Moodle
1. Good Practices
As its use is a reality, the aim is to provide teachers with some good practices to adopt, so that they can use it not only intuitively, but above all, more safely.The general rule behind the use of any platform is the simplicity in creating and organising content. This will contribute in a very positive way to acknowledging the purpose they were created for, to identifying where the different features can be used, and to an easy understanding by the users.
2. Moodle Platform – Version 3.8.2(1)
Designed for a broader context than the simple face-to-face classroom, since it allows both the creation of distance learning courses (e-learning) and the possibility of serving as a complement to face-to-face and semi-presence classes or courses (b-learning) and, going beyond the idea of mere use of technology, by allowing the sharing of knowledge, as well as interaction between teacher/students and student/students, the Moodle platform enables teaching in which each one builds their own knowledge.The fact that it is a free software, open source and can be installed free of charge, as intended by its creator, combined with the detail that allows the user to change and adapt the environment according to their own needs, made the Moodle platform quickly become present in the daily lives of several institutions, including primary, secondary, and higher education schools.
It is currently in version 3.8.2, which presents a set of new features, with an update to version 3.8.3 planned for May 2020 and 3.9 in June of the same year.
To ensure a safer use of the Moodle platform, some good practices and configurations that enable greater protection in its use will be mentioned (2).
a. Access to the platform
Access is made online, according to the demonstration site3 (Figure 1), where you can choose the "desired role" ("choose a role"). This leads to another panel (Figure 2), where for the effect of this access the option "Professor" ("Teacher") will be selected, according to (Figure 3) and where the "login" and "password" must be entered (Figure 4).At this stage, it is recommended to inactivate the option "Remember username", as well as to offer the searcher that is being used to memorise the login data.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
As soon as the platform is entered (Figure 5), some examples of how it can be used appear in the selected profile (Figure 6).
Figure 5
Figure 6
b. Baseline Configuration
Before using Moodle, there are some configuration aspects that the user must consider. These settings will remain the default for subsequent use.In the user profile there is a "User account" field (Figure 7), with a set of editable preferences (Edit Profile, Change Password, Preferred Language, etc).
Figure 7
Figure 8
All information should be summarised to what is strictly essential (Figure 9), avoiding unnecessary information in view of the mandatory fields.
In the following field "Change password", you should follow the policies suggested by the National Cyber Security Centre (4). In this option, you can also find several information regarding data retention, how to get mobile application, and policies (Figure 10).
As far as security aspects are concerned, the suggestion of "Security Keys" (Figure 11) should be followed, which reinforce security and privacy, avoiding the access of other users to access areas that are not allowed to them.
In "Message Preferences" (Figure 12), you can enable the option to restrict the people authorised to send e-mails, only to my contacts. The preferred channel for notifications should be e-mail and you must disable the "enter" button for sending, thus avoiding the sending of erroneous messages.
Regarding "Notification preferences", the preferred channel should be e-mail, enabled through "ON", and the "web" options should be disabled - "OFF" (Figure 13).
At the end, we must always log out (Figure 14).
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
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Figure 13
Figure 14
(1)moodle.org/
(2)These recommendations are based on available information and knowledge of the CNCS at the time of their production. Therefore, they reflect recommendations aimed only at reducing the known security and confidentiality risks in the use of the applications, not excluding special additional precautions, including external precautions to the use of the platforms regarding security and protection of users' privacy.
Last updated on 19-07-2022