{"id":108,"date":"2023-06-19T08:38:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T08:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/?p=108"},"modified":"2023-06-29T13:03:03","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T13:03:03","slug":"new-features-in-moodle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/06\/19\/new-features-in-moodle\/","title":{"rendered":"New Features in Moodle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">The Moodle upgrade is fast approaching and I thought now would be a good time to highlight a few of the new features that you can expect.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Collapsible course index and &#8216;block drawer&#8217;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Moving activities and resources just got easier!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Starred modules option<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Main menu for easier navigation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">New layout option<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Why not take a look at what your course content looks like in the new version? Use this link to\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-family: helvetica\" href=\"https:\/\/moodletest.lancaster.ac.uk\/uat\/\">https:\/\/moodletest.lancaster.ac.uk\/uat\/<\/a><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">\u00a0(staff only) to view your course. If you would like to add a course to this page, get in touch with a member of the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">For more information on these changes, continue reading below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Collapsible course index and &#8216;block drawer&#8217;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">The option to collapse the columns on the left and right of the page helps to make the page look less &#8216;busy&#8217;. The new course index (on the left) also allows for easier navigation. A grey scroll bar follows you down the course index to show where you are on the page and you can jump between sections and activities. The blocks available in the block drawer and their function remain the same but if you as a user didn&#8217;t use them very much you may prefer to leave the drawer collapsed to avoid cluttering the screen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=513%2C229\" alt=\"Example course on Moodle 4.1\" width=\"513\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=300%2C134&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=1024%2C457&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=768%2C343&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=1536%2C686&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?resize=676%2C302&amp;ssl=1 676w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?w=1921&amp;ssl=1 1921w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?w=1208 1208w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Hotspot-Moodle-Page-for-Students.png?w=1812 1812w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 513px) 100vw, 513px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">2. Moving activities and resources just got easier!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Did you get frustrated trying to move things around on Moodle? This has just become a whole lot easier with the option to easily drag and drop content around the main course page either using the new course index or the central column.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">3. Starred modules option<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">There is a new customisable drop down menu called &#8216;Starred Modules&#8217;. You can add modules from the new &#8216;My modules&#8217; tab. By &#8216;starring&#8217; a module, you add it to this list and you can add or remove modules at anytime to enable speedier navigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-98 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Starred-Modules-1.png?resize=300%2C114\" alt=\"Screenshot of a starred modules drop down list.\" width=\"300\" height=\"114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Starred-Modules-1.png?resize=300%2C114&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Starred-Modules-1.png?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">4. Main menu for easier navigation<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">There is a main menu at the top of your main course page. The different options were previously dotted around with Participants being on the left in the navigation drawer but settings being accessed from the top right of the page. Say hello to speedy navigation!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-99\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Main-Menu.png?resize=416%2C166\" alt=\"The main menu on Moodle 4.1\" width=\"416\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Main-Menu.png?resize=300%2C120&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Main-Menu.png?resize=676%2C270&amp;ssl=1 676w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/Main-Menu.png?w=765&amp;ssl=1 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">5. New layout option<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">There is a new option to organise your topics or weekly formats. You can use the &#8216;One section per page&#8217; option to reduce the amount of material shown on the main course page. All of the activities and resources in a particular section will be shown on a different page. Hopefully an end to the &#8216;scroll of death&#8217; which can lead to content near the bottom being lost or ignored as it is difficult to navigate quickly to the resources you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Check out this video for more details on the &#8216;One Section Per Page&#8217; update:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/estream.lancaster.ac.uk\/View.aspx?id=66773~5q~jPJNMqVUET\">[Moodle] Course Layout: One Section Per Page &#8211; Lancaster eStream: creating and sharing media &#8211; Powered by Planet eStream<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Moodle upgrade is fast approaching and I thought now would be a good time to highlight a few of the new features that you can expect. Collapsible course index and &#8216;block drawer&#8217; Moving activities and resources just got easier! Starred modules option Main menu for easier navigation New layout option Why not take a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/06\/19\/new-features-in-moodle\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Features in Moodle<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[14,5,6],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moodle","tag-improved-ux","tag-moodle","tag-upgrade"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/06\/05\/moodle-upgrade4-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":0},"title":"Moodle 4.1 &#8211; The Upgrade is Coming!","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"June 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On 24th July 2023, we will be updating Moodle here at Lancaster University to version 4.1. This upgrade will hopefully make your modules easier to navigate and give you a better user experience. Watch the video below to find out more... https:\/\/estream.lancaster.ac.uk\/View.aspx?id=66545~5n~GQQbHenNm5 If your department has not yet had a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Moodle logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.4linux.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Consultoria-e-suporte-Voltado-%C3%A0-%C3%A1rea-de-educa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-o-Moodle-%C3%A9-um-sistema-LSM-ou-seja-um-Sistema-de-Gest%C3%A3o-de-Aprendizagem-Learning-Management-System..png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":566,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2024\/08\/01\/moodle-4-3-whats-changed\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":1},"title":"Moodle 4.3 &#8211; What&#8217;s changed?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"August 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As many of you will already know, we updated Moodle to version 4.3 on Tuesday 23rd July 2024. We used to be on version 4.1. so there has been a variety of changes that have occurred with this new update. Now we have all had a bit of time to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A plus sign now appears between two activity cards. The plus sign is in a red circle in between the cards.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/08\/Add-activity-plus-button-300x133.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":547,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2024\/06\/19\/moodle-my-feedback-new-to-moodle-for-24-25\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":2},"title":"Moodle My Feedback \u2013 New to Moodle for 24\/25","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"June 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by Phil Tubman - eLearning Development Officer, Digital Learning Team (ISS) Each year in the Digital Learning Team, we try to improve the Moodle experience for students and staff. During this academic year we have held focus groups with students and listened to their concerns, which overwhelmingly speak of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A module space in Moodle with the 'Feedback' tab on the secondary navigation menu highlighted with a pink box.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-19-at-14.28.13-300x186.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-19-at-14.28.13-300x186.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-19-at-14.28.13-300x186.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/06\/26\/user-experience-what-do-students-like-to-see-in-a-moodle-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":3},"title":"User Experience: What do students like to see in a Moodle space?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Digital Teaching and Learning Team are currently in the process of engaging students and staff in a range of discovery activities to find out about their experience of using Moodle. Over the past couple of weeks, I\u2019ve been conducting focus groups with students to find out more about their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The inside of the University library showing an indoor tree and students studying.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/SL_LancsUni_Jun22_SLV_2116_HR-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":723,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2025\/07\/31\/moodle-update-2025-whats-new\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":4},"title":"Moodle Update 2025: What&#8217;s New?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"July 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lancaster University Moodle has been updated to version 4.5 today! We were previously on version 4.3. So what\u2019s changed and how will this impact users? Some of the main improvements include: Updates to activity icons A new \u2018subsections\u2019 feature Updates to the grading table Improvements to accessibility A screen recording\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The activity picker in Moodle.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2025\/07\/Activity-Icon-Update.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2025\/07\/Activity-Icon-Update.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2025\/07\/Activity-Icon-Update.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2025\/07\/Activity-Icon-Update.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":602,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2024\/09\/20\/a-new-year-a-new-look\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":5},"title":"A new year, a new look!","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"September 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past couple of months, in preparation for the new academic year, I have been supporting staff across the Lancaster Medical School (LMS) and the Division of Health and Research (DHR), to redesign their Moodle pages. The aim has been to create more attractive spaces, that are easier to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moodle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A snapshot of the MBChB Hub Space","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/09\/MBCHB-Hub-Screenshot-268x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}