Student guide to Moodle by University of New South Wales

STUDENT GUIDE TO Moodle

Februaary 2013, Ve ersion 3 The Universsity of New South S Wales Sydney NSW 2052 Australia A

Thiss work is liceensed under the Creative C Commons Atttribution-Non Commerciaal-ShareAlike e 3.0 Austrralian Licensee. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativ vecommons.oorg/licenses/b by-ncsa/3.0/au u/ or send a letter to Creattive Common ns, 444 Castrro Street, Suite 900, Mounntain View, California, C 94041, USA A. Linked co ontent remai ns the property of origina al authors. Should you wish to issue a “Copy yright Takedo own Notice” or find partss of this workk that are not licensed under C Creative Com mmons, AESh hareNet, Gnu u or similar op pen licenses please inform m the MBT program:

Master of Business & Technology T Australiaan School of Business

Tel

+61 2 9385 6660 0

Fax

+61 2 9385 6661 1

mbt@ @unsw.edu.a au

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. MBT AND MOODLE ......................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THIS USER MANUAL .................................................................................................... 1 WHY MOODLE?..................................................................................................................... 1 2. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ...................................................................................................... 1 3. FEEDBACK, ADVICE AND FURTHER SUPPORT ................................................................ 2 4. TECHNICAL INFORMATION ............................................................................................. 2 BROWSER COMPATIBILITY ....................................................................................................... 2 5. CREATING A UNSW ZPASS TO LOGON .......................................................................... 3 6. ACCESSING YOUR ONLINE CLASS ................................................................................... 4 SELECTING YOUR CLASS: MOODLE HOME ................................................................................. 4 7. LOGIN TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................................................... 5 8. BLOCKED DUE TO NON-PAYMENT OF FEES ................................................................... 5 9. THE MOODLE ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................ 6 GENERAL FORUMS .................................................................................................................. 7 ACCESSING THE INTRODUCTIONS FORUM OR COFFEE SHOP ....................................................... 8 TAKING PART IN DISCUSSIONS HELD IN THE COFFEE SHOP OR INTRODUCTIONS FORUM................. 8 REPLYING .............................................................................................................................. 9 STARTING NEW TOPICS OF DISCUSSION IN THE COFFEE SHOP ...................................................... 9 FORUM SUBSCRIPTIONS – RECEIVING AN UPDATE ON POSTINGS ................................................ 10 EDITING AND DELETING FORUM CONTRIBUTIONS – THE 30 MINUTE RULE .................................. 11 WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS AND ACTIVITIES .............................................................................. 11 PRINTING DISCUSSIONS ........................................................................................................ 12 PARTICIPANTS LIST/GALLERY ................................................................................................ 12 UPLOADING YOUR PHOTO AND PROFILE ................................................................................ 13 DIALOGUE/MAIL IN MOODLE .............................................................................................. 14 MBT POLICY NOTE .............................................................................................................. 15 RE-DIRECTING YOUR STUDENT EMAIL ACCOUNT ...................................................................... 15 10. SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS ONLINE VIA MOODLE AND TURNITIN.......................... 16 IMPORTANT NOTES ............................................................................................................... 16 SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS ................................................................................................... 17 THE ADD SUBMISSION OPTIONS SHOULD NOW BE DISPLAYED. .................................................. 19 STEP 6: GIVE A TITLE TO THE SUBMISSION................................................................................ 19 VIEWING YOUR SIMILARITY REPORT ........................................................................................ 21 10. LEARNING AND TEACHING TOOLS USED IN MOODLE FOR CLASS BASED ACTIVITIES 22 WIKIS ...................................................................................................................................... 22 11. GENERAL TIPS ................................................................................................................. 22

