Technology@Wooster

Moodle, our course management system, was recently upgraded to version 1.7. The upgrade makes a number of new features available. Chief among them is the creation of a new Teaching Assistant (TA) role. Individuals assigned this role for a given course are permitted to add assignments, start forums and post handouts to the course, but are unable to enter or view grades. In addition to the upgrade, a number of new software plug-ins have been added. These plug-ins allow the inclusion of YouTube and Google video, allow for podcast assignments, and make it possible to add graded activities to the gradebook without creating course assignments. The upgrade and the installation of the new plug-ins are responses to faculty requests for additional functionality.

The initial load of Fall semester courses and enrollments was recently completed. The courses and course enrollments in Moodle are now being updated on a nightly basis to reflect the official information stored in Colleague. Faculty should now be able to access their courses in Moodle.

Faculty who anticipate using Moodle for the first time during the upcoming semester, as well as those who would like a refresher, will be able to attend training sessions conducted by the Department of Instructional Technology. These sessions are tentatively slated for August 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23. Official dates and times will be distributed shortly.

Questions related to Moodle should be addressed to Jon Breitenbucher via email at jbreitenbuch@wooster.edu or via phone at x2207.