On Tuesday 25 May 2021, Moodle was upgraded to version 3.10. The new version brings a number of refinements in key areas: user interface, usability and accessibility as well as improvements in Moodle activities (quizzes and forums); it makes the ‘Turn editing on’ button more visible in the course homepage and introduces an activity chooser with all-new design that helps you find the activity you need quickly; different pages of Moodle resize better in smaller screens and it is now more obvious when you click on different elements of the page (such as buttons and links).
The upgrade in numbers
Version
New features
Improvements
Key changes and enhancements
Jump to: Highlights · Usability · Quizzes · Forums · Accessibility
(Click on images to enlarge)
Highlights
Turn editing on
It is now quicker to set your course in edit mode. The ‘Turn editing on’ button is visible at the top right of the course and accessible without having to click the Settings cog.
Activity chooser New
Figure 2. Click the arrows top right for full screen, then drag the pink slider left and right to see before and after.
Finding activities to add to your course requires less scrolling thanks to the new grid design of the activity chooser. Activities and resources appear as tabs and you can star the ones you use most.
Improved participants page filtering New
The new filtering options in the Participants page gives you more granularity when you need to find students and colleagues who are enrolled on your course. At the top of the enrolment list, you can filter it based on keywords, groups, role. Advanced filtering can be applied with boolean logic.
Usability
Scroll to top New
Scroll to the top of any screen in Moodle with one click. As you reach the bottom of the screen, click the up arrow in the bottom right corner to quickly scroll back up. The arrow appears when you have scrolled 50% on each Moodle screen.
Navigation in Moodle Books
The icon arrows to navigate between chapters in a Moodle Book are now clearer and more distinguishable from the arrows to navigate between the next and previous activities.
Bulk delete private files New
Remove multiple unwanted private files with a new bulk delete option in the Private Files block.
Paste images in the editor New
The Moodle editor allows you to paste an image, that you have saved in your clipboard, directly into Moodle, without having to upload the file manually. You then need to double click on it and add alternative text for accessibility if the images are not purely decorative.
Restrict with ‘previous activity with completion’ New
You can control the visibility of a Moodle activity based on the completion of the immediately preceding activity.
Folder resource improvements
Images and HTML files uploaded in a Folder resource can be viewed directly in the browser without having to download files locally. To achieve this make sure to untick ‘Force download of files’ when setting up the folder.
Quizzes
Scrolling quiz timer
Timed quizzes display a scrolling timer as students work through the questions.
Quiz completion option New
You can configure a quiz activity to be marked as ‘completed’ based on the required number of attempts.
Essay question file size
If you allow students to attach relevant files to an essay question type, you can limit the size of the submitted files to be less than the maximum size that we allow in Moodle.
Responsive drag and drop questions
Various drag and drop questions types (e.g. “Drag and drop into image”, “Drag and drop onto text”, “Drag and drop marker”) have been updated to be responsive on smaller screens and appear correctly when you print them as PDFs.
Forums
Forum grading New
Implemented in Moodle 3.8, you can grade a forum activity as part of an assessment. You can also attach a rubric or marking guide if required. More detailed guidance is will available soon.
Summary reports for forums New
The “Forum summary report” option in the actions menu of a forum activity shows the summary for all forums in that specific course.
Accessibility
Improved contrast on focused elements
Buttons have a clear outline border with an inset white border when you click on them, while links have a thick dark underline and a light pink background colour making it easier for low vision and keyboard users to see what element has been selected.
Adding alt-text to images in the Moodle editor
The alternative text (alt text) you need to add to an image, that you upload in the Moodle editor, has a 125-character limit. Also, Moodle provides a check box “This image is decorative only” for images that are purely decorative and don’t require alt text.
Improved UI in smaller screens
Various screens of Moodle have been better resized to improve how they are displayed in smaller screens.