Moodle 3.7 is Finally Here – An All You Need to Know Guide
Yes, you read that right. The wait for Moodle 3.7 has finally ended!
For a Moodle enthusiast, or even for someone who just likes being up-to-date with technology, this wait was surely a long one!
To add to that, the original launch date being pushed further to this day did stir up an atmosphere of intrigue and curiosity for many.
But when we looked at what’s new in Moodle 3.7, it did finally seem worth the wait!
Note: Moodle 3.7 Compatible Version of Edwiser RemUI will be out on 23rd May 2019. We request Edwiser RemUI users to update their Moodle only after that. With this update, Edwiser RemUI will also include World’s 1st Homepage Builder for Moodle. Edwiser RemUI Homepage Builder will enable you to design your dream homepage, in a Snap!
What’s New, in Moodle 3.7
There’s something really interesting that I observed in the official launch article on Moodle’s website.
Now if you’re someone who hasn’t read it yet, no need to panic. I’m here to help you out.
Titled “Foster student engagement with Moodle 3.7”, Moodle claims that this update focuses on improved user experience, clubbed with other accessibility features.
What are these features? Do they justify these claims? And how does Moodle 3.7 ensure an improved user experience? Let’s have a look!
Forum Enhancements
With this update, you can now participate in forum activities within courses a lot more easily.
Moodle 3.7 introduces new functionalities like quick inline replies. You can also create a discussion directly from the discussions list page.
All of this not just ensures higher levels of user engagement, but even saves you a lot of time.
Moodle 3.7 also comes with improved accessibility. In Moodle 3.7, you can now sort discussions by the number of replies and date. You can also mark relevant discussions ‘Star’. This helps you find them easily when needed.
Requested by many, ‘Private replies’ is another new inclusion that allows educators to give early private feedback in discussions.
New Classic Theme That You Can Customize
Moodle 3.7 introduces a revamped Classic theme, that provides a classic navigation structure and uses a 3-column layout. In this layout, you can position the blocks left and right of the main content.
With the all-new Classic theme, you can choose your background image & brand colors for effective branding. This customization can be done for your buttons, links as well as navigation bars.
By letting you customize the theme as per your preference, Moodle 3.7 goes a long way in personalizing your Moodle experience with the Classic Theme.
Using custom presets? Not to worry! Classic Theme is still compatible with Boost preset files.
Open Badges v2 with Additional Support
One of the hot topics in the e-Learning world, gamification plays a very crucial role in the performance and motivation of your students.
Keeping this in mind, Moodle 3.7 makes sure that your learners are always motivated to learn.
Open Badges 2.0 by @bryanMMathers is licensed under CC-BY-ND
With this update, you can give positive reinforcements to your students by awarding them with badges based on competencies. This update onwards, you can connect your Moodle site with the badgr.io backpack ensuring that your learners can carry their digital credentials with them throughout their entire learning journey.
Enhanced Learning Analytics
Moodle 3.7 comes with enhanced and intuitive Learning Analytics. You can now create new learning analytics models easily.
These models can be based on new and existing targets, indicators, and time-splitting methods with no coding required.
Moodle by default offers two core models – No teaching (site managers are informed if there are any upcoming courses that don’t require a teacher), and Students at risk of dropping out (predicts which students are at risk of dropping out).
Now you can create your own analytics models similarly. What’s even better is that you can import and export model weights and definitions easily.
Adding to the above, you can now provide automatic notifications for students about upcoming activities that are due, via the Learning Analytics API.
Added Power to Messaging
Moodle 3.7 comes with an enhanced interface with a column layout. As a result, your users now have a clearer overview of all their conversations.
Further, this update gives users more control over messaging.
There could be scenarios where you want to focus on the learning content, and not get disturbed by incoming messages on your Moodle. With this update, you can now mute conversations to stop email and mobile notifications.
Moodle 3.7 also enables teachers to delete messages for everyone. Further, this update also provides a personal messaging space for each user to send themselves reminders or links.
This is a helpful feature especially for students who have a lot on their plate, and don’t want to miss out on anything due to the workload.
Other features include the ability to display extra information about courses through the use of new custom fields, and an upgraded security model with robust protection of your student data (Latest LTI Standard).
The Best Part?
This Thursday, we’ll be coming up with the Moodle 3.7 Compatible version of our very own user-centric theme – Edwiser RemUI.
Along with significant upgrades, this update will also feature World’s 1st Homepage Builder for Moodle – Edwiser RemUI Homepage Builder.
With this homepage builder, you’ll now be able to design your dream homepage, that too in a Snap!
