Teaching with Technology

Moodle Assignments

Use Moodle Assignments to collect papers and other completed documents from your students. Set specific due dates (as well as “cut off dates” so that Moodle still collects late work). You can assign different due dates for different groups (e.g. sections of a class) if we have Groups set up in your class. Use the bulk download feature to download a file of submissions from all students, and bulk upload feedback files so students can see your comments and input on their submitted work.

Assignment documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Collecting written work

We have suggestions for options to convert paper work to PDFs, which students can turn in as Moodle Assignments or as attachments in Moodle Quizzes.

Converting paper assignments to PDF | Questions? Contact ITS.

Moodle Quizzes

Moodle Quizzes offer a variety of question types (including multiple choice, short answer/essay, quantitative answers within a range, fill-in-the-blank) and can take the place of the exams given on paper in the traditional classroom. Time limits can be set for the exam, with extensions granted for individual students or groups of students using individual (or group) overrides.

Quiz documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Video quizzes

Video quizzes can keep students engaged while viewing videos. You can pause your video and conduct a quick quiz to test student understanding of key concepts or general comprehension before moving on. Created in the Panopto media server, video quizzes can help students be more active viewers of your video content.

Video quiz documentation | Video quiz questions? Contact ITS.

Google Forms

While Google Forms do not have many of the advantages of Moodle quizzes, it is possible to quickly create visually appealing forms to use as assessment tools. Google Forms support multiple choice, quantitative, and short answer/essay questions. Forms are best for short, low-stakes assessment.

Google Forms documentation | Google Forms questions? Contact ITS

Downloading files, distributing feedback

Once students have submitted files to a Moodle Assignment, the instructor can download all files at once (grade > Download All Submissions) and Moodle will deliver a *.zip file of all submitted files with student names appended, giving each file clear authorship. The instructor can then provide feedback on the files (via track changes or other annotation of your choice), save the files with their original (from Moodle) filenames, and bulk upload feedback files back to Moodle in a *.zip. When files are uploaded, students will be able to access instructor feedback.

Offline marking documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Granting extensions for individuals or groups

Students may need additional time to complete an assignment or take an exam. Within Moodle, both Quiz and Assignment can accommodate extensions by overriding the due date for the assignment or the time granted for the quiz. Instructors can set overrides for individuals or for groups and grant extensions. (Example: if a number of students need 1.5x for a quiz, Team Moodle can work with the instructor to create a group of these students.)

Quiz overrides documentation | Assignment overrides documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Anonymizing grading

Anonymous marking documentation (assignment) | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Student discussions, idea / file exchange

Moodle forums are a good tool for enabling students to exchange ideas and work as a whole class. There are many options within forums; get in touch to make sure that your settings reflect what you need for your course.

Forums documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Student-to-student feedback on written work

You may wish to enable students to swap feedback on a particular assignment, in pairs or in small groups, assigned or assembled by chance. If Moodle Forums (documented above) does not meet your needs for group work, consider using Moodle Workshop to create structure for peer feedback on written work / problem sets / etc. (Note: Workshop set-up is a bit complicated, so please reach out for help)

Workshop documentation | Moodle questions? Contact ITS.

Collaboration and shared feedback

Many word processing programs (e.g. Microsoft Word) have “track changes” and/or commenting functions, allowing editors to send documents back and forth with annotations and input. Google Docs (available for all Reed users within the reed.edu Google domain) similarly facilitates feedback, and has the additional advantages of the document retaining a consistent location (same share link) with version history built into the document.