How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Stephen Gomersall -
Number of replies: 8

Over night, my page has updated (maybe to 3.11 - I'm not sure).

For each activity, there is now a green/grey button saying complete or not. I can remove these in the settings, but if I remove the old tick boxes do not reappear?

This takes way too much space on the students phones - there are over 50 activity per course page.

How can I either show the tick boxes or revert to previous version? I'm not tech savvy, just started using Moodle in Myanmar with the current situation as schools are closed, so please don't make the instructions complicated ;)

Thanks in advance!

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In reply to Stephen Gomersall

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Stephen Gomersall -

I found this on another thread, but have no idea how to make this edit - or if it is even possible. I pay the standard to cost to Moodle for the basic server access, so is it even possible ot edit?

I've just started advocated for a network of learning centers along the border and in refugee camps to start to use Moodle as the core of their learning system. A colleague suggested this was wrong as I had no control over what changes would be made, and now I'm wondering if he was right and it would be better to employ someone to build a purpose designed system.

This change is terrible for the students, they are now left scrolling endlessly, for something that doesnt help them, or I can turn off completely and they are lost. As many others have said, the check boxes were a great feature!

Attachment Screenshot (230).png
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In reply to Stephen Gomersall

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Joost Elshoff -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Hi Stephen,
I gather you're using MoodleCloud to host your Moodle site and service, from what you described. The features you're talking about are meant to be a UX improvement and are probably the most visible improvements in Moodle 3.11 (https://docs.moodle.org/311/en/Activity_completion).

There is an option in your course's settings (cogwheel > edit settings > completion tracking section) where you can turn off displaying the conditions to complete on the course page:

If you have access to (part of) site administration, you can also go to Site admin > Courses > Course default settings and disable this for future courses:


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In reply to Joost Elshoff

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Stephen Gomersall -
Thanks Joost

I already tried that, but then the students can't see what they have/haven't completed.

I'm looking for a way to go back to the old format with the check boxes at the right side, rather than this new layout which is unusable. I've had so many complaints today.

Yes, I'm using Moodle Cloud, and add plugins is disable so the compressed plug in mentioned in other threads doesnt work.

Any other suggestions?
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In reply to Stephen Gomersall

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Joost Elshoff -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
hi Stephen,
Rolling back to previous versions of Moodle, whether in MoodleCloud or hosted elsewhere, unfortunately isn't an easy thing if at all possible. The best way to go about this, is to look for an alternative design using the tools that are available to you.

I checked to see which plugins you have available in MoodleCloud, that may be of interest:
Checklist activity - this can be set up to display all activities being tracked for completion, so your students can see where they are progress-wise
Course completion (settings and block) - as a student, you can open a report listing all the conditions and their statuses for completing the course

The human side of change management is a daunting task, I can tell from experience. People don't always appreciate change, especially when it comes as a total surprise, so I understand where your students are coming from. But... I expect the MoodleCloud / HQ team to have given you a heads up about the upcoming upgrade to Moodle 3.11 somewhat in advance, so admins have had the time to prepare for it.

The best thing to do, is probably this:
Take a moment to accept rolling back isn't an option, and then make a plan to answer the following question: How do I optimize the new tools and interfaces I have to help my students understand what they're doing in Moodle?

If your students are so focused on keeping track of their progress, then modify your course's design to provide them this information through the Checklist activity and/or the Course completion block.
If your students have lost their way around your course page, take the time to setup some User tours (if you have access to them under site admin > Appearance) to point out how the new version of Moodle works.

And if you have some time available, you could even go as far as adding some Label resources to your course, setup through Restrict access, to only become visible once a specific activity has been completed.

If you have the means ($$), you may want to reach out to a Moodle Partner close to where you are operating, for more hands-on support than these rather general recommendations.
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In reply to Joost Elshoff

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Stephen Gomersall -
Hi Joost

Thank you!

On the one hand that is very helpful, but on the other, very disappointing.

I selected Moodle and have been putting 100s of hours in each month on creating a demo site that can be show cased to dozens of other learning centers along the border and in refugee camps, one of which has already invested in their own site. Whilst your suggestion make sense, they defeat the object of being simple and cheap.

In my site, I am the Director/Teacher/Admin/ICT support. Schools in developing nations simply can't afford multiple people - my own salary isn't much more than the annual Moodle Cloud subscription!

Creating additional tasks such as activity completion would detract from the idea of being simple, and paying is out of the question when the average salary of a teacher is less than $3 per day.

If this is a sign of how Moodle will interact - no there was no warning of the change - then a rethink seems to be in order and maybe switching to Google Classroom before too much time and effort is invested.

But I do thank you for your suggestions.
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In reply to Stephen Gomersall

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Sarra Lev -
I'm also very frustrated with this. As someone who has a disability in their hands, scrolling is very difficult, and this has made me have to do endless scrolling. My students really want the activity completion boxes back as well. I don't understand why we don't have a choice.
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In reply to Sarra Lev

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Randy Thornton -
Picture of Documentation writers
All,

Anyone who wants this problem resolved and the old checkbox interface restored as an option please VOTE up and add comments to this Tracker issue: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-71856.

This is very important to do!

Thanks.
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In reply to Randy Thornton

Re: How to undo the changes and show tick boxes?

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Randy, I chatted with Rafael earlier this week, and he showed me some of what Sander has posted on the Tracker item. It's a small step forward, but I don't think it solves the need, and I believe moving a visual icon to the Nav Drawer creates a bigger mess, as others have noted. I will be posting a few more ideas to the Tracker item soon.
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