EdtechGuides: Course formats guide: Grid format

About Grid format

This is a third party format that creates a grid of icons (one for each section) with short titles. Select the icon to open the content for the corresponding section. This format has a Module index on the left for quick navigation and a Block drawer on the right-hand side to provide easy access to Blocks. From 16th July 2024, the Module dashboard block will be available in the block drawer on modules for the new academic year using the Grid format.

Apply Grid Format

City Course Format is applied by default to all modules. You can choose to activate the Grid Format as long as all modules within a Programme agree to adopt this course format. You cannot have different formats for different modules within a Programme as this will impact on module consistency and make it more challenging for students to find content.

Before applying the Grid format, review the information on limitations with this format.

Select Settings from the contextual navigation menu above the module name.
Scroll down to Course format settings. Open the Format menu and select Grid. In a few seconds the Grid settings will display.
Do not change the default option for Use a popup. The popup Grids have not been tested for accessibility.
For Set the image container width, you might need to increase the width if you have longer section names. By default, 20 characters including spaces will display. You can change these settings at any time.
Set the Show completion settings to Yes.
Scroll to the end of the page and select Save and display. The sections of your modules will display as Grids.

Grid layout and features

Modules using the Grid Format are displayed in three columns.

The Module index in a panel on the left provides a table of contents view of the module content. The panel can be closed and opened and the sections within the index can be collapsed and expanded.
Additional information and functionality provided via the Block drawer on the right-hand side of the module.
There is no dashboard in the central panel but a Module dashboard block is added to the blocks drawer and displays Activities and Quick Links.
You can choose to close the Module index and Block drawer to increase your working space when designing or navigating modules.
Sections are organised into Grids. Select a Grid to view the content within a section.

The Grid format displaying sections as tiles

Once a section is open, select links to open resources and activities.
You can use the arrows at the end of the section to navigate to the previous or next section. Alternatively open the Module index from the panel on the left to jump to any section.
Use the Module home button at the top right of the section or the link to Module in the contextual navigation bar to return to the module home page.

Module highlighted in contextual navigation. Links to previous and next section highlighted

Module Leader & Course Officers

We recommend that you add the contact details of the Module Leader and Course Officers to a Text block in Moodle. This will remain available to students via the Block drawer on Moodle even when they are on a mobile. Previously staff used to add contact details to the General Topic at the beginning of a module. While this is useful at the beginning of a module, students have to spend 12 weeks scrolling past this to get to the module content.

Help & support

Links to Help & Support for staff and students are available via the City Links menu at the top of every Moodle page.

City Links menu highlighted in top navigation menu

A link to the IT Self Service Portal is available via the ? icon at the bottom of each Moodle page.

Select the link to Participants in the contextual navigation menu to find a list of enrolled users.
Select the Photo Grid tab to get a printable version of student photos.
From the Match menus
- Select Roles from the Select drop-down menu.
- Select Student from the third drop-down menu.
Select Apply filters.
This will display only students enrolled on the module.
Select CTRL P on your keyboard to print the list of student names and photos.

Module dashboard block

For academic year 2024/25, the Module dashboard block is added by default to modules with the Grid format. This displays quick links to key activities on the module and provides automatic links to the module Reading List, Library Guide and Timetable.

Staff Information block

This block can be personalised to a category of modules on Moodle and is only visible to staff enrolled on a module within the category where it has been applied. It will display information that is relevant to your School. Please liaise with your school's Digital Education Lead if would like this block and request this feature via IT Self Service Portal.

Student Information block

This block can be personalised to a category on modules on Moodle and is displayed to students. It will display information that is relevant to the students studying within the category of modules. Please liaise with your school's Digital Education Lead if you require a change to the block. This feature is then requested via IT Self Service Portal.

Upcoming events block

This block provides all Calendar events (including assignment deadlines occurring within 99 days) in the module.

Quickmail block

This is a block for staff to use to facilitate email communication with students or groups of students on a module.