ATTACHMENTS .................................................................................................................... 22 TO UPLOAD AN ATTACHMENT ............................................................................................... 22 IMPORTANT: ATTACHMENT DOWNLOADING ........................................................................... 22 SUPPORTED/RECOMMENDED FILE TYPES .................................................................................. 23 RECOMMENDED FILE SIZES ..................................................................................................... 23 MAC/PC ATTACHMENT ACCESSIBILITY ..................................................................................... 24 COPYRIGHT REGULATIONS AND MOODLE .............................................................................. 24 TO VIEW MOODLE IN A LARGER FONT SIZE (INTERNET EXPLORER 7)............................................ 24

1. MBT and Moodle About this User Manual This manual is an introduction to the MBT Moodle online classroom environment. To make the best use of the user manual please read through it prior to the start of session to familiarise yourself and get an overview of the locations and functions that will support your online learning. We recommend you test your access and use of the system by logging into Moodle and accessing your Moodle Class as soon as you can in Week 0. Also recommended is viewing associated links and videos contained in this manual to gain a greater understanding of how Moodle works and how to use it more effectively. Note: You will need sound when watching the recommended video clips.

Why Moodle? Moodle is a virtual classroom system that supports online collaborative learning by providing an online environment that is an analogue of the small group teaching strategies used by the best face‐ to‐face classroom facilitators. It is the world’s most popular LMS due to its open source nature and its focus on interactions between students and facilitators. Further information about using Moodle as a student is available at: http://teaching.unsw.edu.au/moodle‐students

2. Technical support If you experience any technical issues while using Moodle please contact the External TELT Service Centre as soon as the issue arises: Email: externalteltsupport@unsw.edu.au Phone: 9385 3331 International: +61 2 9385 3331 This Service Centre is available for telephone support Monday to Friday from 8am to 10pm and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9am to 5pm. Note that it functions separately to the UNSW IT Service Centre that supports Blackboard. When you email the external support group please include the following details to assist in resolving your issues quickly: 

your name and student ID number



the program you are studying in: MBT, AGSM, UNSW



your computer, internet browser and version details (i.e. PC laptop, Internet Explorer 8)



a brief description of the issue you are experiencing, including any error messages or screen grabs if possible

The external service centre logs all calls for support and escalates issues to the appropriate internal group to resolve, or answers some issues (such as access) immediately. Note that this group also hosts the Moodle servers and so can handle most technical enquiries internally.

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Contact details for the External Telt Support service are also listed in the footer of every Moodle page:

3. Feedback, advice and further support If you experience any non technical issues relating to the discussion, activities or assessments in the class please talk to your Class Facilitator. Class Facilitators are responsible for all discussion and activities that occur in each class. If you have further issues that are not resolved by reporting to IT Services or by talking to your facilitator you can contact MBT Student Services in business hours on +61 2 9385 6660 or email mbt.student.support@unsw.edu.au An MBT Student Services team member will log your call and will ensure the matter is resolved as soon as possible. You are also welcome to contact the Student Services team at any stage during the session if you would like any further advice or support on using Moodle. We encourage you to seek advice and report issues as these occur and not leave their reporting to the end of session. We can normally offer you a solution to an issue when it occurs, thus enabling you to continue your study.

4. Technical information Browser compatibility 

Recommended browser details can be found on the main login portal for Moodle at: https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/login/index.php

Mobile devices At present Moodle can be accessed from mobile devices using a web browser. An app will likely become available in mid‐2013 that will provide enhanced access via mobiles and tablet computers. This will be announced via the Moodle portal. MBT Moodle FAQ and Known Issues list MBT has an FAQ specific to questions and issues related to the MBT’s implementation of Moodle. This can be found on the MBT Student site under the link “Online Classes”. Or directly here: www.student.mbt.unsw.edu.au/FAQ_moodle.html

