Moodle Start-of-Semester Checklist

Moodle Start-of-Semester Checklist

This checklist covers essential tasks to help you set up and publish your Moodle course before the term begins. Need more in-depth guides? Explore Getting Started with Moodle.

Help & Resources

• Visit the Moodle Faculty Resource Site: this resource site has been established as the primary platform where faculty will access comprehensive support and information regarding Moodle.
• Explore the Moodle Demo Site: The Art of the Possible: This demo site lets you experience Moodle 4.5 from a student’s perspective and explore its pedagogical possibilities beyond basic file sharing.
• Attend Moodle Mondays with CATS: a casual, drop-in time for faculty to ask questions (general or specific to your course), learn what’s new in Moodle 4.5, and discover handy tips to support effective teaching and learning.
  • Day and Time: Every Monday from Aug. 17 to Dec. 14, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
  • Location: Miller 105 Faculty Instructional Technology (FIT) Lab, or Zoom

1. Course Prep & Access

❏ Import Course Content (Optional): You can reuse materials from a previous term to save setup time.

• 🔗 Importing a Moodle Course Into Another

• Note: To request access to course materials owned by another instructor, email moodle@colby.edu.

❏ Unhide Your Course: New course sites are hidden from students by default. When you are ready for students to view your course, set its visibility to Show.

• 🔗 Setting Your Moodle Course Site Visibility

❏ Add a Course Image: Give your course site a distinct visual identity on the Moodle Dashboard:

1. Go to Course > Settings.

2. Scroll to the Course image section and upload an image (JPG or PNG).

3. Click Save and display.

❏ Verify Student Roster: Student enrollments are automatically synced from Workday. If you need to add a student, TA, auditor, or guest manually, follow the guide below

• 🔗 Manually Enrolling a User into a Moodle Course Site

2. Essential Course Information & Structure

❏ Post Syllabus, Office Hours, and Other Important Information

❏ Create Activities & Resources: Add your assignments, readings, quizzes, and discussion forums.

• 🔗 Creating Moodle Activities and Resources

❏ Clean Up Imported Dates & Links: If you imported content from a previous term, verify that assignment due dates, course links, and external resources are updated.

❏ Verify External Tools (LTI Integration): Check that tools like H5P and Kaltura are properly integrated within your course modules.

3. Gradebook Setup

❏ Configure Gradebook and Grade Aggregation Method

• 🔗 Understanding Moodle Grade Aggregation Methods 
• 🔗 Getting Started With Moodle Gradebook  
• 🔗 Setting Up Weighted Grades in Moodle Gradebook

4. Communication & Final Check

❏ Preview as a Student

• Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, select Switch role to..., and choose Student to verify that hidden items, dates, and resources appear correctly.

❏ Send a Welcome Announcement: Use the Announcements forum at the top of your course page to welcome students and provide pre-class instructions.

• 🔗 Using the Announcements Forum 
• Note: Your Moodle course site must be made visible to students for messages to send. Announcements automatically send an email to all enrolled students. Students cannot reply via email and must contact you directly.

Need Assistance?

If you have questions or need help setting up your course site, please contact Academic Technology Services at moodle@colby.edu or schedule a 1-on-1 consultation.