The latest release of Moodle, out on November 16th, contains a number of cool new additions and enhancements for teachers, admins, students and everyone. We’ve gone through them and picked our five favourites below, but if you want a closer look at the highlights, check our New features list or, for a fuller, more technical view, our Release notes.
Drag-and-drop quiz question types
Four new question types are now available for the Quiz activity, allowing teachers to create word selection and drag-and-drop activities using both text and images. These question types are already a hugely popular add-on in many organisations, offering opportunities for interactivity and deep thinking in a range of subjects from sciences to humanities. Their inclusion into standard Moodle sites will doubtless inspire teachers and engage students.
Streamlined course section editing
Another one for teachers: a space-saving improvement bringing consistency to course editing. When modifying sections of your course now, you’ll be pleased to note the Edit, Highlight, Hide and Delete buttons have all been combined into one single menu, in a similar way to the editing of activities and resources.
Better management of plugins
Along with teachers, administrators will reap the benefits of moving to Moodle 3.0. The Plugins Overview screen has been significantly enhanced, making the installation and upgrading of plugins much more efficient. You can now add any dependent plugins at the same time as your chosen plugin; you can handle multiple plugins at the same time and you have the option to cancel an installation before the database is upgraded.
Display the date a file was uploaded
This is one of those ‘hidden gems’ we think students will really appreciate. A new setting in the file resource lets teachers display the date they upload or modify a file, such as a presentation or handout. This means it is now much clearer to their students when changes to the course have been made and which are the most recent uploads.
Do more on your mobile
Along with the release of Moodle 3.0, our official Moodle Mobile app has had an update and offers more course participation directly from the app. Students and teachers will benefit from using Chat on the go, and students can engage in Choice and Survey activities without having to access the website. They can even search for and enrol in courses from their smartphone -another great reason to download the improved app!
Upgrading to Moodle 3.0 is a straightforward process, and installation follows the usual procedures. However, if you’d like assistance with upgrading or installation, feel free to get in touch with a Moodle partner.
