In August, a major update was pushed out to Moodle. While the most obvious change was to the layout, some students and faculty have been affected by what’s changed on the back end.
Students and faculty in the Visual Arts Department seem to have been most affected. Not everything was moved from the old version of the site to the newly updated one, particularly the work of students that had been uploaded to the visual arts portfolio review.
However, everything that’s been uploaded before the update has been preserved and is still available to students. The content of students’ portfolios can still be downloaded from the old site, and then manually re-uploaded to the new site.
Kevin Hagan, interim department head of the Visual Arts Department, stated that the department is there to help any students who need it.
“Students, if they’re ever having difficulties with the update and trying to navigate it, reach out to our department because we will help you walk through that process. So, although there might be some differences in the way it used to be done because of the update, we will support them and help them navigate it. They just need to reach out to us and we’ll help make sure they get what they want and get through the process,” Hagan said.
For others, the update seems to have gone more smoothly, without much trouble besides adjusting to a new layout and elements and pages being moved around.
Brian West, a master instructor in the school of computing and informatics, was part of the pilot program last semester to test the new update before it was made live to the rest of the faculty and the student body. Though he’s run into some minor issues, the update has mostly worked fine for him.
One such issue came when he tried to upload PHP files, which Moodle wouldn’t accept, though he managed to work around this.
“I got my workaround specifically because I did contact the help desk,” West said. “If folks are having problems with it, they would need to contact the help desk or distance learning.”
Speaking on the layout changes, West believes that students will be able to figure things out and adjust to the new site fairly quickly.
“The main users for Moodle are going to be students, and they’re very comfortable with technology,” he added. “The main users of students are going to figure out the new layout and where things are placed far quicker than faculty will.”
Students studying in the visual arts can contact their department for any help they might need regarding the new Moodle website, while other students or faculty facing difficulties can contact the IT Service Desk for assistance.