Chapter 2. Finding our way around (Navigation and Blocks)

In this chapter we'll investigate how moving around courses, course sections, and activities has changed in Moodle 2 with the introduction of "dockable" blocks. We'll look at how a user's My Moodle page is now an integral part of the navigation and will take a look at changes to the navigation bar (breadcrumb trail). After that, we'll focus on the side blocks, considering the increased freedom a user has to position blocks in courses, on activity pages, or throughout the site.

Meet the cast

The site used in this book contains two courses we'll be referring to in subsequent chapters. The teachers of these courses and one of their students will assist us in discovering the new features of Moodle 2.0. Let's meet them now:

Meet the cast

Emma

She is just out of high school and has signed up as a student to both courses on our Moodle. She will allow us to see the changes from a student's point of view.

Martin

He is keeping an eye on both courses with the new "Manager" role in Moodle 2.0.

Stuart

He is a teacher of the "French for Beginners" course and will enable us to see course navigation and management from a teacher's perspective. He is very interested in controlled progression through a course and so will feature particularly in Chapter 6, Managing the Learning Path

Andy

He is a teacher of the "How to Be Happy" course and at the same time a student in the "French for Beginners" course. We'll follow him as he sets up collaborative learning activities.