General
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March 2:
Gary's office hours for March and sessions on Interactive Video and Preparing for the Purge.
March 2:
Gary's office hours for March and sessions on Interactive Video and Preparing for the Purge.
Instructions: Clicking on the section name will show / hide the section.
Tools for all users to edit the appearance and visibility of Moodle items, including how your preferred name
Follow the steps in this tutorial to have events in the Moodle calendar (including due dates instructors add to assignments and tasks) sent to Google Calendars.
When you logon to Moodle, you land at the dashboard. Open this page to see a video that gives you a brief tour of how it works.
When users log on to Moodle, they land at dashboard which can be customized to make it easy to find the courses you need.
The Moodle classrooms to which you have access are listed in the "Course overview" block on your dashboard. This page gives suggestions on how to customize the courses that are displayed there.
By updating their preferred name in MyGCC, users can change the names displayed to all users of Moodle.
Moodle sends notifications of several different types of events to users. These can be managed in your preferences.
Faculty have control over the visibility of courses. If it is set to "Hide," then it will be unavailable to students.
Once inside their classroom, faculty use several controls for building the classroom.
This course format will minimize the amount of scrolling users must do to navigate your classroom.
There are three choices for decreasing the amount scrolling needed to navigate your courses.
Use the Powerpoint presentation linked here to create an image that will be displayed on your (and your students') dashboard (s).
Almost every word processing or presentation software includes the option of saving files in PDF.
View a PDF version of the presentation used in the video (the PDF has the spelling mistake fixed!)
Using Adobe Scan, an app available for iPhone (and iPad) and Android devices, you can take a picture of a document and convert it to a PDF file which can be uploaded to Moodle.
When I first used Adobe Scan to upload to Moodle, I had to take a few extra steps to get my iPad to show me the PDF's I had created with Adobe Scan. I explain what I did in this video:
You can learn more about Adobe Scan on the Adobe web site.
This tools allows faculty to view PDF submissions in the web browser without the need to download. Several tools are available for marking up the file, as well as providing typed feedback, entering a grade to be displayed in the grade book, and uploading a feedback file.
This is a copy of the item in the section in grading for faculty.
The ATTO text editor is used to create all content on Moodle, including forum posts.
This is used to compose content in a wide variety of places in Moodle including forums, wikis, pages, and essay questions in quizzes. The tools described here are available wherever the ATTO text editor is installed.
The ATTO text editor is used throughout Moodle. Students and instructors use it when composing forum posts or replies, creating pages, and creating other content in Moodle. We have configured Moodle so that YouTube videos are automatically embedded in the text, so video appears without the need to click into YouTube. Further, the advertisements, comments, and recommended video that can distract us are not included when following the recommended steps.
GCC recommends video content be posted to YouTube and embedded in Moodle using the ATTO text editor.
Before uploading videos longer than 15 minutes and to Go Live, users must verify their YouTube accounts.
In spring 2020, YouTube updated the system whereby users upload video, this page was created on May 1, 2020 and reflects those changes.
Follow the steps on this page to find the video recordings of Zoom meetings saved to your computer.
All videos made available to the GCC community should be appropriately closed captioned.
The ATTO text editor is used throughout Moodle. Students and instructors use it when composing forum posts or replies, creating pages, and creating other content in Moodle. We have configured Moodle so that YouTube videos are automatically embedded in the text, so video appears without the need to click into YouTube. Further, the advertisements, comments, and recommended video that can distract us are not included when following the recommended steps.
A playlist that summarizes options for creating digital video files.
These pages have advice for students.
Follow the steps on this page to see how to submit assignments.
Follow these steps for submitting PDF files if you are using a Chromebook to access Moodle classrooms.
Follow these steps for submitting PDF files if you are using a G Suite as your word processor.
Once assignments have been submitted, student can check the status. Some faculty "hide" grades until they have graded all submissions.
Many students choose to use a Chromebook as they are an inexpensive way to get online. This module includes some tips for Chromebook users.
Chromebooks are excellent devices for those who need an easy-to-use and inexpensive devices to access Moodle and G Suite, but they do have some limitations. This page details the capacity of Chromebooks.
Follow these steps for submitting PDF files if you are using a Chromebook to access Moodle classrooms.
Some Chromebook users must add an extension to ensure they can open rich text format (rtf) files. Steps for installing RTF Viewer are on this page.
G Suite accounts (also called Google Drive and Google Docs) are available for all GCC students, faculty, and staff.
Follow these steps for submitting PDF files if you are using a G Suite as your word processor.
One of the great advantages of using Google Drive is that files can be shared. This page summarizes what those new to Google should know about sharing.
Linking to a Google Doc files from Moodle is useful for distributing files you want students to be able to edit or download.
This page demonstrates how to embed Google files in Moodle using iframes and the html option in Moodle pages.
Google Slides is the G Suite version of PowerPoint; PPT files can be uploaded to Google Drive and many of the animations and timings (but not voice overs!) are compatible and are preserved when presentations are uploaded and converted to Slides.
