Moodle Checklist

• Choosing a good course format will help ensure Consistency.
• Note: for all academic modules the decision on a course format has been made at the university level.
  • The Brookes VLE template is based on the Topics course format.
• What is the benefit to choosing the Topics course format?
  • All materials for different weeks and/or units will be displayed separately, reducing confusion on what is required each week.
  • All course sections are collapsible which reduces scrolling (especially for courses with a lot of content) and they can be collapsed/expanded individually or all at once.

The Brookes VLE template for academic modules includes 5 standard sections at the top of the course.

1. Overview includes:
   • the announcements forum.
   • module evaluations.
   • ‘How to navigate this course’ instructional video.
2. Key Resources includes:
   • module guides
   • the reading list
   • link to the Zoom LTI (to schedule Zoom meetings for the course)
   • link to the Panopto video library
3. Any Questions? includes:
   • a Q&A forum
   • Contacts page for instructors
4. Assessment includes:
   • All assessment information and submission points.
   • Turnitin guidance and Feedback guidance
5. Resits
   • a hidden section that contains resit information and dropboxes.

How to add resources:

• Add a file resource.
  • Use File Resources to add documents and PDFs.
• Add a URL link.
  • Use the URL resource to add links to GoogleDocs and other online resources.

How to add activities:

• How do I add a Turnitin dropbox?
• How do I add a Moodle dropbox?

• Using headings and subheadings to organise your course materials will help ensure Coherence.
• Think of all of your activities and resources as a bulleted list of items.
  • There need to be headings and subheadings for different sections of the list.
  • For example, instead of just adding a Power Point file. First add a Text and media area named ‘Lecture’ then add the PowerPoint file beneath the label.
  • Items that are indented below the associated Text and media area are more easy to follow.
• Add section headers and headings so that all activities and resources are clearly titled, and described.
  • Organise content using clear subheadings for different sections and collections of resources so that it is obvious what students need to access and why.
  • Use full description to make it clear what students need to do and when.
• Avoid adding long lists of URL links and files without sufficient headings as these are difficult to understand.

• Text and media area resources allow you to add headings so that it is clear what students need to do with a group of resources and activities.
• How do I add headings and subheadings to Moodle.

• Using Pages to organise your course materials will help ensure Coherence.
• If you have a lot of resources to introduce, make use of the Page resource to organise content.
  • For example, use the Page resource to introduce the week’s preparation.
  • Use the Page to organise long lists of URL links, to introduce themes and new information.
  • By using a Page resource in Moodle, there is only one link to click rather than a long list.

• How to add a Page resource.
• The Atto HTML editor is the default and supported editor in Moodle and a lot of our guidance will assume that you are using that in your Moodle account.

• Use multimedia and interactive content to help ensure Choice.
• Consider using authoring tools, such as H5P, and audio/visual content when appropriate and relevant.
  • Choose wisely, so that the interactive content appropriately conveys the meaning of the material.

• H5P (HTML5 Package) activities are available from the activity chooser in Moodle.
• Consider embedding Youtube videos so that students have good diverse resources.
• Here are some suggestions for adapting resources into interactive and multimedia content.
  • Do you have a static Timeline on PDF? Why not use Timeline H5P Activity
  • Instead of a statistical report, make it into an infographic. (Venngage has a free trial.)
  • Have you checked online repositories for a video/audio copy of a famous speech rather than the text?
    • British Film Institute Player.
    • Box of Broadcasts.

• Add full details of the teaching team, including images and research interests to help build a Community.
• In the Any Questions? section of the Brookes VLE template for academic courses there should be a Page resource where you can add this information.
• The contact details for the course team should also appear in the module guide.

• There is already a Q&A forum in the Any Questions? section of the Brookes VLE template for academic courses, but you can also add a social forum to your Moodle course to help build a Community.
• Asynchronous messaging in a blended learning or distance learning module encourages informal discussion and helps to inspire collaboration.

