Moodle

On the top right of the screen, click the Log In button (in orange).

You will need the login details given to you in the recent weeks.

The Dashboard

The dashboard is where you will see a list of all your courses, a calendar and a list of upcoming events.

The GIF below shows what this page looks like for our test student. It also shows that the test student has some assignments due in the upcoming weeks.

Your Modules

From any page on Moodle, you can get to your modules by moving the mouse over to "My Courses". A menu will appear which lists all your modules, and a couple more Moodle spaces such as Academic Support.

The GIF below shows how you would get into one of your modules. Once inside, you can see all the assignments, resources and upcoming events for that module.

It is worth noting that modules are called courses in Moodle. It is not a big deal, but keep it in mind while reading this guide.

Course Content

The GIF above showed how you can get into one of your modules and see the notes, resources and other content. The image below lets us see some of that in more detail. You can see four assignments at the top. In this example, the student has uploaded two assignments on the 29th of August. Moodle also tells you when the other assignments are due; these are automatically added to your Moodle calendar meaning that you will get notifications on your Dashboard about upcoming events and deadlines.

"Feedback available" means that the teacher has graded that assignment and given feedback.

Below it, you can see resources for Topic 1. Do you see the small tick boxes on the right hand side? You can tick those boxes as you go through the course so you can tick off what you have read.

Submitting an Assignment

An important part of any course is when you have assignments to submit. If you have a written assignment, such as a report, essay or something that involves software like Photoshop or Powerpoint, you will have to submit these to Moodle for grading. Your teacher may also ask you for a printed copy, but you should always submit a "soft copy" version. A soft copy is the digital version of your project, like a Word document or PDF. This means that you will have a backup of your assignment in case anything happens to your printed version.

The GIF below shows you how to submit something into an assignment submission space. It shows you:

• How to get into an assignment by clicking the assignments name
• How to download the assignment brief, which should always be posted with the assignment
• How to upload a file(s) to Moodle for that assignment

You can see a few things from the GIF above:

• When you click into the assignment, you can see the assignment brief. You should be able to download this so you can read and fully understand it.
• You can see the due date; when you need to have the assignment submitted by.
• You can upload your file here too.
• All student work is put through anti-plagiarism software called URKUND (more on that on another section of this website).
• By default, when you attach a file, it is a "draft". This means it is not your final submission, and you can change it if you want to or if the teacher gives you feedback and advice on the draft (see below).

Editing an Assignment

Once you have added something to the assignment submission space, you may decide that you want to change something. For example, you may have gotten feedback from your teacher about your draft work and then worked on your assignment some more.

If you have updates, you can delete what you originally uploaded and then upload the new version. Take a look below.

Making your Final Submission

Once you are happy with your work and you are ready to submit you work to be graded and given a mark, you need to click the "Submit assignment" button.

Remember, once you Submit the assignment fully, you can not edit it!

You then need to agree to the plagiarism statement; this where you confirm that the work you have submitted is entirely your own and that you have referenced and cited your sources where appropriate.

Once you have ticked the box and submitted the assignment, you can see your Submission Status. This is where you will get your grade. See the GIF below to see what we mean.

Submission Status: This says "Submitted for grading". This means you will have submitted the final assignment, as shown above.

Grading Status: Released means that the teacher has issued a grade for your assignment.

Feedback: This section tells you how many marks you got, what grade that equals (Pass, Merit, Distinction). It also gives you feedback on the assignment or information on where you can find it.

Check your Overall Grade

Once you have a more than one assignment submitted, it is a good idea to check your grades to see how you are doing. This can give you an idea of how well you need to do in your next assignment and/or exam.

The image below shows you what to click so you can bring up your overall grade (see the yellow highlight)

Then the gradebook will pop up; take a look at the example below. Explanations of the key parts will be below the image. The key terms are explained below the image.

Grade Item: This means what assignment the grade refers to

Grade: This is the mark you have been awared.

Range: This equals the range of marks available; for example, the first assignment was given 7 marks out of a possible 10

Percentage: This gives you a percentage score. 7 marks out of 10 equals 70% in that assignment.

Letter Grade: Moodle will also calculate what category of grade you have achieved; a Pass, Merit or Distinction

Feedback: This is simply the feedback which your teacher has given you.

The Course Total Line

The Course Total simply adds up all the assignments together. What the example image means is:

• After three assignments, the student has scored 43 marks, or 43% overall.
• The fourth assignment and exam are still yet to be completed.
• This means the student has 45 marks worth of assignments and exams remaining.
• Although the grade shows an Unsuccessful mark, this is before the final assignment and exam have been done.
• With a pass grade being 50%, the student is quite close to passing overall and is in with a chance of achieving a strong result.