M01d - Activity explains how to add, remove and configure activities.
What Moodle activities are available and what do they do?
The following list describes each of the activities that can be added to the central column on your Moodle course page and what each one does.
Assignment
- Assessment
The assignment activity module enables a teacher to communicate tasks, collect work and provide grades and feedback.
Students can submit any digital content (files), such as word-processed documents, spreadsheets, images, or audio and video clips. Alternatively, or in addition, the assignment may require students to type text directly into the text editor. An assignment can also be used to remind students of 'real world' assignments they need to complete offline, such as artwork, and thus not require any digital content. Students can submit work individually or as a member of a group.
When reviewing assignments, teachers can leave feedback comments and upload files, such as marked-up student submissions, documents with comments, or spoken audio feedback. Assignments can be graded using a numerical or custom scale or an advanced grading method such as a rubric. Final grades are recorded in the gradebook.
See the Assignment miniguide for more information.
Assignment (Turnitin)
- Assessment
As above, this assignment type is for the submission of assignment through Turnitin. The Turnitin Assignment activity allows instructors to assess and provide feedback for student's written work using the assessment tools available within Turnitin's Feedback Studio document viewer.
See the Turnitin section for more information.
Custom Certificate
Assessment
Moodle Custom Certificates create customised PDF certificates for your students. You can add borders, watermarks, seals and even show grade information. A Certificate can be revealed to students based on their achieving particular grades in different activities, and/or achieving an overall course grade, and/or spending a minimum number of minutes in the course.
See the Certificate miniguide for more information.
Chat
Collaboration 
Communication
The Chat activity enables module participants to have a real time synchronous discussion in a Moodle course. This is a useful way to get a different understanding of each other and the topic being discussed. The mode of using a chat room is quite different from the asynchronous forums. The Chat activity contains a number of features for managing and reviewing chat discussions.
See the Chat miniguide for more information.
Choice
Administration
The Choice activity allows you to ask a question and set up radio buttons which students can click to make a selection from a number of possible responses. They can choose one or more options and they can update their selection if you allow them. Choices can be useful as quick poll to stimulate thinking about a topic; to allow the class to vote on a direction for the course, or to gauge progress.
A choice activity may be used:
- As a quick poll to stimulate thinking about a topic
- To quickly test students' understanding
- To facilitate student decision making, for example allowing students to vote on a direction for the course
See the Group Choice miniguide for more information.
Database
Collaboration Assessment Communication Administration
The database activity module enables participants to create, maintain and search a collection of entries (i.e. records). The structure of the entries is defined by the teacher as a number of fields. Field types include checkbox, radio buttons, dropdown menu, text area, URL, picture and uploaded file.
The visual layout of information when listing, viewing or editing database entries may be controlled by database templates. Database activities may be shared between courses as presets and a teacher may also import and export database entries. If the database auto-linking filter is enabled, any entries in a database will be automatically linked where the words or phrases appear within the course. A teacher can allow comments on entries. Entries can also be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the gradebook.
Database activities have many uses, such as:
- A collaborative collection of web links, books, book reviews, journal references etc.
- For displaying student created photos, posters, websites or poems for peer comment and review.
See the Database miniguide for more information.
Forum
Collaboration Assessment Communication Administration
The forum activity module enables participants to have asynchronous discussions i.e. discussions that take place over an extended period of time.
There are several forum types to choose from, such as a standard forum where anyone can start a new discussion at any time; a forum where each student can post exactly one discussion; or a question and answer forum where students must first post before being able to view other students' posts. A teacher can allow files to be attached to forum posts. Attached images are displayed in the forum post.
Participants can subscribe to a forum to receive notifications of new forum posts. A teacher can set the subscription mode to optional, forced or auto, or prevent subscription completely. If required, students can be blocked from posting more than a given number of posts in a given time period; this can prevent individuals from dominating discussions.
Forum posts can be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the gradebook.
Forums have many uses, such as:
- A social space for students to get to know each other
- For course announcements (using a news forum with forced subscription)
- For discussing course content or reading materials
- For continuing online an issue raised previously in a face-to-face session
- For teacher-only discussions (using a hidden forum)
- A help centre where tutors and students can give advice
- A one-to-one support area for private student-teacher communications (using a forum with separate groups and with one student per group)
- For extension activities, for example ‘brain teasers’ for students to ponder and suggest solutions
See the Forums miniguide for more information.
Glossary
Collaboration Assessment Communication
The glossary activity module enables participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary, or to collect and organise resources or information.
A teacher can allow files to be attached to glossary entries. Attached images are displayed in the entry. Entries can be searched or browsed alphabetically or by category, date or author. Entries can be approved by default or require approval by a teacher before they are viewable by everyone.
If the glossary auto-linking filter is enabled, entries will be automatically linked where the concept words and/or phrases appear within the course.
A teacher can allow comments on entries. Entries can also be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the gradebook.
Glossaries have many uses, such as:
- A collaborative bank of key terms
- A ‘getting to know you’ space where new students add their name and personal details
- A ‘handy tips’ resource of best practice in a practical subject
- A sharing area of useful videos, images or sound files
- A revision resource of facts to remember
See the Glossary miniguide for more information.
