Published on: 11/10/2023 · Last updated on: 13/11/2024
Managing Moodle Blocks
Moodle Blocks appear on the right side of the content area and can be customised in a range of ways (depending on what each block is designed to do). They can be added and rearranged when in Edit mode. Blocks allow staff and students to locate key information more easily.
Accessing blocks
To view the blocks on your Moodle space click on the arrow on the top right of your screen to open the Block Drawer.
Adding a new block
To add a new block:
- Toggle Edit mode on.
- Open block drawer (if not yet opened).
- Click on “+ Add a block”.
4. Select the new block you want to add. That block will now appear on your block drawer.
Configuring / editing a block
To configure or edit a block:
- Toggle Edit mode on.
- Open block drawer (if not yet opened).
- Click on the cog icon for the block you want to configure.
- Select the appropriate function.
Moving blocks
Where there are existing blocks in the Moodle space, they can be moved and rearranged in the Block Drawer.
To move a block:
- Toggle Edit mode on.
- Open block drawer (if not yet opened).
- Click and hold down on the 4-arrow cross of the block you want to move. You can now move this block in the block drawer.
Useful Blocks
The following blocks exist on each individual Moodle space and should not be removed.
The Accessibility+ Toolkit is a tool to help staff to find, fix and future-proof accessibility issues in their Moodle based content. To find out more visit the Accessibility+ Toolkit page.
The Activities block organises and groups resources depending on their activities. This allows participants to find activities, such as assignments more easily.
The Panopto block acts as a link between your Moodle space and Panopto. By enabling the Panopto block in Moodle, a corresponding folder under the same name will appear in Panopto to store recordings – this is referred to as the Moodle-linked folder. To find out more visit the Moodle and Panopto overview page.
The Moodle calendar is automatically populated with items that have a due date attached. However, you may want to add your own items so that students have reminders built in, or for activities where the Calendar does not provide the appropriate functionality (for example with recurring Zoom meetings or when you setup an MS Teams meeting through Moodle).
To add a new Calendar event:
- On the Calendar block select Full Calendar.
- On the Calendar page choose New event.
- Complete the form. For Type of event select course is the event applies to all participants. Choose Show more… for more options.
- Click Save to save your event.
The SAMIS block is a tool that gives staff the ability to manage SAMIS cohorts within their Moodle spaces though the creation of Mappings.
Typical uses might include:
- Enrolling multiple SAMIS cohorts on to a single Moodle space.
- Specifying a date when a SAMIS cohort should be unenrolled from a Moodle space. For example, you may want students studying a unit in semester 1 to have access to the relevant Moodle space until the end of semester 2.
Any changes that you have made within the SAMIS interface, such creation of mappings to amend Participant Lists within a Moodle space, will normally be updated within 24 hours during the Moodle-SAMIS synchronisation process. Automated synchronisation between Moodle and SAMIS only takes place Sunday through to Thursday. This means that the student memberships associated with mappings created on a Friday or Saturday, will not be reflected in Moodle until the early hours of the following Monday morning.
To find out more visit the SAMIS Integration block pages.
Additional Blocks
Support documentation on additional Moodle Blocks can be found on the Moodle Docs website.