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5. Creating a UNSW zPass to logon Moodle requires your zPass for students. This is not the same as your UniPass. If you are a new participant who has not yet set up or received details of your zPass, or are a continuing participant and have misplaced it, please go to UNSW Identity manager www.idm.unsw.edu.au to obtain your zpass. Detailed instructions can be found at: www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zpass/create_zpass.html Important note for new MBT participants only Before you can access any UNSW online resources, including your student email account and Online Class, you must first accept the UNSW Conditions of Use. You will agree to these rules as you create your zPass. If you have any problems obtaining or using your zPass please call the IT Service Centre on (02) 9385 1333 or send an email to: ITServiceCentre@unsw.edu.au

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6. Accessing your online class Go to http://www.student.mbt.unsw.edu.au/OnlineClasses.html Click the blue Log in: Moodle web link. Click on User ID

Enter your User ID (z followed by your Student ID number) and password (your zPass) and click on the Agree & Sign On button.

Selecting your class: Moodle Home Logging on will bring you to your Moodle Home page. All the classes you have access to will be listed on this page under the heading “Course overview”. These will be visible one week prior to session start (week 0). Simply click on the link to the class you wish to enter.

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7. Login troubleshooting In order to successfully log in to an MBT Online Class you must enter a correct User Name and Password, and be currently enrolled in an MBT Class for participation this semester. If your log in fails it could be for one or more of the following reasons: 1. You may not have entered either your Username or Password correctly, please check and try again.  Ensure you have entered a z in front of your Student ID number in the Username.  Your Password (your zPass) is case sensitive and some characters are easily confused. 2. You have recently changed your class enrolment and your online access has not yet been updated with UNSW.  If you have recently changed your class enrolment please allow two working days for your online access to be updated. 3. There may be a technical or administrative problem with your online access, in which case please contact your own internet service provider, UNSWIT itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au or MBT Student Support mbt.student.support@unsw.edu.au

8. Blocked due to non‐payment of fees If, following Census Date, you are unable to access your course you may have inadvertently failed to pay your university fees. Please check your fees status in MyUNSW. After payment of outstanding fees you may need to wait up to four days to regain access to Moodle and other UNSW services. For more details about Census date and fees see: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/CensusDates.html Reference to the MBT calendar is via the ‘Kensington/COFA mainstream programs’ link The MBT census dates are provided in the MBT Participant Information Guide (http://www.student.mbt.unsw.edu.au/ParticipantInfo.html) in the section Important Dates. If you continue to experience log in or access issues please contact the UNSW IT Service Centre: Phone: (02) 9385 1333 International: +61 2 9385 1333 Email: itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au

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9. The Moodle environment Assessment details are found here along “Participants” list where class members can present details about themselves and view other class member’s profiles.

The Noticeboard –MBT staff post notices affecting everyone in the program Announcements /News ‐where facilitators post important notices about the class The Coffee Shop ‐ for informal discussions Weekly Discussions and Activities ‐ where facilitators conduct the formal discussions & learning activities

The Home Page is where you will find a range of tools to support your online class community and your interactions within it. Additional important tools not pointed out in the above screen shot are the Dialogue tool for messaging other students and facilitators, and the Virtual Meeting Room webinar system that allows you to meeting in real time with other students. Other tools may also be enabled to provide reflective journals, group wikis or other activities for enhancing teamwork and discussion. Ask your facilitator if you are in any doubt about what specific tools and activities will be used for class work. A standard set of useful links is also included in the left hand menu to allow you to quickly access your Study Guide, Course Overview, the Moodle Manual and FAQ, the UNSW Library, MyUNSW and the MBT Student site. Moodle shows where you are in the classroom at all times by displaying a breadcrumb trail. i.e. the name of your present location. The example below shows the viewing of a discussion topic entitled “Welcome to the Course” in the Coffee Shop forum. This trail can also be used to navigate and especially navigate back to the home page using the short course title.

