Module 2 Book: Optimizing the Organization of a Moodle Course
Name: Course Sections
Once you determine how you will structure your course and what Moodle course format you will use, it’s important to create well-crafted titles for each course section (Nilson & Goodson, 2018, p. 40). The goal will be to use brief, clear names and to organize them in a logical and consistent way. This way, although the content will change each week, the structure will stay the same (Nilson & Goodson, 2018, p. 222).
Three elements to consider when naming each section are:
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Sequence
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A sequence helps students see an order in which they will be exploring course content. This progression illustrates a successive way to navigate to their content (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, etc.).
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However, if used on its own, it conveys nothing about what is being covered in that section or when (the exact dates).
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Topic
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A topic helps students identify what is being covered in that section.
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However, if used on its own, it conveys nothing about when that topic is being explored or in what order.
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Time Frame
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A time frame helps students see when they are exploring course content which simultaneously provides a different kind of order as well. Since courses run on a term schedule, this is very helpful since students can simply look at a calendar, identify exactly where they are in the course, and plan their time accordingly (Nilson & Goodson, 2018, p. 40).
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However, if used on its own, it conveys nothing about what is being covered in that section.
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It’s easier for humans to recognize information than it is to recall it from memory (Weinschenk, 2020, p. 57). So, by providing multiple ways for students to recognize what is learned and when, it will help them find what they are looking for more quickly. However, there are different ways to configure your course sections in Moodle depending on your context and the course format you use. That being said, all three of these elements don’t need to exist only in the title, if that doesn’t suit your context. Some can be used to form the titles, while others can exist in the section area.
For example, in the Weekly and Collapsed Topics course formats, these Moodle course format styles have the space to accommodate longer names.
Weekly Course Format:
Collapsed Topics Course Format:
Whereas in the Onetopic and Grid course formats, there is less space for longer names which can make the sections more cluttered or difficult to read.
Onetopic Course Format:
Grid Course Format:
In this case, you would have to determine what naming convention is easiest for students to navigate to the course sections by (sequence, topic, time frame). Then, you can include any additional information in that section which appears at the top before the course content.
For example, the title, “Week 1: What are rubrics? (Sept 5-11)” has been shortened to “What are rubrics? (Sept 5-11)”. Then, when the student clicks on that section, they see the sequence that section aligns with (Week 1) at the top, before the course content. This way, students have all the information they need to determine if they are in the right area.
