Training Overview

Introduction

Moodle is an open-source Learning Management System, commonly called an LMS, used by schools, universities, training centers, companies, and public sector organizations to deliver online learning. It allows teachers and administrators to create courses, manage users, publish learning materials, collect assignments, conduct quizzes, track completion, and generate reports.

This one-day training introduces the essential concepts and daily administration tasks needed to support a Moodle site. The focus is not Moodle development. Instead, the training gives technical staff a practical foundation for understanding how Moodle works, where important administrative settings are located, and how to maintain a healthy Moodle environment.

This training is designed for you if you already understand general IT concepts such as users, servers, databases, files, backups, web applications, and scheduled jobs, but who are still new to Moodle administration.

By the end of the day, you should be able to explain Moodle’s major components, perform common site administration tasks, recognize technical dependencies such as the database and moodledata directory, and follow a basic troubleshooting workflow when issues occur.

Training Objectives

After completing this training, you should be able to:

1. Understand the basic architecture and components of Moodle.
2. Perform essential Moodle administration tasks.
3. Recognize key technical components such as the database, cron, and moodledata.
4. Understand common factors affecting Moodle performance.
5. Explore Moodle customization through themes and plugins.
6. Apply basic maintenance and troubleshooting practices.

Expected Outcomes

You should leave the training with the ability to:

• Navigate the Moodle administration interface with confidence.
• Describe the difference between Moodle application files, the database, and the moodledata file storage area.
• Create and manage users using basic manual administration methods.
• Explain the basic idea of roles and permissions.
• Identify course management tools and common learning activities.
• Understand why cron is important for background processing.
• Recognize basic causes of Moodle performance problems.
• Describe how themes, plugins, and integrations extend Moodle.
• Use a simple checklist for routine maintenance.
• Approach common Moodle issues using a structured troubleshooting method.

Prerequisites

You should have beginner to intermediate technical knowledge. You do not need to be a Moodle developer.

Recommended prerequisites include:

• Basic understanding of web applications.
• Familiarity with using an administrator dashboard or control panel.
• Basic knowledge of users, roles, and permissions.
• General awareness of databases, web servers, and file storage.
• Basic command-line awareness is helpful but not required.
• Experience supporting users in an IT or helpdesk environment is helpful.

You do not need:

• PHP programming experience.
• Moodle plugin development knowledge.
• Advanced Linux administration experience.
• Advanced database tuning experience.

Training Agenda

Time	Session	Main Focus
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM	Module 1: Introduction to Moodle	LMS concept, Moodle ecosystem, use cases, architecture
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM	Module 2: Moodle Administration Basics	Site administration, users, roles, courses, activities
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM	Break	Refreshment break
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM	Module 3: Understanding Moodle Technical Components	Directory structure, database, moodledata, cron, backend workflow
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Lunch	Lunch break
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM	Module 4: Performance and Optimization Overview	Server resources, cache, database, optimization basics
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Module 5: Customization and Extensibility	Themes, plugins, integrations, branding
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM	Module 6: Maintenance and Troubleshooting	Maintenance checklist, monitoring, common issues, troubleshooting workflow
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM	Q&A	Final questions, recap, next steps

How to Use These Trainee Notes During Hands-On Training

Use this document as your step-by-step reference while the live training is happening:

1. Read the learning objectives before each module so you know what skill you are practicing.
2. Follow the guided demonstration in a non-production Moodle site whenever access is available.
3. Complete the hands-on steps in the order shown by the module or topic notes.
4. Record your own site names, role names, URLs, policy constraints, and support contacts in the margins or in a copy of these notes.
5. Pause before changing settings and identify the expected result, validation check, and rollback action.
6. After each module, write one action you can safely apply in your own Moodle environment.

Recommended hands-on balance:

• 60% observe and understand: Watch the workflow, connect the screen actions to the underlying Moodle concept, and ask clarifying questions.
• 30% follow along: Repeat selected administration tasks in the training site.
• 10% reflect and record: Capture questions, local policy differences, and next actions for your support role.

---