This article outlines some of the major changes students should be aware of implemented in the June 24th, 2023 update. 

Visual Changes Overview

The biggest change for eClass in June 2023 is the redesigned look. Most of the functionality for student access to their dashboard, course content, and their use of standard activities like forums, assignments, and quizzes remain the same. Our underlying LMS provider, Moodle, has undertaken a full design overhaul to make the site more modern and visually appealing with a focus on usability. The following video provides a short introduction to the new look of the site: 

Dashboard Changes

Collapsible blocks column: To maximize space on their dashboards, student can open or collapse the right-side blocks menu to create a cleaner view using the callout near the top right. Students can also re-arrange the order of their courses and hide courses by toggling Edit mode:

Header changes: The email link has been moved to an item underneath user's profiles:

Timeline view: Below the course list on the dashboard, students will now see a list of any standard activities (quizzes, assignments) that have scheduled due dates/times across all of their courses. These links can be used to navigate directly to the activity to complete them.

Course Interface Changes

Collapsible course content sections: With the new cleaner design in courses as well as the new look of the icons, content-heavy courses can feel a bit lengthy. New by default, students can now collapse the content of any or all the sections in the course to focus on the section(s) that they are currently working on.

Note: as this is a user-preference, instructors cannot set the collapsed/uncollapsed topics for students in a course.

Collapsible Blocks column: Just as they do on their dashboard, students now have the option of increasing the amount of their screen taken up to the center content column on their dashboards and within courses. This new user preference allows the right-hand blocks column to be hidden by clicking the 'x' near top right:

OR shown by clicking the callout:

Students should remember to check the blocks menus in all their courses to ensure that they are aware of any content added there.

Collapsible course index: Also within courses, students now have the option to display or hide a 'course index' that provides direct links to all the sections, content, and activities in a course, including completion status information.

Similar to sections in the main page, sections in the course index can be collapsed to focus on particular topics while closing the entire index can leave more screen area to focus on content within the course. Students should note that content embedded directly into the main course page will not display as links in the course index so students should avoid using only the links in the course index to access materials.

The course index shows students additional information about activities including completion tracking information if your instructor elects to: