Access to Moodle for Teaching Assistants

This page reviews basic information on getting Teaching Assistants access to a Moodle course.

About Teaching Assistants (TAs) in Moodle

Your TA must be listed in SPIRE as a Teaching Assistant in order to have access to your Moodle course. By default, TAs automatically receive access to Moodle in the role of Non-editing teacher. As the name suggests, Non-editing teachers cannot edit Moodle pages. They have the same access as students to post files and contribute to forums and activities. They can also access and grade student submissions, but they cannot add or edit Moodle resources or activities.

If you also need a TA to upload materials and add activities to your Moodle course, see Add Course Designer Role for a TA below. To allow a TA to manage the Moodle gradebook (not just grade student submissions), see Add Full Gradebook Access for a TA.

For a guide to role capabilities, see Role Permissions in Moodle.

Your Graduate TA Needs Access to Moodle

1. If your TA cannot access your Moodle course, confirm with the Academic Scheduling Representative in your department that the TA is listed in SPIRE as a:
   
   • Teaching Assistant if your class is a lecture or seminar with no discussion sections/labs.
   • Primary Instructor if your TA is in charge of a separate discussion/lab.
   Note: The process of listing graduate TAs in SPIRE may take three (3) business days or longer. 
2. Once Moodle is updated with the latest information from SPIRE, your TA will automatically be enrolled in your course as a Non-editing teacher.

Your Undergraduate TA Needs Access to Moodle

Undergraduate TAs, some "unofficial TAs", and undergraduate and graduate students who assist with limited course activities (e.g., grading) receive access to Moodle only after they are listed as LMS Only in SPIRE.

1. Send the names & SPIRE IDs of your undergrad TAs to the Academic Scheduling Representative in your department. You may use an email or use the TA Request Form.
2. Ask the student to take the FERPA Certification Quiz and sign the FERPA agreement in SPIRE. Directions can be found in SPIRE under Student Home > TA FERPA Agreement.
3. Your Academic Scheduling Representative will be able to add your TA to the class a couple of hours after the student takes the FERPA certification quiz.
4. Once Moodle is updated with the latest information from SPIRE, your TA's role will change to Non-editing teacher.

Add Course Designer Role for a TA

As an instructor, you are able to expand your TAs abilities. Adding the role of Course Designer for TAs will allow them to upload files, create pages, create and edit Moodle activities, and adjust some course settings. For a comprehensive list of Course Designer and Non-editing teacher permissions, see Roles in Moodle. Note: You can only add or remove roles that were added manually in the course. You cannot remove roles added via SPIRE.

1. In your Moodle course, select Participants tab. The Participants page will open.
2. Locate your TA in the list of enrolled users. For a large class, use the Match filter above the table:
   
   1. Leave the first Match drop-down set at Any (default).
   2. From Select drop-down, select Roles.
   3. From Type drop-down, select Non-editing teacher . Non-editing teacher appears at right as a selected filter.
   4. Select Apply filters (at right). The table will change to show only Teaching Assistants.
   If a TA does not appear in the list, see the instructions above on how to add them to your Moodle course.
3. In the Roles column, click the pencil icon (, to the right of the TA's name) to edit their role. A drop-down menu of possible role options will appear and roles can be selected from the menu. Select Course Designer. Course Designer is added for your TA (in addition to Non-editing teacher).
4. Optional: To remove a role you added, click the X before the role you wish to remove in the Roles column.
5. Important! Click the Save Changes icon () to indicate that you've made a change that needs to be saved. Moodle will not save the new role otherwise.

Add Full Gradebook Access for a TA

Adding the role of TA-Manage gradebook will give a TA full access to the gradebook, including setting up categories or calculations and exporting data.
Note: You can only add or remove roles added manually in the course. You cannot remove roles added via SPIRE.

To add the TA-Manage gradebook role for a TA:

1. In your Moodle course, if the Navigation tray is not open, select the hamburger button, top left, to toggle the tray open.
2. In the Navigation tray, select Participants. The Participants page will open.
3. Locate your TA in the list of enrolled users. For a large class, use the Match filter above the table:
   
   1. Leave the first Match drop-down set at Any (default).
   2. From the Select drop-down, select Roles.
   3. From Type drop-down, select Non-editing teacher. Non-editing teacher appears at right as a selected filter.
   4. Select Apply filters (at right). The table will change to show only Teaching Assistants.
   If a TA does not appear in the list, see the instructions above on how to add them to your Moodle course.
4. In the Roles column, click the pencil icon (, to the right of the TA's name) to edit their role. A drop-down menu of possible role options will appear and roles can be selected from the menu. Select TA-Manage gradebook. TA-Manage gradebook is added for your TA (in addition to Non-editing teacher).
5. Optional: To remove a role you added, click the X before the role you wish to remove in the Roles column.
6. Important! Click the Save Changes icon ().  Moodle will not save the new role otherwise.

Graduate Students Teaching a Lecture or Seminar

Graduate students teaching a lecture or seminar (not an associated discussion section or lab) are considered Primary Instructors in SPIRE. Primary Instructors can request a Moodle course in SPIRE and are enrolled in Moodle in the Teacher role.
Note: Graduate students cannot be Primary Instructors for classes numbered 500 and above.

If you are a graduate student teaching a lecture or seminar:

1. Make sure you are listed as the Primary Instructor for your class in SPIRE.
   Note: If you are not the Primary Instructor, your class will not appear on your list of Moodle-eligible classes in SPIRE. To be added as the Primary Instructor, contact the Academic Scheduling Representative in your department.
2. In SPIRE’s Main Menu, go to Faculty Home > Moodle Course Request. The Step One: Choose from Eligible Sections page will open.
3. For more on requesting a Moodle course, see Request a Moodle Course Through SPIRE.