Body
This article includes Moodle vocabulary as well as some other VCC eLearning vocabulary (such as Kaltura and Banner).
Note: All links open in a new tab or window.
auto-enrolment - refers to the method by which users are enrolled into a Moodle shell and added to the participant's list.
auto-shell - a Moodle shell created automatically based on data that exists in Banner.
Banner - In the context of VCC Moodle, "Banner" refers to the Student Information System (SIS) piece of Banner software which manages student registration and instructor assignments to specific CRNs.
course format - defines how the sections or topics within your course are formatted and accessed. For example, you may want your sections to be organized with one section per week, and to show the current week-starting date in the title of each section. For this, use the Weekly format. Or, you might like to name your sections whatever you wish, and have them all closed like an accordion until the Student clicks to open the section they want to see. For this, you'd use the Collapsed Topics format. [Find out more]
course question bank - the question bank is where questions applicable to a course are stored for use in that course. Not all questions need to be used. Questions can be organized into categories and subcategories. WARNING!! Using the quiz bank is preferred over the course question bank because the quiz bank allows the copying of a quiz from one course to another, without also copying the entire course question bank with it. Course question banks can grow exponentially to the point that a course cannot be backed up and restored when necessary. See Quiz bank to compare the two.
CRN - a Course Reference Number, that identifies a unique section, or "class,"of a course offered at VCC.
block drawer - an area located in the right margin of a Moodle course shell page that holds blocks and can be open or closed in order to keep less-needed items "tucked away."
blocks - resources (and sometimes, but rarely, activities) that can be added to the "margins" of a Moodle course shell page.
dashboard - a page providing users with details of their progress and upcoming deadlines. The default dashboard includes a Timeline, Calendar and from the Block drawer, the Recently accessed items block. Quick access to Dashboard is also available from the site navigation at the top of the screen once logged in.
enrolled - assigned to a particular Moodle shell as a participant (see also registered for a comparison)
enrolment method - the way in which a user (student or teacher) is added as a participant to a Moodle shell. In most cases, the only acceptable enrolment method is now auto-enrolment.
gradebook - an umbrella term for several tools used to collect and calculate student grades. The gradebook tools includes the grader report, the user report.
grader report - a spreadsheet-like report page showing all enrolled students as well as their marks in all of the gradable items in the course. The grader report is one tool in the gradebook "toolbox." It is not visible to students.
Kaltura -
Moodle Academy - a learning hub for the global Moodle community, where you can learn all about Moodle with free online courses. Develop your career as a Moodle Educator, Administrator, Designer and Developer and learn all about online education with Moodle. Attend webinars. Complete courses.Enrol in programs. New to Moodle? Take the 1 hour Introduction to Moodle course to get started. [Find out more]
Moodle HQ - "Moodle Headquarters," refers to the main office of Moodle, the organization behind VCC's open-source learning management system (LMS). Moodle HQ is located in West Perth, Australia.
multi-CRN - a configuration that permits users from more than one CRN to access a single Moodle shell. This is ideal for instructors who are teaching multiple sections of the same class, as there is only one content shell to be managed. It is also a way to manage continuous intake enrolments. [Find out more]
My Courses page - a user's page that lists all of the Moodle shells in which that user is enrolled. Shells where access is granted based on a category assigned role, such as Manager, will not show up on the My Courses page.
registered - assigned to a CRN in Banner as a student (see also enrolled for a comparison)
participant - a user who is enrolled in a Moodle shell is a participant in that shell and will appear on the Participants list. This is different than someone assigned a role, such as Manager, at the category level. They are not considered to be participants.
question bank - a feature that allows teachers to create, store, and manage questions for use in quizzes and other activities within a Moodle course.
quiz bank - a smaller, self-contained question bank where questions that only apply to a specific quiz are stored for use in that quiz. Like the course question bank, not all questions need to be used. Using the quiz bank is preferred over the course question bank because it allows the copying of a quiz from one course to another, without also copying all of the course question bank with it. See Course question bank to compare the two.
restore - the process of using a backup to create or change a Moodle shell, or part of a Moodle shell.
restore into - the process of using a backup to update an existing Moodle shell, or part of that shell. The restore process can merge content or replace existing content, based on choices made during the process.
retention period - the period of time that certain types of data are kept on the Moodle server. VCC's retention period for Moodle course shells is currently (at Dec 2024) three years past the end date of a course.
role - a collection of permissions that define what a user can and cannot do within a specific context, such as a course or an activity. Roles are used to control access and capabilities for different users. Some roles in Moodle are Student, Teacher, Manager, and Administrator.
shell - a "container," within Moodle that holds content - usually a course, but sometimes a program, a practice space, or resources for a group of users. You could think of it like a little website within the larger VCC Moodle website. Special note: Use of this term seems to be an American, or maybe a Canadian thing, but isn't used by Moodle HQ (Headquarters). [Find out more]
teacher - Moodle's term for an instructor
section (Banner) - in the context of Banner, this refers to a specific "class" of a course offered at VCC. For example, one group of students may be taking the section of MATH 1001 offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays while another group of students take a different section offered on Mondays and Wednesdays. In this context, sections are identified with 3 digits. Currently, Moodle does not use these section numbers and therefore you will not see them there.
section (Moodle) -in the context of Moodle, sections (previously called Topics) are simply a way of organizing your online classroom content. For example, content could be organized by topic, units, days or weeks.
suspended - in the most common context, this is the status given to an enrolment that was created from a Banner registration but then that registration was removed for some reason. If the reason for this is unknown the student should visit the Registrar's Office to inquire.
TeamDynamix (a.k.a. "TDX") - a web-based "helpdesk" platform for IT service and information management. VCC uses TDX to provide self-service help and documentation to VCC users on topics including information technology, office applications, and online learning technologies. [Find out more]
term - a period of time, identified by 6 digits including the year, where courses are delivered based on the START date of the course. There are 3 terms per year for base classes and another 3 for Continuing Studies (CS) classes. These terms coincide with Winter, Spring/Summer, and Fall. For example, in 2025, the base terms would be 202540 (Winter), 202560 (Spring/Summer), and 202570 (Fall) and for Continuing Studies (CS) they would be 202591 (Winter), 202592 (Spring/Summer), and 202593 (Fall).