FAQ - RWTHmoodle

You can get a short overview of RWTHmoodle in the following video:

Introduction to RWTHmoodle

Users access RWTHmoodle via a web browser (client) on their PC/tablet/notebook. Any modern browser should work (IE 6 and older is not supported). The operating system of the client is not relevant. However, you may need special software to download and open certain file types from RWTHmoodle.

If you want to use RWTHmoodle on mobile devices, use the mobile Web page view in the browser or install the RWTHApp. The full functionality of RWTHmoodle is only available via the mobile Web view in the browser. The Web page uses a responsive design, that is, the design automatically adapts to smaller screen sizes. The RWTHApp currently only displays the course rooms and the files uploaded to them.

With Moodle Desktop, Moodle also offers an option that makes it easier to use Moodle offline. You can also find the official Moodle app in the relevant appstores. Both tools can also be used with RWTHmoodle, but are not supported by the IT Center and the CLS. If you have any questions about these tools, please contact the manufacturer Moodle Pty Ltd. directly.

Login

The RWTHmoodle learning platform is accessible via the URL:

https://moodle.rwth-aachen.de

This URL will lead you to the start page, on which you will be able to login via the Single Sign-On of the RWTH Aachen. For the registration, you need - as for RWTHonline - your central user name (e.g. ab123456) as well as the password for the RWTH Single Sign-On account.
You can change the password for this account in the Selfservice of the RWTH Aachen. In case you should not have access to the Selfservice, you can reset or ask for your user name and your password via the PasswordReset.

Access to the Course Rooms

If a lecture from RWTHonline uses a course room in RWTHmoodle, the application procedure will regulate who will get access to the course room.

Students will only get access to the course room, if they get a guaranteed place for the lecture in the application procedure. The status "Belegwunsch", "Verteilt" or "Voraussetzungen erfüllt" is not sufficient.

Guaranteed places will usually be allocated automatically. If, against all expectations, you have not yet gotten a guaranteed place, please turn to the chair which is responsible for the event. You will find the contact data in the details section of the lecture in RWTHonline.

After having received a guaranteed place, it may take until the following day until you have access to the course room. Should you not have access to the course room despite of a guaranteed place and waiting time, please contact the RWTHmoodle-Support at the IT-ServiceDesk.

The mail addresses that are deposed for RWTHmoodle user are subjected to a strict order and cannot be changed. Which mail address is used depends on the user's entry in the campus organization register, as well as their status on Identity Management. You can see the entire system of the order on the following website: https://help.itc.rwth-aachen.de/en/service/8d9eb2f36eea4fcaa9abd0e1ca008b22/article/202f65ff93794f418c182c0215a20599/

The reference of the mail address on RWTHmoodle is dynamic - however, when the campus entry or status changes, it can take a while until the mail address is adjusted.

This mail address will be used for the entire RWTHmoodle system, therefore it is not possible to change the mail address for individual rooms.

Therefore, check the system on Selfservice wether the correct mail address is used.

If the incorrect mail address is used, please contact the IT-ServiceDesk. In this case, studends should state if they are currently enrolled on a PhD, Bachelor or Master’s degree.

The course rooms are accessible on RWTHmoodle's Dashboard. If you are not able to see a desired course room, then you have to select "all" semesters on Dashboard, in order to see all your course rooms.

If you as a course room manager want to add an external person to your course room, you can invite the external person directly via the member administration of the course room. The external person will then receive a ConnectMe-coupon by e-mail. Upon redeeming the coupon, the person then gains access to your course room. As a manager, you can also view and manage the invitations sent from the course room yourself.

If an external person already has a user account at RWTH (e.g. from a previous study or employment at RWTH), you can authorize this person directly in the course room via the member administration. An invitation does not have to be issued in such cases.

Changes of course rooms can be tracked via the block "Latest Activities" in the dashboard and in each course room. In addition, you can also subscribe to so-called "System Messages" as web- or e-mail notifications for the activities "Forum" and "PDF Annotations".

The block "Latest Activities" in the dashboard automatically lists all updates which have been made for selectable periods. The block is also available within the individual course rooms and lists the course room specific changes. On small screens, the block is shifted to the middle of the page below the content section.

Beyond that, you can also subscribe to web- or e-mail notifications in the activities "Forum" and "PDF Annotations". You will be informed as soon as new questions or comments have been posted. The web notifications are shown behind the bell symbol in the top bar of the RWTHmoodle pages.

Other activities also send web- or e-mail notifications. However, here they serve more as a reminder or confirmation of submissions and bookings. Furthermore, in some activities the "Managers" of the course room decide whether a notification should follow or not. Then, in the settings for the "System Messages", the students can only determine the kind of notification they prefer.

In order to determine if you prefer web- or e-mail notifications, please follow the steps mentioned below:

• Click on the bell symbol in the top bar of the page. This will oben the system news.
• In the new window, click on the small gearwheel top right. This will open the settings page for the system messages.
• Activate the preferred form of notification for the shown activities and incidents. The settings will be immediately valid without the need of saving them. However, some settings are blocked and cannot be changed.

There are two ways for students to be authorized in course rooms. One possibility is that lecturers manually add students to the course rooms (they students then have the status "extra user"). The standard case, however, is that students register for a course in RWTHonline and receive a "confirmed place" ("Fixplatz") for this course. This will book them automatically into the corresponding course room in RWTHmoodle.

Students who are automatically booked via RWTHonline can only be removed from the course room if they would lose their confirmed place in RWTHonline (e.g. because they would deregister from the course).  Once a semester has ended, it is no longer possible to deregister from a course in RWTHonline. In RWTHmoodle, students remain booked for the course rooms of the previous semester. This is desired because students wish to continue to access the documents in the course room during the remaining period of their studies. The course room will remain for a total of three years.

If people have entered the course room via RWTHonline and the semester has already ended, the persons can no longer be removed from the course room. Persons who were booked manually can be removed from the course room manually at any time.

Lecturers can continue to use the course room after the semester is over, for example to inform students about a follow-up exam using the announcement forum. In this case, all participants in the course room would be informed by e-mail, including students who have already completed the course. In this case, the lecturers would have to be made aware of this. We at the IT Center have no influence on the contents and notifications of the course room. Alternatively, we recommend using inbox rules to control notifications in the mailbox.

This also affects students who have already exmatriculated: If students exmatriculate, they can still access the course rooms. Again, it is not possible to remove people from the course room if they have been booked into the course rooms via RWTHonline. Furthermore, for persons without a current status at RWTH, the contact e-mail address from the Selfservice is used for notifications. This can lead to the situation that exmatriculated persons receive notifications on their private e-mail addresses. Here, too, we recommend setting inbox rules.

Videos that were directly uploaded and integrated into an RWTHmoodle course room can be downloaded by students just as with any other files.