Teaching, Learning, &

Global Engagement

Weekly News & Updates

January 4, 2024 | Volume 10 | Issue 17

By Gretchen Benton

It is time to start a new term! Let’s get your Moodle courses in shape for the Spring 2024 semester!

1. Import your content - Save time and reuse some content from a previous course by importing course content. Remember to be patient and not click import more than once! If you receive an error message when importing content from a course in Grid format, change the course format of your new course to Grid before attempting the import again. If you are still receiving an error, reach out to get support!  
2. Remove any old or template items - Each new course is built with a link to Davidson Davie’s newest syllabus template. Keep your course free of clutter by removing these items and any duplicate or old items you don’t need from yours and your student’s view for easier course navigation. Do this by turning on ‘Edit Mode’ (top right corner) and then click the three dots at the end of that item’s row to ‘Delete’ the item. Text and pictures in the header of a topic section can be removed by clicking the three dots and then ‘Edit section’.
3. Check your Gradebook calculations - Now is the best time to refine and double check your grade calculations. Make sure your gradebook reflects the grading information shared in your syllabus. There is a great section on ‘Gradebook Setup’ in the Faculty Introduction to Moodle course. 
4. Fix broken video links - During the last term, VidGrid video links officially stopped working. Visit the YuJa link in your course to re-record or to find and share a new link to the videos we migrated to the new platform. 
5. Update your due dates - Use the dates report to quickly update due dates across your course on one easy to use page! For some items you can choose to use the “Expect completed on” dates to add items to a student’s calendar in Moodle to keep them on track when you don’t want to set a concrete due date.  

If you need access to the Faculty Introduction to Moodle course or if you need Moodle support please email edtech@davidsondavie.edu.

Upcoming Events

• Course Improvement Using Student Data: January 10 from 1:00-2:30 pm on Zoom. Register through the Piedmont Hub
• International Education Office Open House: January 11 from 9:30-10:30 am in Gee 139-142

By Kevin Eagan & Pat Bower

As educators we realize the vital connection between student comprehension of key terminology and their success in a course....especially in mathematics! The research couldn't be clearer, students who fail to acquire the appropriate vocabulary are at a distinct disadvantage in trying to navigate a challenging math class. We also are becoming increasingly aware of the need to make lessons accessible to all students, especially in the online setting. Recently, as part of the redesign process of Math 143 Quantitative Literacy, we updated an old method of how we taught vocabulary in an attempt to meet both of these challenges.

Previously, we had always given students access to a Google doc with a series of definitions and blanks. Students would then go through a unit and "fill in the blanks" by typing the terms in their appropriate places. This was not only lacking in terms of accessibility practices, it also was a lot of work on the instructor's end. Imagine sifting through a dozen or so terms, for each of the 20-30 students in a class, for each of the units covered in the course!

Instead, with the help of the wonderful folks in Learning Design and Educational Technology, we designed Moodle Quizzes with drop-down word choices to go along with corresponding definitions. Now, if a particular student utilizes a screen reader they will not experience any difficulties in the Moodle environment. This would provide them a much better understanding of what is expected of them in the lesson. Furthermore, being a Moodle Quiz, our LMS will automatically grade each and every vocabulary term and provide feedback to the students. A true win-win situation for everyone involved. Granted, there is some upfront work on the part of the instructor in creating the Quiz, but once in place, it then allows the instructor to spend more time engaging the students in more productive ways, rather then just rotely grading vocabulary worksheets.

The entire process really opened our eyes to the benefits of redesigning our courses. Rather than looking at it as increased work, we began to see how applying best practices can really make the learning experience more enjoyable and beneficial for students and teachers alike.

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