How to edit module (course) settings

This refers to Moodle 3.11 from August 2022 onwards

How to: Edit module (course) settings 

You will need to be an Editing Teacher in a module (course) to be able to edit its settings.

To hide your whole module (course) from - or show it to - students

1. Click the cogwheel 'Actions menu', and click 'Edit Settings' 

2. Under 'Module visibility', in the dropdown menu select either 'Hide' or 'Show' as required

'Hide' will completely prevent students from seeing or entering the module.

3. Click the 'Save and display' button at the bottom of the screen

NOTE: Anything in Moodle that is “greyed-out” and/or which has a message cannot be seen by students – it is hidden from them. This may be a greyed-out module in My Home (in this case you’ll see the name on a lighter version of the faculty colour) or a greyed-out item or a whole section in a module.

Changing the format of your module (course)

We recommend the format "Collapsed topics"

1. Click the cogwheel 'Actions menu', and select 'Edit Settings'
2. Under "Format" and select your chosen module format to be applied

The most frequently used formats are Topics and Collapsed Topics.

• • Topics format gives you a number of topics or sections down the page, with all the content visible at once.
  • Collapsed topics is the same, but the topics are closed up by default, giving a tidier page but which requires users to click on the titles to open the section.  Meaningful titles entered into the Section name field are crucial.

For a detailed description of each format type see the guide Module formats explained.

3. Click the Save and return button at the bottom of the screen

You also have an option to select "Module Layout"

• 'Show all sections on one page' is the default
• 'Show one section per page' is a setting which splits the module across a section per page. (However, students often find this confusing.)
  • Initially the module page shows all the sections. When a user clicks on a section it opens up on a separate page (with the top section still visible) 
  • There are < Previous and Next >topic links and 'Jump to' any topic.

In the format settings menu (see below), you can also

• configure hidden sections to show in collapsed form. This allows students to see that the section exists but also see a message that it is not available, useful if you are realeasing sections on particular dates and like to keep the students informed as to what is coming when.
• or have the hidden sections completely invisible. Students do not see the hidden section at all in this case. This is useful when hidden sections are really just for staff, e.g., archived information, or material waiting to be assigned a space in the course. 
  
  

We recommend leaving the "Display instructions" as Yes - as is the default - then students are advised how to open the sections without needing further guidance. 

Turn editing on

To edit most things in your Moodle module (course) you need to click on the 'Turn editing on' button  in the top right hand corner of the Moodle module page

When you have finished editing on the page, you will need to select the 'Turn editing off' button  which will appear in the same place as the 'Turn editing on' button.

See also How to change the number of topics in my module