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It is also possible to use your backwards button or arrow in your web browser to successfully navigate to pages that you have previously viewed. To navigate back to your list of classes so that you can change between class sites use the My home breadcrumb:

GENERAL FORUMS The Coffee Shop is an informal forum space where discussion topics can be started by both students and facilitators. It may be used to host Introduction discussions and week 0 activities. While Seminar Room topics are lead and controlled by your Class Facilitator, Coffee Shop topics can also be lead and controlled by students who start new topics. Thus the Coffee Shop can be an interactive discussion space that enhances the more formal discussions in the Seminar Room. Feel free to use it anytime during the duration of your course to discuss issues not related to the course content and syllabus. Another forum that may be present under the heading General Forums is the Introductions forum. It is often the first forum that you will use in Week 0 when you start a new class.

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Accessing the Introductions Forum or Coffee Shop Click the appropriate link under the heading General Forums:

The Introductions forum appears:

Taking part in discussions held in the Coffee Shop or Introductions forum Click on the title of any topic to read the post and any related replies.

Alternatively you may click on the number of unread posts listed against a particular topic.

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Replying When viewing a post click the reply button to the right of any post to reply.

Starting new topics of discussion in the Coffee Shop To start a new discussion topic click on the Add a new discussion topic button.

The editor screen opens where you can compose a new topic:

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Enter your message and click Post to forum. The forum will reappear with your new post:

Tips 

Long Posts: If you would like to compose a lengthy posting please use Microsoft Word, Notepad or a similar text editor. Then simply copy and paste into the built in editor. If copying from MS Word ensure you use the “Paste from Word” button. Most formatting should then be retained when pasting. Using this method when composing long posts will avoid issues encountered should the system time out due to inactivity.



The editor also has a spell checker images

, media

, equations

and additional capabilities to allow you to insert , hyperlinks

, tables

etc.

Forum subscriptions – receiving an update on postings You have been automatically subscribed to all forums (Introductions forum ,+ Coffee Shop and all weekly Seminar Rooms). This means that when a contribution is made to a thread in a forum, an email will be sent to everyone. The email contains a link to that message enabling one click access to the forum to reply (although you will need to log in or be already logged in). The email is sent to your UNSW student email (e.g. z1111111@student.unsw.edu.au). Although you are automatically subscribed you may unsubscribe at any time. To unsubscribe you first need to enter the appropriate forum and look for the subscription options under the settings menu (usually docked top left). Click the option to Unsubscribe from this forum.

If you wish to resubscribe simply follow the same steps.

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Editing and deleting forum contributions – The 30 minute rule You can edit and delete contributions to any forum for up to 30 minutes after you make the post or reply. After this time you cannot edit or delete. You also cannot delete your posts if someone has replied to them.

WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS AND ACTIVITIES The Weekly Discussions and Activities are forums where the formal teaching and learning activities in your class take place. Only your Class Facilitator can start seminar activities in the Weekly Discussions and Activities, but once a topic has been started, it is open to everyone to participate and contribute. Accessing the Weekly Discussions and Activities Forums Scroll down the homepage to view the list of Weekly Discussions and Activities discussions. Clicking on any of these links will display the discussion forums or activity page with that title.

The most common activity in a seminar room will be discussion or series of activities based around each weekly unit material. Other activities may be added below a Unit title on the home page. For example, if during a particular week the facilitator wishes to survey opinion about an aspect of the course or its content he or she may add a survey link underneath that week’s forum.

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Printing Discussions Discussions can also be printed. To do this; enter a forum and pick the topic that you wish to print. In the dropdown menu above; select Display Replies flat, with oldest first.

Use your usual method of printing to print the topic of discussion.

Participants List/GALLERY The Participants page lists all the participants in your class and their profiles. To access the Participants list click on its entry in the left hand class menu.

You will be presented with the list of participants. Click any name to view the related profile.

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Uploading your photo and profile Please take time to upload a photo and complete your profile prior to your first week of study. You can edit and update your profile at any time during the session. 1.

Open the settings menu and choose Edit profile.

Add your name, email address and brief description about yourself.

Scroll down and upload a picture under “User Picture”. You may also add any interests that you have in this section.

