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LM | A Guide to Moodle

Site: CCE Distance Learning Center
Course: ASL105 | Employee Development and Training -- November 2025
Book: LM | A Guide to Moodle
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Saturday, 4 October 2025, 12:42 PM

Description

If you are new to online learning or you have never used Moodle before, this resource (book) will provide guidance to help you navigate the online platform and utilize its learning activities and resources. It is intended for those using Moodle on a computer and will be less relevant to individuals using the Moodle app. The more comfortable you are using Moodle the better your overall learning experience will be.

To navigate through the book, click the forward or back arrows on each page. You can also navigate through the book using the table of contents.

Should you have questions about Moodle, how to access a particular activity or resource, or getting started with the Moodle app, email Rachel McCarthy.

Table of contents

1. About Moodle

Moodle is an online learning management system (LMS), used by educators in both academia and enterprise in over 238 countries around the world. It was developed in Australia, which explains some unusual spellings you may come across in the platform.

With over 461 million users, Moodle is the world’s most widely used learning platform. Moodle is Open-Source, which means that it is free for anyone to download and use. Moodle remains open-source through support from an active network of certified Moodle Partners, as well as an active community of developers, users, and supporters.

Our Moodle platform is licensed through Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Distance Learning Center (CCEDLC).

Want to learn more about Moodle? Visit Moodle.org.



2. Navigation

Now that you have created your Moodle account and enrolled in the course, you can bookmark the CCEDLC site to make it easier to sign in.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Distance Learning Center homepage

2.1. Dashboard

Each time you sign in, you will start at your Dashboard (shown below). From the Dashboard, you can see all of the courses you are enrolled in. Click the Managing Performance course to enter our online classroom.

CCEDLC dashboard

2.2. Classroom

Once you enter the Classroom (below), you can navigate back to your Dashboard anytime by clicking CCEDLC on the upper left side of the page. Open and close the Navigation Menu by clicking the three horizontal lines next to the CCEDLC link.

Once the course begins, modules will appear in the Navigation Menu. A new module will be released each week. 

Classroom with navigation menu open

3. User Menu

In the top right of any page within the CCE Distance Learning Center site, you will find a link where you can access your User Menu. To reveal this menu, click on your name. 

Classroom view with User Menu open in upper right corner of page.

3.1. Profile

If you need to change your email address or want to add a picture to your profile, you will need to edit your profile. To review or edit your profile, click your User Menu, then click Profile. From your profile page, click the link that says Edit Profile (circled below). 

NOTE: If you make any changes here, be sure to save those changes by clicking Update Profile at the bottom of the page.

Our course is now mobile-friendly!

If you want to access this course from a tablet or smartphone, you can easily get started by scanning the QR Code from your mobile device (outlined in red in the image below). Email Rachel if you would like help with this option.

User profile page. Edit profile link is circled in red and within the User Details box. Mobile app QR code is outlined in red





3.2. Messages

Messages are a way to communicate with a classmate, instructor, or small group directly within Moodle. To access Messages, open your User Menu and click Messages. This brings you to the main messaging page. Next to your name, you will see a small chat bubble (shown below). Click this bubble to open the Messaging drawer. The Messaging drawer opens up Messaging in a sidebar so you can stay on your current page. You can access the Messaging drawer from any page within Moodle.

Red arrow points to chat bubble icon which opens the Messages drawer

3.3. Preferences

From the User Menu, you can also access the Preferences main menu. You can adjust many settings from Preferences including changing your Moodle password and adjusting preferences for forums, messages, and other Moodle notifications. Take time to explore these options on your own. If you find that you are getting too many emails from Moodle, you can make adjustments within the preferences menu.

The image below shows how you can adjust your forum preferences to receive one email a day for any forum posts made within the course. You can also subscribe or unsubscribe to receive forum notifications within the forum preferences menu.

Forum preferences options. From top, forum digest type, forum auto-subscribe, and forum tracking.



4. Modules

There are a variety of ways to present information within the Moodle platform. Our course is divided into weekly sections or Modules. Within each module, you will find several Lessons made up of Resources and Activities.   

The following subchapters will look at the main types of resources and activities we use throughout this course.

Learning Moodle videos
Need more help with resources and activities? We have several videos in the Learning Moodle module.




4.1. Resources

The most common Resources we use in this course include videos, reading assignments, and files. To access a resource, click the link in the module.

Videos

Most of our lessons are made up of video lectures presented by the instructor. Video links typically take you out of Moodle. When you have finished watching the video you can return to the module by clicking your browser's back button.

Occasionally instructors may assign a video produced by someone outside of Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development. Videos labeled optional are not required for you to watch. Optional videos are relevant to the lesson or module topic and are recommended for those who have time.

Reading

Your instructor may assign an article or case study for you to read as part of a lesson. Articles may be files that you can download to your computer or print, or they may be links that take you to a website where you can read the article there. Similar to videos, some reading assignments are marked optional and thus not required for you to read unless you have time or interest to do so.

Files

Files are commonly used throughout the course to present learning information. Our module Take-Home Tips is a good example of a PDF file, and occasionally you may see an Excel worksheet that you can download for use in your own business.

NOTE: If you require any resources in an accessible format, please email Rachel.McCarthy@cornell.edu.

More on Resources

Watch our video on Course Resources within the Learning Moodle module to learn more about resources.

Outline of module 1 showing different resource links.

4.2. Activities

The most common Activities we use in this course are Lesson Exercises, Discussion Sessions (ZOOM), and the module Quiz.

Lesson Exercises

Within each lesson, is typically a written activity or reflection. These Exercises often include questions that ask you to apply what you learned from the lesson to your own experience on the farm. Occasionally your instructor may ask you to respond to a question within the module Discussion Forum as opposed to the traditional exercise format.

Discussion Sessions (Zoom)

Every week there is a scheduled Discussion Session held through Zoom. While participation in the weekly discussion session is not required to complete the course, we strongly recommend that you attend these sessions when you are able. The discussion lasts about one hour and during this hour, we talk about the topics covered in the module, some of the Exercise questions, and possibly other topics that come up. Information to join the Zoom session is included in each module.

Forums

Forums are another activity aimed to enhance your learning experience in this course. We will use a few different forums including News Forum, Discussion Forum, and Q&A Forum. If you want to pose a discussion topic to the entire class, post to a Discussion Forum. Have a question from the lesson for the instructor? Post that question to the module Q&A Forum.

Module Quiz

Each module concludes with a short assessment called Module Quiz. Prepare for the quiz by watching the video lessons and reviewing the module Take-Home Tips. Any resources marked optional will not be included on the quiz. The quiz is meant to assess your learning and should not be something to worry about. There is no limit to the number of times you take a quiz and if you take a quiz more than once, the highest grade is recorded. To receive a certificate of completion for the course, you will need to take all quizzes within the course.

NOTE: For those individuals looking to receive the Agricultural Supervisory Leadership Certificate by completing all six courses, you will need to achieve a 70% or better on all module quizzes within all six courses.

More on activities
Within the Learning Moodle module, you will find individual videos that cover how to post to a Forum, and how to take the module Quiz.

5. Wrap-up

Learning Moodle is easy if you put in a little time. You will get the most out of your learning experience if you are comfortable using the platform and take advantage of its collaborative features. If this is your first Agricultural Supervisory Leadership course, we recommend that you view the supplemental videos available in the Learning Moodle module. Complete all Learning Moodle activities to earn the Online Learner badge.

If you find that you need some additional help with anything covered within this guide, feel free to reach out to Rachel. We look forward to learning with you!