "I don't want emails..." because the replies to the post may fill up your email. To view your grades click on the Grades link in the Settings block under the Navigation block in the left column. The first column lists all assignments that will be graded. Assignment grades by score, percent or pass/fail. There is an option in the gradebook for facilitators to provide feedback. 14

Viewing Your Grades (continued) From the gradebook, if you click on the Activity name, you will be directed to a screen that gives a summary of the assignment status, grading and feedback. Logging out of Moodle To log out of your online course in Moodle, click on the Return to Portal link in the upper right hand corner of the course page. This will take you back to My PGS. Viewing your PD transcript in My PGS After you have completed your course and the course facilitator has determined successful completion, in-service credits or training hours will be entered into My PGS. From the My PGS home page, click on the Courses Completed link in the My Courses block. 15

Viewing your PD transcript (continued) The My PGS transcript lists all completed courses information, start and end dates, completion status, number of credits earned and a link to a certificate of completion. COURSE INFORMATION START, END, COMPLETION DATES COMPLETION STATUS CREDIT HOURS Printing a Certificate of Completion A certificate of completion is available to print for each completed PD activity. To print the certificate, find the course Title, and click on the corresponding Certificate #. Certificate example below. Questions about online learning: Any questions about the course content, assignments, or awarding of in-service credits contact the facilitator listed in the course General questions about Moodle and online learning contact the Office of Professional Development & Support Technical issues while participating in online learning, contact Technical Services, ext. 20000 16