Tel Tales

Adventures in Technology Enhanced Learning @ UoP

Tag: unit

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Moodle – Teaching Block 2 Units

December 11, 2017 / / 0 Comments

One query which we often receive from students here in TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning), is that they are concerned that they have one or more units missing from their Moodle homepage. This is usually because the unit(s) they are enquiring about, are for Teaching Block 2.  

Teaching Block 2 units are normally hidden from student view until the day students return from the Christmas vacation, which this year is Monday 8th January 2018.  However, this is not always the case as some units have two different cohorts of students attached to them. These units may have a short name that looks similar to this: UXXXXX-17SEP & -17JAN or this UXXXXX-17SEP & UXXXXX-17JAN.  Depending how the unit has been set up, both cohorts may have access to the unit in September, or maybe the January cohort won’t be able to see the unit until the lecturer releases it to them at a later date.

Lecturers decide when to release their Teaching Block 2 unit(s). Some lecturers prefer to release them when the students break up for the Christmas vacation so that they can start looking at them, while others wait until the first day back or when the first session starts. Some students may be able to see their Teaching Block 2 units now.  It really is up to the individual lecturer.

We’re often are asked why does the January code not reflect the new year – for example, why does the code say 17JAN and not 18JAN, as in 2018. This is because the code is taken from the year that the academic year started in, so as this academic year started in 2017, the code is 17JAN.

This is not to be confused with courses that actually start in January 2018 where there might be the odd short name that does end in 18JAN.

It’s all very confusing at times, but whatever course you’re on and whenever it started, as long as you can see your unit when the lecturer says you should be able to see it, that’s the main thing. If you can’t see your unit(s), please email us at servicedesk@port.ac.uk.

In the meantime, the TEL Team would like to wish everyone Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year.

Image credits:   https://pixabay.com/en/sparrows-christmas-christmas-time-2900850

The image taken from Moodle login page. Four boxes for different areas

Top Five Moodle Questions asked by Staff

September 11, 2017 / / 0 Comments

At the beginning of each new academic year TEL receives many Moodle queries from staff – here are the top five that we’re asked:

Q1) I cannot see my unit(s) on my Moodle Homepage, why not?

A1) Are you a new member of staff or have you recently taken over the unit? Has the unit changed name/code and has it had a Moodle presence previously? These are some of the reasons you may not be able to see a unit on your homepage, to help us resolve the issue for you we will require some details about the unit(s) – the unit title and/or the unit code, the level of the access that you require for the unit(s), and your username. With this information we can add you to the unit or create a blank unit (or clone an existing one) for you to build.

Q2) My students are not attached to my unit, why not?

A2) Students are added to units in Moodle by mapping course codes and registration instances, or unit codes and attendance groups against Student Records. We do not manually add students as such access will not update should they change their units of study.  Let us know if you are missing students and we will try to see if we can resolve this problem for you or bring it to the attention of your course administrators if a change needs to be made in Student Records.

Q3) I can see my students are attached to my unit, but they are saying that they cannot see the unit, why not?

A3) It could be that your unit is still hidden from student view.  

To unhide your unit, go to the unit, click on the Administration tab, click on Edit settings, click on the drop down arrow in the Visible box, click on ‘Show’ scroll down and click on ‘Save and display’.  Once your students have refreshed their Moodle page, students should be able to see the unit.  If students still cannot see the unit, please supply the unit’s details and we will investigate to see if we can resolve this issue.  

It’s also important to remember that units ending in JAN stay hidden from student view until January, so you’ll see the students on the unit, but the students won’t see the unit on their homepage.

Q4) My colleague needs access to my unit, can I add them myself?

A4) Yes you can – click on the Administration tab, click on Users, then click on Enrolled users.  On this page click on the Enrol users box, a small box will appear, first assign the role you wish your colleague to have from the drop-down menu, then type their name in the search box and click on search. Find the person and click on the Enrol button next to their names, then click ‘Finish enrolling users’.  When your colleague refreshes their page or logs into Moodle the unit will appear on their homepage.  With Lecturer access you can give a colleague a ‘Lecturer’, ‘non-editing Teacher’ or ‘Guest’ role, you cannot assign the ‘Student’ role.

Alternatively, complete the Moodle Request form on the Self Service portal and we’ll add new users for you. See our Using Service Desk for your TEL Queries blog for more information.

Q5) Some students can see my unit but other students cannot. I have more than one unit code attached to it, is this the reason?

A5) Yes, Moodle only attaches the first unit code automatically, other unit codes within the title will need to be cohort synced once each year. For this to happen, please email the unit details to elearn@port.ac.uk and we’ll cohort sync the code(s) to the unit.

Speech bubbles with question inside

Did you know? – Self Service Forms

April 20, 2017 / / 0 Comments

We often receive numerous emails containing the questions above in the TEL department. After a few emails back and forth, it is only when we are finally given all the information required, can we complete the request. To make this process easier for both parties, we have collaborated with IS to create some forms for you to complete.

The Moodle Request forms are now available for all staff to use on the Self Service portal  (https://servicedesk.port.ac.uk/sw/selfservice/portal.php#home). These forms are in the same format as other forms in the portal. Those of you who have used the forms before will know, they are easy to follow.

To use these forms, go to your Self Service Portal, click on ‘Sign In’, then click on the ‘Log a Service Request’. You can click either the large square box or the smaller tab under the Home tab, on the left-hand side.

self service portal dashboard

Once on the next page scroll down to the ‘Your Services’ block, where you will see the ‘Moodle Request’ icon.  When you click on the icon, it will take you to the ‘Service Details’ (Moodle Request) section. Here you’ll see three options to choose from:

  • Add staff to a unitmoodle request icon
  • Creating an account for an external person
  • Create a new unit

Here is the block you will see:

moodle request screen

Click on the option you require and complete the necessary information.

Here is an example of how to give a member of staff access to a unit in Moodle:

grant staff access screen

Click on the circle next to ‘Grant staff access to a Moodle unit’ then click on the ‘Next’ button, this will take you to the next part of the form.  Information required to complete these boxes are: (1) unit code or the URL, (2) the person’s full name (as you start to type, the box will offer you names – if you see the person you want, click on them) or username and (3) the level of access required. To help you, there is a drop down arrow on the right hand side so you can choose one of the five roles.

staff access to moodle unit

If you’re happy with the information you have supplied click the ‘Submit’ button. If not, you can always click the ‘Back’ button to go back to the previous page. Once the form has been submitted, the next screen to appear will give you a reference number, at the same time an email will appear in your email box confirming the details you have requested.

moodle request email

If you then click on the ‘Home’ button on Self Service Portal, you will see that your request is the first reference in the ‘Recent Request’ section.

What happens next

Service Desk will assign your query to the DCQE Group who will email you back confirming your request has been actioned.

The other two forms follow the same pattern, simple and easy to complete. Should you have problems understanding the questions there is a help section.
When you click on the here link, a new page will appear explaining the questions in more depth.

Another important feature of these forms are that the questions marked with asterisks ✱ are mandatory and must be complete otherwise the form will not let you move on.  Should you miss one of these answers, a box will appear asking you to check your answers and try again, just click on the ‘OK’ button and you will be taken to the box that has not been completed. Add the information required then click ‘Next’ or ‘Submit’.

Please Note: This system has been superseded, IS now use a system called Service Manager.  The links on this blog no longer work.  Please see the blog ‘Using Service Desk for your TEL Queries‘ for updated links.

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