The Moodle Baseline sets out the expectations of what an effective and useful LSE Moodle Cour should look like and suggests essential elements that all Moodle course designers should consider to use or add. This page is updated and/or added to regularly, e.g. when new accessibility tools are rolled out. |
Sections are topped by Guiding Questions in (blue) information panels with an (i) icon on the left hand side. |
Expanded (Sub) Sections are tailed by Accessibility pointers and/or key takeaways in (green) information panels with a tick icon on the left hand side. Together they form an executive summary. |
Keywords for each section are highlighted in (pink) information panels with a purple note icon on the left hand side.
Keywords for each section are highlighted in (pink) information panels with a purple note icon on the left hand side.
Guiding question: have you arranged your course and its elements clearly structured, concisely and meaningfully? |
1.1 Choose your course formatWe recommend you choose the grid format or the collapsed topics format. Other formats are available, but not all are accessible (eg Buttons format) or not great for navigation (eg causing long scrolling).
Use the grid format to create a compact and attractive arrangement. See this trailblazer highlight.
Use the collapsed topics format for a linear arrangement.
For more visit our Moodle Course Format page. |
You must set the grid format setting to “Show one section per page” so that screenreaders can navigate through them. The collapsed topics format is accessible by screenreaders, but in some versions not possible to navigate using a keyboard. |
1.2 Be economical with your sections, name them clearly
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Don’t use too many sections, don’t overload sections with text Students can access their course on a handheld device, smartphone or small tablet, where scrolling is more of an issue than on a large screen, so the less they have to scroll, the better. Use pages and the book to organise information Test-view your course arrangement on a smartphone or tablet, in different browsers and on the app. |
1.3 StructureStructure your course clearly to help students navigate (unfamiliar) courses easily, understand the sequence of activities, and have access to resources quickly.
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Be concise |
1.4 DeclutterDecluttering is a key design concept. It is about making online resources more legible and easier to navigate, and minimising visual and cognitive overload. Its main tenets are to get rid of unnecessary elements and make good use of white space. You might be interested in this UI (= User Interface) relevant article on How to Declutter your Design.
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Remove unneccesary elements (like side menus/ blocks) |
Clarity; consistency; declutter; (avoid) duplication; navigation; structure; white space
Clarity; consistency; declutter; (avoid) duplication; navigation; structure; white space
Guiding question: Is it clear to students what they are meant to do, where and when? |
Give clear instructions on how learners are expected to use and engage with you and each other in Moodle.
2.1 Learning Outcomes
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2.2 Be explicit about your expectations
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Activity completion; Explicit; Expectations; Learning outcomes; Online and Offline
Activity completion; Explicit; Expectations; Learning outcomes; Online and Offline
Guiding question: Does the course contain a clear, consistent, well thought out communication practice? |
Ensure effective and consistent online communication with and between students.
3.1 Give clear instructions on how Moodle will be used to communicateUse the information book (the course itinerary, cf also the declutter section) to
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Encourage students to upload profile pictures: adding names to faces makes it easier to connect and communication more intimate. |
3.2 Use the right tool for the right purpose: Forums, Zoom, echo, teams, oneNote
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Having more than one communication method, gives students more flexible access to important information. Remember that some students may access their learning materials and activities (including messages) at any time and from different locations. Be consistent in your approach, avoid cognitive overload and/or confusion. |
Clarity; Cognitive overload (avoid); Communication; Confusion (avoid); Consistency; Friendliness;
Clarity; Cognitive overload (avoid); Communication; Confusion (avoid); Consistency; Friendliness;
Guiding question: Is your course designed to be user-friendly and accessible to all? |
4.1 AccessibilityAccessibility is about (barrier-free) access. No student or staff member should be excluded from using something on the basis of careless design. Accessibility means that everybody can do what they need to do in a similar amount of time and effort, being mindful of physical and neural diversity. It is imperative that no student or staff is frustrated by something that is poorly designed or implemented. Moodle (the system itself) is designed in accordance with W3C accessibility guidelines. But it is your responsibility to ensure fair access to things you put into Moodle, as much as you are responsible for how you design your teaching interventions/ learning activities, on campus and online. For example, not everybody is physically able to endure very long Zoom meetings, so no course should be run where such meetings make up the bulk of your teaching. Reasons could be various and do not necessarily have to do with registerd ‘disability’. It could be a bandwidth or connectivity issue, Zoom fatigue is a real thing, computer equipment may be old or poor, and so on. Moodle activities can be used to diversify your teaching interventions. In particular, you should consider a good mix of face to face teaching and asynchronous learning activities. Please consult our Accessibility: Designing for diverse learners pages. Read our Moodle accessibility statement. |
Moodle is designed in accordance with W3C accessibility guidelines. It is your responsibility to ensure fair access to ‘things’ you put into Moodle, as much as you are responsible for how you design your teaching interventions/ learning activities, on campus and online. |
4.2 UsabilityUsability is about ease of access. Usability is a measure of how well a specific user in a specific context can use a product/design to achieve a defined goal effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily.
