KB1337 - Using Moodle's Microsoft block

Adding the Microsoft block to your Moodle course opens up the potential to use a number of Microsoft o365 and Teams features with your Moodle course.
(Note: This is an advanced feature! Strong familiarity with Moodle, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams should be a minimum requirement before using this block.)

What is the Microsoft Block?

The Microsoft block is a third-party Moodle add-on from Microsoft that helps Instructors connect their Moodle experience to Office365 services.

Specifically, it allows for these scenarios within Moodle:

• Allowing Moodle course enrollees to access their OneDrive files directly.
  (For a full tutorial, see KB1294 - Using Moodle's Microsoft 365 repository)
• Creating a companion Teams class space to work alongside a Moodle course.
  (For a full tutorial, see KB1329 - Getting a companion Team for a Moodle course)

Why to use the Microsoft Block

Direct access to OneDrive files for use in Moodle

• One source file immediately updates multiple published locations:
  A group of Nursing instructors may have been collaborating on development of a medical terminology document for a number of courses their program will be offering. The master file that everyone has been editing is located inside a shared OneDrive folder. The terminology document may end up being used in multiple offerings of a common medical terminology course taught by multiple instructors, and the instructors running each course may change from term to term. In the past, any updates made to the master document would need to be uploaded manually into all the variations of Moodle courses which use that same terminology document. It can be challenging to track which courses need the new document added, and where in each course the document is located.
  By adding a OneDrive-connected file into the Moodle course, an active link back to the original OneDrive master document is made (instead of a file upload). Any changes made to the master document in its OneDrive location by any of its authors will automatically appear in the Moodle courses to which it was added.
• Accessing files that are too large to upload into Moodle:
  If a file is larger than Moodle's 250 Mb file upload limit, you may not be able to upload it into your Moodle course. However, creating a "linked" connection to the file in your OneDrive folder may let you include it in your Moodle course without hitting the file size limit or waiting for a big upload to complete.
• More examples are available in KB1294 - Using Moodle's Microsoft 365 repository

Create a Teams Class as a companion learning space for a Moodle course

• Hospitality Instructor Jane wants to enhance student collaboration in her blended business classes, so she decides to use MS Teams to provide collaborative learning opportunities. Her business students will use Teams after graduation in their careers, and some have already used Teams during their secondary school coursework, prior to entering college. By integrating an MS Teams Class with her Moodle course, she can provide her students with one-click access to more interactive and collaborative learning. This makes it easier for her Students to communicate and work together in real time, to share documents, to discuss ideas, and to ask Jane questions during their scheduled online meetings.
• Learn more in KB1329 - Getting a companion Team for a Moodle Course

Adding the Microsoft block

The Microsoft block is added via the "Add a block" option, located at the top of Moodle's Blocks drawer. Once added, the block is visible to both Moodle Teachers and Students.

If you've never used this block before, it will initially show that your Moodle user account has no connection to any Microsoft services:

Once you connect your account or your course to Microsoft 365 services, the Microsoft block will reflect the connection(s).
Here's how the Microsoft block looks after you create an active OneDrive connection (on the left), and after the Moodle course has had a companion Team activated by the Moodle Instructor (on the right):

Moodle User connected for OneDrive:	Moodle Course connected to companion Team:

Caveats and Interoperability

The OneDrive and Teams connections provided through this block are neither mutually reliant nor mutually exclusive: you can use the OneDrive connection without using the Team connection, or vice-versa, or you can use both at the same time. A Moodle course enrollee might decide to connect to their o365 account in order to access their OneDrive files, and an Instructor may create a companion Team for their Moodle course without establishing any file connection to OneDrive.