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Why has Cambrian College Implemented Moodle LMS Minimum Presence Requirements?
What are the Moodle LMS Minimum Presence Requirements?
The Moodle course shells for each delivery must include all of the following elements to be considered compliant with the LMS Minimum Presence Requirements:
- Course Outline
- Course Syllabus
- Professor Contact Information
- Welcome Message
- Out of Class Consultation Details
- Announcements
- Class Handouts
- Assignment Handouts
If you would like to view an example template that includes all of the elements listed above, click here to view a sample Moodle course and click the “Enrol me” button.
The course outline communicates important information about your courses, such as vocational learning outcomes, accreditation standards, course outcomes and objectives, essential employability skills, resources and the evaluation criteria. The course outcomes included in the course outline identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will acquire in the course and on which they will be evaluated. Both faculty and student are expected to follow the content contained in the course outline. The video below demonstrates how to update the link to your Course Outline in Moodle.
The syllabus is your week-to-week lesson plan. It is important for students to have a syllabus, completed in full and easily accessible so that they can prepare for each class and have a schedule of assignment due dates so they can adequately prepare for all of their courses in the semester. Since the syllabus also explicitly connects each assessment to a course learning outcome, students are able to clearly see each assignment’s alignment to the course outcomes. The video below demonstrates how to update the link to your Syllabus in Moodle.
Include your first and last name, email address, phone number, and any other relevant contact information that would assist your students. Ideally, this information will be easily located at the top of your Moodle course page.
This is an opportunity for you to greet your students and introduce yourself to them. Consider sharing your professional background, teaching experience, hobbies, and interests. Sharing a little bit of personal information can help your students see you as a whole person, but of course, only share what you are comfortable disclosing. This section is not necessarily meant to welcome and orient students into the course, as this information is shared in the course outline and is likely discussed during the first face-to-face session.
If you’d like to create a welcome video for your students, contact Jeff.
Tell students how they can seek out-of-class support from you.
- Do you prefer that they make requests via email?
- Do you hold regular office hours?
- Are you open to telephone calls and/or web conferencing?
Moodle Announcements should be used for communicating information to students because not only do the students receive an email with the message, but Moodle also stores the message for reference directly in the course shell. You may use announcements for the following:
- Remind students of an upcoming activity or event
- Notify students of any changes in your course
- Send students supporting materials for your upcoming class
- Announce milestones or accomplishments for students
The frequency of using the announcement forum is also something you should consider. Some good practices for sending announcements are:
- Sending an announcement on a regular schedule (weekly, bi-weekly)
- Keep the message to the point
Many of you already share your handouts and PowerPoints with students in digital as well as printed formats. For those that are new to using Moodle shells and/or creating and sharing digital documents with students, here’s what is meant by handouts as part of the new LMS Minimum Requirements:
If you provide your in-class students with worksheets, assignment details, study guides, or other printed material critical to their success, please post a digital version in your Moodle shell as well. This helps ensure that if a student has missed a class (for a variety of legitimate reasons that students miss class) they have the materials needed to complete evaluations and study for quizzes and exams. The Teaching and Learning Innovation Hub Team is happy to support you in creating and posting digital documents – including PowerPoints if you use them. You will maintain full control over when and where documents are posted in your shell.
The Teaching and Learning Innovation Hub is here to support your use of Moodle.
- If you’re building a new Moodle course and you’d like to start with a template, click here to make a request
- To learn more about Moodle basics, please visit our Moodle page, watch our Moodle Video YouTube Playlist, or email us for one-on-one support.