Welcome

Agenda
1. Introduction
2. What is a course format?
3. Difference from themes
4.Core formats
5. Showcase:
a.Collapsed Topics
b.Colours
c.Flexible Sections
d.Grid
e.Masonry Topics
f.Tab Topics
g.Weekly Reversed
6. Course formats summary
7. Late changes... 'Flex page' & 'eTask'
8. Where to find help
9.The future
10. Feedback
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Introduction
●
Course formats provide the ability to give a course its structure
and layout. This gives the educator the means of establishing
the best course framework for the learner.
●
I will showcase the most diverse, explain the purpose of
course formats and how they differ from themes (and why it
needs to remain that way).
● Gareth J Barnard – Course format and theme developer, a
course format forum moderator, small scale core developer,
software engineer and educator.
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

What is a course format?
●
A means of structuring a
course.
● Provides a learning
framework for the activities /
resources you have for the
context you need – a 'content
organiser'.
●
Educator chosen.
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Difference from themes
Themes:
● Style and arrange the
overall look of the entire
site.
●
Chosen by the manager.
●
Should not affect course
formats but assist in their
styling.
●
Can style activites /
resources.
Course formats:
● Arrange the content for
the purpose of providing
educational context.
●
Chosen by the educator.
●
Should not affect the
theme.
●
Remain constent
between theme changes.
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Core formats
● Scorm – present a single
scorm package on the
page.
●
Social – present a single
forum where users can
interact.
● Topics – arrange sections
as a series of topics up to a
default of fifty two (can be
changed).
● Weeks – arrange sections
as a series of weeks from
the course start date up to
a default of fifty two (can
be changed).
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Calendar
●
Arranges sections as days
of the week.
● Can be a bit crampt, but
might be a theme issue.
●
Authors: Nicolas Bretin
and Patrick Thibaudeau.

Collapsed Topics
●
Sections made collapsible
using a toggle.
●
Lots of options.
● Designed to solve the
scroll of death.
● Created by me for a real
classroom situation.

Colours
●
Customise the colours of
each section.
●
Once one section done,
copy to other sections.
● Colour selections
remembered for new
sections.
● Author: Davo Smith.

Columns
●
Arranges sections (topics)
in columns (1-4) to help
solve the scroll of death.
●
Horizontal or vertical
layout.
● The same as within
Collapsed Topics but
without the toggles.
● Author: Me.

Daily
●
Converts a week or topic
based course without
defined section names
into 'days'.
●
I had to have a 'core'
created format course first
before switching to.
Reported.
●
Author: Nathan Robbins.

Flexible Sections
●
Topic based format that
allows sub sections.
● Sections can be merged.
This is permanent.
●
Author: Marina Glancy.

Grid
●
Access to single sections
via uploaded image /
default background.
● Originally created by Paul
Krix, then taken over by
Julian Ridden and now a
joint effort with myself.

Masonry Topics
●
Automatically arranges
topics by size and adjusts
to screen area.
● Good adaptive
functionality.
●
Author: Renaat Debleu.

Menu Topic
● A one section per page
format using a customised
menu to access.
● Lots of options.
●
Need to initially save the
'template' on first access.
●
Author: David Herney
Bernal.

Noticeboard
● Displays the latest topic
from the news forum at
the top.
●
Standard topics course.
● Originally created by
Marty Jacobs. Rewritten
for M2.3+ by me.
●
Gratefully funded by SIDE
(Schools of Isolated and
Distance Education).

One Topic
●
Converts each section into
a 'tab' accessible area.
● Left and right navigation.
●
Author: David Herney
Bernal.

Single Activity
●
Present one 'Activity' /
'Resource' in the course
chosen in the course
settings.
● Best created from scratch
rather than change from
another course as
rearranges activities /
resources.
● Author: Marina Glancy.

Tab Topics
●
Neat format that converts
each section into a tab
accessed area.
● Works really well.
●
Authors: Nicolas Bretin
and Patrick Thibaudeau.

Weekly Reversed
●
Weeks shown in reverse
order with the current
week first.
●
Forthcomming weeks are
hidden from students but
shown to editing teachers
in a really neat way.
●
Author: Mat Cannings.

Course formats summary
●
Calendar - Nicolas Bretin and Patrick
Thibaudeau
● Collapsed Topics - Me
●
Colours – Davo Smith
● Columns - Me
●
Daily -Nathan Robbins
●
Flexible Sections – Marina Glancy
●
Grid – Julian Ridden and I
●
Masonry Topics - Renaat Debleu
●
Menu Topic - David Herney Bernal
●
Noticeboard - Marty Jacobs and I
● One Topic - David Herney Bernal
●
Single Activity – Marina Glancy
●
Tab Topics - Nicolas Bretin and Patrick
Thibaudeau
●
Weekly Reversed - Mat Cannings
Contributed
Core
●
Scorm
●
Social
● Topics
●
Weeks
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Late changes... 'Flex page' & 'eTask'
●
Flex page:
●
Only just released in 'Beta' for
M2.4.
● Depends on lots of other plugins
so did not want to risk installing for
this presentation.
●
Feel free to try it out on non-
production servers.
●
eTask:
●
For M2.4 and 2.5.
●
Shows overview and status of
assignments at the top of the
course.

Where to find help
Forums:
Course formats: moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=47
Comparisons and advocacy:
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=2784
Teaching with Moodle forum:
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=41
Documentation:
http://docs.moodle.org/25/en/Category:Course_format
Developing formats:
See '/course/format/Readme.txt' in your installation.
geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2010/06/real-coders-help-each-other
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

The future
●
Must remain theme
independant.
●
Improved core support –
renderers.
● Stay straightforward.
● Ideas?... Slider sections, 3D
cube, adaptive conditional
layout... Thoughts?
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing

Feedback
●
Q & A.
● Other formats not already
shown.
●
Thank you for attending and
participating.
●
Feedback appreciated.
● About.me/gjbarnard or through
the 'Course formats' forum.
geek-and-poke.com/2013/01/stackoverflow.html
www.iconfinder.com/iconsets/49handdrawing