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4. For privacy reasons it is recommended that you do not add personal details such as address, phone numbers or instant messaging accounts. 5. Click Update Profile

DIALOGUE/MAIL IN MOODLE Your facilitator will use the dialogue tool located under General Foums and Communication. This allows Them to send you messages and feedback on assessments as required.

If you wish to send your facilitator or other students an individual message you can also use this tool.

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If you send a message to someone using this tool a copy will be sent to them via the UNSW email system to their staff or student account. They will be able to reply via external email or by using the link to log into Moodle and replying via the Dialogue tool. MBT Policy note Dialogue may be used for correspondence relating to MBT class matters only. UNSW Policy Note As this system delivers emails through the UNSW zMail system you are also bound to the zMail Terms of Use available at: https://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zmail/rules.html

Re‐directing your student email account You will need to forward your zmail account to an email address you check regularly so that you do not miss out on announcements and messages sent from Moodle. If you do not start receiving them after a session has started, please ensure your student email has been correctly re‐directed. To redirect your UNSW email to an external account please see: www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zmail/redirect_external.html

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10.

Submitting assignments online via Moodle and Turnitin

All students studying face‐to‐face and online use Moodle to submit their assignments. The assessment submission function is performed by a similarity and referencing detection system called Turnitin. In addition to allowing submission of the assignments, Turnitin provides students with the ability to check their work for similarity with other sources and to check their referencing. All classes have been set up in Moodle to allow the submission of written assignments up to two weeks in advance of the submission deadline so that these vital checks can be made. Note that it is a student’s responsibility to check that any work submitted for assessment is free of plagiarism. Details of what plagiarism is, why it is important to avoid plagiarism and details of consequences of submitting plagiarised work are available on the UNSW Learning Centre web site here: www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/plag.html

Important notes 

In all instances refer to your course Assessment document to understand what is required of you for each assignment task.



Coversheets are not required. Please do not append a coversheet to your assignment. Moodle automatically identifies you, your facilitator and the date and time of submission so cover sheets are unnecessary.



Turnitin accepts a number of formats including Microsoft Word and PDF documents.Assignments should be uploaded with the following file naming convention so they can be identified easily:

z999999_Surname_GBATxxxx_10s2_Ass1 where: 

z999999 is your student ID



Surname is your family name



GBATxxxx is the course code



10s2 is the semester name (2010, Semester 2)



Ass1 is the Assignment number (Ass2 for Assignment 2).

Additional information and instructions about Turnitin are available here: https://turnitin.com/static/resources/documentation/turnitin/training/Moodle_Native_Integration_ Student_Manual.pdf

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Submitting assignments Submission of assignments is done in several steps. Make sure you complete all steps to ensure your assignment is uploaded successfully. Step 1: Under Assessments locate the assessment you wish to submit and click on the appropriate hyperlink.

Step 2: Read the assignment screen carefully, in particular the declaration statement. Once you have read the declaration agree to the conditions by clicking Agree

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Step 3: You may see a Systems Requirements check. Adjust your settings if necessary, otherwise click Continue to Dashboard.

If this is the first time you have used Turnitin you may also see a User Agreement screen. Please select I agree – continue. Step 4: You will now see the Summary screen. You may also review the assignment details here.

To upload your assignment, click My Submissions.

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The Add submission options should now be displayed.

Step 6: Give a title to the submission Type in a submission title, for example Assignment 1: Report on Current Issue

Step 7: Upload: Click Choose File.

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Locate and select the file you wish to upload and click Open.

You will return to the My Submissions screen. The file name will now be showing next to File to Submit. If this is the correct file click the check box to agree that this is your work and that the you will accept responsibility for copyright. Click Add Submission.

The Add Submissions will update and show your submission:

In addition you should also receive a submission receipt via UNSW email.

