This guide is part of LEaD's Digital Learning Design service. It shares best practices for the design of Moodle modules, which LEaD has collected from across the university. It aims to help you to design and deliver blended and online teaching.
You can download the guidance as an editable Word document which can be adapted for your context. Use it to help develop a consistent experience for students at school or programme levels.
There are five key areas of design, and we have given an indication of how long it will take you to carry out each item. One effective way of using it is to start with the first two areas, Module organisation and structure and Assessment, as these two aspects of module design are most important for students. Following all the recommendations in these two areas should take approximately three hours.
However, you may have different priorities and can choose to focus your efforts on one or more of the other areas. The other main areas we have covered are Communication and engagement, Learning resources, videos and multimedia, and Learning activities and synchronous teaching.
Finally, there is a Module go-live checklist which you may find helpful to use before setting your module live for students. We estimate it would take one hour to check your module using this guidance.
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| By default, modules will use the City Course Format, providing students with a consistent experience across module pages. In some programmes in some Schools, the grid format is being used. | Prior to module release to students | Automated process | n/a |
| Import or rollover content from the previous year. Please note that imported content is immediately available; however, the rollover process runs overnight. | In line with the release of annual and termly module pages. | Module leader | 10-15 mins |
| Use sections and blocks to provide a clear, logical structure. Name sections using topic titles, week numbers and dates. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 15-20 mins |
|
Provide an overview of the module in the opening section. Include:
|
Prior to module release to students
|
Module leader | 20-30 mins |
|
Provide links to student institutional guidance and support services. Please note that some or all of these links can be made available through your School information block or through a programme Moodle page. Items you may want to include:
|
Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 10-15 mins |
| Setup a course image. The course image appears on the My Moodle page and on the module overview block. It helps your students recognise each module as unique. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide an accessible (text-based) overview of all module assessments, which shows assessment types, weightings and due dates. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 10-20 mins |
|
Provide links to departmental and School policies, guidance, and student support services. Please note that some or all of these links can be made available through a programme Moodle page. Items you may want to include:
|
Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
|
Setup all assessment points in a consistent location on module pages across a programme:
|
Prior to assignment submission and undertaking an online quiz |
Module leader Course officer |
30-40 mins |
|
For each individual assessment, you may want to:
|
Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 15-20 mins |
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Record a short welcome video (1-2 mins) to introduce yourself and the module. Or create your introduction using a presentation or an image and text.
|
Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 20-30 mins |
| Add Module Leader information and contact details, including office hours for staff teaching on the module. Add this as a block. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
|
Provide a brief weekly plan detailing the following:
You can use text, a document, a presentation or a recorded video to create the weekly plan. |
During the module, as required | Module leader Lecturer |
20-25 mins |
| Set up required communication tools on the module page, such as Forums and Quickmail (basic email tool). | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
|
Use Forum or Quickmail to:
|
During the module, as required | Module leader Lecturer |
10-15 mins |
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Add (or review) an online reading list.
|
Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 25-35 mins |
| Add Lecture Capture recordings. You can add a link to the entire series before the module starts or add each recording after each lecture. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader Lecturer |
10-20 mins |
|
Add lecture materials and any related resources which help students to prepare for their lectures.
|
At least two days prior to the lecture | Module leader Lecturer |
10-15 mins |
|
There are three main ways of adding multimedia resources to your module:
|
Prior to module release to students and during the module as required | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
| Use Anthology Ally to check that your learning content is accessible to all students. Ally provides accessibility feedback and assistance on individual resources and on the module overall. It can also automatically enable alternative formats for students. | Prior to module release to students and during the module as required | Module leader | 60-90 mins |
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
When adding online learning activities:
|
At the start of the module and during the module as required | Module leader Lecturer |
10-20 mins |
| Enable activity completion, as students find it helpful for managing their learning, and it enables staff to track student progress. | At the start of the module and during the module as required | Module leader | 10-20 mins |
| Plan your live online session sufficiently in advance, including any intended interactions and regular breaks. | Before the first live online session | Module leader | 10-20 mins |
| Provide guidance for students on participating in live online lectures. Set clear expectations around how students are expected to participate in the environment, including on the use of microphones and chat features. |
At the start of the first live online session and during the module as required | Module leader Lecturer |
5-10 mins |
| Ensure that students have access to the meeting links for the live online sessions on the relevant Moodle module(s). | At the start of the module | Module leader | 10-20 mins |
| Make recordings of live sessions and provide links to recordings on Moodle module. Include other asynchronous alternatives (such as discussion forums) for anyone unable to attend at the scheduled time. | During each live online session and during the module as required | Module leader Lecturer |
5-10 mins |
| Moderate online collaborative student activities such as Forums, Glossaries, Chats, Wikis and Databases. | During the module, as required | Module leader Lecturer |
20-30 mins |
| Activity | When | Who | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check that all colleagues who need access to the Moodle module are enrolled. | When the module is ready to be updated |
Module leader Course officer |
5 mins |
| Check groups/groupings have been set up and students added to the groups. | Prior to module release to students |
Module leader Course officer |
5-10 mins |
| Check for any out-of-date information or references to previous years. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader Lecturer |
5-10 mins |
| Check that all section titles and files have meaningful names and descriptions. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
| Check that all links have meaningful names and that they work. If you have linked to other Moodle modules, update with this year's modules. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 10-15 mins |
| Test that quizzes are working as expected. If your quizzes make use of images check that they are all present. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 5-10 mins |
| Test that all multimedia files play as expected and that they have accurate captions or separate transcripts. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 10-15 mins |
| Check your module from a student's perspective. | Prior to module release to students | Module leader | 10-15 mins |
| Make the module visible. | At the start of the module | Module leader | 5 mins |
