Moodle 4.0

Moodle 4.0 is coming … what you need to know


Yes the rumors are true, Moodle is having a revamp over the Summer holidays and will look quite different to the Moodle we all know. September will see an exciting upgrade to Moodle 4.0, bringing a new contemporary look to its interface and lots of sleek new features, including an intuitive tabbed navigation to help you improve your students' learning experience.

How does Moodle 4.0 differ?

In short, the main difference users will find when they log into Moodle 4.0 is the overall look and feel of the site. Users will notice some old familiars such as the baseline block which is a current feature of our Moodle instance along with the resource timings which will be staying for the coming academic year.

Moodle 4.0 aims to make it easier for learners to focus on their learning and have provided several new features to support this:

Intuitive tabbed navigation

A great new feature of Moodle 4.0 is the intuitive tabbed navigation. It allows users to view all their learning content at a glance and navigate at a click of a button. This also allows any pending activities and tasks to be viewed quickly.

Less scrolling, more learning

More collapsing or expanding areas on the course page which will allow users to minimise the amount of learning content on their screens. This will help aid concentration and allow focus on smaller, bite-sized information at any one time.

Reduce distractions

Users can collapse block areas to reduce page and focus on content to support them in the way they like to learn online. The blocks can be retrieved again, at any time when additional information is needed.

Moodle 4.0 hopes to aid in increasing efficiency for educators when it comes to managing their learners by:

Managing and prioritising deadlines

Educators will be able to plan and schedule their work in the Calendar along with viewing deadlines in the dashboard for all their courses.

View all courses in one place

Users will be able to sort and view all their courses on the new 'My Course' page and will be able to easily pop in and out of their courses access what they need.

Stay on top of course requirements

Keeping on track with course requirements and meeting course deadlines will be much easier as everything will be accessible at a glance. Users will know when to complete an activity, what has been done and what needs to be worked on next.

Moodle 4.0 will make it easier for educators to train and edit their courses creating a great learning experience for all.

Organise content in seconds

Option to drag and drop sections and activities on your course. Able to view course at a glance to gain an overview of learning content.

Add engagement to your course with video conferencing

Create breakout rooms and chat, share audio, notes, video and slides and interact in real time. Obtain analytics on user participation and sessions.

Mobile and app alerts

Keep your learners updated of changes to their courses with emails and app alerts.

Learning for all

Ensuring that everyone can learn via enhanced accessibility for screen readers, including keyboard navigation in Moodle's text editor.

Having the option to build custom reports tailored for educators and their learners needs will aid support in making those informed decisions. Options such as a drag and drop interface and sharing and scheduling reports with colleagues are all part of what can be found on Moodle 4.0.

When can I start using Moodle 4.0 and how can I prepare?

You will be able to start using Moodle 4.0 from Friday 2nd September 2022.

There is an opportunity to view a preview of the new Moodle via our existing installation before September. Once your module has been rolled over in our current Moodle, you will have access to the preview theme. This will give you a good idea of what your module will look like and you will be able to use the new features to familiarise yourself before the start of the new academic year. Please bear in mind that the preview theme isn’t 100% accurate and there may be a few unexpected bugs! To get started with the preview theme, ask your faculty OCDs to roll over your modules.

Who do I contact if I need support?

In the first instance please contact your Faculty Online Course Developers who will be able to help you with any questions and queries you may have regarding your course and Moodle 4.0. The Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team are also on hand to support you and can be contacted at elearn@port.ac.uk.

For the latest support on Moodle please visit the elearning tools website. For guidance on choosing which 'tool' is fit for purpose please visit EXPLORE - an interactive resource to guide you in your decision making. Both resources will be updated throughout the Summer so please bear with us.

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