Accessibility and Usability should go hand in hand, they are not either/or options. |
Accessibility and Usability are not either/or options. |
4.3 Universal DesignUniversal Design is about inclusive access. Universal Design is a concept that attempts to go beyond accessibility plus usability (barrier-free concepts). Universal Design is about making things, infrastructures, buildings, online experiences and so on accessible to the largest group of people, to the greatest possible extent, usable in the most independent and natural way, and in the widest (possible) range of situations. Universal Design is by definition design for all, its principles logically lead to good design, and it is morally the only acceptible design. Universal Design incorporates and enhances the earlier concepts of Accessibility and Usability. Interestingly - though this should not be a primary motivation - designing universally from the outset is more cost-effective than adapting existent non-universally designed resources and things. For example, accessibility features such as ramps or wheelchair friendly lifts add 1% to building costs, adding adaptations later costs much more (E.Steinfeld, Education for all, 2005) Read more: The 7 Principles of Universal Design Open University Blog post on Designing Learning for Autistic and Neurodiverse Students Definition and Overview of Universal Design by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design |
It is all our responsibility to ensure fair access to the things we put into Moodle. For more on Accessibility, JISC provide an excellent, up-to-date and concise Quick Guide to Getting Started with Accessibility. |
Universal Design goes beyond the tenets of Accessibility and Usability and should be at the forefront of your mind when designing. |
Accessibility; Barrier-free; Ease of use; Fairness; Inclusion; Universal Design; Usability;
Accessibility; Barrier-free; Ease of use; Fairness; Inclusion; Universal Design; Usability;
Guiding questions: what activities and resources can you add to make student engage with your teaching in Moodle? Which activities support which learning outcome? |
5.1 ActivitiesThe most compelling features in Moodle are activities. Used well, they can really scaffold your students' learning.
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5.2 ResourcesWhile Moodle should never be considered as a resources delivery system ('glorified dropbox'), of course resources make up a large part of each Moodle course.
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Consult our practical guide to creating accessible resources |
5.3 BlocksBlocks can be very useful, but should be used with caution. Consider, is a block really necessary, or can your course do without? For example, the calendar block is unnecessary if it only contains reminders to assignment deadlines. It was good 6 years ago, but now assignments display this themselves. In Moode 3.9 and beyond, every students dashboard also has a timeline that reminds them. You can disable (hide from view) the navigation block, if it is in the way. The Activities block is much more useful and you will want to have as few blocks as possible to keep your course tidy. |
5.4 CollaborationMoodle has plenty of tools that encourage peer communication and collaboration. where Forums are particularly simple, familiar and accessible. A collaborative Wiki, a databse, general Forum or blog, all can be used for structured projects that help develop new ideas together in small groups or across a course. A Glossary allows students to build up new understanding and subject vocabulary for and with each others. Small group projects can be presented to other groups in seminars using Zoom. |
Activities; Blocks; Collaboration; Content; Engagement; Peer learning; Scaffolding; Support;
Activities; Blocks; Collaboration; Content; Engagement; Peer learning; Scaffolding; Support;
Guiding question: are your assessments set up properly, and are the instructions concise and clear? |
6.1 Assessment BasicsDon’t let assessment dominate the Moodle course page. Assessment information should be easily found and accessed, but should not be displayed at the top. Try to link your assessment design to your learning outcomes - and be explicit about the link to your students (see above).
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Be clear about assessment instructions, but don’t overload the descriptions pages. Put general information into your administration book. |
6.2 Assessment SettingsSee our suite of guidance documents on our Wiki for all assessment considerations, principles and settings.
