Activities and Resources

Moodle Resources

A resource is an item that a teacher can use to support learning, such as a file or link. Moodle supports a range of resource types which teachers can add to their courses. While in edit mode, a teacher can add resources via the Add an Activity or Resource link. Resources appear as a single link with an icon in front of it that represents its type.

Below are some of the types of resources which Moodle offers.

• Books

  These are multi-page resources in a book-like format. They can be downloaded in a .PDF format.

• Files

  This could be a picture, video, audio file, document, or spreadsheet.

  Open / Collapse additional info
  • Common formats for pictures include .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .gif format.
  • Common formats for videos include .mp4, .mov and .avi.
  • Common formats for audio files include .mp3, .wav, and .ogg.
  • Documents typically come in either the .docx, .doc, or .pdf format.
  • Spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel) use the .xls format.
    Other notable formats for similar data files include .csv and .ods.

• Folders

  These organizes files and information just like any other folder would. Folders can contain other folders.

• Pages

  The student will see a single, scrollable screen that lecturers can create through an HTML editor.

• Labels

  A label can be a few displayed words, or an image used to separate resources and activities in a topic section. You might want to use them on lengthy descriptions or instruction guides.

• Links / URLs

  You can send the student to any other place on the platform, or to another website entirely. For instance, to another course page or Wikipedia.

Moodle Activities

An activity is a general name for a group of features within a Moodle course. Usually an activity is something which a student will do that facilitates their interaction with the lecturer and their fellow classmates.

In Moodle terminology, an Activity -- such as Forums or Quizzes -- properly means something students can contribute to directly, and is often contrasted to a Resource such as a File or Page, which is presented by the teacher to them. However, the term activity is sometimes, for convenience, also used to refer to both Activities and Resources as a group.

There are fourteen (14) different types of activities in Moodle, accessible when the editing mode is on and the Add An Activity or Resource link is clicked;

• Quizzes

  These allow the lecturer to design and setup quizzes, which can either be automatically or manually marked. Feedback can be given, and students can be allowed to view the correct answers.

• Assignments

  Enables teachers to grade and give comments on uploaded files and assignments created both on and offline.

• Chat

  Allows real-time discussion among participants.

• Forums

  Allows participants to post on a certain topic, as well as comment on other participants' posts.
  This kind of discussion is not in real-time.

• Glossaries

  Glossaries enable participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, effectively serving as a personal dictionary.

• Wikis

  A collection of pages that anyone can contribute to or edit.

• Surveys

  For gathering data from students. This helps teachers to learn about their class and reflect the data collected in their own teaching.

• Workshops

  Used for peer assessment.