Follow the steps in this tutorial to have events in the Moodle calendar (including due dates instructors add to assignments and tasks) sent to Google Calendars.
Google Meet and YouTube Live are alternatives to Zoom Meetings that are supported by GCC IT.
This page give the method for sharing your screen while also seeing the participants in your meeting. This does require two devices.
We cannot initiate calls to landlines from Google Meet or Zoom, but others can call in to meetings we have created. Open this page to see how landlines can call in to your Zoom meeting.
A video conferencing tool available through G Suite. Students can access this tool as part of their GCC email account. Faculty and staff need to activate their Google accounts. (If you have forgotten you G Suite credentials or never received them, submit a help ticket and you will get an "activate your account" link in your GCC email soon. This link must be activated within 48 hours).
One of the complaints about Google Meet is that one cannot see all of the participants one one screen. This page takes you through the steps of adding a Chrome extension call "Google Meet Grid View" which add this capability.
Many thanks to the student who suggested this extension to their instructor and to that instructor who passed it along!
Install this Chrome extension to save closed captions of your meetings to G Suite.
This page reviews how to install and use Tactiq. Which saves the closed captions generated during a Google Meet conference.
Currently, this has only materials related to Light gallery.
The Lightbox Gallery is a tool some faculty use to facilitate discussion about images students upload. This page gives directions for uploading and editing images as well as commenting on others' images,
Find directions for adding students and others to your classrooms, moving content from one course to another, and tracking students' participation are found here.
It is very important to check this so your course does not disappear!
The groups responsible for Quickmail stopped development in 2018. As a result, it no longer functions as expected. While it still sends mail, when instructors check the history, an error is returned. We recommend faculty use the work arounds described on this page.
Scheduler is a tool that allows faculty to add time slots to a classroom; students can self-schedule appointments (or faculty can schedule for them). It will even send email reminders of appointments on the morning it is scheduled.
Using "Dates," faculty can see all of the due dates in their course on one page. This is especially useful for those who teach from course that have been copied from previous terms.
Faculty can use this option to copy amounts of contents from one course to another. This can be used rather than submitting a help ticket to request IT copy content for you.
This block (which was added to our installation in June 2020) allows teachers to copy content from one course to another without the need to import.
When adding other who need permission to add content to your courses, it is best to assign those individuals the role of "Publisher." This role has been updated to allow editing, but maintains students' privacy.
This is often used to keep the current week or topic at the top of the page.
Metacourses are Moodle classrooms in which students from multiple sections are enrolled. This allows faculty to use a single classroom for those classes they teach multiples sections. This page details how to create groups of students based on their section enrollments.
This block displays the students who have not logged on to the course in the times you configure.
There are a few options for faculty to see summaries or reports of students' participation in their Moodle courses.
A brief rationale for taking the time to set up due dates for your assignments, forums, and other items.
Just what the title suggests :)
There are several reasons students cannot see their grades in the Gradebook. This page describes to most common reason.
"I want blank grades to convert to zeroes automatically when students don't take a quiz on Moodle."
While it seems unnecessary, it is best to create categories (one for each quiz you will administer) and add questions to that category.
Moodle makes it possible to specify many aspects of how the quiz in administered. This page details the choices.
Once students have completed the quiz, there are several options for grading them. This page describes the method that weems to work for mot instructors.
There are multiple options for adding questions to Moodle. These options are described on this page.
Once any student has attempted a quiz, it cannot be edited. Before any attempt, a teacher may add, remove, or edit questions questions.
On occasion, students will log out of Moodle without finishing the "submit" process at the end of a quiz. Their work is usually saved, but will not appear in the grade book. This page shows you how to find students' work.
Assignments are digital drop boxes where students can upload PDF and other files.
Find students' submissions and open them for grading following the steps on this page.
This tools allows faculty to view PDF submissions in the web browser without the need to download. Several tools are available for marking up the file, as well as providing typed feedback, entering a grade to be displayed in the grade book, and uploading a feedback file. This page includes a video demonstration (apologies, I forgot to capture at high resolution!) that demonstrates using the "Annotate PDF" interface.
Rubrics are a widely used tool for grading students? work. When
they are provided to student before they complete work, it is reasoned, students
will have a better idea of what the expectations are.
Tools for adding content, adding and using interactive tools, and managing student participation in your course are here. For details on video conferencing see either Google Meet and YouTube Live or Using Zoom.
This page describes the primary types of content that faculty add to Moodle classrooms and links to other pages within the Moodle Users classroom that provide step-by-step instructions. These recommendations were updated in spring 2020 to take advantage of the affordances of Google Drive.
Regardless of the type of file on content being embedded, it is recommended the files be linked from Moodle pages. The rationale for that recommendation is described on this page.
Unless using Powerpoint is part of your curriculum, PPT files should be managed in one of these ways:
a) exported as PDF before being uploaded and linked in Moodle,
b) exported as an .mp4 file and uploaded to YouTube before being embedded in Moodle,
c) uploaded to G Suite and published before being embedded in Moodle pages (details for this are in the G Suite section).
