Quick
Links
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I. Introduction
II. Creating/Activating Your Student Account
III. Entering the Course Website
VI. Navigating the RMCC Moodle Site
VII. Course Activities
VIII. Changing Your Email Address & Editing Your Profile
X. Recommended Computer Software
In this guide you will be introduced to the basics of participating in an online course. Instructors of online courses at Rich Mountain Community College assume that students enrolled in online courses have at least a basic knowledge of how to use a computer including using input devices like a mouse and a keyboard and the ability to save and work with saved files. In addition, it is assumed that you are familiar with your web browser and navigating between pages on the internet or an intranet.
The actual appearance of online courses on screen is governed by settings on your own computer and the instructor's specific configuration of the course. As a result what you see on screen may be slightly different than what is shown in this guide's examples.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
RMCC
online courses are hosted at our Moodle site (http://moodle.rmcc.edu).
Moodle is a software package which allows instructors to present course
material online as well as create an interactive learning environment with
chats, forum discussions, and many other teaching and learning tools.
To access an online course in which you are enrolled you must first log in to the RMCC Moodle site. Your RMCC Moodle login is identical to your RMCC Student Portal and RMCC Student Email logins. If you have never used either the portal or email you must first activate your account by following the instructions here. Be sure to take note of the username you are assigned as well as the password you select.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
The quickest and
easiest way to enter the RMCC Moodle site (located at http://moodle.rmcc.edu) is via the login box
found on the main page of the site. Enter your username and password in the
login box then press Enter or
click the Login button.
Alternatively you may click the Login link in the upper right hand corner of the site, enter your username and password, then press Enter or click the Login button.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
Once logged in to the RMCC Moodle site you will be presented with a list of courses in which you are enrolled.
To enter a course in which you are enrolled left-click the course title. You may have been automatically enrolled in a course, or your instructor may provide you with an enrollment key to access the course. If an enrollment key was provided for the course you will be prompted to enter it the first time you attempt to access the course. If you need to access a course which isn't displayed on the list click the All courses button in the lower right.
If you have not yet logged in to the RMCC Moodle site you may also enter a course in which you are enrolled by clicking the name of the course on Moodle's main page. You will then be prompted to log in before viewing the course page.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
The look of courses within the RMCC Moodle site is high customizable and will vary between courses and instructors. Generally the center column will be arranged as a list of weeks or a topical outline for the course. The center column is where you will find assignments, quizzes, forum discussions, and many other activities for the course. Generally the posted resources and activities (assignments, quizzes, readings, forums, etc.) are accessed by left-clicking on their title.
Generally all topics or weeks will be displayed in the center of the main course page unless you press or have pressed the Show only button (see image above). Once the Show only button has been pressed only that week or topic is displayed and all other topics are accessed via a drop down menu. To show all topics again press the Show all button (see image below).
Whilst in a course activity you can move to another activity or resource in the course using the Jump to… menu in the upper right corner:
The "Next / Previous" buttons will take you back and forth between the activities and resources in the order in which they appear in the course topics, whilst clicking the drop down list will allow you to select from the complete list, in topic order, and navigate directly to your selection.
You should also find a box titled Administration on either the left or right side of the screen. Within this box may be multiple links including Grades. Clicking the Grades link will open the grade book for the course and allow you to see any grades that have been entered by the instructor. If you have questions on grades please see the course instructor.
The Activities box displays all of the available activity types in the course. Clicking on the text to the right of the activity icon will display a list of all of the available activities of that type.
Your course will most likely feature a Calendar as well. Important dates appear highlighted on the calendar. Hold your mouse over a highlighted date (do not click) to see a pop-up listing of events on that day. Click on the title of the event in the pop-up listing for more details on the event.
Course instructors may add or remove many other components from the course (called blocks). These may include a listing of upcoming events or activities, blogging tools, attendance records, a listing of your courses, or many other features.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
Moving between pages in the RMCC Moodle site is most easily accomplished via the series of trackback links located near the upper left corner of the screen. The leftmost trackback link (RMCC) takes you back to the front page of the RMCC Moodle site. The next link to the right will generally be a link to the front page of the course you're currently viewing. Followed by that will be a link to the top level for the type of resource or assignment you're viewing (for instance a page which displays all quizzes or all assignments).
You will also find links to various resources in the boxes on the left and right sides of many pages. For example, on the RMCC Moodle front page is a list of links to the login page, student email, and other helpful resources.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
Moodle contains a wide range of Activity Modules that may be used to build up any type of course. Activity Modules are represented by icons as shown in the examples below. Your instructor will determine which Activity Modules will best facilitate the learning environment for your course.
Here are some of the more common Activity Modules you will encounter in your courses:
Assignments
– Assignments specify a task that requires students to prepare uploading
their work to a server. Typical assignments include essays, projects, reports,
and so on. This module may include grading of the assignment.
Chats - The
Chat module allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion via
the web. This is a useful way to get a different understanding of each other
and the topic being discussed.
Forums - This
activity can be the most important - it is here that most discussion takes
place. Forums can be structured in different ways, and can include peer rating
of each posting. The postings can be viewed in a variety of formats, and can
include attachments. By subscribing to a forum, participants will receive
copies of each new posting in their email. The two most widely used forums are
the general forum and the learning forum. The general forum is an open forum
where anyone can start a new topic at any time. The learning forum is where you
might post a discussion response to a question posed by the teacher. Students
in the class are then required to comment to a specific number of posts.
Journals – This
is a forum where the teacher asks the student to reflect on a particular topic.
This answer is private and can only be seen by the teacher, who can offer
feedback and a grade on each journal entry.
Resources
- Resources can be prepared files uploaded to the course server, pages
edited directly in Moodle, or links to external web pages.
Quizzes – This
module is for quiz tests, consisting of multiple choice, true-false, and short
answer questions. This module may include grading of the assignment.
Wikis - The
Moodle Wiki module enables participants to work together on web pages to add,
expand and change the content. Old versions are never deleted and can be
restored.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
After logging in to the RMCC Moodle site you may edit your profile by clicking on your name anywhere it appears (usually in the upper right corner of the page). This will take you to your profile which will appear similar to the one shown below.
Click on the Edit profile tab to make changes to your profile. You will be presented with the page shown in the image below.
Fill out or change the information you wish to include in your profile (not all fields are required). When you are finished with the changes click the Update Profile button. Note that these changes do not update your general student information for RMCC, only your Moodle profile. If you need to update your RMCC mailing address, phone number, or other information visit the RMCC Registrar's Office.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
To change your RMCC Moodle site password follow the directions at the RMCC Student Access Management page.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.
Instructors may post videos or other multimedia resources as part of a course. To ensure you are able to view most types of multimedia files it is recommended you install the following free software:
Any computer connected to the internet should maintain up-to-date software as well as a virus scanner and a spyware scanner/blocker. Below are some recommended resources.
Back to top. Back to RMCC's Moodle site.