How to edit your Moodle space - Learning and Teaching (2024)

All new Moodle spaces are ‘hidden’ from students by default. This means that students are not unnecessarily exposed to empty spaces or spaces that are ‘under construction’.

Hidden spaces will still appear on the Home page of the Moodle Teacher; however, the space will display a message stating ‘hidden from students’ (indicating that students will not be able to view it).

To make a Moodle space available/unavailable to students:

• Navigate to the relevant Moodle space.
• In the Settings tab, navigate to the Course visibility option and select Show or Hide as applicable (as highlighted below).

When viewing a Moodle space, the content and resources will be displayed in the main course area. There are several ways of presenting this material, however the two most commonly used approaches are to group teaching materials by either topic or by week. To specify a ‘course format’:

• From within the relevant space, locate the Settings tab.
• Locate the Course format option (as shown below)

If you want to group content and resources by date, you should choose a Weekly format and should specify a Course start date (further up the page). If you prefer to group your materials by topic, then you should select Topic format from the drop-down list instead.

• Make the required changes.
• Scroll down the page and press the Save and display button.

Should you wish it to skip a week (in the event that teaching did not take place); you will need to hide the topic manually (as described in Working with Topics below).

The Course index will reflect whatever format you have chosen.

Given the large number of spaces that exist in Moodle, it can be helpful to include a short description of each one in order to provide added clarity as to the context in which the space sits.

• From within the relevant course space Home page, visit the Settings tab.
• Locate the Description settings.
• In the Course summary section, add your description.
• In the Course image section, drag and drop an appropriate image.
• Scroll down and press the Save and display button.

Naming Topics: If you have chosen a topic-based format for your space, the Course index will reference each one numerically, however it is possible to give topics titles. As the structure of a space is reflected in the navigation block, these titles not only provide useful ‘signposting’ to users of the course, but also improve the clarity of structure.

• From within the relevant Moodle space, enable Edit mode.

When ‘editing’ is turned on in a course, a number of additional icons appear throughout your course. The Edit menu (ellipsis icon) that appears to the right of each topic box (as highlighted below) enables you to modify the label associated with each topic.

To modify a topic label:

• Click the Edit topic option from the menu.
• The topic summary screen will appear.
• Uncheck the Use default section name option.
• Enter your own Section heading and (if desirable) a summary description.

It is also possible to rename topic headings by clicking on the pencil icon that appears next to the current title (though descriptions cannot be added in this way).

Modifying Topic/Week Visibility: If a Moodle space is in ‘edit’ mode, each box for a topic/week will and Edit link. Clicking on to this link will reveal a menu of options, including one that will enable you to hide the entire topic from the students.

If the topic is set to be hidden, a message will be displayed (to those with Teacher access) that the content is “hidden from students”. To unhide a topic, simply return to the menu and select ‘Show topic.’

Moodle can support the learning and teaching experience through the provision of a wide range of tools. These facilitate resource delivery and access to a range of online activities and (where used appropriately), can help the Moodle Teacher to construct an exciting and dynamic learning environment for their students.

We will focus below on the two most heavily used features in Moodle, (Files and Folders), however there are a wide range of functions available, and you may wish to explore these at a later date.

Anyone with Teacher permissions to a Moodle course will be able to upload content to it. Content commonly ranges from documents and web links, through to audio or visual materials.

Moodle provides an easy way for a teacher to present materials to their students. These materials may take the form of files such as word-processed documents or slideshow presentations. The materials can be displayed on the page either as individual items or organised together inside folders. To add content, you must have editing turned on.

Deleting Files: If a file has been uploaded in error, or perhaps if a new version of the file has been created, it may be necessary to delete the original.

• From the relevant Moodle space, enable Editing mode.
• Identify the resource that needs to be updated.
• Press the ellipse icon that appears to the right of the resource and select Delete (as highlighted below)

Creating Folders: The more files that are uploaded to a Moodle space, the further a user may need to scroll vertically. In some instances, it may be preferable to present related materials in a folder in order to reduce clutter on the page and to make it easier to navigate.

You can create a new folder by selecting the Add an activity or resource link (in whichever topic you want the file to appear) and select Folder. From here you can name the folder and Save your changes:

• From the relevant course, enable Edit mode.
• Click on the Add an activity or resource link (in the relevant topic/week)
• Select Folder from the available options.
• Enter a Name – this is the name that will be displayed to students within your Moodle space.
• In the Content section, add any files you want to present within the folder (you can drag and drop the files into this area). Repeat (as necessary), until all the relevant files have been added.

Import course data: Course activities and resources may be imported from any other course that the teacher has editing permissions in. Import course data is similar to a backup and restore process and does not include any user data.

Activity backup: Makes a backup of an activity that can then be re-used at a later date in another course space.