Lab- Course Preparation Checklists

Pre-Semester Check List

  1. Send completed syllabus to your Peer Support Team Member, using the course syllabi template.
  2. Open your Moodle course.
  3. Post a welcome announcement to your students in Moodle.
  4. Set weekly reminders to complete the Attendance/Engagement module in Moodle for each course.

Checklist for your Moodle Course

These are things that ALL courses should have in their Moodle course, regardless of the modality.

  • Welcome features
    • Welcome Announcement
    • Welcome video
    • Resource (video, text, or during one-to-ones) that provides a brief tour of the course space (Moodle) to help students understand what it is and how you view/lay it out
  • Updating all dates/due dates. Places to check include:
    • Syllabus
    • Due Dates listed in Moodle (such as assignments)
    • Documents linked within Moodle (such as guidelines)
    • Moodle Weekly Sections include dates
  • Functional links:
    • Including in placeholder spaces where generic content needs to be replaced with your content (e.g. the syllabus or one-on-one meeting requests)
    • Any materials that you link out to that sit outside the course
    • Any links within documents that you include links (e.g. syllabus or in description areas).
  • Content has a self-evident flow and is clearly explained
    • Section headers are clear and materials provided in them are relevant
    • Each week has an Agenda that highlights all the expectations of the week
    • Clearly identify the destination of a link so that users know where they will be taken if they click.
    • Content includes relevant information to guide students in approaching the material:
      • Clear title and where relevant author
      • Videos/audio include time-duration
      • Textual readings include estimated reading time.1
      • Files that students download have a consistent and clear naming convention (e.g. “Author Last Name – Document Title.pdf”)
    • No superfluous materials
    • Non-essential or supplemental materials are clearly identified.
  • Accessibility materials:
    • Alternative text is provided for all images and graphics. (Learn about Alt-Text here)
    • Text transcripts are provided for all audio.
    • Captions are provided for all videos.
    • Audio and video are clear. If significant distortions occur (sound inconsistent; excessive flashing on the screen), provide a content warning
    • In documents, use text formatting styles provided. (Learn about accessible documents and text formatting styles here)
    • Tables are kept small. Large tables are broken into multiple smaller tables.
    • All external content linked to from within the course should also be accessible.
  • Gradebook is set up
    • Assignments and activities are in the gradebook
    • When using categories, making sure they are present and properly weighted
    • Graded items are listed in chronological order from top to bottom (within categories). E.g. Week 1 Discussion is above Week 2 Discussion which is above Week 3 Discussion.