What's New - Fall 2023

UR Courses was last updated to Moodle 4.1.5+ on August 27, 2023.

New features

Moodle 4 has a more contemporary interface, tabbed navigation, and a redefined course experience that makes it easier to create and edit courses, reduce distractions, and prioritize course work.

Finding your way around

Moodle 4 navigation changes

Click each image below for a larger view

A screenshot of the dashboard with the dashboard tab highlighted
Dashboard

Stay on target with deadlines due to an improved Timeline on the Dashboard.

A screenshot of the My Courses page with the My Courses tab selected.
My courses

Access your courses easily from the My courses tab at the top of the site.

Contextual navigation
Contextual navigation

Find your way around the course and activities with clear tab menus.

Watch the Moodle 4 Navigation overview video for a brief explanation of the navigation changes in Moodle 4.

A new way to navigate and organize your course

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A screenshot highlighting the course index within a course
Course index

Move smoothly between course sections.

A screenshot of the course index with the activity completion indicators highlighted
Activity completion

View complete and incomplete activities easily from the course index.

A screenshot demonstrating that you can drag and drop to rearrange sections of your course within the course index
Drag and drop to move sections

Move items and re-arrange the course section from within the course index, the central activity column, or from one to the other.

Watch the Moodle 4 course index overview video for a brief explanation of the new course index in Moodle 4.

A screenshot of a course page in Moodle 3.11

Course content

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A screenshot demonstrating the sections of a course collapsed, while one is expanded
Collapsible sections

Sections within the Topics and Weekly course formats can now be collapsed to reduce distraction

A screenshot highlighting the new activity colours and a legend to explain their purpose
New activity icons

Colour-coded icons help identify the typical purpose of each activity.

The Label resource has changed to now be known as Text and Media area (Label).

A new Syllabus resource is available that allows you to distinguish the syllabus from other files within the course.

Watch the Moodle 4 course content overview video for a brief explanation of working with content in Moodle 4.

A screenshot of a course page in Moodle 3.11

Click each image below for a larger view

A screenshot highlighting the new position of the edit mode toggle located in the top right corner
Edit mode

Toggle edit mode and access the new block drawer to add or view blocks.

A screenshot of a course page with the add an activity or resource link highlighted while edit mode is enabled
Easily add content

Add activities and resources with a simple click.

Watch the Moodle 4 course blocks overview video for a brief explanation of working with blocks in Moodle 4.

A screenshot of a course page in Moodle 3.11

Question bank improvements

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A screenshot of the Question bank with new columns
Improved question management

Save as draft or make ready; see version history and use custom fields when working with colleagues.

A screenshot of the question bank with the title column highlighted
Inline editing

Edit a question title directly from the Question bank.

A screenshot highlighting the new columns within the question bank
New columns

New 'Modified by' and 'Last used' columns

Course and activity completion

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A screenshot of a course with activity completion enabled for certain activities
Progress and accomplishment

While optional, more emphasis has been placed on activity completion in order to help students see their progress and the requirements to complete activities within the course. This can also help instructors identify students who may be falling behind.

Grading improvements

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A screenshot of the single report interface
Single view report

Search by user, group or grade item in a clearer Single view interface

A screenshot of the user report with a section collapsed
User report

Collapse categories for clearer viewing

A screenshot of the new grade summary report
New Grade summary report

Access a useful new Grade summary report.

Database activity improvements

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A screenshot of the new database start page
Useful start page

A useful new start page makes it easier to set up your Database activity

A screenshot of the presets now available in the database activity
Choice of presets

Three new Database presets are available.

A screenshot of a preview of the journal preset in the database activity
Preview presets

Preview presets before using.

A screenshot of the approval status within the database activity
Approval status

Approval status is clearly visible and easy to manage.

Accessibility

An Accessibility review block has been enabled for Moodle 4.1. When added to your course, this block allows for an automated analysis of the course against a set of common accessibility rules, checking the content inside all core activities. The Accessibility Toolkit then generates reports of all detected accessibility errors, which can also be broken down by type of content or type of activity.

Please review our section on Accessibility review block within the Accessibility page for an overview and additional documentation.

More Information

Previously...

UR Courses was last updated to Moodle 4.1.2+ for the Spring / Summer 2023 term. Prior to this, UR Courses was last updated to Moodle 3.11.11 for the Winter 2023 term.

Where can I get help?

IT Support is your best point of contact for questions and assistance regarding UR Courses. They can be reached at 306-585-4685 or by email to IT.Support@uregina.ca.

Additional Resources

Additional UR Courses manuals and guides are available on the Technology Training & Support (TTS) website.