Themes

Just wondering whether a 'stop-gap' solution might be to upload a css file into the course summary files upload (you can set what file types are allowed, it doesn't only have to be images). Themes that already use that for course header images - that can already be done, and is in several themes, Lisa - could detect the file extension to see if its an image or a css file and treat it accordingly.

hmmm - will think about this while I'm on holiday in a few weeks and away from work

That has been the case, in any Moodle theme as far as I can recall, however not everone was party to that fact as it was not well documented.

As far as I can recall Richard was one of the first to write a renderer that used the Summary image and made it a header background. Marina Glancy actually made it easier to do this and was surprised that themes did not use that idea more often than they did.

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I'm with Emma here: Fordson does this in the course settings, but possibly not to the extent you may need.  Drag an image onto course files and it appears in two places

• in the course listing tiles.  This is cool.
  
• At the top of the course home page, but not as you expect.  It is partly masked by the header.  This is a feature, not a bug, as it give better screen space.  But it is a really nice option if you choose the image well.

I would be surprised if Adaptable doesn't have this.  https://moodle.org/plugins/theme_adaptable  They say "Background image uploader" but unsure it is is at a course level or site level.

It is a HUGE feature of Snap https://moodle.org/plugins/theme_snap I quote:

but they update their theme only about one version behind where Moodle is up to and this could be a show stopper.

Final comment: having used G Classroom with real students this term, I now think this is a great functionality for classes to have quick and easy ability to change images, post images of class activities.  Creates a real buzz.  But I want it to be gone when I'm displaying content.  I begrudge every pixel at the top that forces scrolling when I want students to be engaging in content and heavy duty thinking.

-Derek

Looks like Fordson is not available for 3.1, and Snap doesn't seem to work in our sandbox. It uploaded fine. I could see the settings in the admin. But when I tried to select as the theme from the course settings menu, and saved, I got 500 error page and no longer able to view that course. So  I deleted from the sandbox...

Hi Lisa,
Another way of allowing teachers some control over how a course looks, is to install and use the Generico filter. Some of the template bundle are really handy. For instance, you can personalize the course, content and activities by using the students first name, last name, both together, or user name. You can make a youtube live feed the page background. You can add accordian or tabs to include lots of info in a compact format. You can use toggle or formatted toggles to hide info or videos until the student clicks a button to expand and use them. There are also various countdown timers that make approaching "deadlines" stand out. Generico makes it very easy to add line and pie charts and there is a lot more it can do, too.

A search of the forums for Generico or Generico Showcase will give further examples. One really nice feature is the capability to swap filter templates via "bundles" many of which are already in the Moodle forums as attachments.