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Managing Your Course - Stage 2

Last Update un giorno fa

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Managing Course Blocks

Margarita Berezyanskaya

Last Update 15 giorni fa

It is important to understand how to manage standard blocks in your courses. Items for consideration include the parts of a block, and the actions of adding, hiding, showing, moving, and configuring blocks. Attention should also be given to which standard blocks you choose to use in your courses.

Standard Blocks

There are many standard blocks that can be used in your course. The course arrives with some blocks already activated. In the image below, there are three blocks in use. These are located in the right column of the screen. You can see the following blocks:

  1. The Courseware Help block
  2. The Online users block
  3. The Latest announcements block  

As an instructor, you have many options to manage and use blocks to support your teaching.



The list below shows the standard blocks you can activate, including those already active in your course.


  • Accessibility

  • Accessibility review

  • Activities

  • Activity results
  • Blog menu
  • Blog tags
  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Comments

  • Completion Progress
  • Course completion status
  • Course/site summary
  • Latest announcements
  • Latest badges
  • Level Up XP
  • Logged in user
  • Mass Actions 
  • Mentees
  • Online users
  • Private files
  • Random glossary entry
  • Recent activity
  • Recent blog entries
  • RSS feeds
  • Search forums
  • Self completion
  • Sharing Cart
  • Tags
  • Text... (formerly HTML)
  • Upcoming events

Parts of a Block

Non-editing Instructor and Student View

 

 

Edit Mode On View

 

 

Block Management in Your Course

There are several functions teachers can control when managing blocks:


  • Adding a block

  • Hiding and showing a block

  • Deleting a block

  • Moving a block

  • Configuring a block

Adding a Block to Your Course

Note: In these examples, we will use the Activities block.

1. At the top of the Course Homepage, click on the Edit mode toggle button in the upper right corner of the screen to activate the editing tools.



Note: The toggle moves to the right, indicating that course editing is now on.



2. Ensure that the Block drawer is visible. If it is not, click on the Open block drawer button.



3. At the top of the Block drawer, click on the Add a block button.



Note: A list of available blocks appears in the Add a block pop-up. You will only see a block name on this list if it has not already been added to your course.

4. From the list of block names, click on Activities.



Note: The new block (Activities) appears at the bottom of the Block drawer.



5. Click on the Edit mode toggle to turn off edit mode to see the student view.
Note: The toggle moves to the left, indicating that course editing is now off.


Deleting a Block from Your Course

1. At the top of the Course Homepage, click on the Edit mode toggle button in the upper right corner of the screen to activate the editing tools.



Note: The toggle moves to the right, indicating that course editing is now on.



2. Look for the Activities block.


3. In the Activities block, click on the Actions menu icon.



4. Click on Delete Activities block option.


Note:  The "Delete block?" pop-up appears.


5. Click on the Delete button to confirm this action.


6. The Activities block is removed.


7. Click on the Edit mode toggle to turn off edit mode to see the student view.

Note: The toggle moves to the left, indicating that course editing is now off.


Hiding and Showing a Block on Your Course

Deleting a block from your course is not always necessary. An alternative solution is to hide it temporarily from your students. In this example, we will show and hide the Activities block.


1. At the top of the Course Homepage, click on the Edit mode toggle button in the upper right corner of the screen to activate the editing tools.



Note: The toggle moves to the right, indicating that course editing is now on.



2. Locate the Activities block in the Block Drawer.


3. In the Activities block, click on the Actions menu icon.



4. Click on the Hide Activities block option.



Note: The Activities block collapses and becomes invisible to students in the course.

5. To make the block visible again, click on the Actions menu.



6. Click on Show Activities block.



Note: The Activities block is now visible.

7. Click on the Edit mode toggle to turn off edit mode to see the student view.

Note: The toggle moves to the left, indicating that course editing is now off.


Moving a Block

1. At the top of the Course Homepage, click on the Edit mode toggle button in the upper right corner of the screen to activate the editing tools.



Note: The toggle moves to the right, indicating that course editing is now on.



2. Locate a block to be moved vertically in the Block drawer - in this case, the Activities block.  


3. In the Activities block, hover the cursor over the Move icon. The cursor changes to a cross icon with four arrow tips.



4. Drag the Activities block vertically to a new position in the Block drawer.
Note: The Activities block is in a new location in the Block drawer.


Configuring a Block

1. At the top of the Course Homepage, click on the Edit mode toggle button in the upper right corner of the screen to activate the editing tools.



Note: The toggle moves to the right, indicating that course editing is now on.



2. In the Activities block, click on the Actions menu icon.

Note: The Actions drop-down menu appears. 



3. To configure the block's settings, click on the Configure Activities block option.


4. On the pop-up that appears, choose the options that meet course requirements, then click on the Save changes button at the bottom of the pop-up.


Block appearance settings
The Original block location section gives information about the course where the block was initially created. In the Where this block appears section, the only setting that you can control is the Default weight.
The  Display on page types allows the user to set the context that the block can appear in. The options are: Any course page, Any page or Any type of course main page. 
  • Any course page displays the block ...
  • Any page display the block ...
  • Any type of course main page displays the block ...




In the Where this block appears section, you can control the Display on page types and the Default weight  items. 


The Where this block appears options offer the choices, Any course page, Any page or Any type of course main page. 

This is a number that determines where the block will appear from the top of the screen. Setting the Default weight to a lower or negative number positions the block closer to the top of the screen. Setting the Default weight to a higher number positions the block lower on the screen.


The On this page section allows you to show or hide the block and set the block position using the Weight drop-down menu. This is a number that determines where the block will appear from the top of the screen. Setting the Weight to a lower or negative number positions the block closer to the top of the screen. Setting the Weight to a higher number positions the block lower on the screen. This overrides the numbers in the Where this block appears section.

Video Resources

Managing Blocks: Add a Block


Managing Blocks: Move a Block


Managing Blocks: Configure a Block


Managing Blocks: Delete a Block


Managing Blocks: Hide and Show a Block 

Resources

Moodle Documents: Blocks


Moodle Documents: Blocks FAQ