Moodle collaboration guide

The Database activity module allows the lecturer and/or students to build, display, and search a bank of recorded entries about a topic. The Database is most often used as a collaborative activity in Moodle, where students are assigned to add the entries. Contributing to a Database can vary depending on how it has been set up by your lecturer.

1. In your Moodle module, select the link to a Database activity that your lecturer has created.
   • You can find a link to all the Database activities on the module from the Module Dashboard.
   • On Grid format, open the Block drawer and navigate to the Activities block, select the link to Databases.
2. The name and description of the Database displays at the top of the screen. To contribute to the Database, select the red Add entry button at the bottom right corner of the screen.  If you are the first person to contribute to the Database, the red Add entry button will be in the centre of the screen. 
3. Populate the fields that your lecturer has set up. There are a few different types of fields. Each Database will have different fields to complete depending on the information that you are required to provide.
4. Select Save or Save and add another in the bottom right corner of the screen if you wish to add another entry.
5. All entries in the Database will automatically be displayed under List view. From List view, you can change the number of Entries per page from the default 10, search the database, sort by different fields and display the database in ascending or descending order. Check the box next to Advanced search to search by individual fields. Select Save settings to save your selections.
   
6. Select the three dots next to an individual entry and select Show more to see a Single view of that entry.  Select the arrows next to Single view at the top of the screen under the name and description of the Database and select List view to view all entries.

The following is a list of available Database fields that may be included on your Database activity.

• Checkboxes (select one or multiple choices) 
• Coordinates (enter Latitude/Longitude)
• Date (insert a date) 
• Dropdown list (selectable drop-down list) 
• File (upload a file)
• Image (upload an image)
• Multi-select list (multi-select drop-down list)
• Number (insert a number) 
• Radio buttons (select a choice) 
• Short text (input one line of text) 
• Text area (input multiple lines of text)
• URL (insert a link)

The example below illustrates a Placement Experience Database. This has options for students to upload files, and to enter text to indicate where their placement was.