University of Redlands
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New University of Redlands Theme

We're excited to announce a new optional theme for Moodle! This theme offers a range of exciting features.

To Change Your Moodle Theme

  1. In your course, click the Gear icon (upper right).
  2. Click Edit Settings.
  3. Under Appearance, change Force Theme to University of Redlands Theme.
  4. Click the Save and Display button at the bottom of the screen.

Screen Size + Blocks

For starters, laptop users can enjoy more screen real estate! The right-hand blocks automatically move to the bottom of the screen on smaller devices. As screen resolution has changed on devices, this was changed to allow faculty and students to see more of their course on the devices they use the most: laptops. (Note, the top image is the new theme and the bottom image is the previous theme).

University of Redlands Theme (New)

Course Page - New.png

Boost Theme (Previous)

Course Page - Previous.png

Activities + Visual Indicators

Links with this theme are easier to identify. Visual indicators (e.g. eye with slash, arrow pointing to hidden items, red text, etc) help faculty know what activities are hidden, and the gray bubbles provide a stronger indicator over the previous difference in font color. Colors also use high contrast ratios to improve visibility for students.

University of Redlands Theme (New)

Lesson 1 - New.png

Boost Theme (Previous)

Lesson 1 - Previous.png

Editing Tools + Buttons

When faculty Turn Editing On, the edit and group links will be easier to view as buttons. Every other row will highlight in light gray to easily identify corresponding activities.

University of Redlands Theme (New)

Edit Lesson 1 - New.png

Boost Theme (Previous)

Edit Lesson 1 - Previous.png

Course Edit Settings + Visual Layout

When faculty go into Edit Settings for the course, they will notice the names on the left appear in bold and rows alternate light gray to more easily identify separations in menu items.

University of Redlands Theme (New)

Edit Course Settings - New.png

Boost Theme (Previous)

Edit Course Settings - Previous.png

Benefits Most Users Won't Notice

  • WYSIWYG editing. Now the same styles you see in the editing textboxes match what gets displayed when you save.
  • Uniform appearance across all discussion forums, regardless of the forum type (i.e. Simple Discussion, Q&A, Each Person Posts One Discussion, etc).
  • A new way to add mechanics sections to assignments.
  • A new way to add block quotes.
  • Uniform bullets.
  • Font Awesome icons are used throughout Moodle on hidden courses, hidden activities, Book activities, My Media section, and gradebook. This helps users easily identify certain items.
  • Slightly wider Dashboard to accommodate course names
  • Slightly wider left-hand navigation to accommodate lesson names
  • High contrast color used for highlighting and identifying information.

Accessibility

While every effort has been made to further improve the accessibility of Moodle, we recognize there may be users in need of additional website accessibility on unforeseen items. We hope that you communicate any needs you may have with Academic Success & Disability Services so that we can improve those items and make your time at the U of R the best it can be.