Want to learn how to create a course in Moodle? Or, get Moodle support to create engaging courses? This blog post is for you.
At Catalyst, we understand the importance of delivering quality content and Moodle courses to meet learners’ needs. That’s why we'll guide you through the process of creating a Moodle course and share insights on what good eLearning content should encompass.
Creating a Moodle Course
Moodle, one of the most popular Learning Management Systems (LMS), empowers you to build courses that are prompt, engaging, and easily maintainable. Let's begin with a step-by-step guide on how to create a new course.
Method 1: Create a New Empty Course
- Log in with your administrator account on your Moodle platform.
- Click on "Site administration."
- Navigate to the "Courses" tab.
- Select "Add a new course."
- Fill in your course details, and don't forget to use the handy help icon if you get stuck.
- Save your course by clicking "Save and display."
- Now, click "Proceed to course content" to start adding your teaching materials.
Method 2: Upload an Existing Course
If you have a course from a different Moodle site that you'd like to transfer, follow these steps:
- Ensure the course you want to upload has the file extension .mbz (known as a "course backup").
- Log in with your administrator account on your Moodle platform.
- Click on "Site administration."
- Go to the "Courses" tab.
- Choose "Restore course."
- Drag and drop or upload your .mbz file into the "Import a backup file" area.
- Click "Restore" and, on the following page, scroll down and click "Continue."
- In the "Restore as a new course" section, select the appropriate category or "Miscellaneous," and press "Continue."
- Click "Next" at the bottom of the next two pages.
- Finally, click "Restore" on the last page, and your course will be displayed for use.
If you need extra Moodle support for creating Moodle courses, you can also check out MoodleDocs(external link), or consider partnering with a Moodle expert.
Crafting Good eLearning Content
To ensure your Moodle courses are effective and meet the needs of your learners, keep the following principles in mind:
1. Know your people
Take some time to identify your audiences. Who are they? What motivates them? Identify what they “need” to know and when they need to know it.
1. Prompt and Precise Learner Journeys
Structure your course content logically, following a clear learning path. Ensure learners can easily progress through the material and there are no ambiguities in the journey.
2. Easy to Find and Consume
Use labels and descriptions effectively to provide context and make it easy for learners to find the course.
3. Offer Pre-Assessments
Provide your learners with pre-assessments to gauge their prior knowledge. This allows you to tailor the content to their specific needs, creating a more personalised learning experience.
4. Support Organisational and Individual Goals
Align your course objectives with both organisational and individual learner goals. Ensure the content addresses the skills and knowledge needed for success.
5. Easily Maintainable
Focus on using built-in Moodle tools and H5P for content creation, and reduce the need to create new SCORM content. This will simplify your course maintenance and updates.
6. Provide Insights and Data-Driven Intelligence
Leverage Moodle's reporting and analytics capabilities to gain insights into learner progress and performance. Use this data to refine and improve your courses.
7. Partner with experts if you need support
If you’re at a roadblock with creating or maintaining your Moodle LMS course content, consider partnering with expert help, like Catalyst. Our team:
- Are Premium Certified Moodle Partners for the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
- Are one of the biggest contributors to the Moodle project.
- Have 20 years’ experience working with Moodle partners network and continue to win awards for our Moodle expertise, including Global Partner of the Year 2023.
- Can support you to develop engaging content and courses with a fast turn-around time, whilst ensuring maintainability.