What is Moodle?
Moodle is Northwestern Michigan College’s Learning Management System (LMS). While Moodle’s features are expansive, learning the basics is straightforward.

How do my courses get in Moodle?
Course shells are created automatically one day after they have been officially added to the college course schedule. If you have been assigned to teach a class, your courses are very likely already in Moodle and ready to be developed.

How do I access Moodle?
With single sign-on, it’s easy! Once you are logged in to your MyNMC dashboard (https://employees.nmc.edu/), click on the Moodle link (https://employees.nmc.edu/) and you should see your courses listed in the middle of the page.

As an instructor, what are my basic use requirements for Moodle?
Instructors are required to use Moodle to post their contact information and course syllabus, as well as record grades and assess outcomes (both are elements of Moodle’s gradebook feature).

Do instructor’s use Moodle for anything else?
YES! Most instructors use their Moodle course shells as a course content repository, student communications hub, place to share important web links, and where assignments are posted and turned in. More advanced Moodle users may also use Moodle for quizzes (automated grading!), attendance, lesson creation, and much more. If you can think of it, Moodle can probably do it, and the Ed Tech Department can help you build it.

So: gradebook and outcomes. How do I set them up and use them?
Glad you asked! Here is a link to our Moodle gradebook tutorial page (https://teaching.nmc.edu/knowledgebase_category/moodle-gradebook/). These tutorials can take you through nearly everything you need to know about the gradebook and student outcomes. If you desire more personal assistance, please let us know.

Let’s say I want to really explore what Moodle can do. Where do I start?
For the tech savvy, we recommend jumping right in and seeing what you can do. Our full tutorial page (https://teaching.nmc.edu/knowledgebase/) can help if you get stuck. If you desire more direct assistance, let Ed Tech know and we can schedule one-on-one meetings or get you signed up for our professional development teaching solutions program.

I have multiple sections of the same course. Do I have to recreate my Moodle content for each section?
Definitely not. If you are teaching the same content to multiple classes, Ed Tech can create what is called a META shell for you, which links all of your sections together and allows you to administer them through one Moodle META “course.” Please submit a helpdesk ticket (https://helpdesk.nmc.edu/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk) if you would like to create a META, as instructors cannot build them on their own.

I plan to create a lot of content for my course. Can I transfer it over to my next semester course?
Absolutely. It only takes a few clicks! Here’s our tutorial (https://teaching.nmc.edu/knowledgebase/importing-moodle-course-content/) on how to accomplish it.