Granite State College’s Online Courses often use modules and blocks to segment and break down the course learning and resources. Below is a typical Granite State College Online Course layout. Though some courses may differ, they all will have the same basic functionality. In this tutorial we will break down a typical GSC online course into segments with a brief explanation of each section.
Top Menu Bar
The top menu bar contains the course title, important links and an area to log in and log out.
- My Granite is your gateway to Granite State College’s online learning environment. Within this site, you will find important notices, personal information and other services offered to GSC learners. You can go to the Library, check student notices, check your grades and, of course, access your online and hybrid courses.
- GSC Library features library quick links, research databases and passwords, news from the library, access to LibGuides and an “Ask the Librarian” option.
- GSC Links provide a wide variety of learning resources such as Academic Resource Assistance, Academic Policies, Moodle FAQ’s, downloads, and links to GSC websites.
- WebRock is where you can register for classes, verify your course selection and schedule, pay your bill, check your financial status, view your final grades, and order your official GSC transcript.
- IT Service Desk provides you with resources, support and assistance to resolve technology related issues.
- Moodle Help provides resources to help you with questions regarding Moodle.
- Go.Granite Email links to your official Granite State College email login page
- Turnitin links to documentation for submitting Turnitin assignments and understanding the feedback in Turnitin.
Navigation Bar
The Moodle navigation bar shows a user the current context path, with links to the higher contexts. Note: the navigation bar is not a breadcrumb feature and does not always reflect the path followed by the user to reach the current page (Moodle.org).
Topic 0
The top section of a Moodle course (sometimes referred to as Topic 0) usually provides course administration information such as an announcements forum, one on one support forums, course syllabus, details on course major assignments and rubrics.
Blocks
Moodle uses Blocks to provide additional course information, navigation and resources. Instructors have the ability to use various types of Blocks but every GSC class will always have the blocks listed below.
- Activities lists and allows navigation between the different activities available in your course (Forums, Quizzes, Assignments, Checklists and so forth).
- Instructor provides students with the instructor’s contact information.
- Messages in Moodle is similar to using Instant Messaging (IM) that facilitates real-time communication when you are in your course.
- Resources includes a link to Try Turnitin and another for Video Tutorials and Guides.
- Administration includes links to Grades and Profile Information and Editing.
- Navigation includes My home, Site pages, My profile, Current Course and My courses. The Navigation block has links which can be expanded or collapsed. To view all your courses go to the Navigation block, click on the small triangle to the left of My courses which will open a drop down menu. A list of all your courses will be shown. Click on the course you would like to open to view that course.
- Research Help includes links to the Library.
Modules
Granite State College’s Online Courses use Modules as a means of breaking down or chunking course learning into smaller learning components. A module generally represents a week of learning and engagement in your online course.
Each Module includes:
- the Weekly Topic
- the Date Range
- the Weekly Overview
- Read, Review, Watch generally includes the content of the course, such as readings, web sites to review, videos to watch and more.
- Activities generally include items to be assessed, such as discussion forums, assignments, quizzes and exams, and more.