FAQ - RWTHmoodle
You can get a short overview of RWTHmoodle in the following video:
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.
Please note: Always use a web browser on a PC or notebook for processing assessed work orders such as Assignments or Tests and ensure a stable Internet connection. |
Login
The RWTHmoodle learning platform is accessible via the URL:
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 status on Identity Management. You can see the entire system of the order on the following website:
https://help.itc.rwth-aachen.de/service/8d9eb2f36eea4fcaa9abd0e1ca008b22/article/202f65ff93794f418c182c0215a20599
The reference of the mail address on RWTHmoodle is dynamic - however, when the 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 are still not able to find your desired course room, then you should check on RWTHonline under "My Courses" wether you have received an "Assigned confirmed place" or not. A different registration status, for example like "Requirements met", does not include the access to a course room. Please consider that it can take some days after the confirmed place until you have access to the course room.
If you do not have access to the course room even though you have an assigned confirmed place, then please check wether the course has requested a RWTHmoodle course room: If a course room exists, you can find it by clicking on "e-learning course" on RWTHonline's detailed course view under "Further information". In case a RWTHmoodle course room does not exist, you will also not be able to find a link in the detailed view.
When you are waiting longer than 14 hours in order to get access to the course room on RWTHmoodle, even though you have an assigned confirmed place of a course with a e-learning room, then please contact the IT-ServiceDesk.
By questions regarding the "Assigned confirmed place" please directly contact the lecturer, as the inctitutes are managed independently.
Lecturers are automatically assigned authorization to a course room when they are listed as "Lecturer", "Contributor" or "RWTHmoodle administration" for a lectur or course. In case you do not have received the authorization, even though you are assigned a status, then please check wether your user-ID (in form of ab123456) is connected on the CAMPUS Organization Directory. For this, log into Selfservice (www.rwth-aachen.de/selfservice) of the RWTH and click on "RWTH Data". In case of a current connection, you will see next to "RWTH Entries" a blue check mark. If the check mark is missing, then the connection has to be repeated. The procedure is explained on the following webside: https://help.itc.rwth-aachen.de/service/8d9eb2f36eea4fcaa9abd0e1ca008b22/article/423cbf0cbf864961af2982bd75eb5497
Alternatively, a manager of the course room can athorize you manually.
People can only be searched and found on RWTHmoodle when they have a userrname (in form of ab123456). You can search for people by their first and last name as well as their contact mail address. Students can also be searched with their matriculation number. A search with the user-ID is not possible. Which mail address is given as a contact on RWTHmoodle depends on a specific system: https://help.itc.rwth-aachen.de/service/8d9eb2f36eea4fcaa9abd0e1ca008b22/article/202f65ff93794f418c182c0215a20599
It can happen that you cannot find your colleague with their official mail address. Perhaps because the personal mail address is used as a contact on RWTHmoodle instead of the official mail address. In this case, please contact the IT-ServiceDesk. We will help to find the person you are searching.
External persons can also use course rooms on RWTHmoodle, a status (e.g. student, employee, etc.) at the RWTH is herefore not necessary. There is currently no invitation procedure on RWTHmoodle in order to give external persons direct access into the course rooms. If you as a manager want to book an external person into the course room, then it depends wether the person is registered on the Identity Management and owns a username (in the form of ab123456) or not. If the person already has a username, for example from a previous study at RWTH, then he/she can be searched and added on the participant administration. If the person is not registered in the Identity Management of the RWTH, this must be done first. For this purpose, the RWTH partner procedure is suitable. External people can generate a username and then be added into the course room on RWTHmoodle.
As soon as PDFs are made available on a RWTHmoodle course room's "directory", they are automatically downloaded when you click on them (forced download). This is a basic setting of Moodle and cannot currently be changed by the RWTHmoodle team. Outside of directories, the way in which a PDF is displayed or downloaded depends on the browser settings.
In RWTHmoodle course rooms tutors are often assigned the role of "Tutor". They are not able to upload files or send notifications in the course room on their own. If you as a manager would like your tutors to have more permissions then you can set this up in the "Change permissions for tutors" section of the course room. Please note that you can not give tutors full permissions in the course room. If you want your tutors to have full permissions to work in the course room, you will need to assign the role of "Manager" to your tutors as well.
Please note: The role "Editing Tutor" has expired and cannot be reassigned since the winter semester 2020/21. |
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.
The number of views for videos are made available via the RWTH streaming server. Only one call is counted per current session. There is currently also a plug-in for viewing the usage statistics of individual activities and materials in the learning room in the pilot phase
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.
Occasionally, students receive the error message "Error loading video" when trying to play Opencast videos in the course room.
The problem occurs when content and videos have been imported into a new course romm from an old course room.
The managers of the course room import the videos into the new course room via the Opencast block.
However, if the videos were integrated into a material (such as a "text page") on the course page, then the manager has to renew this integration as well.
If the manager does not renew the integration, the embedded video still references the old course room. In this case, the managers can often play the video without any problems, but other course room users, such as students, cannot play the video. They then receive the error message shown above.
If the error described above occurs in a course room, then the course room manager (this is, for example, the responsible lecturer) must renew the integration of the videos in the course room. Students who observe the error should contact the responsible lecturer directly with this information.
Tip:
To prevent this from occurring in the future, we recommend embedding the videos on the course page using the "Video" activity and not using a material such as "Text Box" or "Text Page". If the video was integrated via the "Video" activity, there is no need to renew the integration on the course page when the videos are imported.