Moodle News | Course Formats

Course Formats

Format	MDL Version	Aesthetic Rating	Scroll of Death	Pros	Cons	Uses	Screenshot /Review
Collapsed	1.9, 2.x	4	Solved	Easy to use	NA	Any	[link]
Grid View	1.9/2.x	5	Solved	Automatic, easy to use, customizable images, topic content popups	NA	Any	[link]
Flex	1.9	5	Solved^	Unique layouts, unlimited possibilities, Blackboard contender, hierarchical design	Time intensive, not for the faint of heart	Higher education	[link]
OneTopic	2.x	5	Solved	Automatic, easy to use, customizable tab titles, persistent blocks	NA	Any	[link]
Project	1.9	3	Still there*	Extremely useful tools, automatically organized file directories, delete extra topic sections easily, section backup/restore (makes for easy sharing)	For students it will look just like the standard Topic format.	Course construction, resource sharing	[link]
SCORM	1.9, 2.x	4	Solved^	Simple straightforward design	Single use, single function, requires outside of Moodle course/asset development	Certifications, staff training	[link]
Social	All	3	Still there*	It’s a conversation	Limited design, hidden activities and resources	Book discussions, clubs, community forums	[link]
Tabbed	1.9	5	Solved	Animated, Automatic, easy to use	Blocks have their own tab	Any	[link]
Topic	All	2*	Still there*	Standard, easy to use, can be “hacked”, “Jump to…”	NA	Any	[link]
Weekly	All	2*	Still there*	Standard, easy to use, can be “hacked”, “Jump to…”	NA	Chronologically organized courses	[link]

^for flex page it’s solved but the opportunity for creating “scroll of death” pages is still there. For SCORM, it’s gone but only in the absence of other features.
*the “Jump to…” tool is a great way to mitigate a lengthy page view.

In addition there are various “cheats” or “hacks” that can be employed to create a more aesthetic course. For social the issue is that the volume of discussion will push down the page.