Two minute guide to Moodle
The following pages contain instructions on using all the features of Moodle you may encounter on your course; however most students find Moodle very easy to use with little or no instruction. If you are a confident web user you may just want to read the following information and only consult the more detailed guidance if you encounter a problem or need to utilise some of the less commonly used features of Moodle.
Navigation
Everything offered in a Moodle can be found through the course home page. The course content area, found in the middle of the home page, gives you links to all your course resources and discussion forums. You can get back to the home page at any time by clicking on the ‘Title of your course’ link in the grey navigation bar shown on the diagram below.
Usually located to the left of the course content area, you will find blocks such as ‘Recent Activity’, ‘Activities’ ‘People’ and ‘Upcoming Events’. These areas give you quick access to recent postings, discussion topics, events, news and details of the participants on your course. Single-click to view items listed in these blocks.
Find out who is on the course
To see who's online or studying the course, click the ‘Participants’ link in the ‘People’ block. Clicking on your own name allows you to change your settings - e.g. change your password, hide/reveal your email address when making postings etc.
Search Forums
This block provides a keyword search of posts in the discussion forums.
Forums
Are a place for you to communicate with your fellow students and tutors; they can be accessed through links in the content, from the ‘Activities’ block or by clicking on the links next to the 
icon.
News forum
General news and announcements will be posted here by tutors and IT support. You will not be able to reply to any of these messages. This forum is used just occasionally and for essential information. Everyone on a course is automatically emailed any messages posted to this forum.
Common room
This is for general social chat and observations, usually not related to the course content.
Topic discussion forums
These can be set up for discussion on any topic; you will usually be directed to the relevant forum for any discussion in the course materials.
Joining in a discussion
If you want to join in a discussion just click on the ‘Reply’ link under any post.
Add new discussion topic
If you want to start a discussion on a new subject, click the grey button ‘Add a new discussion topic’ at the top of the forum page. This will take you to a new page to enter your discussion topic. Press the "Post to forum" button when you have finished your entry.
Subscribe to a forum
Subscribing to a forum means you will be sent an email when somebody posts a message in that forum. To subscribe to a forum click on the ‘Subscribe to this forum’ link, which can be found at the top right of any forum.