• To add a forum in Moodle courses
• Manage small group discussions in Moodle courses

• Use multiple types of media and imagery to help ensure Choice.
• Include strong, striking, images that convey meaning and provide extension to course content.
• You can also provide ‘branding’ like a logo, decorative banners, to introduce your course to your students and offer Consistency of experience across a programme.

• In the text editor of any Text and media area resource, you can add an image by clicking the down arrow for More buttons and then the Insert or Edit Image button.

Image Properties

• Add a URL to an existing image.
• Browse repositories to upload an image file.
• Describe this image for someone who cannot see it so that when the image is not viewable the content and meaning of the image will be clear.
• If the image is purely decorative (i.e. just a image to include fun or interest to the course content) then you can select Description not necessary.
• When you choose an image, the Size will populate automatically. You can then change this to make images smaller by ticking the Autosize tickbox and reducing the Size manually.
• Click Save Image to continue.

It is very tempting in Moodle courses to start with bold vibrant styling and introduce colour into the environment. Yet, before you start introducing new colours, think about what those colours will be adding to your environment.

• Are you colour coding assessments and resources so that it is easier to see the difference at a glance?
• Is colour the only indicator of the difference you are trying to show?
• Colour can be used as a good ‘sorting’ device and provide interest and greater understanding to different sections in your course materials and resource.
• Be careful not to use too many different colours. Use 1 or 2 at most as including too many different colours will be distracting to some users.

• The current Brookes theme was introduced partially as a means to make our Moodle environment more accessible. It is for that reason that there are a limited amount of colours for you to choose from from the colour pickers.

Colour Combinations and Suggestions

• You should be aware of the colour combinations you are using and try to use only one or two primary colours with one other used as emphasis or for styling (borders, bold text, etc).
• A good combination would be a Light Grey Background, Black Text, and a single accent colour for styling.
• If you are signalling emphasis, do not use colour alone. Screen readers generally recognise bold and italics. They adjust the voice to indicate such emphasis. They do not recognise colour change as a change in emphasis.
• Avoid highlighting text for emphasis. This can make the screen quite cluttered and difficult to see what is being highlighted. Instead use bold text.

To change font colours in Moodle:

• In the Atto text editor or a resource or activity, highlight the text you want to change.
• Click the Down Arrow Icon on the taskbar (first icon on left) to reveal more icons.
• Click the Font Colour Icon. (The Paintbrush icon in the last group of icons, hovering over this will reveal the word ‘More Font Colors’.)
• Scroll down to choose a colour and click ‘Save Changes’.

• Following Accessibility rules and guidance will help ensure Consistency and Coherence across programmes and within Modules.

These four tips apply to all learning materials including documents, presentations, websites, and your Moodle courses. If nothing else, remember to follow these four rules.

1. Use styles. Styles indicate the different ways that text is rendered on a screen. Screenreaders and other softwares use these styles to indicate when text has been marked as ‘bold’ or as a ‘Title’ or ‘Heading’.
2. Use colours that have high contrast. A high contrast between colours makes certain that there is a clear difference between the text colour and the background colours. For example: Do not use White Text on a Light Grey background as that would be harder to read.
3. Provide Alt-Text for images. Alternative text or ‘alt-text’ is the text that is read by screen readers or that is shown in place of an image. All text on an image should be included in the alt-text. Likewise a full description of the image should be included.
4. Give all links descriptive full-names. A descriptive full-name should indicate what the resource is and what information it contains.

Some final thoughts:

1. Use a standard font like Arial as that will be read the same on all types of devices.
2. Never use Capslock, text in all caps is more distracting than it is providing emphasis.
3. Use bold to emphasize content rather than italics or underlining. Italics should not be used unless it is for a book title or foreign words, and underlining should only indicate URL links.

Check out the Accessibility Checklist and the regulations on the Government Digital Service homepage.

Enrol onto the Digital Accessibility Guidelines (Self-Directed) course