Hot Question
Collaboration Assessment Communication Administration
Students can post questions into the Hot Question activity. Students can also vote on each others questions, so that the hottest questions will be highlighted. Teachers can use the hottest questions to guide their session/teaching .
See the Hot Question miniguide for more information.
HotPot
The HotPot module allows teachers to distribute interactive learning materials to their students via Moodle and view reports on the students' responses and results.
A single HotPot activity consists of an optional entry page, a single online learning exercise, and an optional exit page. The online learning exercise may be a static web page or an interactive web page which offers students text, audio and visual prompts and records their responses. The online learning exercise is created on the teacher's computer using authoring software and then uploaded to Moodle.
A HotPot activity can handle exercises created with the following authoring software:
- Hot Potatoes (version 6)
- Qedoc
- Xerte
- iSpring
- any HTML editor
See the HotPot miniguide for more information.
Lesson
Assessment
The lesson activity module enables a teacher to deliver content and/or practice activities in interesting and flexible ways. A teacher can use the lesson to create a linear set of content pages or instructional activities that offer a variety of paths or options for the learner. In either case, teachers can choose to increase engagement and ensure understanding by including a variety of questions, such as multiple choice, matching and short answer. Depending on the student's choice of answer and how the teacher develops the lesson, students may progress to the next page, be taken back to a previous page or redirected down a different path entirely.
A lesson may be graded, with the grade recorded in the gradebook.
Lessons may be used:
- For self-directed learning of a new topic
- For scenarios or simulations/decision making exercises
- For differentiated revision, with different sets of revision questions depending upon answers given to initial questions
See the Lessons miniguide for more information.
Lightbox gallery
This allows the user to view a set of images using thumbnails. Click on the thumbnails to navigate between the images, clicking on the main picture will progress to the next one.
See the Lightbox gallery miniguide for more information.
Questionnaire
Administration
The questionnaire module allows you to construct questionnaires (surveys) using a variety of question types, for the purpose of gathering data from users.
See the Questionnaire miniguide for more information.
Quiz
Assessment
The quiz activity enables a teacher to create quizzes comprising questions of various types, including multiple choice, matching, short-answer and numerical.
The teacher can allow the quiz to be attempted multiple times, with the questions shuffled or randomly selected from the question bank. A time limit may be set.
Each attempt is marked automatically, with the exception of essay questions, and the grade is recorded in the gradebook.
The teacher can choose when and if hints, feedback and correct answers are shown to students.
Quizzes may be used:
- As course exams
- As mini tests for reading assignments or at the end of a topic
- As exam practice using questions from past exams
- To deliver immediate feedback about performance
- For self-assessment you are planning to use quizzes for credit bearing assessment you must refer to our guidance for online exams.
See the Quiz miniguide for more information.
Scheduler
Administration
The scheduler activity helps you in scheduling appointments with your students.
Teachers specify time slots for meetings, students then choose one of the slots. Teachers in turn can record the outcome of the meeting, and an optional grade, within the scheduler.
Group scheduling is supported. Each time slot can accommodate several students, and it is possible to schedule group appointments.
See the Scheduler miniguide for more information.
SCORM package
Assessment
A SCORM package is a collection of files which are packaged according to an agreed standard for learning objects. The SCORM activity module enables SCORM or AICC packages to be uploaded as a zip file and added to a course. Content is usually displayed over several pages, with navigation between the pages. There are various options for displaying content in a pop-up window, with a table of contents, with navigation buttons etc.
SCORM activities generally include questions, with grades being recorded in the gradebook.
SCORM activities may be used:
- For presenting multimedia content and animations
- As an assessment tool
Moodle is only compatible with SCORM version 1.2.
See the SCORM miniguide for more information.
Survey
Administration
The Survey module provides a number of verified survey instruments that have been found useful in assessing and stimulating learning in online environments. Teachers can use these to gather data from their students that will help them learn about their class and reflect on their own teaching. However for end of module evaluations you may prefer to use the questionnaire to create your own survey questions (or indeed use one of the standard questionnaires which ELE have set up).
See the Survey miniguide for more information.
Wiki
Collaboration Assessment
The wiki activity module enables participants to add and edit a collection of web pages. A wiki can be collaborative, with everyone being able to edit it, or individual, where everyone has their own wiki which only they can edit. A history of previous versions of each page in the wiki is kept, listing the edits made by each participant.
Wikis have many uses, such as:
- For group lecture notes or study guides
- For members of a faculty to plan a scheme of work or meeting agenda together
- For students to collaboratively author an online book, creating content on a topic set by their tutor
- For collaborative storytelling or poetry creation, where each participant writes a line or verse
- As a personal journal for examination notes or revision.
See the Wiki miniguide for more information.
Workshop
Collaboration Assessment
The workshop activity module enables the collection, review and peer assessment of students' work.
Students can submit any digital content (files), such as word processed documents or spreadsheets, and can also type text directly into a field using the text editor.
Submissions are assessed using a multi-criteria assessment form defined by the teacher. The process of peer assessment and understanding the assessment form can be practised in advance with example submissions provided by the teacher, together with a reference assessment. Students are given the opportunity to assess one or more of their peers' submissions. Submissions and reviewers may be anonymous if required.
Students obtain two grades in a workshop activity. A grade for their submission and a grade for their assessment of their peers' submissions. Both grades are recorded in the gradebook.
