Guide to Moodle

Moodle is the University's virtual learning environment (VLE) hosting course learning materials and activities.

Moodle is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. You can access your course and module learning materials from Moodle via smartphone, laptop or desktop computer. You’ll only have access to Moodle once you register on your course.

On Moodle, you can access:

• module information
• course information
• links to online resources and reading lists
• learning activities
• recorded videos of teaching sessions
• news, announcements and discussion forums
• assessment information

Go to Moodle

Using Moodle

Visit Moodle and log in with your normal network password and username. On the dashboard, you'll see a list of the course and modules you're enrolled on. Select the link to the module you want to use and you're ready to get started.

Accessibility tool

You can make Moodle work for you using the built-in accessibility tool – configure screen colours and font styles that work best for you.

Notifications

You can disable and enable different notifications by clicking on your name in the top right-hand corner of Moodle and choosing 'Preferences'. Moodle offers notifications by web or email, and you can choose what notifications you get in both instances.

Logging in

You'll need your University account username and password to login to Moodle. Your username isn't case-sensitive, but your password is.

Your username will be in either of the following formats:

• upxxxxxx where x is a number (e.g. up123456)
• abcxxxxx where abc are letters and x are numbers (e.g. shl12345)

Please note, your username does not end in @myport.ac.uk.

Access after graduation

When you graduate, your access to Moodle, along with other university services such as the library, will remain active for 5 months after your official course end date. We'd recommend that you download and save any content or assignments before you leave. Find out more about what happens when you finish university and your IT and Library access.

After this time, while you will be able to contact your department and request copies of particular assignments, you will be unable to access the Moodle platform yourself.

Accessing modules

Your courses and modules are all available on your Moodle dashboard. To access Moodle in first year, you’ll need to register on your course. In following years, you’ll need to re-register on your course. 

You can choose to view your courses and modules in a grid, list or summary view using the drop down in the top-right corner of the module view. You can also star courses that you want easy access to later, and filter your modules by those in progress, future modules or past modules.

Module pages

At the top of each Moodle page are a number of helpful tabs that enable quick navigation.

The Course tab contains the learning materials and activities of the module. Module Info is where your Module Overview and Learning Outcomes can be found. Your assignments can be found under the 'Assignments' tab at the top of your module pages. Each one will include deadline information so you know when to submit your work. If there is a Reading List attached to your Module, then it can be found underneath the relevant heading.

Finally Grades gives you an overview of your assignments on Moodle however it should be noted that for official marks, you should check your Student View as not every assignment, exam or assessment is housed on Moodle.

The main part of the module page will be split into teaching weeks, where you'll find tasks you need to complete each week such as:

• learning activities
• recommended or required reading
• recorded classes

Seminar activities you need to complete will be highlighted under the 'Seminar Activities' heading. You'll also find extra reading or knowledge check activities under the heading 'Further reading/extension activity'.

Module coordinator

If you need to contact your module coordinator, you'll find their details on the right-hand side of the module page.

Academic advice

You'll find additional advice in the 'Academic Advice' block in the right-hand side of the module page. This could include:

• Online submission procedure
• Absence form
• Referencing guide

Online assessments and assignments

You'll be required to complete online assessments and assignments through Moodle to achieve the required credits for each module and move onto your next year of study.

Types of online assessment:

• Written coursework, assignments, reports and presentations to be submitted via Turnitin or Moodle Assignment
• Weekly/fortnightly quizzes
• Other Moodle activities such as engaging in forum discussions may contribute towards your marks on some modules

Submission tools

Use the submission tools to submit your work directly through Moodle – you don't need to install any additional software.

• Turnitin – you can submit your written assignments to Turnitin
• Moodle submission drop-box – use this tool to submit digital files including Word documents, spreadsheets and images as well as typing directly into the text editor
• Wiseflow - This is the new end to end assessment platform that is being rolled out across the university. You may have an assessment on this platform depending on your module/course but as with other submission tools, access is through Moodle. Assessment types include reflective portfolios, essays, large file and multiple file submissions and essays.

Moodle on mobile

We recommend you access Moodle on a computer or laptop for the best experience. But the learning environment is responsive – so you can access it on mobile if you need to by simply accessing moodle.port.ac.uk. Mobile access to Moodle is designed to supplement your experience rather than replace it, for full functionality you will require a standard computer or laptop.

You can also download the Moodle app to your Android, iOs or Windows phone. Just search for it in your phone's app store. You'll need an active WiFi or data signal to connect. Limited cached content may be available when using the Mobile app if the content has previously been accessed.