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‘Advanced Moodle Quiz and Question Bank’ self-paced course
By i.niculescu, on 14 December 2023
We are pleased to introduce the ‘Advanced Moodle Quiz and Question Bank’ self-paced course which is now available at https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=40483
This course is aimed at academics and professional services staff who want to deepen their use of Moodle to create and manage quizzes.
The estimated completion time is 2 to 3 hours. We’ve designed it with flexibility in mind, allowing you to progress through the material in smaller, digestible chunks that fit into your busy schedule.
This is an exciting opportunity to learn how to:
- Confidently manage the Moodle question bank interface.
- Organise question banks clearly with categories and tags.
- Use Moodle’s advanced quiz settings to make your tests more engaging.
- Analyse quiz results to improve your questions and teaching methods.
- Build a Moodle quiz that uses advanced features effectively.
The course includes step-by-step guides, links to further resources and knowledge-check quizzes. You also have the option to receive a certificate at the end of the course.
After completing the course, staff can get further support by getting in touch by email via digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk.
This version of the course will be further developed during term 2 as we receive feedback and input from the UCL community. We will make sure that everyone will be notified when new materials will be added to the course.
P.S: A workshop version of this course will also become available from January 2024. More info to follow!
Develop your digital skills: Term 2 training courses and more
By Katy O Foster, on 8 December 2023
From training and support to helping you improve your digital capabilities, read below to find out what exciting opportunities Digital Skills Development can offer UCL staff and students in term 2.
Term 2 training courses
To book, follow the links below or find more information here: How to book a course on MyLearning.
Data analysis and visualisation
Mastering Excel
Accessibility and assistive technology
| 16/01/2024 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Creating accessible Powerpoint presentations | Online |
| 16/01/2024 | 10:00 | 12:00 | DSD: Creating accessible Word documents | Online |
| 14/02/2024 | 14.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Creating accessible documents with LaTeX (Campus-based) | In-person |
| 28/02/2024 | 14.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Creating accessible documents with LaTeX (Campus-based) | In-person |
| 29/02/2024 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Best practice for video captions and transcripts | Online |
| 19/03/2024 | 10:00 | 11:00 | DSD: Creating accessible social media content | Online |
Programming
| 12/03/2024 | 10.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Think like a computer programmer (campus-based) | In-person |
| 18/03/2024 | 14:00 | 17:00 | DSD: A Quick Introduction to UNIX (campus-based) | In-person |
Interaction and collaboration
| 19/03/2024 | 12:00 | 14:00 | DSD: Software for success: Survey tools | Online |
Multimedia content: Creating and editing
| Graphic design and photo editing | ||||
| 24/01/2024 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Design an impactful research poster using UCL templates | Online |
| 06/02/2024 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Basic image editing using free tools – demo | Online |
| 15/02/2024 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: An introduction to free graphic design tools – Inkscape | Online |
| 22/02/2024 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Creating infographics using free web based tools | Online |
| 06/03/2024 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Photo editing with Pixlr X – workshop | Online |
| Film and video | ||||
| 24/01/2024 | 14:00 | 15:00 | DSD: Explore the potential of UCL Mediacentral | Online |
| 31/01/2024 | 14:00 | 15:30 | DSD: Introduction to stop motion animation – workshop | In-person |
| 27/02/2024 | 10.00 | 11:00 | DSD: Planning and filming advice for a short film | Online |
| 27/02/2024 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Make a short film using your iPhone | Online |
| 29/02/2024 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Best practice for video captions and transcripts | Online |
| Podcasting | ||||
| 22/02/2024 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Podcasting made easy | Online |
Writing, presenting and referencing
Office hours
If you have a question or would like individual support on a specific issue, book an appointment with one of our team: Digital Skills Development Office Hours
Upgrade your skills with the Discovery Tool
In partnership with Jisc, the Digital Skills Development team have put together a Discovery Tool to help UCL staff and students identify gaps in their knowledge and improve their skills. Use the self-assessment questions to start your journey towards better digital skills today: Discover your digital
LinkedIn Learning
UCL staff and enrolled students can access over 16,000 courses for free on LinkedIn Learning.
