Spring Cleanup and Moodle Updates

Spring 2015 Cleanup

We recommend that you review your course and back up what you need for future reference:

  1. Download a CSV file of the gradebook and copies of any student-submitted materials (e.g., assignments or other activities) as PDFs in case you need to refer to them later.
  2. Make sure you have copies of your lectures, readings, and other course files on your personal hard drive in a readable form.
  3. If you plan to reuse this course in the future, you will be able to simply copy it to a new course within the next three semesters using the Moodle course import tool.

For details on backing up different types of Moodle activities, see Backup a Moodle Course, or for one-on-one assistance, contact the Instructional Media Lab at 413-545-2823 or instruct@umass.edu.

Convert an Existing Course to Fall 2015

To reuse a course previously taught in Moodle, first request a Moodle course for the new semester, then use the Import tool in the Settings block of your new course to import the contents of the previous course. For step-by-step instructions on how to use the Moodle course import tool, see Reuse a Moodle Course Using Import.

You can import a course you taught in a previous semester that is still on the Moodle server, or a course belonging to another instructor you have permission to copy.

What’s Coming in Moodle 2.8?

On June 30 we will upgrade from Moodle 2.5 to Moodle 2.8. Moodle will be unavailable beginning at 8 a.m. (for as long as 5 hours).  Please plan accordingly.

This upgrade continues to make Moodle more usable and efficient, and includes several features instructors and students have been asking for, including:

  • Auto-save when entering text;
  • Subscribe (and receive email notifications) for selected discussions within a Forum;
  • View the gradebook at the full width of your browser window;
  • “Grade history” provides an audit trail for changes made to the gradebook;
  • Import only selected activities from a previous course.

For more, see our Moodle 2.8 Highlights

 


As always, don’t hesitate to contact the Instructional Media Lab with your questions about Moodle:

413-545-2823, or instruct@umass.edu.

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