Moodle 2 for Teachers - Some Updates with 2.4
Moodle 2.4 was just released, with several updates that teachers might find useful. Some of the latest features include:
- Ability to stream in outside calendars - my calendar of choice is my Google calendar for a variety of reasons; the ability to use this within a Moodle course instead of maintaining a separate calendar is a huge time-saver!
- Ability to view student submissions on the page I am grading and providing comments - in 2.3 this was broken; I'm glad to say the restored it so now I can be writing my comments in the same window where I am reading the student's assignment, allowing me to provide more specific feedback.
- Blind marking of assignments - teachers can now turn on blind marking of assignments so they do not see student names while grading, a great way to help ensure you are providing objective feedback and grades.
- Group assignments - if you use groups, you can now assign an activity to a specific group, even requiring all group members to have submitted prior to it being graded. You can provide a group grade or individual group member grades.
Does your district have Moodle but you haven't started yet? Ask your district technology department to set you up with a course to use for testing and exploring!