Modules and Lessons

This course is designed as a linear progression through course design on the DD Courses Site.  If you are a complete beginner, then the best way to navigate this course is to start at Module 1 and follow each lesson in order.  This is an independent, unmonitored class, so there is no fixed timeframe for completion and no grading.  If you follow this course, you will be provided with the opportunity to populate your own course concurrently.  This is explained in the “Your Course” section below.

If you are not a beginner, but still need some help getting started, then it is not necessary to go through every topic in this course.  In the sidebar menu are the list of modules and topics, so you can pick and choose which topics you wish to read more about, and skip ones that are already familiar.  There is no penalty for missing sections! 

Your Course

This Course is designed as a learn-by-doing experience.  After most topics there is a section called “Your Course”.  Each of the "Your Course" sections will explain how to use the information from the previous lesson in your own course shell, so that you can start to build your first DD Course right away!  In most cases you will receive your course shell when it is created for you by the site manager, and you will learn to find and open it in Module 1. Getting Started. The Your Course sections will each have a list of instructions as well as a video showing you what the steps should look like on the DD courses site.  

Figure 1: Your course exercises can be found after many of the topics in this course

When you are working on your own course, it is recommended that you keep this course open in one tab of your browser and then open a second tab to the course shell you were provided, so you can easily navigate between them.  If you wish, you can also print out the "Your Course" instructions, follow them as you build your course, then return to this course for the next lesson.

If you decide to skip some of the topics, it may still be worthwhile to always complete the “Your Course” exercises, to ensure that you progress through all the steps of building your own course.

Getting Help

If you are experiencing trouble navigating this course or have questions about any other elements of Moodle, then you can find tips on how to get help in module 1.6 Getting Help.  You can find this module by clicking the link on the menu in the sidebar.

When searching for help, it is important to note that DD Courses currently uses Moodle version 4.0. 

Getting Started

In Module 1 you will learn about the DD Courses site and Moodle.  The video below will show you some elements of the site to help you get started.  There are several ways to navigate through this course.  You can:

1. Click on the button labelled “Next Activity” at the bottom corner of each lesson to go directly to the next lesson of the course.

2. Use the menu in the sidebar.  The lesson you are currently on will be highlighted in yellow.  If the menu isn’t visible, click on the list icon to open it: 

3. Click “Start Here!” in the sidebar menu to see the course homepage.  You can scroll through all the lessons on this page.

Before we get started, here is a video to help you navigate through the rest of this course:

Ready to start?  Head to the next section by clicking the “Next Activity” button in the corner below, or click 1.1 Moodle and DD Courses using this link or in the menu to the side.