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Viewing your similarity report The Similarity column in the My Submissions table will after a few minutes update from Pending to a colour code and percentage indication of the actual similarity to external sources that have been found. Note that it may take up to 24 hours for the report to appear if you make subsequent resubmissions. View your Turnitin similarity check by clicking the colour coded button under the heading “Similarity”.

You may also download your assignment to check its validity in either its original format (e.g. Word Document) or as a PDF. Downloading your uploaded assignment allows you to check that you have uploaded the correct assignment and that formatting is still correct after upload. Understanding your originality report It is important that you understand how to access all of the information contained in the report. A guide is available here (See Chapter 2): http://turnitin.com/static/resources/documentation/turnitin/training/en_us/Student_Manual_en_u s.pdf What to do if you have submission problems If you experience difficulty in uploading your assignment via the Turnitin/Moodle tool, you should contact your Class Facilitator in the first instance. If you are unable to reach them please contact the MBT Student Support team for advice. Email: mbt.student.support@unsw.edu.au

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Phone: 02 9385 6660

10.

Learning and Teaching Tools used in Moodle for class based activities

Activities in the online course may be supported in some MBT courses via the activity tools built into Moodle. These activities include: 

private discussion forums



blogs



wikis



Journals/e‐Portfolios For some activities teams may be assigned by your Class Facilitator. Details for the more common of tools is given below.

Wikis See http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Wiki_module for a description of wikis, details of how to use wikis and a video outlining the basic uses of a wiki.

11.General Tips Attachments Many contribution windows will allow you to attach a file. Remember that other participants will be able to open and read the files you attach only if they have the right software to read the file.

To upload an attachment To upload a document, click on Add followed by the Upload a file button when posting a contribution and select the document from the location in which it is saved, then submit your contribution as per normal.

Important: attachment downloading When downloading a document click on the Attachment icon and select to either view from current location or save to a disk or folder. 22

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How attachments are handled when they are downloaded depends on the individual settings of your web browser. After clicking on the attachment icon you will have the choice of opening the file, or saving the file to your computer.

If you are having difficulty in opening attachments directly we recommend saving the file to your computer, then opening the file from the location to which you saved it.

Supported/recommended file types The supported/recommended file types are as follows:

FILE Word Excel MS Project Image/Graphic Powerpoint Adobe Acrobat PDF

extension .doc .docx .xls .xlsx .mpp .jpg .ppt .pptx .pdf

If you are going to upload a file which is not one of the file types listed as supported, please check with your class first to make sure that all participants have the appropriate software to view uploaded files.

Recommended file sizes Please remember that some participants may be on 3G or 56KB modems especially when travelling – not everyone is on broadband cable or ADSL – and large documents will be much more difficult for them to open/download. It is recommended that you keep your attachment file sizes as small as possible. As a guideline – a participant on a standard 56KB dialup connection would take roughly three minutes to download a 1 Mb file. Please note that in some areas of Moodle limits have been set on the permitted upload size. You will be advised via a warning message should you exceed this limit.

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Mac/PC attachment accessibility PC users Windows determines file types by their extensions, so make sure that an appropriate Windows extension (.doc) has been added to the file name before you attach. Mac users Make sure you add Windows file extensions to the file names so that PC users can open the attachments.

Copyright regulations and Moodle Australian copyright regulations prohibit uploading any third party copyright materials to your online class. This includes journal articles, extracts from textbooks and details copied from web sites. This is true whether you copy the item into a discussion post via the editor or attach it. There is however no restriction on providing URL addresses or links to articles or sites which you may wish to share with your co‐participants.

To view Moodle in a larger font size (Internet Explorer 7) To increase the font size in Moodle follow the steps below. You may wish to reset this setting after finishing your Moodle session. Select Internet Options from the dropdown Tools menu.

Select Accessibility.

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Tick the box Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages and click OK. Font sizes will increase

immediately.

In other browsers use CTRL and the + key to increase font size. Use CTRL and the – key to decrease font size.

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