Contact us
For any questions on Digital Skills Development at UCL, email isd-digiskills@ucl.ac.uk
Moodle course Read-Only dates
By Tom Walters, on 29 November 2023
Please note that the Read-Only dates for many Moodle courses from the 22/23 academic year will be activated in the next couple of weeks. Once the Read-Only date is reached a course becomes uneditable. If you still need any 22/23 course to be editable in the immediate future, please check the Read-Only date on the course and adjust it as needed.
For further details and guidance on amending the Read-Only date, please refer to the Moodle miniguide. If you still need additional assistance, please email us at digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk
Kind regards,
Digital Education team
Discover your Digital – new staff workshops now available
By Caroline Norris, on 16 November 2023
Do you want to start a conversation with your students about their digital skills for work and study? Are you looking for a way to enable staff to reflect on their digital skills and identify gaps in their knowledge?
We are delighted to announce a new staff workshop introducing the Discovery Tool. The tool consists of reflective question sets which explore your digital practices and confidence levels. The main question set looks at overall digital capabilities but there are also additional question sets for staff covering effective teaching and accessibility and inclusion, all from a digital perspective. The tool can also be used by students and there is a general question set for all students and one aimed at new students.
New for January 2024 there is now a question set on Digital Skills in AI for staff and one for students is due in March.
We currently have online workshops scheduled to take place at 15 February and 6 March 2024.
About the workshop
Using the Premium version of Equatio with Moodle
By Kerry, on 10 November 2023
Following my post on Using the free Equatio Chrome extension with Moodle, I have finally had the chance to explore how the Premium version works. Currently, UCL has a licence for the Premium version of Equatio for staff and students until July 2024.
Equatio can help you create accessible mathematical content without having to use any code or programming languages. You can easily add formulas and equations to your content through keyboard input, handwriting recognition or voice recording. It is also compatible with LaTeX for more advanced users. In addition, it allows some graphing input.
Equatio toolbar (Premium version)
You may have already explored the free Chrome extension and if not, you can check out our mini guide. While the free version of Equatio can help anyone create accessible maths, it lacks features such as prediction, Equatio Mobile integration, and the screenshot reader. Here is a handy overview of what is included in the premium version compared to the free version.
In case you were not aware (and I only learnt this myself recently), the Premium version of Equatio with unlimited use for Google, Windows and Mac can be installed on any UCL machine. If you would like to try this out when creating Moodle content such as Text and Media areas (formerly Labels), Pages, Books, Discussion Forum messages, Assignment instructions, Quiz questions etc, we have now tested this and created a wiki mini guide.
This will take you through the set up for the Premium version of Equatio for Chrome, the toolbar, setting options and the main features which include the Equation Editor, Handwriting Recognition, Speech Input, LaTeX Editor, Screenshot Reader, Equatio Mobile, Graph Editor, Mathspace and STEM Tools. The mini guide also include links to some handy video guides from Texthelp as well as further information. We hope some of you find it helpful.
Global Deactivation of Portico Mappings
By Tom Walters, on 7 November 2023
Portico mappings on Moodle pages were globally deactivated on 7th November 2023.
Enrolled students will retain access to their Moodle courses.
How will this impact students on my course?
- Students who are already enrolled on a Moodle course WILL continue to have access to that Moodle course.
- Students who join a Module on Portico WILL NOT be automatically enrolled onto the corresponding Moodle course. Students can still be manually enrolled.
- Students who leave the module on Portico WILL NOT be automatically unenrolled.
Moodle and Portico mappings
If Portico mappings are active on a Moodle course, student enrolments on that course are automatically updated overnight to mirror the student registrations in Portico. Consequently, students who change courses or withdraw from their studies are automatically enrolled or unenrolled from the Moodle course when their Portico record is changed. This is desirable when students change/drop modules within the first few weeks of term, however, if students are automatically unenrolled after they have been awarded grades, these grades become inaccessible, which can be very problematic.
Note: the ‘inaccessible’ grades, submissions and logged activity are not deleted. These can be accessed again if the student is re-enrolled manually, however while a student is no longer enrolled on a course, there is no way to view their content.
Why deactivate Portico mappings?
To reduce the likelihood of this particular ‘inaccessible/missing grades’ problem occurring, Portico mappings have been deactivated on all Moodle courses.
For more information about Portico deactivation and why this is done, please see the wiki guide – Deactivating Portico enrolments.
Can I re-activate Portico mappings on my courses?
Doing so may unenrol existing students in error. Before making any changes, please contact us at digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk