Moodle Guide

This Moodle guide is intended for users who have the Teacher role in Moodle. The guide bank is intended for all Metropolia staff members who use Moodle and need technical instructions. Navigate the guide using the table of contents. Click on the heading you want and go to the content.

Instructions for users in the Student role can be found in the Students' Moodle Guide.

Tip: You can also use the Ctrl+F shortcut on your keyboard to search for content using the keyword of your choice.

Website

You find Metropolia's Moodle at: https://moodle.metropolia.fi/?lang=en

Logging in to Moodle

You can log in to Metropolia's Moodle using three types of credentials:

• Metropolia: Primary login method using Metropolia credentials.
• Haka-log in: Login with credentials from another Finnish higher education institution.
• Local credentials: For users who have been given separate educational/local credentials.

If you do not see your courses when logging in via Haka, please activate your Metropolia credentials. After activation, log in to Moodle using your Metropolia username.

Dashboard and navigation

Watch a video on how to navigate in Moodle and Moodle courses Finding your way around Moodle 4.4./4.5

Roles and permissions

In Moodle, every user has a role. The role determines what permissions the user has to do different things at different levels in Moodle.

The different levels are

• System level (entire site)
• Course categories
• Course area
• Activity

Users can have different roles at different levels, which is reflected in the flexibility of granting different rights and the ability to perform actions in Moodle. For example, a user who is a staff member Metropolia may have the role of Teacher in one course area and the role of Student in another course area.

Users should not have excessive permissions at a level where they are not needed.

In Moodle, defining roles is a technical matter, but in an organization's learning environment, roles also involve legal and ethical considerations. Moodle users, especially course administrators, should be aware of the access rights associated with different roles.

Managing permissions

System and course category level: Permissions are granted in a controlled manner through Moodle support.

Course area level: A staff member can obtain the teacher role in the course area either by requesting the course area using the purchase form or through OMA implementation. A person in the teacher role can define the roles of other users in the course area.

Activity level: A person in the teacher role can define different permissions for users in the student role.

Roles and technical permissions

Teacher / Non-editing teacher

A person acting in the role of Teacher or Non-editing teacher must have a teaching or guidance position defined in their employment relationship or another justified reason for the scale of their rights. 

There can be multiple people in the Teacher role in a course area. In addition to the role, there must always be a designated teacher in charge or other course area owner who is ultimately responsible for decisions made in the course area.

Technical permissions of the Teacher role:

• Technical administration of the course area (materials, activities, blocks, general settings)
• Deleting the course area and resetting data
• Viewing, updating, and deleting activities
• Managing users, groups, and user rights
• Grading assignments and submissions
• Viewing and editing grades
• Moderating discussion areas
• Viewing participants' personal information

Technical permissions of the Non-editing teacher role:

Same technical capabilities as the teacher role, except

• No rights to technical administration or editing of the course area (materials, activities, blocks, general settings)
• No rights to update or delete activities
• No rights to manage users, groups, and user rights

Student

A user in the student role is usually the subject of teaching, i.e., a learner. A user in the student role may also be someone who needs to view the material presented to students but does not need other rights in the course area.

Technical permissions of the Student role:

• Viewing course content open to students
• Performing tasks specified by the teacher in the course area (e.g., completing activities)
• Communicating with other participants
• Viewing their own feedback and assessments

Students' permissions can be modified according to pedagogical needs.

Creating and ordering a course

Teachers can create new courses themselves in OMA or order a new course through the purchase form (hankintalomake).

It is recommended not to use the same course area for multiple course instances, but rather to create a separate course area for each instance. Why?

Clearer structure and better usability:
Each course and implementation group has its own course area, which reduces confusion for both students and teachers. Clear start and end dates can be set for each course area. Course areas can be created directly via OMA, ensuring that students automatically get access to the correct course area.

Technically more reliable:
A new course area is technically more reliable than reusing an old one. By updating the course area at regular intervals, you can more flexibly access new tools, integrations, or features. When there are no students or incomplete submissions on the course area, you can freely update the course content. Large numbers of students or previously submitted assignments can slow down activities or integrations on a course area.

Improved data security and privacy:
A new course area does not have incomplete submissions or students from previous groups. Information about former students is not visible to new students (e.g., on discussion forums). Completion data can be easily reset, or the entire course area can be deleted according to your organization’s data management plan after teaching has finished.

Easier management of course content and activities:
You can tailor learning materials, assignments, and exams for each group and course instance. Group and group work settings, assignment due dates, and other scheduling (such as course feedback collection) can also be more clearly defined.

More effective communication and announcements:
All communication within Moodle, such as via the news forum or activity notifications, will only reach students in the specific course instance. Announcements about submission deadlines or course completion are easier to target when the course area follows the period defined in OMA. It is also clearer for students to see how long the course area will remain available after the active study period ends.

Creating a Moodle course in OMA

Teachers can create a new course themselves in OMA. The implementation can only have one integrated Moodle course area. Students and teachers who have signed up for the implementation in OMA will automatically be transferred to the Moodle course. After creation, the course area is hidden in Moodle by default until you open it for students. This ensures that you can work and edit the course area in peace before teaching begins.

The following information is transferred from OMA to the course area:

Course area name: Implementation name and code
Short name of the course area: Implementation code

End Date: An end date is automatically set for the course area, which is the end date specified for the OMA implementation plus two months (2 months). Note: Edit the end date so that it corresponds to the active study period of the course area.
Participants and status: Teachers assigned to the implementation and students accepted for the implementation are automatically added to the course area. Students are automatically assigned to the group corresponding to the implementation code. If a student's registration for the implementation is rejected or canceled in OMA, the student's access rights (status) are also updated in the course area.

Read the instructions below or see the instruction video: How to create a Moodle course? (Video in Finnish, subtitles available in English.)

1. From the Teachers Desktop, choose Implementations.
2. Write a search word to the Code section that will find the implementation you are looking for.
3. Select the implementation.
4. Click on Learning environments.
5. Click on + Add workspace
6. Select from the first drop-down menu Moodle.
7. Select from the second menu your desired course template. (Read more about templates in section: Course templates)
8. You can access the new Moodle course via link that has been created or log in to Moodle and under section My courses.
9. Go to the Moodle course and open Settings.
10. Check that the course visibility is hidden.
11. Change the course visibility to Show, when you are ready to publish the course to the students.

Note: Do not delete or edit data transferred from OMA in Moodle in order for the integration to work correctly. During peak times (such as at the start of a new term) and when large numbers of students are using the system, the integration may run slower than usual. 

Ordering a new course

If you want to order a new course in Moodle, please fill out the form (hankintalomake) found at https://hankintalomake.metropolia.fi under Moodle courses (Moodle-kurssi). Moodle course requests received through other channels will not be processed.

The form asks for the following information, among other things:

• *Course Name (name of the study module, if it is a course for a study module)
• Name displayed in the navigation list (requester's suggestion; if the abbreviation is already in use, Helpdesk will come up with a suitable abbreviation)
• *Course Key (requester's suggestion)
• *Teachers (teachers to be associated with the course)
• *Category (and subcategories)
• *Course validity starts
• *Course validity ends

Order a new course site based on an existing Moodle course

You can use the content of an existing course site as the base for the new course site. Please note on the form (hankintalomake) if you want to use the content from an existing course site as the basis for the new course site. User data and completion data from the old course site will not be transferred to the new course site.

Order an empty test course for practice

You can also use hankintalomake to order an empty test course, which will allow you to practice using Moodle safely. This is a good way to familiarize yourself with the Moodle learning environment before the actual teaching begins.

Course templates

When creating a Moodle course, you can choose from five different course templates. All templates can be edited, and you can import content from previous courses or build entirely new content. The first four templates include editing instructions. Select templates 1–4 if you want to build a new course from scratch, import selected sections from previous courses, and need instructions for editing. Choose Template 5 - Empty if you want to use an existing course as the basis for a new course. The empty template does not include instructions for editing. Content is imported into the course using the Import function (see the section “Importing content from a previous course” below). Moodlen_Kurssipohjat_Metropolia_2025.pdf

1. Template - Oletuspohja / Default template
2. Template - Ruudukko / Grid
3. Template - Välilehdet / Onetopic format
4. Template - Tiivistetyt aiheet / Collapsed topics
5. Template - Tyhjä / Empty

Course management tools

The course site management tools are available in two locations: from the tabs at the top of the course site and from the block on the right side. The block is not visible by default; it can be opened and closed by clicking the toggler (grey arrow icon). Using the management tools, you can edit the general settings of the course site.

• Course: Allows you to return to the course homepage at any time.

• Settings: General information about the course site, including start and end dates, and the course format. You can hide or show the course.

• Participants: View the list of participants in the course site, add or remove participants, and change their roles. You can enable self-enrollment and set a enrolment key (course password). You can also create and manage groups. 

• Grades: Access the gradebook for the course site, where grades from activities like assignments and quizzes are recorded.

• Reports: Track participant activity and engagement within the course.

• More: Access the question bank and H5P content bank, edit course completion settings, import content from another course, perform course backups, and restore backups.

Show and hide the course site

The visibility of the course—which determines whether it is visible to students—is controlled by the Course visibility setting. Informally, this is referred to as hiding or revealing the course site.

When the visibility setting is Hidden, the course site is only visible to added teachers. When set to Visible, the course site is accessible to students as well. You can manage the visibility setting from two places: in the Course settings (see image 1) or from the Management tools block (see image 2).

When creating a new course site, remember to keep the course hidden during editing. Once the course is ready for students to see, change the setting to: Show / Show course.

Note! The start or end date of the course site does not affect whether the site is hidden from or visible to students.

Course visibility in General settings:

Visibility setting in the Management tools block on the right:

Course start and end dates

The start and end dates of the course affect two things:

1. Navigation in Moodle: When start and end dates are added to the course site, it will appear correctly under My Courses in Moodle. On the My Courses page, courses are categorized as Current, Upcoming, or Past based on their start and end dates. Setting these dates improves the findability of courses and makes navigation easiers for both teachers and students.
2. Automatic deletion process for unused course areas: When 12 months have passed since the end date set for a course area, the course area enters an automatic deletion process and is hidden from students. Set the course end date so that it is in line with the duration of the teaching. You can disable the end date if, for example, it is a test course, template, or other course area that needs to be kept for a longer period of time.

Note! The course start or end date does not affect a student's access to the course site. Access is controlled through the Course visibility setting (Show and Hide the course area). Remember to inform students how long the course area will be available to them after the end date.

Read more:

• Automatic course deletion process
• Leaving the course area for students to use after teching has ended

Check or set start and end date

The original start and end dates of the course area depend on how the course area was created:

• Course area ordered using the purchase form (hankintalomake):
  • When placing an order using the purchase form, the teacher specifies the start and end dates of the course.
• Course area created via OMA:
  • The end date of the course area is the end date of the study module specified in OMA + 2 months.

To check or set the course start and end dates:

1. Click the Settings tab within the course site
2. Under the General section, find the settings for Course start date and Course end date (see picture below)
3. Edit the dates as desired or keep the default dates
4. If you made changes, click Save and display

Course categories

Course areas are located in different categories in Moodle. Different categories make it easier to find courses. When ordering a course area using the form (hankintalomake), name the category that best suits your course area.

Note: Once the course area has been created, the administrator can edit the course area category. Submit a service request via the Moodle support ticket (hd.metropolia.fi).

Here's how to check the course category:

1. Click the Settings tab in the course area.
2. Under the General heading, you will find Course category settings (see image). The current category is displayed on a gray background.

Note! If your course area has been moved to the Recycle Bin category as a result of the automatic deletion process, you can restore the course area to its original category. Instructions can be found here: Restore a Course Area from the Recycle Bin.

Course summary

The course summary is a short informational text about the course area. The course summary is visible to all Metropolia Moodle users (including those who are not logged in). In the description text, you can provide general information about the purpose and target group of the course area, or other essential details to help users recognize if the course area is relevant for them. The search function looks for the search term not only in the course name but also in the course summary.

Note! If your course area uses an enrolment key, do not write the key in the description.

Tip: You can write instructions for students on how to join the course area or where to obtain the enrolment key. For example:
Hello cross-institutional student! Unable to join the course area? Please check that you have logged in to Moodle using your Metropolia credentials. You will find more detailed enrollment instructions in your Oma or Metropolia email.

How to Add a Course Description:

1. Click the Settings tab in your course area.
2. Under the Description section, you'll find the Course summary text box where you can write your course description. Keep the description concise.
3. Click Save and display.

Importing course content 

Reusing previous course content

Once you have created a new course area through OMA or via hankintalomake, you can copy content from your previous courses to form the basis for the new course. You can bring an entire course or any sections, activities, and topics you want. If you want to import an entire course, use the Import feature or Backup and Restore.
If you are copying individual activities from one course site to another, it is advisable to utilize the Sharing Cart block. Please note that you must have a teacher role in each course area — the previous course area and the new course area, so that you can copy content from one course to another.

Upon copying, all structures, materials and activities are transferred, except for the information of the course participants and their activities. NOTE! If there is a Turnitin tool in the previous course area, it must not be copied. Each Turnitin tool must be created separately.

1. Open the course page to which you want to copy/import content.
2. From Course navigation, select More (1) and then select Course reuse (2)

3. Select Import

4. Search the course you wish to import content from and click Continue.

5. If you want to bring the previous course as a whole as the basis for the new course, select Jump to final step in the initial settings. If you want to take a closer look at what content you are importing or just some of the materials and activities from a previous course, click Next.

6. In the Schema settings, you can select a section, activity, and resource at a time, which content you want to copy for the new course. By default, all contents marked with a blue tick will be imported to the new course upon copying. You can delete the content you want by removing the tick. Once you have selected the content you want to copy, click Next.

7. On the Confirmation and review page, make sure that the content you want to copy is correct and click Perform import at the bottom of the page.

After copying, check the following:

• Review and edit the dates of activities and assignments to meet the schedules of the new course.
• Name the course clearly, for example, by year, so that students and teachers distinguish between the courses.
• Check that the number of sections copied for the new course is the same as the number of sections for the course being copied.

If you need more instructions related to course copying/importing, please contact Moodle Support (Moodle-tuki).

Read more about Import course data.

Sharing cart block

The Sharing cart block is a quick and easy tool for moving individual activities, resources, or entire sections between course sites. It works like a clipboard: copy content into the block and then paste it into the desired course.
Course contents can also be collected and stored in the block, making it function as a content library. You can flexibly transfer and copy materials as needed.

The Sharing cart block is not visible to students.

Add the Sharing cart block to your course:

1. Go to your course site
2. Turn editing on
3. Click the Add a block + button
4. Select Sharing Cart from the list
5. You will find the Sharing cart in the right-hand block area. Content remains in the block even if you hide it from the course page.

 Copy content into the Sharing cart:

1. Navigate to the course you want to copy content from
2. Turn editing on
3. Click the Sharing cart (basket icon) next to the activity/resource/section you want to copy
4. Set your copying preferences and click Copy
5. Verify that the copied content appears in the Sharing cart block 

Move materials from the Sharing cart to your course site:

1. Go to the course site where you want to place the copied content
2. Turn editing on
3. Find the desired content in the Sharing cart block and click the Copy to course icon (basket with arrow)
4. A box will appear in the course section/subsection with an arrow. Find the desired location in your course and click the arrow.
5. Confirm the copying by clicking Copy

Backup and Restore

You can download a backup of a course site and save it, for example, on your local computer for future use. A backup file can be restored as the content of a new course, combined with an existing course, or used to replace the entire content of an old course with the backed-up information.

To create a backup:

1. Go to the course site you want to back up.
2. Select More → Reuse as a new course.
3. Choose Backup.
4. Select the items you want to include in the backup.
5. Name the backup file as you wish, ensuring the file extension is .mbz.
6. Click Perform backup.
7. Small courses may back up quickly, larger courses take longer.
8. When the backup is complete, you'll see a message: Backup created successfully.
9. Moodle will then guide you to the Restore function, where you can find the downloaded backup file.
10. Click Download and save the backup file to a secure location outside Moodle.

To restore a backup in Moodle:

1. Go to the course where you want to import content with a backup.
2. Select More → Reuse as a new course.
3. Choose Restore.
4. Select the backup file:
   
   • by dragging and dropping the file into the drop zone,
   • by clicking Choose a file and browsing for the file, or
   • by clicking Restore in the course backup area or user private backup area if the backup appears there.
5. Review the course details and contents on the page, then click Continue.
6. Decide where and how to restore:
   
   • Restore as a new course
   • Restore to this course: 
     • Merge backup with this course
     • Delete current course content and restore
   • Restore to an existing course:
     • Merge the backup into the existing course
     • Delete the current course content and restore from the backup
     • In the Choose a course section, select from the list the course into which the backup will be restored
7. Click Continue for your chosen option.
8. Select the course details to include in the restore and click Next.
9. To overwrite the course settings, set the option to Yes and modify the name if needed.
10. Choose which course contents to restore and whether to include user data, then click Next.
11. A preview will display your selections. Click Perform restore to start the process (this may take from a few seconds to several minutes).
12. You will see a message: Course restored successfully. Click Continue.
13. You will be directed to the front page of the restored course.

Editing course structure

The course site consists of Sections and Subsections. Resources and activities are organized into sections so that they form a logical progression, supporting students' learning and achievement of learning objectives. Sections are flexible and can be used in different course structure—for example, one section might represent a week or a thematic area. Subsections within a section can contain, for example, lecture videos, course textbooks, or other materials for independent study.

Sections and subsections should be named clearly so students can easily understand where their learning activities are taking place at any given time.

The visual appearance of sections and how they are managed technically depends on the Course format.

Course format

By editing the course format, you can control how your course area looks and how users navigate from one section to another. It is recommended to use the Custom sections format, especially if you are a beginner Moodle user.

Each format has its own settings and creates a unique structure. The best way to get to know the formats is to try them out.

Note! It’s best to select your course format before adding content to the course. If you change the course format after adding content, some content specific to the previous format may be lost (for example, images used in the Grid or Tiles formats).

There are eight different course formats:

• Custom sections
• Grid
• Onetopic format
• Collapsed topics
• Weekly sections
• Single activity
• Social
• Tiles

How to change the course format:

1. Go to the Settings tab on the course homepage
2. Under Course format, find the Format setting
3. Click the dropdown menu and select the desired format from the list
4. Edit the format settings as needed
5. Click Save

Name section

Method 1

1. Turn on Edit mode (from the right-hand side corner)
2. Click the pen icon next to the section name
3. Type in the name
4. Press Enter

Method 2

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select three dots at the right side of a section
3. Select Edit settings
4. Type in the Section name
5. Click Save and Display

Add sections

Adding sections depends on the course format you are using.

Custom section / Grid / Collapsed Topics :

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Go to the end of a section where you wish to add a new section
3. Click Add section
4. Give the section a descriptive name

Weekly sections:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Go to the end of the course page
3. Click Add week

Onetopic format:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Click + button in the tab bar

Add subsections

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Go to the end of that section you wish to add a subsection
3. Click + button (see image below)
4. Choose Subsection, and subsection appears
5. Click Pencil icon and name the New subsection

Delete unnecessary sections

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select three dots at the right side of the section
3. Click Delete
4. Click on "Participants" from the main page of the course, below the course title.
5. Select the "Enrolment methods" from the dropdown menu.

Hide a section from students

Sections, blocks, or tabs in your course area can be hidden from students. Students cannot see hidden content. For teachers, hidden sections usually appear with a darker grey background and the text "Hidden from students". In the Onetopic format, a hidden tab appears as a faded light grey.

1. Turn Edit mode on.
2. In the section you want to hide, click the three dots (edit menu) on the right side.
3. Click the Hide button (eye icon).

Resources and how to add them

Materials or content added to Moodle are called resources. Resources include, for example, files, web pages, and easily updateable text content. By using resources, you can easily embed external content created with tools such as Thinglink. There are several methods for adding resources, depending on the resource type.

In Metropolia's Moodle, there are seven different types of resources:

• Folder
• Book
• Text and media area
• Page
• File
• URL
• IMS content package
• SCORM package

You can find the different resource types as follows: 

1. Turn Edit mode on
2. Go to the end of the section/subsection where you want to add an resource 
3. Click the + button in the middle, or if you are in the subsection, click Add an activity or resource button (see pictures below).
4. Select the desired resource
5. If you wish, you can move the resource by drag-and-drop to your preferred position or use the Move option. The move function opens from the three-dot menu on the right side of the section.

Section:

Subsection:

Text and media area, Page and Book

Text and media area, page and book are content types that enable you to create text-based materials on your course site. You can edit and update the text flexibly using Moodle’s editor, which offers a variety of tools. Choose the content type based on how you want the text to appear on the course site and how extensive the material is.

Text and media area displays the content directly on the course front page. It is often used for information texts and guiding students within the course site. With instruction text, you can also add images, embed videos, or utilize C4L learning components. It is recommended to use relevant and brief content in instruction texts to keep navigation clear on the course site.

Page resource does not display directly on the course front page; instead, students click to access it. This makes it suitable for longer texts or for combining text with videos or infographics. You can add all types of content supported by Moodle’s editor: text, tables, links, images, videos, or other embeds. Pages are user-friendly and work well on mobile devices because the content opens within Moodle, not through an external source.

Book allows creating multi-page online materials with content organized into chapters and subchapters. The content can be printed, and individual sections can be linked to as part of assignments. Students can be granted editing rights to the book. Only one person at a time can modify the content, making it suitable for tasks with clearly defined roles and scheduled workflows managed by the instructor.

A Text and media area, Page, and Book allow you to create multilingual course content.

How to Add a Label, Page, or Book Resource:

1. Turn Edit mode on.

2. Select Add an activity or resource.

3. Choose Text and media area, Page, or Book.

4. Depending on the resource:

   1. Page and Label: Name the resource, configure the settings, and add your text or other content.

   2. Book: Name the book and, if you wish, write a description; configure the settings. You will add the book chapters/content after creating the activity.

    

5. Click Save and display.

6. Depending on the resource:

   1. Label: The content will be immediately visible on the course page.

   2. Page: The material opens by clicking the title.

   3. Book: Click the title to start adding content. For more information about structuring chapters in the Book resource, see the Moodle documentation.

File

You can add any type of files to Moodle within the size limits. If you are adding multiple related files, you can also create a Folder to organize them. Video files are not recommended to be uploaded directly to Moodle (for more information, see the section titled Videos).

Files can be imported into the course using the following methods:

Method 1: Add a file as a resource:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select + or Add Activity or resource
3. Select File.
4. Type in a descriptive name for the file
5. Add a file either by  uploading it from your computer or dragging it to the drop box in the Select files section.
6. Click Save and display
7. If necessary, move the file by dragging it to the desired location or by selecting Move from three dots on the right side of the section and select the point to which it will be moved.

Method 2: Drag and drop

• Turn on Edit mode in the course site

• To make dragging easier, resize the browser window and open the file manager (the location where the file is stored) alongside it

• Left-click and hold on the file you want to transfer to Moodle, then drop it into the right location in the browser window 

• If needed:

  1. Move the file to the correct position within the course site

  2. Edit the file's settings:

     • Add a descriptive name and description for the file
     • Set the file's opening behavior

Folder

You can add multiple files behind a single link by placing them inside a folder. Organizing files within folders helps keep the course front page clear and creates a structure for managing materials. Name the folder descriptively so students can easily find the materials they are searching for.

Students cannot add files to the folder.

Here's how to add a folder:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select + or Add an activity or resource
3. Choose Folder
4. Provide a descriptive name and description for the folder
5. Add files either by uploading them from your computer or by dragging and dropping them into the upload box. Repeat this step if you have multiple files to include in the same folder.
6. Click Save and return to course
7. To add more files later, open the folder and click the Edit button and then the + Add button in the top left corner of the upload window.

URL

You can add a link to other websites in two ways:

Method 1: Add link as separate resource

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select Add Activity or resource
3. Type in a descriptive name. Name will serve as the link text for the URL. Avoid using the word ''link'' as the name.
4. Copy the link into the External URL field
5. If needed, write a description and adjust other desired URL settings
6. Click Save and return to course

Method 2: Insert link in text

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select Add Activity or resource
3. Select Page or Text and media area
4. Name the resource
5. Write the text you want in the text field or copy the finished text from elsewhere.
6. Expand the text editor from the three dots (1.)
7. Highlight the part of the text you want to include in the link (2.)
8. Click Link (3.)
9. Add Enter a URL
10. Choose whether you wish the link to open in a new window or not. If you wish to open the link in a new window, tick the box Open in a new window.
11. Click Create link
12. Click Save and return to course

Videos

Videos should not be uploaded directly to Moodle. It is recommended that Metropolia staff use Microsoft Clipchamp (former Stream) or Google YouTube for storing videos, and then embed or link the videos in Moodle. Remember to manage rights in the external platform to ensure that videos are viewable in Moodle for the purposeful duration.

You can add a video link in the following ways:

Method 1:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select Add Activity or resource
3. Select URL
4. Type in a descriptive name for the website
5. Add the link to External URL
6. Select how the website is displayed on the course in Appearance settings

Method 2:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select Add Activity or resource
3. Select Page or Text and media area
4. Type in a descriptive name for the website/video
5. Select Insert in the text editor
6. Select Multimedia
7. Go to the Video window
8. Add the URL to the video
9. Click Insert media
10. Click Save and display

Method 3:

1. Imbed a video on a Page or Text and media area
2. Create a Page or Text and media area
3. Copy the imbedded code of the video
4. Select either View or Tools in the text editor
5. Select Source code
6. Add the imbedded code to the text editor
7. Click Save
8. Click Save and Display

IMS content package

IMS content package allows you to add a material package or learning object intended for online learning into Moodle. The content is created using content authoring tools and packaged into a standardized format, which can then be uploaded to Moodle and opened within the platform.

Learn more about IMS content packages in Moodle documentation.

SCORM package

SCORM = Shareable Content Object Reference Model.

A SCORM package is a collection of files that have been packaged according to a specific standard. SCORM packages are created outside of Moodle and uploaded to Moodle using the SCORM activity. SCORM enables the reuse of web-based learning materials on different platforms. Learning materials can include, for example, reading material, questions, assessment items, and multimedia content.

Depending on how the SCORM package is built, it can send grade data or progress tracking information to Moodle.

How to upload a SCORM package to Moodle:

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. Select Add a resource or activity
3. Select SCORM package from the activities
4. Define the general and visibility settings and upload the ZIP file (no need to unzip)
5. Save

External tools

ThingLink

You can embed interactive content created with ThingLink into your course site as follows:

1. Log in to ThingLink and open the content you wish to share in Moodle.
2. Click the Share button in the top right corner and select Embed. Include the accessible link by checking the box below the embed code field.
3. Copy the embed code.
4. Go to Moodle and turn editing on in your course site.
5. Create a new activity or use an existing one where you want to embed the ThingLink content. You can use, for example, the Text and media area or Page activities.
6. In the activity settings, click the HTML editor button (</>) in the text editor. If you don't see the button on the toolbar, expand the toolbar by clicking Show more buttons (see image below). 
7. Paste the embed code from ThingLink into the editor and click Save and return to course.
8. Check on the course site that the content appears as desired.

Activities

There are a total of 36 activities available in Metropolia Moodle. Activities can be used in versatile ways for building different types of assignments or for utilizing various features of the Moodle learning environment.

With activities, students are able to create or do desired tasks in Moodle, such as:

• Submitting assignments or taking quizzes

• Participating in discussions with other participants

• Practicing course content interactively

• Responding to surveys or giving feedback

An activity is added to a course page by clicking Edit on in the upper right corner and pressing the Add an activity or resource button or + button within the section where you want to add the activity. Each activity contains its own settings and restrictions, depending on its technical features and intended use. However, many activities can be used creatively for various digital pedagogical purposes.

The available activities may vary between organizations and/or different Moodle learning environments. The image below shows the current Metropolia Moodle activities:

Choosing an activity

Which activity you should use in a course area depends on factors such as:

• Learning objectives: What do I want the student to learn?

• Choice of teaching methods: What do I want the student to actually do in order to achieve the learning objectives?

• Type and amount of interaction: What kind of interaction is needed or possible to arrange?

  • Learner-content interaction
  • Learner-teacher interaction
  • Learner-learner interaction

• Purpose and specific requirements of the course area: The course area can support face-to-face teaching, serve as an entrance exam course, act as an independent study resource bank, or function as a self-paced online course. Different requirements, such as those related to data protection, assessment or visibility settings, or opportunities for group work will affect the choice of activities.

When selecting an activity, it is advisable to make use of various help pages and your institution’s own digital pedagogy guidelines.

H5P

H5P stands for “HTML5 Package” and refers to a wide range of interactive, visual content types: presentations, activities that combine videos and other multimedia, quizzes, surveys, gamified elements, and much more. There are over 50 tools (content types) available for creating interactive learning materials. Using the H5P activity, H5P content can be uploaded and added to a course. You can easily store and share your own H5P content using the Content bank.

If you’re planning an exam or another assignment for course assessment, it’s recommended to use activities like Quiz, Lesson, or Assignment, which provide much more comprehensive grading options.

Note! When creating new H5P content, use the newer H5P activity (blue icon). The older Interactive Content activity (black icon) will be removed from Metropolia Moodle in April 2026. See more under the heading Updates in H5P activities.

Recommended uses of H5P activities

H5P content is suitable for:

• Independent practice
• Reviewing or deepening knowledge of a subject
• Creating interactive materials – engaging students with varied learning resources
• Providing immediate, automatic feedback during or after completion 

H5P content is not recommended for:

• Grading purposes
• Progress tracking
• Use with activity completion or access restrictions

Why these recommendations?
Not all H5P content types (old or new activity) support answer review, submission, or saving answers. It might be impossible to know what a student did if their attempt is not recorded in Moodle. This is not a bug but a technical limitation. In the new H5P activity, for example, the Summary and Single Choice content types do not record grades in the gradebook and thus cannot be used for activity completion.

If you still choose to use H5P for assessment, restrictions, or progress tracking, you as a teacher can manually mark completion as needed.

Accessibility of H5P content

Not all H5P content types meet digital accessibility requirements.

As with other Moodle activities, it is the teacher’s (content creator’s) responsibility to make sure the content is accessible. The same Moodle accessibility tips apply to H5P content as elsewhere in Moodle (e.g., clear headings and instructions, alt texts for images, logical heading levels, captions for videos).

Read more about H5P accessibility: H5P.com / Content types recommendations

Creating H5P content

These instructions are for using the H5P activity. The Interactive Content activity will be discontinued in Metropolia Moodle and should not be used for new content. For all new content, use the H5P activity (blue icon).

Step 1: Build your H5P content first in the Content bank:

1. Go to the course main page and from the tabs, open the More dropdown and select Content bank.
2. Click the Add button and select the H5P content type you want to use.
3. Different tools have different settings depending on the desired outcome. When you’re done editing, Save the content. You don’t have to complete it at once – it will be saved in your content bank.
4. You can preview your content. Click Exit to return to the content bank.

Step 2: Then add the content to your course using the H5P activity:

1. Turn Edit mode on
2. Click Add an activity or resource and choose the H5P activity (blue icon)
3. In the General section, name the activity and write a description (if needed)
4. In the H5P package section, click the drop area or + button
5. Choose Content bank as the source
6. Click the file you want to add to the course
   • You can select a file from another course or search by name
7. Copy or link the file from the content bank into the new H5P activity:
   • Make a copy: The H5P activity remains independent and editable, even after course duplication.
   • Link to file: If the same H5P file is used in several activities, you can update all at once from the content bank. Note: when you copy courses, the link remains to the old course’s content bank, so future edits must be made there.
8. Click Select this file
9. Set other required settings
10. Save changes.

Updates in H5P activities

There are currently two H5P activities in Metropolia Moodle:

• Interactive Content (black icon): The older plugin, developed and maintained by H5P.com
• H5P core (blue icon): The newer core activity, maintained by Moodle HQ and included as standard functionality

The old Interactive Content plugin is being gradually phased out in favor of the newer H5P activity. In future, new H5P content can only be created with the new activity.

Reasons behind the transition:

• Having two H5P activities causes unnecessary confusion and difficulty
• Maintenance and support of the old plugin has already decreased/ended
• The old plugin may have problems that cannot be fixed
• The new H5P works better with Moodle’s core features, such as the gradebook and activity completion
• Content created with the new H5P activity is easier to reuse across different course areas

Transition timeline:

Now:
Use the new H5P activity (blue icon) for new content. Check which activity you’re using in your courses and prepare to update your old content if you want it to work in the future. Instructions for updating old H5P content can be found here.

April 2026 (update on 21.4.):
Creating new content with the old Interactive Content activity will be disabled in the Add an activity or resource menu. This does not affect existing content built with the old activity; old content can still be copied to new courses.

When you have time:
Update your old H5P content – that is, activities with the black H5P icon. This ensures your H5P content and activities will work reliably in the future. When updating, you may need to make minor edits to fields in your H5P activities to take advantage of new features like answer saving and gradebook integration. The same .h5p file works in both activities.

2027:
The next major Moodle upgrade is planned for Metropolia Moodle in 2027. Old H5P-activities are expected to work until this update, but functionality cannot be guaranteed. If significant issues arise with the old plugin before then, old H5P activities may have to be disabled sooner.

Updating old H5P content

With these instructions you can convert H5P content created with the old Interactive Content activity to work with the more reliable H5P activity.

Step 1: Download the content as a file from the old Interactive Content activity

1. Open the old Interactive Content activity
2. Find the Reuse button at the bottom and click -> Download as an .h5p file
   • If you don’t see the Reuse button, open the activity’s Settings tab and ensure Allow download is enabled in Display options. Return to step 2.
3. Go back to the H5P – Interactive Content tab
4. Save the file to your computer
5. Open your file manager and locate the downloaded file 

Step 2: Upload the file to the Content bank, where it can be used with the new H5P activity

1. Go to the course main page, select More > Content bank from the dropdown
2. Click Upload and drag the file from your file manager to the upload area
3. Click Save changes
4. Click Edit if you wish to modify the content. The dropdown menu provides more options (e.g. rename or hide)
5. When done, return to the content bank by clicking Exit
6. You should now see the uploaded file in the content bank and can add it to your course via the new H5P activity (step 3).

Step 3: Add the activity to the course from the Content bank

1. Go to your course and turn Edit mode on
2. Click Add an activity or resource and choose H5P (blue icon)
3. In the General section:
   • Name the activity and write a description if needed
   • In H5P package, select the content from the Content bank
     • If you skip the content bank and drag the file directly from your computer into the activity, it will only be available on this course, and you cannot use it on other course areas via the content bank
4. Click the drop area or + button
5. Select Content bank as the source
6. Click the file you want to upload to the course
   • You can also select files from another course or search for files by name
7. Copy or link the file from the content bank to the H5P activity:
   • Make a copy: The H5P activity remains independent and fully editable even after course duplications
   • Link to file: If the same file is used in multiple activities, editing it in the content bank will update all linked activities (note: when copying courses, the link will still point to the content bank in the previous course, so edits must be made there)
8. Click Select this file
9. Configure any other required settings
10. Save changes

Forum

The Forum activity is one of the key features offered by Moodle:
a) Course discussions typically take place in forums.
b) The forum is also a handy and easy tool for submitting assignments: When you collect student submissions via the forum, everyone can see each other's responses, are notified of new posts by email if they wish, and can provide peer feedback.
Forums can be created in various ways, and you can add peer assessment. Posts may contain one or more attachments. When a participant subscribes to a forum, they receive new posts by email, supporting collaboration. Teachers can also force subscription to a specific forum, e.g. for course announcements.
More information: Moodle docs: Forum

Survey

The Survey activity provides ready-to-use tools that have been found useful for assessment and engagement in online learning. Teachers can use the Survey to gather information from students, which helps them get to know their participants and supports reflection on their own teaching.

More information: Moodle docs: Survey

Attendance

The Attendance activity allows the teacher to track and record participation. Students can view their own attendance records. The teacher can create multiple attendance sessions and set custom statuses (such as "Present", "Absent", "Late", or "Excused") according to course needs. A downloadable attendance report is available for all or specific groups.
More details: Moodle docs: Attendance

MM Learning Diary

The MM Learning Diary enables students to collect personal course notes and reflections in a private journal. Teachers define the structure of the diary and can comment on students’ entries.

Reengagement

The Reengagement activity lets you send email reminders to course participants or any freely specified email addresses, e.g., regarding completion of activities. Reminders are triggered by course enrolment, login, or activity completion dates. You can define how many reminders are sent and within what timeframe, or until a specific activity is completed.
More information: Moodle docs: Reengagement

Lesson

The Lesson activity presents a series of pages to students, usually requiring them to make choices or answer questions along the way. Lessons are flexible and can include branching navigation. There are two main page types: question pages and content pages. You may also use navigation pages. The lesson adapts based on choices students make, giving customized feedback and navigation paths.
More information: Moodle docs: Lesson

Scheduler

The Scheduler activity allows teachers to offer appointment slots for students to book, which can be used for tutorials, meetings, etc.
More information: Moodle docs: Scheduler

Feedback

The Feedback activity allows you to create your own surveys—offering multiple-choice, yes/no, open-text questions, instructions, page breaks, and background information. You can also create dependencies between questions. Feedback responses can be anonymous, and you can choose whether to show summary results to all participants or just teachers.
The Feedback activity can be used for:

• Gathering participants’ further wishes or needs during the course
• Collecting course feedback at the end of the course
• Conducting surveys for teaching development

Group choice

With the Group choice activity, students can join a group of their choice within the course. The teacher determines which groups are available for sign-up, as well as the maximum group size.
More information: Moodle docs: Group Choice

Glossary

The Glossary activity enables course participants to create and maintain a list of definitions or a shared bibliography, like a dictionary. There are many ways to browse entries, and teachers can import entries between glossaries within a course. Terms used throughout Moodle activities and resources can be automatically linked to their definitions in the glossary.

More information: Moodle docs: Glossary

Subcourse

The Subcourse activity allows you to present grades from other courses as an activity within a "main course", enabling teachers and students to track progress across multiple courses from a single location.
More information: Mediamaisteri: Subcourse

Checklist

The Checklist activity allows the teacher to provide a checklist or to-do list for students. The checklist can be linked with progress tracking and the gradebook.

Board

The Board activity provides a noticeboard or “post-it” style space for student contributions. Boards can be used anonymously for collaborative activities such as course discussions or idea collection, and students can 'like' items. Boards are great for group formation or polling.

Assignment

With the Assignment activity, teachers can set tasks, collect submissions, and assess using grades and feedback. Work can be submitted individually or in groups. Only teachers and submitting students can see submitted assignments. Submissions can be a wide range of file types or entered directly in a text editor. Assessments can include feedback, grades, and annotated files; grading can use numeric or custom scales, rubrics, or marking guides. Assignments can also be used for tasks completed outside Moodle: you can still assess students, even if they don’t submit anything in Moodle.
More information: Moodle docs: Assignment activity

Quiz

The Quiz activity provides a wide range of question types, most of which are automatically graded. You can also include essay questions for manual grading. If your quiz is only essay-based, you may wish to use the Assignment activity instead.
More information: Moodle docs: Quiz activity

Database

The Database activity enables the class to collaboratively build a collection (e.g., links, bibliography, or book), similar to the Glossary but more flexible. You define the structure, so the database can be a collection of various information types. Visibility can be set per group if needed.
More information: Moodle docs: Database activity

Turnitin Assignment 2

The Turnitin Assignment 2 activity functions similarly to the Assignment activity: the student submits a file, which can be read and graded only by the student and the teacher. In addition, it provides plagiarism detection tools and a variety of feedback and grading features, including QuickMark, rubrics, audio feedback, and more. Turnitin can also be integrated with other activities, but the full feedback/grading toolset is only available in the dedicated Turnitin activity.

Workshop

The Workshop activity is suitable for peer and self-assessment. The workshop follows an organized multi-phase process with a defined schedule (everyone moves together). Workshop is recommended for courses with a limited number of participants and well-structured timing. Students can assess others’ and/or their own work, and the allocation of assessors can be randomized by the teacher. Each student only sees submissions they’re assigned to assess.
More information: Moodle docs: Workshop activity

Choice

The Choice activity is used for quick polls and voting. It can be used for group/topic/time selection, sharing opinions, organizing face-to-face sessions, or collecting feedback. Results can be published immediately, at a defined date, or not at all; they can be shown with or without participant names (teachers always see all).
More information: Moodle docs: Choice activity

Wiki

The Wiki activity allows participants to collaboratively create and edit pages within Moodle. Wikis can be set as collaborative (one wiki for all) or individual (each participant has their own wiki). You can also use group wikis, so each group has its own area in a single activity. Typical uses include group lecture notes, joint preparation of meeting agendas, collaborative storytelling, or individual journals.
More information: Moodle docs: Wiki activity

Zoom meeting

The Zoom meeting activity enables creation, management, and participation in Zoom meetings directly through the Moodle course page.

Other Activities

Chat

Enable real-time text chat within the course. Support for Chat has ended and it will be removed by Metropolia by Moodle version 5.3 (2027).

Game

A set of gamified activities maintained by the Moodle community. Note: Not all Game activities are fully accessible.
More information: Moodle docs: Game module

HotPot - Hot Potatoes Quiz

Allows inclusion of externally created interactive quizzes via the Hot Potatoes format.

Group self-selection

Activity for dividing students into groups. Support for Group self-selection is phased out and the activity will be removed from Metropolia Moodle.

Certificate & Custom certificate

Activities for generating certificates.

User management

Private and restricted, or open course?

In Moodle, a course is typically private - restricted to a selected group. A private course allows for a focused learning environment and better security. When a course is set to private and appropriate protection measures are applied, outsiders cannot access the course site.

A course can also be public (available to everyone). The openness of the course should be considered from the start when creating content and selecting learning materials, to ensure participants have appropriate opportunities to engage. Thoughtful decisions about course visibility help keep an open course manageable and ensure a smooth, secure learning experience.

Adding participants to a private course

Adding students and teachers to a private course can be done in several ways. Below are instructions for the most common methods:

Adding participants manually

In this method, participants are added manually on the Moodle course site.
Use case: When you want to add participants yourself and assign their roles. Suitable for small participant groups or when filling in the participant list.

1. Select the Participants tab.

2. Click Enroll users.

3. Search for the participant using the name or other identifier in the search field, then select them.

4. Assign the participant role (e.g., Student or Teacher).

5. Confirm the addition by clicking Enroll users.

Self-Registration

In this method, the responsible person communicates the course URL and the course enrolment key to students, enabling them to join the course independently.
Use case: When you want students to register themselves as participants in the course, this approach is suitable. It works for all group sizes and saves the teacher time compared to manual enrollment.

Note! Creating a self-registration method for the Teacher role is not allowed. Additional teachers must be added manually or via OMA.

1. Select the Participants tab.

2. Click the Enrolment methods dropdown.

3. Choose Add enrolment method.

4. If self-enrolment is not yet available in the list of methods, select Self-enrolment from the list.

5. Enable self-enrolment by clicking the eye icon, if it has a line through it (disabled).

6. In the enrolment method settings, you can add and edit the Enrolment key (which acts as the password to access the site).

7. In the settings, you can schedule when self-enrolment is active, create group-specific enrolment keys, or manage user access time.

8. Instruct students on how to access the course area. Use, for example, communication tools in OMA or email:

   • Attach the course URL and enrolment key in your message.

   • Inform students that sharing the enrolment key with others is prohibited.

   • Do not share the enrolment key publicly—anyone with the key can access the course, which is then no longer private.

OMA+Moodle integration

In this approach, participant management is handled through OMA.
Use case: When students approved for the implementation and teachers assigned to the course in OMA should be automatically enrolled in the Moodle course site. Use this method when all instruction occurs within a single course site and the course is used for regular teaching purposes.

Note: If the course site has a different purpose from regular teaching (e.g., an entrance exam course), pay special attention to course visibility.

1. Create a learning environment for the implementation in OMA (a Moodle course site).

2. Teachers added in OMA for the implementation will automatically transfer to Moodle in the correct roles.

   • Manually add teachers or facilitators to the course site and assign them the Teacher role if necessary.

3. Participants are automatically added to the course site once their registration for the implementation has been approved.

4. Remember to make the course site visible only when teaching begins.

Metalink

In this workflow, students are already enrolled on one course site, but there is a need to grant them access to another. Using metalink, you can connect course sites so that students automatically have access to all linked sites. To use metalink, both course sites should be managed by you, or the connection should be agreed upon between the responsible persons of different courses.

While creating a metalink, you can also create group memberships. This allows you to assign students from one course site automatically to a specific group on another course site. This simplifies user and grade management across multiple implementations or content segregation.

Use case: When you want students to have access to multiple course sites.

Creating a metalink:

1. Navigate to the course site where you want to link students from another site.
2. Select the Participants tab.
3. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu.
4. Choose Add participants.
5. From the Add enrolment method dropdown, select Course link (metalink).
6. In the Link to course dropdown, find and select the course you want to link to, which is the current course site you are working in.
7. Under Add to group, choose to create a new group or select an existing group where you want the linked students to be automatically added.
8. Click Add enrolment method.
9. To create links from more than one course site, repeat steps 4–8 for each additional course. 

Important: Communicate clearly to students what they should do on each course site and how the different sites form a unified learning experience.

Note: If the course is integrated directly into the OMA (created via OMAn implementation), a linked course via metalink is not connected to OMA in the same way as the original course site.

Open course site

In certain use cases, it may be justified to keep a course site open. An open course site is accessible to anyone using Metropolia ID or HAKA login. Examples of open course sites include publicly available final products of projects and initiatives, or orientation pages containing general information.

Note: Metropolia’s Moodle has a default setting that prevents guest user access to course sites.

When creating an open course site, special attention should be paid to the following aspects:

• Ownership: Specify who is responsible for the course site and who handles content-related questions and user support.

• Lifecycle of the course site: Communicate when the course site was created, how often it is updated, and until when it will be available.

• Participants: Indicate who the course site is intended for and for what purpose. Remember that all persons logging into Moodle have access to the course site. 

• Transparency: Ensure that the content shared on the course site is appropriate for all audiences. Do not share confidential or sensitive information.

• Privacy: If participants can engage in discussions or submit assignments, ensure that these activities occur securely and privately.

• Permissions and Roles: Teacher roles (including those without editing rights) should only be granted after careful consideration by the person in charge.

• Accessibility: Prepare content that is clear and easy to understand. Ensure materials are accessible to all users.

• Copyright: Verify that sharing materials is permitted and that copyright considerations are respected.

• Maintenance and Updates: Regularly monitor the course site, update content as necessary, and ensure that feedback and questions are addressed promptly.

• Assessment: If there are assessable tasks on the course site, inform when assessments will take place and who will conduct them. Ensure timely archiving of completion data.

• Communication and Instructions: Clearly inform participants that the course is open to everyone and explain what this entails in practice. Provide instructions for participation.

Managing participants on an open course site

When opening a course site, check these settings to ensure the site is accessible to all Moodle-authenticated users. Keep the course site hidden until it is fully prepared.

Access for participants to the course site:

1. Select the Participants tab.

2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown meu.

3. Choose Enrolment methods.

4. Verify that self-enrolment without a course key (self-registration) is enabled for students.

   • If not, add Self-enrolment as an enrolment method. Do not add a course key.

Opening the Course Site:

1. Select the Edit settings tab.

2. Check the Course visibility setting.

   • Set it to Show when you are ready to open the course.

Delete users from the course site

Unenrol (delete) users only after careful consideration. If there are multiple teachers on the course site, discuss user management before deleting participants or setting up automatic unenrolment policies. Notify participants in advance that they should save any important information related to their studies or personal submission files before being removed from the course site.

Deleting a participant from the course site will, after a certain period, also delete their completion data.

Note: If the course site is integrated with the OMA, manual deleting will not permanently delete the participant from the course. To fully unenrol a user, their registration must be canceled in OMA to prevent their data from being linked to Moodle.

Unenrol a single participant

1. Go to the Participants tab
2. Find the participant you want to delete from the list of users.
3. Click the trash bin (unenrol) icon next to the participant’s name.

Unenrol multiple or all participants

1. Go to the Participants tab
2. Select the users you want to remove by checking the boxes next to their names
3. Click With selected users... dropdown at the bottom of the participant list
4. Choose Remove selected users

To avoid accidentally removing yourself or other instructors, you can first filter the participant list based on roles.

If you want to permanently delete students' completion records from the course site, use the Reset function.

Automated unenrolment

In the settings, you can specify that participants who joined the course using a particular enrolment method will be automatically removed after a defined period of time. Remember to include the time spent on the assessment!

The removal rule can be, for example, the length of time spent in the course (Manual enrolments) or inactivity (Self enrolment). Automatic unenrolment can be set on the Participants tab by editing the desired enrolment method.

1. Select the Participants tab.

2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu

3. Choose Enrolment methods

4. Click the pencil icon (edit) next tot the enrolment method where you want to set the course duration.
5. Edit
   
   • Set default enrolment duration (Manual enrolments)
   • Enrolment duration and/or Unenrol inactive users (Self enrolment)
6. Define the duration and save

Enrolment key

Set an enrolment key for the Moodle course if

• you have ordered the course through hankintalomake
• students who cannot register for the course in Peppi are participating in the course.

If you have created a Moodle course in OMA, students and teachers participating in the OMA implementation will be automatically transferred to the Moodle course. There is no need to set a enrolment key for courses ordered through OMA.

Creating and checking the enrolment key

1. On the course main page, click Participants tab.
2. Select Enrolment methods from the drop-down menu (see the example image below)
   
3. If self enrolment has already been set, click on the gear icon to access the page where you can view the enrolment key.
4. If self enrolment has not been set, choose "Add method" from the dropdown menu and select "Self enrolment."
   
5. To check or change the course enrolment key, click on the eye or pencil icon
6. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page

Group enrolment keys

If the course is structured for group work, the teacher can assign a unique enrolment key to each group. The teacher provides this enrolment key to the group members during the enrollment process. Instructions for creating group enrolment keys can be found in Moodle documentation under: Setting a group enrolment key.

Groups and groupings

When you want to organise group work and divide participants into groups, use Moodle’s group and grouping features. For each activity you can specify whether it is individual or group work and how group work is displayed to students.

A student can belong to multiple groups within the same course. At the activity level, use groupings to define which groups are active for that activity.

On the participants tab you can easily view students’ group memberships and filter participants by group.

Steps for working with groups:

• Create groups and groupings
• Allocate users to groups or let students join groups
• Set group settings in the activity
• Grade the group assignment

Note: When students are enrolled in a Moodle course via an OMA implementation, they are automatically added to a group whose name matches the implementation code shown in OMA and in the course title.

Creating groups

Create groups and add students

Create groups on the Groups page:

1. Go to the Participants tab.
2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu.
3. Under Groups, select Groups.
4. Under Manage, click Create group.
5. Name the group and set any other options as needed.
6. Click Save changes. 

Assign students to the groups you created on the same page:

1. Select the group you want to work with.
2. Click Add/remove users.
3. Click the student you want to add and then click the < Add button. To add multiple students at once, hold down the Ctrl-key and select the students.
4. When you have finished adding or removing students to form the group you want, click Back to groups.

Let students join pre-created groups

Create the groups on the Groups page:

1. Go to the Participants tab.
2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu.
3. Under Groups, select Groups.
4. Under Manage, click Create group.
5. Name the group and set any other options as needed.
6. Click Save changes. 

Create an activity:

1. Go to the course main page and turn on Edit mode
2. Add a new activity to the course area: Group choice
3. Define the settings
4. Instruct students to use the activity

Create groups and randomly allocate participants

Use Auto-create groups on the Groups page:

1. Go to the Participants tab.
2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu.
3. Under Groups, select Groups.
4. Under Manage, click Auto-create groups.
5. Define how the groups are created
6. Click Preview and/or Submit.

Let students form groups independently

Add a Group self-selection activity to the course:

1. Go to the course main page and turn on Edit mode
2. Add a new activity to the course area: Group self-selection 
3. Define the settings
4. Instruct students to use the activity
   • FYI: When the Group self-selection activity is used, students cannot see who is in which group. Use this tool as part of your teaching session so that students can agree on their groups while using the tool in Moodle.

Note: Group self-selection activity no longer has official support or updates. If you encounter any problems during use, please contact Moodle-support.

Manage groups with groupings

When a course has multiple overlapping groups, manage them using Groupings. Groupings ensure that Moodle interprets students’ group memberships correctly for each activity.

If the teacher does not create Groupings or configure group submission settings for an activity: Moodle cannot determine which groups are intended for group submission. Submissions may be visible to the wrong people, and group submission will not work as intended.

Example A / A student belongs to multiple active small groups
Henni (student) belongs to both the Lab pairs (Henni and Hessu) group and the Internship (New Children’s Hospital) group. In Moodle, Henni must submit a joint test diagram with her lab partner to a Forum activity, and a joint internship report with the other small group to an Assignment activity.

To ensure Moodle recognizes Henni’s different group memberships correctly in each activity, the teacher must create separate groupings for the different sets of groups. In addition, in each activity’s group submission settings the teacher must select the Grouping that the activity should use:

• In the Forum activity, the teacher uses the Lab pairs Grouping (which contains all lab-pair groups).
• In the Assignment activity, the teacher uses the Internships Grouping (which contains all internship groups).

Example B / Courses created via the OMA+Moodle integration
Pyry (student) has been enrolled via the OMA+Moodle integration. He is automatically added to a group named with the implementation code. He also belongs to a teacher-defined small group called Cats.

The course requires a group-written report to be submitted to an Assignment activity. The teacher has created a separate Grouping for the small groups to distinguish them from the automatic implementation-code group.
When creating the Assignment activity:

• The teacher enables group submission and, in the Grouping setting, selects Small groups (which contains all small groups, including Cats).

Pyry can submit the report on behalf of the Cats group, and the other members of the Cats group can see his submission. The group members receive the same group grade. The Grouping set for the activity does not take Pyry’s membership in the implementation-code group into account.

Create grouping

1. Go to the Participants tab
2. Click the Enrolled users dropdown menu
3. Under Groups, select Groupings

In the Groupings view:

1. Click Create grouping to create a new grouping
2. Enter a name and description
3. Click Save changes
4. You will see the groupings created in the course and the groups they contain

Use the gear icon to edit a grouping’s name. The trash can icon deletes the grouping.

Add groups to a grouping

Once you’ve created groupings, you can add previously created group/goups to it.

1. Next to the desired grouping, click the round figure icon (See the example image below).
2. From the Potential members list, select the groups you want. Hold the Ctrl key to select multiple groups at once.
3. Click the <Add button.
4. When you’ve finished adding or removing groups to get the grouping you want, click Back to groupings.

Group work settings

Assignment activity

In the Assignment activity settings (Group submission settings), set:

• Students submit in groups: Yes
• Require group to make submission:
  • Yes, if all students belong to groups within the selected grouping
  • Select No if students may submit without being in a group or if not all course groups are included in a Grouping
• Require all group members submit:
  • Select No if one group member’s submission is sufficient
• Grouping for student groups: Choose the grouping you want the activity to use

Assessment in Moodle

In Moodle, assessment can be either verbal (qualitative) or numerical (quantitative), and almost all activities have the possibility to be graded. Providing feedback is possible in the majority of gradable activities. Feedback does not affect the overall numerical grade, but it is essential for learning and provides valuable information to the student about their progress.

Assessment is enabled within an activity either when creating the activity or later by editing its settings. The settings must be defined before receiving submissions in order to ensure that assessment works as intended.

You do not need to enable assessment for every activity. Be sure to inform students in advance how assessment will be carried out: When will they receive their grade, what type of grading scale will be used, what are the assessment criteria, and whether they will receive feedback.

Tip: Use the same assessment type (points or scale) for each graded item to make it easier to compare graded activities and to determine the overall grade in the gradebook. Points are the simplest option.

Numeric grading

Numeric grading is most commonly done using points. Grades are calculated to five decimal places but are, by default, rounded to two decimal places for display. You can change the number of decimal places shown in the settings.

Grade type: Points

Points are numerical values, and the maximum grade can vary between graded items. The maximum score for a graded item can be set between 1 and 100 points. If desired, you can set a passing grade for an activity, i.e., how many points a student must achieve to pass. The passing grade is used for activity and course completion tracking as well as in the gradebook. Passing grades are displayed in green, while failing grades appear in red.

Tip: If you wish to use the standard scale of 0-5 for grading, set the maximum grade to 5.

Below is an example image of an Assignment activity, where the maximum grade has been set to 100 points and the passing grade to 70 points:

Verbal grading

Verbal grading (e.g., Pass–Fail scale) is possible in certain activities using the Scale grading type.

A verbal grade is always linked to a numerical value. For example, in the Quiz activity, you can set a certain percentage of the maximum score to correspond to a particular verbal grade for the student’s performance.

Grade type: Scale

In some activities (e.g., Assignment, Forum, Glossary), you can use a verbal scale instead of points (see image below). Be sure to take the scale into account when defining a passing grade as well as when calculating the overall grade in the gradebook.

A scale is defined correctly when its items progress from negative to positive, for example, fail, needs improvement, pass. The first item in the scale has a numerical value of 1, the next 2, and so forth. The highest grade equals the total number of items in the scale.

The numerical value of a verbal grade is important because:

• When you use a scale, the activity’s passing grade is determined by number.

  • For the scale fail / accepted the passing grade would be 2 (=accepted), see image below. 

• The numerical value is also the score that gets transferred to the gradebook.

  • For a sample scale good, better, best, excellent, a student could receive between 1–4 points.

  • Keep this in mind especially if you use both points and scales within your course.

Feedback

In most activities, you can provide students with additional feedback in free-text form, in addition to a numerical or verbal grade. Giving feedback in activities is optional and does not affect the numerical grading of graded items.

The importance of verbal feedback is especially highlighted in courses where there is limited interaction between students and teachers.

The choice of activity affects assessment methods

Each activity has its own grading settings. In some activities, you can utilize self- or peer assessment (e.g. Workshop, Forum), while in others, automatic grading is possible, giving the student immediate feedback (e.g. Quiz with multiple-choice questions).

Automatic grading

If you are creating an online course in Moodle and want to use as much automated grading as possible, please note that not all Moodle activity types can be automatically graded. As a general guideline: if the assignment requires the student to produce their own written text, the teacher must manually assess the activity. For example, activities such as Forum, Feedback, or Assignment cannot be automatically graded; these require teacher evaluation for completion.

H5P activities

H5P interactive content is designed for students’ independent practice and for revising the subject matter. Interactive H5P activities cater to diverse learners and make it easy to provide automated feedback to students.

H5P activities are not recommended as a basis for assessment or for progress tracking.
Not all H5P activity types support answer checking, answer submission, or answer saving. It may be impossible to determine what the student has done with the content, as the actual completion may not be recorded in Moodle. This is not a bug, but rather a result of the technical design of H5P content.

If H5P activities are included as part of assessment, completion conditions, or progress tracking, you as a teacher can manually add the missing completion marks.

Gradebook

The gradebook refers to the Grades tab in the course area. The gradebook is a teacher’s tool for managing assessments in Moodle. Every course area comes with a gradebook enabled by default, and all activities in the course area that have grading enabled are automatically updated there. Students can view the grades they have received for the course via the gradebook.

You can access the gradebook by clicking the Grades tab on the course home page or the Course grading button from the course Management tools. Students can access the gradebook from the Grades tab. The student’s view in the gradebook is called the User report.

If the gradebook is not being used, it is recommended to hide it completely from view.

Gradebook basics

The gradebook collects all the gradable activities (i.e., grade items) in the course area. Grade items in the gradebook are updated automatically whenever changes are made to grading in the activities. In addition to activities within Moodle, you can also add external grade items to the gradebook (e.g., results from an EXAM test or another final assignment).

Student performance can also be graded directly in the gradebook rather than through individual activities. However, it is recommended to do the grading through the activity itself so that the grades update automatically in the gradebook. It makes sense to add or overwrite grades directly in the gradebook, for example, when a student’s submission is missing from an activity or when the student’s competence has been recognized in another way.

The gradebook offers many ways to manage and implement assessment. In addition to automatically compiling all course grade items in one place, the gradebook can also be used to calculate the overall grade. By default, the gradebook sums the points obtained from activities to form the Course total.

Getting Started with the Gradebook

• Watch the instructional video

Watch the short instructional video “Moodle – Minimum Implementation of Assessment” (in finnish) by the University of Helsinki. This video helps you understand the basic logic and core features of the gradebook.

• Familiarize yourself with gradebook report views

  Explore what the Grader report and User report look like. As a minimum requirement when setting up the gradebook, check how the gradebook report views appear from both the teacher’s and the student’s perspective and adjust the views as needed. If you do not check the accuracy of the automatically generated gradebook, the view may confuse students.

• Check how the course total is calculated

  In the gradebook reports, the course total is by default the total number of points collected from the various graded items. Instead of points, you can set the course total to show the actual grading scale used in your course, so both the teacher and students can follow how the overall grade is forming in the course area. The grading scale is defined on the Grade letters page. If you use the gradebook to calculate the final course grade, make sure that all graded items for your course are correctly included in the gradebook.

  Note! The overall grade calculation does not automatically take into account which activities are required to pass the course. For example: if a student has enough points for a grade of 2 according to the grading scale, this grade is shown as the course total—even if half of the mandatory assignments have not yet been completed. When reviewing the overall grade, always check whether the student’s completion status is actually finished or still incomplete.

• Practice with Tytti

  Add Tytti Testiopiskelija (test student) as a participant to your course area, assign grades to her manually, and practice how activities and their grades appear in the Gradebook with different settings. This way, you can be sure that you have set up the Gradebook correctly for your real students.

• Guide your students

  Clearly inform students how the final course grade is determined, as well as what, when, and how items are graded in Moodle. Clearly distinguish between mandatory activities in Moodle and those that are for practice or review and do not affect the final grade.

Gradebook pages

From the gradebook dropdown menu, you can access the following pages:

View

• Grader report: The default teacher view when accessing the gradebook. You can view and edit students' grades for all grade items. You also see the course total, that is, the overall course grade or points.
• Grade history: Browse the history of students' grades in various grade items.
• Outcomes report: View the course outcomes and their progress.
• Overview report: See a user-specific report for all courses.
• Single view: Edit grades in a per-user or per-grade item view.
• Grade summary: View summary of grade items.
• User report: The student's view—see how the gradebook appears to an individual user. In this view, teachers cannot edit grades, but the report is more readable than the grader report. 

Setup

• Gradebook setup: Edit the order of grade items in the grader and user reports. You can also group or hide items. Edit the aggregation method for the course total and set weightings for grade items.
• Course grade settings: Change the appearance of the gradebook, e.g., settings for the user report.
• Preferences: Grader report: Edit the default display options for the grader report.

More

• Scales: View scales.
• Outcomes: Manage learning outcomes.
• Grade letters: Set up or edit the letter grade scale.
• Import: Import content into the gradebook from a file.
• Export: Download content from the gradebook in OpenDocument (or other formats).

Tytti Testiopiskelija (Test student)

If you want to make sure that you have configured the Gradebook settings correctly, you can add a test participant called Tytti Testiopiskelija to your course area. With Tytti, you can check how different report views appear and ensure that the course total is calculated correctly. It's recommended to perform testing on a course area that does not contain actual student submissions.

How to add Tytti Test Student and test the Gradebook:

1. Prepare your course area activities and set the grading options for assignments.
2. Go to the Participants tab and manually add a new participant to your course, "Tytti Testiopiskelija".
3. Go to the Grades tab (Gradebook) and review the Grader Report (teacher’s overview) and the User Report (student’s view of the Gradebook). You can view the user report from Tytti’s perspective.
4. In the Grader Report tab, turn editing mode on (as usual, from the top right) and manually enter grades for Tytti in different grade items. Remember to save your changes.
5. Adjust settings as needed so that both report views are meaningful and follow your course grading plan.
6. After testing, remove Tytti from the course area (on the Participants tab).

User report – Student’s gradebook view

Select User report from the gradebook dropdown menu. This is the view that students see in the gradebook. The User report includes, for example, grade items, grades, and feedback. In addition, students see elements determined in the settings (such as the range or weighting of grade items).

It is recommended to adjust the User report so that:

• Grade items are in your preferred order and have the correct points/weightings according to your grading plan.
• The course total shows the student’s overall points, final grade, or is completely hidden if desired. 

Go through the following settings as needed:

Organizing grade items

Edit the order of grade items in the report views:

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. Click Move icon (arrow, see image below) in front of the grade item you want to move, and drag it to the desired position by clicking the dotted lines. Repeat for all items you wish to reorder.
3. When finished, click Save changes.

Group grade items into subcategories:

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. Add a new category by clicking the Add button in the top right corner of the page.
3. Select Add category and configure the category settings as needed.
4. The subcategory will appear below your grade items. Add the desired grade items to the subcategory.

Hiding grade items

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. For the grade item you want to hide, click the three dots menu (see image below, 1.).
3. Select Hide.
4. The grade item will display an eye icon with a line through it (2.) to indicate that it is hidden.

Note! If you hide grade items that are not included in grading, set the weight of those grade items to zero. This ensures they are not included in calculating the course total.

Weighting grade items

Set the weights for each grade item according to your assessment plan. Weighting refers to the percentage share of each grade item in the overall course grade. The total weight should add up to 100%. With weights, you can adjust the relative importance of each grade item.

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. Click the small box (see image below) in the weighting column to enable editing for the grade item.
3. Enter your desired percentage value in the box.
4. Click Save changes.

Note! If you are using both qualitative (e.g., Pass/Fail) and numerical (e.g., 0-5 points) grading scales within the same course, check how the qualitative grades are handled in grade calculations.

Show course total

If all grade items are graded with points (note: also textual scales convert to points for grading), the total points will be displayed in the Course total row.

Note! If you have hidden graded items, the course total will not be visible to users.

To display the course total excluding hidden items:

1. Go to the Course grade settings page.
2. Overview report
   1. Hide totals if they contain hidden items → Show totals excluding hidden items.
3. User report
   1. Hide totals if they contain hidden items → Show totals excluding hidden items.
4. The course total will now be visible to users below the list of grade items.

 Hide course total

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. At the bottom of the page, in the Course total row, click the three dots (Edit) menu.
3. Select Hide.
4. Finally, click Save changes.

Defining the grade letters

On the Grade letters page, you can review the grading scale set for the course. It is recommended to adjust the grading scale to match the scale defined for the course in OMA.

For each grade in the grading scale, you define the minimum percentage required. The threshold for the lowest grade is always 0.00%, and the threshold for the highest grade can be up to 99.99999%.

Grades are listed in descending order (best to worst), e.g. 5 → 0 (see image below). With such a grading scale, a student needs to achieve 80% or more of the points to receive a grade of 5.

How to edit the grading scale:

1. Select Grade letters from the gradebook dropdown menu.
2. To edit the default scale, click Edit.
3. Tick Override site defaults to activate the fields for editing.
4. Remove the default grade letters and percentages.
5. Add your new grade letters and percentage values. The percentage indicates how much (or more) of the total points is required to achieve that grade.
6. Click Save changes.

Display the actual grade as the course total

Follow these instructions if you want the course total to show your custom grade scale (e.g., letter grade) instead of just the total points:

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.

2. Next to the top category, click the three dots (edit).

3. Select Edit category.

4. Click Show more... to expand all settings.

5. Under Grade display type, select the option that displays the Letter.

6. Click Save changes. 

To show the actual grade in the User report:

1. Go to the Course grade settings page.

2. In the User report settings, enable Show letter grades: Show

Adding manual grade items to Moodle

You can also add grade items to the gradebook that are not linked to any Moodle activity. For example, these might be completions that take place during internships, written exams taken in person, or other achievements outside of Moodle that affect the overall grade.

To add a manual grade item to the gradebook:

1. Go to the Gradebook setup page.
2. At the top of the page, click the Add button (see image below, 1.)
3. Select Add grade item (2.)
4. Fill in the required details and click Save changes.
5. If necessary, move the grade item to the desired location using the arrows.
6. Save changes.

Overriding grades in the gradebook

In some cases, it may be appropriate to add or modify grades directly in the gradebook. For example:

• A student has not completed a required activity in Moodle and you want to enter 0 points for the course total calculation.
• An H5P activity did not record a grade.
• A student has not completed a specific activity in Moodle but has demonstrated competence in another way.

To override a grade:

1. Go to the Grader report.
2. In the top corner, turn on Edit mode.
3. In edit mode, you can:
   1. Enter missing grades or change existing grades directly in the cells,
   2. Click the three dots next to the cell to add comments in addition to the grade.
4. Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.

If you want to review and edit grades for a single user or a single activity in more detail, use the Single view page.

Hiding the gradebook from students

If you want to hide the entire gradebook from students:

1. On the course homepage, open the Managing tools (or click Settings tab).
2. Select Edit course settings.
3. Go to the Appearance settings.
4. Find the setting Show gradebook to students and set it to No.
5. Click Save and display.

Hiding the gradebook does not affect grades or feedback shown directly within activities.

Transferring Grades from Moodle to Peppi

Important: Transfer tool is currently only available in Finnish.

If your Moodle course area has been created using the Peppi–Moodle integration (via an OMA implementation), and the Gradebook for the course has been configured to generate an overall grade for each student, you can transfer these grade proposals from Moodle to Peppi (OMA) using the transfer tool.

The transfer tool can be found in OMA under the Teacher’s Desktop in the Assessments drop-down menu → Moodle Grade Import.

Note! In Moodle’s gradebook, a grade proposal is generated according to the settings configured by the teacher. The teacher must always check in Moodle that all student performances are complete and ready for grading and that the grade proposal reflects the student’s actual achievement. The teacher is always responsible for the final grade recorded for the student, and the grade decision is made at the moment the grade is imported into Peppi. The user of the transfer tool is responsible for the correctness of the imported grades.

Please read the detailed instructions below before using this feature.

If you encounter any problems or have any questions, contact Moodle Support:

1. Visit hd.metropolia.fi
2. Select Moodle Support
3. Describe your issue as clearly as possible, and include a screenshot or other visual documentation. Provide the course name and a direct link if possible. 

Importing Grade Proposals with the Transfer Tool

1. Log into OMA and go to the Teacher’s Desktop.
2. In the Assessments drop-down menu, select Moodle Grade Import. (see Figure 1)
3. The transfer tool opens on its own page. Use the search field to find the implementation (course instance) for which you want to fetch grade proposals. You can search using the implementation’s name or code as shown in OMA. You may only import grade proposals from your own implementations. (see Figure 2)
4. The transfer tool lists grade proposals per student. (see Figure 3)
   • Moodle arvosanaehdotus = The Moodle grade proposal column shows the student’s grade proposal, fetched from the Course total field in the User report.
   • Peppi vastine = The Peppi equivalent column displays the grade proposal in the format that will be stored in OMA.
   • Pepin arvosana = The Peppi grade column shows any previously recorded grade for the student in Peppi (OMA).
5. Select the students whose grade proposals you want to import to Peppi. If you wish to transfer grades for all students, check the box in the header row to select everyone at once.
   • Note! You must always check in Moodle that the student’s performance is ready for assessment and that the grade proposal matches the student’s actual achievement. The teacher or other responsible person is always responsible for the grade assigned to the student. The grade decision is made when the teacher imports the grade proposals to Peppi.
6. Confirm the grades: Click the Tuo arvosanaehdotukset = Import grade proposals button to initiate the import. You will receive a notification when the import is complete. There is no need to separately save; you can proceed directly to the implementation’s assessments view to review the imported grades.
   • The completion date will be recorded as the day the import is performed.
7. If the grade proposal is updated in Moodle: The new grade will appear in the Moodle arvosanaehdotus column and you can re-import it, updating the previous grade. Note of the grade update will appear in the notes field. The completion date will not change, but will remain as the original assessment date.

Figure 1: You can find the transfer tool in OMA under Teacher’s Desktop → Assessments drop-down menu → Import Moodle Grades.
 

Figure 2: Transfer Tool search field, Toteutus = implemention. Search for the implementation by name or code.
 

Figure 3: Select the students for whom you wish to import grades by checking the box next to their names (1.). Moodle arvosanaehdotus (The Moodle grade proposal) and Vastine Pepissä (Peppi equivalent) must match. Verify in Moodle that the performance is ready to be graded and the grade proposal corresponds to actual achievement. Click Tuo arvosanaehdotukset (Import grade proposals) (2.) to complete the transfer.
 

Requirements for Importing Grade Proposals

You can fetch the overall grades for your implementation from Metropolia Moodle to Peppi using the transfer tool found in OMA. For grade proposals to be imported, make sure your Moodle course area meets the following requirements:

1. The course area has been created via Moodle–Peppi integration (through OMA implementation) and the integration is functioning.
   • You can only import grade proposals for students who are officially enrolled in the implementation. Students who have entered the course area by other means may not appear in the implementation’s data, thus their grades cannot be transferred.
2. The Gradebook contains graded items and assessment settings for activities are properly configured.
   • If you wish, you may also add external assessments (e.g., EXAM exams) to the gradebook.
3. The grade scale in the Gradebook matches the scale defined for the implementation.
   • Ensure the grade scale uses a Peppi-compatible format: 0–5 or 0–HYV (“Passed”/“Failed”).
   • Grades should be ordered from highest to lowest.
     • Check the percentage boundaries for each grade and adjust as needed.
4. The category responsible for generating the overall course grade should have its aggregation set to Grade scale (set by instructor in gradebook) and be visible.
   • Do not select “Grade scale (actual)/(percentage)” as the display type for aggregation. Additional information, like points and percentages, are not Peppi-compatible.
5. Do not add a passing grade threshold (“Grade to pass”) to the category that generates the overall grade.
   • A red cross or green tick/checkbox is not compatible with Peppi, and the integration cannot fetch grade proposals in this case.
6. The Peppi-compatible grade proposal must be visible on the User report, Course total row, Grade column (see image below). Only the grade proposal on this row will be imported to Peppi.
7. Ensure the Gradebook is generating correct grade proposals for students:
   • The Gradebook includes all graded components for the course implementation.
   • Weighting and calculation for overall grades (Course total) aligns with the assessment plan.
   • Hide any grade items not included in the assessment from the gradebook and set their weight to 0.0.
   • Grades for activities are released to students.

The Peppi-compatible grade proposal must appear in the User report on the Course total row, Grade column. Only this grade proposal will be imported to Peppi. The grade shown on the Course total row must match the grade scale defined for the implementation.

In order for the Course total to display the grade according to the grade scale set in the gradebook, you must set the aggregation category’s display type to Grade scale.

If the Grade Proposal Is Updated in Moodle

If a student wishes to improve an already given grade, you can update the new grade in OMA using the transfer tool. The new grade will update in the Moodle arvosanaehdotus (Moodle grade proposal) column and you can re-import it. Information about the updated grade will be recorded in the Instructor notes field.
Note! The completion date of the implementation will not change; it will remain as the original assessment date.

Transfer Tool Not Working – Why, and What to Do?

You cannot import grade proposals from Moodle using the transfer tool for any entries that do not meet the requirements. The transfer tool will warn you if there are issues that prevent the transfer.
Here are a few examples:

Example 1: Opiskelija ei ole Pepissä = Student is not in Peppi. The course is integrated, but Tytti Test Student is not enrolled in the OMA implementation, instead joining the Moodle course area another way. The transfer tool does not recognize the student and cannot import their grade proposal.
Solution: The student must enroll in the implementation before a grade can be given.

Example 2: Vastinetta ei löytynyt = No matching grade scale found. The grade scale in Moodle is not in a Peppi-compatible format: 0–5 or 0–PAS (“Passed”/“Failed”). No corresponding value is found in Peppi for grades like “Hyväksytty” or “HYL.”
Solution: Edit the Moodle grade scale values to match the grade scale defined for the implementation.

Example 3: Ei arvioitu = Not graded. Tytti does not yet have a grade proposal in Moodle, so no grade can be given.
Solution: If the performance is ready in Moodle, check your gradebook settings. Ensure all transfer tool requirements are met and that an overall grade is properly calculated to the User report.

Use Tytti for Testing

If you want to make sure your gradebook settings are correct and that the transfer tool works as expected, you can add Tytti Testiopiskelija (=test student) as a test participant in your course area. With Tytti, you can easily adjust and test your grading settings. Remember to remove Tytti from the participant list after testing.

Tip: Manually award Tytti different scores for various activities and observe how the course total forms. This will help you understand when grade proposals become visible in the transfer tool. Testing like this will ensure your specific settings produce exactly the results you intend. For example, an incomplete course will not yet produce the passing grade, and the weighting of tasks will behave as you have set.

See instructions on how to add Tytti to your course area: Tytti Testiopiskelija (Test student)

Tracking progress

There is multiple ways to track students’ progress in course resources and activities.

Most progress-tracking tools rely on the Completion conditions settings. Once completion conditions are set, you can, for example:

• Add the Completion Progress block to the course to provide a visual overview of each student’s progress.
• View students’ progress via Reports → Activity completion.
• Define the sequence of tasks using Restrict access together with completion rules.
• In the Grid course format, display a progress percentage on the section tiles to visualize section completion.

Set conditions for activity completion

You find the Completion conditions settings (see image) in each activity or material. Depending on the material/activity, there are various settings available for confirming that the task has been completed:

• None: This option disables completion conditions
• Conditions for accepting performance (Add requirements) may include:
  • View the activity
  • Start discussions
  • Minimum attempts
  • Receive a grade
• One option is that Students must manually mark the activity as done. In this case, a small box will appear next to the activity/content in the course area, which the student can click to indicate that they have completed the activity.

Completion Progress block

The Completion Progress block is a tool for students and teachers that visualizes progress across the course’s activities and materials. The block appears on the right side of the course page. Students can quickly check their own progress, and teachers can open overview for all students. The block uses color coding to show which activities or materials have been completed and which are still left to study.

• Green = Completed activities.
• Yellow = Submitted items (e.g., Assignments) awaiting teacher grading/completion marking.
• Red = Overdue activities. The student has passed the due date and can no longer achieve completion for this activity.
• Grey/Blue = Activities still awaiting the student’s action (not yet completed).

The content of the Completion Progress block is controlled by each material’s or activity’s Completion conditions settings. It’s recommended to configure these settings for all items before teaching begins so the block displays correctly to students from the start. Hidden activities do not appear in the Completion Progress block.

To add the Completion Progress block to your course:

1. Turn Edit mode on in the course.
2. Click Open block drawer (grey arrow at the top right).
3. Click + Add a block.
4. Select Completion Progress from the list.
5. The block appears on the course page. It automatically lists items that have completion settings configured. If no activities/resources have completion conditions set, the block will be empty.

Metropolia’s course templates include the Completion Progress block by default. If you don’t want to use it on your course, you can remove the block.

Progress tracking is not grading

The Completion Progress block and the Gradebook both support student guidance and help visualize progress during a course. However, progress tracking is not directly linked to the gradebook. The gradebook is a separate tool, and like progress tracking, should be configured according to the teacher’s pedagogical approach. Progress tracking is not an assessment tool and is not recommended as the sole method for evaluating student performance.

Example: The teacher sets the Assignment activity so that progress tracking marks it as complete when a student submits a file. When the student submits the file, the activity is marked green (completed) in the Completion Progress block. However, this does not indicate anything about the quality or correctness of the submitted assignment, and no grade will appear in the Gradebook. The teacher must assess the submission for the student to receive a grade in the gradebook.

Define the task order

You can use Activity completion together with Restrict access (see image) to control the order in which students complete course items. When an item is completed, it unlocks the next resource/activity so students progress in the teacher-defined sequence.

Do this:

1. In the activity/material, configure the Completion conditions settings.
2. Open the settings of the next resource/activity in the order and configure Restrict access settings.
3. Click Add restriction... and choose Activity completion.
4. From the Choose... list, select the prior resource/activity that has completion enabled and set the required condition(s).
5. Save changes.

Course Site Reports

As an instructor, you can explore various tracking reports and statistics that provide insights into course site activities, user actions, and learning progress. All reports are located under the Reports tab (see the image below).

Log data is continuously generated and should be used as part of the learning process planning. If some materials are consistently left unclicked by students, or if you want to examine user activity levels or the difficulty of specific activities, you can utilize reports to refine instructions and adapt activities.

Note: Some reports require additional settings to function properly. For example, the Activity Completion report will not work if the Completion conditions settings are not enabled for activities.

Brief overview of the most commonly used reports:

• Logs: All events on the course site. You can filter log data using different search criteria.
• Live logs: Live data from the course site.
• Activity report: Shows how many times a particular material or activity has been accessed / how many users have viewed it.
• Activity completion: A matrix view of learners' progress.
• Activity distribution: Examines user visits and resource openings on the course site.

Course page visuals

In Moodle, you can enhance the visual appearance of a course page with images, color choices, and by changing the course format. You’re free to give your course its own look and feel, but remember accessibility and copyright.

Course image

The course image appears both in the banner at the top of the course page (theme-dependent) and as the course card image on the My courses page. A course image improves recognition and adds color and personality.

Tip: Crop the image before uploading so it scales better to a wide, low banner.

Add a course image:

1. Go to course Settings and find the Description section
2. Add the Course image:
   1. Drag and drop your image file into the upload box, or
   2. Click the upload box to open the file picker, browse your computer or Moodle repositories, then click Upload this file.
3. Edit image information if needed (author and license)
4. Click Save and display

Images on the course page

You can add images to make the page more inviting, aid navigation, or enrich the learning content. Plan imagery carefully so it creates a positive impression and adds value. You might use project logos, theme-related illustrations, or “signposts” to structure study flow.

 When adding an image, set the image proportions to fit the course area. Please note that images are scaled according to the device used.

Add image using editor

1. Turn Edit mode on.
2. Add activity or resourse. Choose an activity or resource that has a text editor.
   • You can insert an image into an activity’s instructions or as standalone content. For a standalone image on the course page, add a Text and media area activity.
3. In the editor toolbar (see the image), click
   1. Insert tab → image, or
   2. Photo icon in the toolbar (Press the three dots at the end of the toolbar to open all icons).
4. Add the image:
   1. Drag and drop your image file into the upload box, or
   2. upload an image from your computer, choose Browse repositories.
5. Alternative text for the image:
   • If the image is informative:
     • Write Alternative text (alt text) that conveys the information a sighted user would get from the image.
     • If the description cannot be kept within about 125 characters, provide a longer description as a separate text resource.
   • If the image is purely decorative:
     • Check This image is decorative only.
6. Adjust the image size.
7. Select Keep proportion to maintain the original proportions.
8. Use Alignment to control the image’s placement on the course page or within the text area.
9. Save.

Add image by drag and drop

1. Turn on Edit mode
2. To make dragging easier, minimize your browser window and open the file manager (where the image is located) next to it.
3. Left-click on the file you want to move to Moodle and drop it in the right place in the browser window.
4. A settings window will open in Moodle (see image below)
   1. Select Add media to course page if you want the image to be displayed as an illustration in the course area (the image will be added as an Text and media area activity)
   2. Select Create file resource if you want the image to be added as a separately openable File
5. Click Upload
6. If necessary:
   1. Move the image/file to the correct location in the course area
   2. Add a description to the image to improve accessibility, if it is informative
   3. Edit the image to fit the course area

Grid course format

Choose the Grid format to create a visually engaging course home page. In the Grid course format, course sections and their contents open when you click a tile. Select images for the tiles that help students navigate or create a coherent visual identity.

In the course Settings, you can change the Course format. When you select Grid, you get additional settings related to layout and tile size etc. If you wish, you can also enable completion tracking so each section/tile shows visual indicators of activity completion.

Tiny Editor learning components

In the default TinyMCE editor, you’ll find the C4L (Components for Learning) plugin. These visual components help you structure text and highlight key information—for example dates, learning objectives, quotations, or other study-related notes. Use components to shape the course page layout, give students scheduling tips, or break up long blocks of text. There are 18 component types available.

The example images show a few of them:

The learning components can be found in the editor behind the Lego brick-like icon (2). You can display all the tools by clicking on the three dots (1).

Tiny Editor color palette

A color palette compatible with Metropolia Moodle has been added to the Tiny MCE editor. All color combinations (text color and text background color) are accessible in terms of contrast.

The image below shows the combinations in the default palette:

If you want other accent colors, you can edit the colors in the editor as you wish.  Make sure that the text color and background color have good contrast ratio so that the text remains readable.

To change the color of the text or text background:

1. In the editor, click the Text foreground color button or Text background color button
2. Select a color from the default colors or click Custom color (palette icon)

Accessibility

Metropolia encourages the creation of accessible learning materials in all digital learning environments (such as Moodle) and services where materials are published. The accessibility requirements laid out in the Digital Services Act automatically apply to study modules that are publicly available and open to all, such as MOOC courses hosted on Moodle. However, accessible materials benefit every learner, regardless of whether the course area is restricted or open to everyone. 

Ensuring the accessibility of the learning environment makes studying smoother and reduces potential problems. For example, clearly named sections and content, clear and simple language in instructions, and sufficient contrast between text and background all improve the comprehensibility and usability of the environment for all participants.

For materials produced in projects and for open educational resources, accessibility is a fundamental starting point.

Headings and Content Structure

Use descriptive headings and make use of heading styles. Precise and clear headings make it easier to navigate the course area.

In the editor:

• Always use heading levels for headings and proceed logically (H3→H4→H5→H6).
• You can find heading levels in the editor as follows: Format → Paragraph styles → Heading 3, 4, 5, 6.
• Note! A heading is not technically a heading if you create it by simply bolding normal text, increasing the font size, placing it inside a component/color block, or by using any other formatting that only visually separates it from body text.

In sections:

• Structure the course content logically under different sections—one topic or theme per section.
• Give each section and activity a descriptive title. Do not name a file just “file”.
• Use the correct type of resource for the correct kind of content:
  • Text and media area is suitable for short pieces of information.
  • Page is suitable for longer texts and more extensive content.

Formatting

Stick to the default settings of the Moodle editor and avoid unnecessary formatting. Do not use special styles for long paragraphs.

• Use bold and italics for brief emphasis only.
• Use underlining sparingly, as it can easily be confused with links.
• Use ALL CAPS carefully. For longer texts, including headings and section names, it is better to use lowercase letters.
• Use the default font.
• Use the colors defined in the Moodle editor. If you modify colors, pay attention to the contrast ratio between text and background. Tip: you can use free online Color Contrast Checker tools to verify sufficient contrast.
  • In this example, the contrast is almost nonexistent.
  • Here, the contrast is still too low, which affects readability.
  • This example has a good contrast ratio, though not the best possible.
  • This example meets both the WCAG AA and WCAG AAA contrast guidelines.

Naming links

Use descriptive text for link names.

• Do not name a link simply “link” or “read more”. Always indicate the target, e.g., “Read more about accessibility in the Moodle Help Bank”.
• If the link points to a file, specify this in the link text. For example: “PowerPoint slides from the 29.1. lecture (pptx file)”.
• Indicate if the language changes when following the link from the course area.
• Do not embed links in the middle of body text; instead, place them at the end of the sentence or paragraph, or as a separate resource in the course area.

Opening materials in a same or new window

In the Visibility settings section, you can specify how file-based materials, web links, and videos are opened.  

• Inform users if a link will open in a new tab or window.
• According to accessibility guidelines (in finnish), the cognitively clearer option is to open materials in the same tab or window.
  • However, if you want to ensure users don’t lose the original page, or if you want them to work in Moodle and with external materials at the same time, opening in a new window is a justified choice.
• If you share files, remember to check their accessibility separately.

Images and interactive elements

Add a description or text alternative as a separate resource for informative images and other visual content.

• When adding an informative image, write an “alt text” (description) for the image. If the image content cannot be summarized within the character limit (125 characters), provide a description in a separate text file.
• Interactive content (e.g., H5P or Thinglink) is not automatically accessible for everyone. Take this into account and provide text alternatives as needed.

Videos

An accessible video is one where the audio content is also available in text format. Captions are helpful in many situations: videos can be watched in environments where sound cannot be used, and captions also improve understanding when viewers are not native speakers.

• Add captions to videos so that understanding the content does not depend solely on hearing.
• Provide the video content in text format as well. A text document is easier to reuse, for example in assignments or when revising for an exam.

Lifecycle of the course area

Defining the lifecycle of a course area is the responsibility of the teacher/course area administrator. Lifecycle management is part of the secure use of Moodle.
The recommendation is that:

• A new course area is always created for each course implementation
• Every course area used for teaching has clearly defined start and end dates (including rolling/ongoing implementations) 

After the teaching period has ended, the teacher is responsible for the appropriate disposal of course completion data:

• The teacher resets the course completion data, or
• The teacher permanently deletes the course area (including all data)

Data Archiving

At Metropolia, data retention and archiving periods are defined in the Metropolia's tiedonohjaussuunnitelma (TOS).

Study Attainment Data: Retention period is 6 months after the final assessment. Rationale: According to the Universities of Applied Sciences Act (932/2014) Section 37, study attainment data must be stored for at least six months after the publication of results. The statutory retention period for study attainment data is related to the legal protection of students. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires data minimization and that personal data is stored for as short a period as possible.

Other Teaching-Related Data: If you process other types of information in Moodle, such as entrance exam or pre-assignment data, please check the retention periods specified in Metropolia’s tiedonohjaussuunnitelma (TOS) and familiarize yourself with the data retention responsibilities in your area of expertise.

Course reset

When teaching in a course area has ended and the legally defined minimum period (6 months) since the overall assessment of the implementation has passed, the course area can be reset. With the Reset function, you can remove users, grades, or activity completions from the course area. The function restores the course area to its original state, i.e., all course activities and settings remain intact.
Within the reset settings you can select, by category, which data to remove – for example, you can clear all grades but retain users. This way the area can remain available to students as a resource library.
Before resetting a course area, consider the following:

• Ensure you are authorized to reset the course area: If there are multiple teachers/admins assigned to the course area, make sure you have permission to clear course data.
• A reset cannot be undone: Resetting will irreversibly destroy the selected data.
• Inform students about the course area lifecycle and give them the opportunity to save their own assessment data or course materials. Ensure you have processed all potentially incomplete coursework.
• Do not remove yourself from the course area: If you are resetting user data, do not remove roles corresponding to your own (Teacher or Teacher A).
• Reset is not supported in H5P – Interactive Content or Subsections activities. These must be cleared separately.

How to reset selected data:

1. Open the course area.
2. In the course header, open the More (1.) tab and choose Course reuse (2.).
3. Select Reset (3.).
4. Choose the categories/items you want to delete or reset. Note: Do NOT select the Teacher role under Roles, otherwise you will remove your own enrolment.
5. Click the red Reset course button.

Reuse of a reset course area

A course area with grades and assessment data reset can be left as a resource library for students. Make sure the course area is deleted from Moodle at an appropriate time. Notify students of how long the course area will remain available to them.
Order a new course area for each implementation. Even if all data including participants has been reset, it is not recommended to reuse the same course area for a new group of students. If you want to use a previous course as a template for a new implementation, you can transfer content from one course area to another by backup/restore, by using the Import feature, or with the Sharing Cart block. When ordering a new course area using the procurement form, you can request that an old course be copied.

Deleting a course area

When the teaching in a course area has ended and six months have passed since the overall assessment, the course area can be deleted. All participant and assessment data is permanently deleted with the course area.

Before deleting a course area, consider the following:

• Ensure you are authorized to delete the course area: If there are multiple teachers/admins for the course, confirm that the course and its data can be deleted.
• Inform students about the deletion and give them the chance to save their own assessment data or course materials. Make sure all possible incomplete coursework is handled.
• Reuse of content: Before deletion, download a backup or order a copy using the procurement form if you want to reuse the content later.

To delete a course area:

1. Double-check that you are in the correct course area.
2. Open the right-hand block drawer using the gray Open block drawer button.
3. In Course management, click the Delete course button (see image below).
4. A confirmation window will open. Confirm deletion by clicking Delete course. Cancel if you do not wish to delete.
5. Deletion will take a few seconds depending on course size. When completed, a message Course deleted successfully! will appear at the top of the course area and you will be automatically redirected to the Moodle dashboard.

 Restoring a deleted course area

Moodle administrators can restore a deleted course area from the recycle bin within 30 days of deletion. If you have deleted a course area by mistake, immediately contact Moodle support via a ticket (hd.metropolia.fi). Please provide the course name and category for recovery. After 30 days, the course and all its data will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Automatic course deletion process

Metropolia Moodle will introduce an automatic deletion process for unused course areas in March 2026. The automatic process ensures that outdated, unused course areas are centrally deleted.

Note! The primary method for deleting course areas is for the teacher to delete their own course area. The automatic process is a backup method if the course area has not been deleted on time for some reason.  

A course area will enter the automatic deletion process if either of two criteria is met:

1. 12 months have passed since the course area's end date.
2. The course area has not been accessed for 24 months. 

When a course area enters the automatic deletion process, the teacher is notified via email twice at different stages. The area is not deleted immediately.

Stages of the deletion process

The process has three stages. Teachers receive two separate email notifications at different stages.

Stage 1: The course area is moved to the Recycle Bin category and teachers receive the first email notice. The course is hidden from students. Teachers can still access the course and may restore it to its original category within one month (1 month).

Stage 2: One month later, the course area is moved to a hidden category and is also hidden from teachers. The teacher receives a second email regarding deletion. The course can still be restored by requesting it via the Helpdesk (Moodle support ticket) within 6 months.

Stage 3: The course area is permanently deleted 7 months after the deletion process begins, and recovery is no longer possible.

Avoid the automatic deletion process

To avoid your course area entering the deletion process:

1. Edit the course area's end date in the settings to a maximum of 2-3 years ahead, or remove the end date entirely if a longer retention is needed.
2. Visit the course area at least once every two years. 

If you receive an email notice from Moodle about the course is being moved to the Recycle Bin or about deletion:

• If less than a month has passed since it was moved to the Recycle Bin:

  1. Find the course area in Moodle
  2. Restore the course area to the correct course category
  3. Edit the end date in the course settings

• If more than a month has passed and you received a deletion notice:

  • Immediately submit a service request to the Helpdesk Moodle support (hd.metropolia.fi), provide the name of the course area and the course category, and request that the course area be restored.

Note: In Metropolia Moodle, no course area is permanent by default. As a teacher, you are responsible for the course area until it is deleted. Please manually delete any course areas you no longer need.

Restore a course area from the Recycle bin

If you receive a message that your course area has been moved to the Recycle bin category due to the automatic deletion process, you have one month (1 month) to restore the course area to its original category.

Note! If more than a month has passed since the course area was moved to the Recycle bin and you received a "deleted" message, immediately submit a service request to Helpdesk’s Moodle support (hd.metropolia.fi). Please provide the course area name and category and request course area restoration.

To restore a course area from the Recycle bin:

1. In the right-hand block under Managing tools, click the Restore course from Recycle Bin button (see image below).
2. A confirmation window will appear in Moodle. Confirm the restoration by clicking Restore course from Recycle bin.
3. The automatic deletion process will be stopped, and your course will become available again.
4. Make sure that the course visibility setting is correct: The course is either available to students or hidden, depending on your needs.

Leaving the course area for students to use after teaching has ended

If it is essential to leave the course area for students to use after teaching has ended and the six months required by law have passed since the assessments, proceed as follows:

1. Do Course reset but do not delete users. Inform students in advance that their study performance data will be deleted from the course area, but other material will remain available to them for x amount of time.
2. Make sure that you Delete the course area yourself at some point or that it ends up in the Automatic course deletion process by setting the course area end date to 2-3 years in the future. Course areas cannot be saved indefinitely in Moodle, and as a teacher, you are responsible for the course area until it is deleted. Inform students how long the course area will be available to them.

Contact Moodle Support 

Do you need more instructions or want to give feedback - contact Moodle Support (Moodle-tuki).

• Go to hd.metropolia.fi
• Select Moodle-tuki
• Describe your situation in detail and and images or screen shots. Disclose the course name and provide a link to the Moodle page.