The images on this page are available on this PDF file.
Screencastify allows users to capture what is displayed in Google Chrome (along with either audio or video). Recordings up to 5 minutes can be created and are stored in users' Google Drive. This page takes users through the steps of using Screencastify and adding closed captions to the videos.
Linking to a Google Doc files from Moodle is useful for distributing files you want students to be able to edit or download.
There are multiple options for adding Google files to Moodle. Page explains three.
Google Slides is the G Suite version of PowerPoint; PPT files can be uploaded to Google Drive and many of the animations and timings (but not voice overs!) are compatible and are preserved when presentations are uploaded and converted to Slides.
The ATTO text editor is used throughout Moodle. Students and instructors use it when composing forum posts or replies, creating pages, and creating other content in Moodle. We have configured Moodle so that YouTube videos are automatically embedded in the text, so video appears without the need to click into YouTube. Further, the advertisements, comments, and recommended video that can distract us are not included when following the recommended steps.
First half is the technical aspect of using library streaming services; second half discusses how licenses work with both library materials and Netflix/Hulu/Amazon.
This block (which was added to our installation in June 2020) allows teachers to copy content from one course to another without the need to import.
Faculty can use this option to copy amounts of contents from one course to another. This can be used rather than submitting a help ticket to request IT copy content for you.
There is a "Course Announcements" forum added to each Moodle classroom at GCC by default. Any announcements added to that forum are both posted there and sent to students automatically.
This page contains a video gives a quick demonstration of how forums work in Moodle.
This page take you through the steps of creating a forum that students complete in "group mode" which means they post and reply only to those who have been assigned to the same group.
This is the "old" method of grading forums. Some faculty configure this to allow another method of interacting on forums.
Follow these steps to include a document with your announcement.
This is a group annotation tool that has been recommended at GCC since early 2020. This page demonstrates creating an account, installing the Chrome extension, and adding annotations to a web page.
This is a group annotation tool that has been recommended at GCC since early 2020. This page demonstrates creating and using a private group.
Wikis are just like Wikipedia-a collection of pages that can be edited by anyone enrolled your course (or a group).
Add a folder where students can upload files. This can also be a better option for adding files to your course than the Folder activity.
Add a collection of student-created galleries where you and students can upload files to be viewed by everyone in the course.
With the upgrade to Moodle 3.9, we were forced to find an alternative to the no-longer supported QuickMail block. This page contains a slide show describing alternatives.
Follow these steps to include a document with your announcement.
This page displays a playlist of videos that summarize steps for making your course materials more accessible.
Zoom is one video conferencing platform support by GCC's IT team. This section contains tips and tutorials for both faculty, staff, and students.
Follow the steps on this page to add backgrounds to your image when using Zoom. This is a good way to improve your privacy.
Make these changes in your settings to improve the quality of the audio and video in your Zoom meeting for those who are connecting over "weak connections."
This page contains a video demonstration showing how to:
By default, "External tools" (including Zoom meetings) added to Moodle classrooms are graded by default. This page describes how to make Zoom meetings "ungraded."
Follow the steps on this page to find the video recordings of Zoom meetings saved to your computer.
Use the participants button to control audio, make others co-host, and otherwise manage their permissions.
Follow these steps for handing hosting duties over to another participant.
This page give the method for sharing your screen while also seeing the participants in your meeting. This does require two devices.
Steps for adding recurring meetings to Zoom using the external tool. If you see and error in Moodle, read this page!
Open this page to see suggestions on which options to select when scheduling meetings.
"Zoombombing" has become a "thing." Basically, individuals are finding Zoom meetings that are open, and connecting with the intent of disrupting the meeting. This page suggests strategies for securing your Zoom meetings.
By default GCC allows only the host to share their screen during a meeting. Hosts or co-hosts can change this during a meeting; directions are on this page.
Anne Wiley shared this PDF article from the Chronicle of Higher Education: Turns Out You Can Build Community in a Zoom Classroom
For those who have Zoom licenses, the polls options is available. This video on this page is from Zoom's technical support and it reviews how polls work and how to create them using the Zoom web site.
Follow these recommended procedures for creating a single Zoom meeting for office hours available to students in different sections or courses.
This presentation summarizes how to add alternative and co-hosts to your meetings.
Unless you edit the hyperlink of the URL, the passcode is embedded in the URL, so your meeting isn't really secure. This presentation reviews how to require participants to enter the passcode.
There were a number of workshops offered by and sponsored by GCC over the summer of 2020. Recordings and materials are provided here.
Gary an abbreviated version of Gary's presentation "mixing up the interactions" with wikis and Hypothes.is. is available inside this page.
Danielle hosted a session focusing on the use of blocks to customize your Moodle classroom.
We have configured Moodle to embed both files created using Google Workspaces applications and files stored in Google Workspaces when the URL's are pasted into items created using the ATTO text editor.