To diversify your assessment, consult the Eden Centre Assessment Toolkit. Many activities in Moodle can be ‘rated’ or ‘assessed’, eg Quiz, Blogs (can be graded in 3.9) and H5P activities. |
6.3 Assessment FeedbackLearn how to provide feedback on assignments in Moodle. Consult HEA feedback toolkit. |
6.4 Using TurnitinWe strongly recommend that you allow students to use Turnitin to check their citing and referencing. Turnitin works best if it is used as a learning tool to check for omissions or mistakes - much like a spell checker. This will help students form an understanding of how to reference properly, and the importance of academic integrity. If used only for administrative purposes (and without allowing students at the very least to see the reports when they are generated), TurnItIn is merely a tool to catch students out, and such use implicitly presumes guilt as opposed to affording the benefit of doubt. We have a suite of guidance on Turnitin on this Wiki. |
Turnitin is best used as a tool for learning the importance of academic integrity. Given to students as a checking tool it can help students learn how to cite and reference correctly. |
Assignments; Assessment; Diversification; Feedback; Plagiarism; Turnitin; Quiz
Assignments; Assessment; Diversification; Feedback; Plagiarism; Turnitin; Quiz
Guiding question: are you digitally literate? |
The term Digital Literacy has been defined in the past as “the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet.” (Jisc, 2013), but has since then be widened to emphasise the skills and attributes that a digitally literate person brings to a world in which the digital is everywhere. It is about understanding the digital world as much as it is about utilising it.
You have to do what is right in a virtual learning environment as much as you would in a physical learning environment.
7.1 Files/ ResourcesMoodle is a teaching and learning platform and not designed to be used as a file repository like a glorified dropbox. The upload limit for any one resource is 100Mb - this has been increased to allow for online assessment, but it is not an ideal. Remember, anything large you upload may have to be streamed or downloaded, which could put a strain on your students' bandwidth or be impossible if they have bad connections. You should upload files only when alternative tools won’t work. This is also important for copyright reasons (see next section). Integrated tools or links to other systems include:
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7.2 IP and CopyrightYou have to do what is right in a virtual learning environment as much as you would in a physical learning environment. Moodle is a closed system (= available only via login with LSE credentials), but the CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) are allowed to audit our Moodle site.
The library have a webpage on copyright advice. Wendy Lynwood is the copyright officer at LSE. |
7.3 Translate not transposeMany teachers fear that they do not know how to do what they do face to face in a virtual setting, thinking that their practice should be replicated or transposed, which leads to the virtual experience being inferior to the physical. Instead, we should translate the ‘old normal’ face-to-face teaching to the ‘new normal’ blended and online learning. Contact your eden.digital departmental learning technology adviser if you are not sure: we are your translators. |
7.4 The platform doesn't matterLearning to use Moodle is not a good in itself, like for example a transferable skill, unless it is thought of in a generic sense. There are other platforms that do very similar things; we chose Moodle because of its strong pedagogical underpinnings. Essentially, online platforms for learning and teaching work on the same principles: you get out what you put in. Understanding what educational technology can do to support learning (and teaching) is what matters. Similarly, “Dos and Donts of educational technology” apply to Moodle as much as to any other Educational technology. A few quick pointers:
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Think pedagogically when designing your Moodle course for learning. |
7.5 BehaviourNetiquette We have produced a guide on netiquette, a portmanteau word (net etiquette) that describes common courtesy rules for engaging with others online. You are welcome to copy and/or download it and add to your course/ add to your general book. In sum, be online what you are face to face:
Zoom behaviour Do not force your students to have their camera on - Zoom fatigue is a real thing and not everybody is comfortable showing themselves, their families or their home to others. We have practical guides on how to use Zoom in combination with Moodle. You may be interested in https://blog.zoom.us/host-more-accessible-meetings/ .
Language
More on writing tone for online audiences: Chapter 3 of Humanizing Online Learning and Teaching, and Chapter 11 of Humanizing Online Learning and Teaching. (2016) |
Four causes of zoom fatigue. How to combat zoom fatigue. |
Behaviour; Copyright (c); Digital Literacy; General Advice; Intellectual Property Right (IPR); Netiquette; Zoom
Behaviour; Copyright (c); Digital Literacy; General Advice; Intellectual Property Right (IPR); Netiquette; Zoom