Changing Course Formats and Themes


Through the use of different course layouts, themes, and formats an instructor can make the Moodle course more easily navigable and aesthetically pleasing.



Contents



Changing a Course Format


The default format of a Moodle course is chronological (by week). It can be changed if desired. Course formats include weekly, topics, grid, etc. 

Follow the steps given below to change the course format:

  1. Click the Edit Settings Link located in the Administration block

  2. Scroll to and expand the Course format section

  3. Select the format you would like from the drop-down

  4. Select the number of topics you desire

  5. Click Save and display at the bottom of the screen



Change course format

Change course format

Save changes 

Save and display changes





Changing a Course Layout


There are two layouts from which an instructor may choose:

  • Show all sections on one page

  • Show one section per page

Follow the steps given below to change a course layout

  1. Navigate to Administration and click on Edit Setting located under Course Administration

  2. Click to expand Course Format 

  3. Select the desired option. 

  4. Scroll down and click on Save and Display 

The default is to show all sections on one page so that the students are able to see the entire course on one page. This can also contribute to SOD (scroll-of-death) if each topic section contains a large amount of material.

If the latter option is selected student will be able to click through each topic section in order, viewing one at a time, or select the exact topic they wish to view from a drop-down menu. While this effectively limits what the student sees, it can help focus on a particular topic and avoid the SOD.



Course Administration

Course Layout





Changing a Course Theme


Themes are a way to  bring some visual design that is different from the main site. This has the potential to affect how an instructor and students navigate within a course. One possible use of adding a course theme could be to differentiate between multiple sections of the same course. 

Follow the steps given below to change the course theme

  1. Navigate to Administration and click on Edit Setting located under Course Administration

  2. Click to expand Appearance

  3. Select the desired theme from the Force Theme dropdown

  4. Scroll down and click on Save and Display 



Course Administration

Force Theme