Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
Number of replies: 13
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

Our school has transitioned to Moodle 4.1.

I've encountered an issue with access restrictions during the first quiz of this fall term. It appears that they no longer function as they did in Moodle 3x.

This has led to some confusion in class (and has also caused my blood pressure to rise a bit smile).

This morning, I had to finally open the quiz for both groups in my class, who normally take the quiz at different times. The students from the second group were a bit confused and weren't sure if they should take it this morning or wait until tomorrow morning, as originally planned.

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
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Sandbox 4.2

Three different views of the same quiz, three different access restrictions. I'm just curious, is this considered normal behaviour? smile


As viewed by the teacher (and corresponding correctly to the question settings):

MoodleForum_20231002_1421.png

As viewed by the teacher after switching role to student:

MoodleForum_20231002_1422.png

As viewed by the student:

MoodleForum_20231002_1423.png

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
My guess is that you have put yourself, i.e., the instructor, into both Groups 1 & 2. If so, this is normal.
 
What do you think is odd?
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Emma Richardson -
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So why did you have to open it up manually? Did it not open on it's own?
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

Thank you, Rick and Emma, for your responses.

Rick, no. The exact same quiz was functioning correctly in Moodle 3.9.

I was hoping that someone actually using access restrictions with Moodle 4.1 could relate to my post.

Initially, the access restrictions feature was very well done. It had a logical flow and worked flawlessly. Congratulations to the person who created it.

Unfortunately, since it was modified, it no longer functions correctly, to the extent that it has become unusable.

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Emma Richardson -
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Oh, I think I finally figured out what you didn't like and that is the way the restrictions are listed - that is confusing. So the student is in group 1 and so it only shows the restrictions that still apply to them.  I don't think that is a change in the quiz but more a change in the viewing of restrictions, though I am not even sure that is true because you wouldn't ever see a restriction if it didn't apply to you.  
Or did the quiz not open when you expected it to?
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In reply to Emma Richardson

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
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Hi Emma,

You won't believe it, but it was actually a bit worse than I initially said. I had two quizzes scheduled on a specific section, and the second quiz just refused to show up at all. It's been working flawlessly for years, so it really caught me by surprise.

However, I've come to see this as a positive turn of events. I've realized that having two different time periods for the two groups isn't really necessary. Since the quizzes are online, it doesn't bother me if students choose to take them at their convenience. So, I've simply set a two-day window during which students from either group can complete the quizzes. This way, I'm keeping things straightforward and flexible for everyone. smile
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In reply to Emma Richardson

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

I'd be happy to open a Tracker issue, but it's not always an enjoyable experience. You have to pinpoint exactly what's wrong, even when it seems obvious: just testing the functionality makes it immediately clear that it's not working. It can feel like we're on trial when we have to make our case. I just wish I could simply say, "The access restrictions aren't working as they should, could you please check?"

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Emma Richardson -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers
Yes, but without a tracker item, nothing will change. Perhaps there is one already. You do need to be clear though because until now, I did not really understand what the actual issue was...
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
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No, there isn't a Tracker for this issue. Alright, I'll create a new one.

what the actual issue was...
There are many issues. To sum it up, nothing seems to be working properly. For instance, in the screenshots above, the restrictions displayed to the students should match what the teacher sees. Please don't tell me that this is normal.
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Sara Arjona Téllez -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
Hi Dominique!

Thanks for reporting this. However, looking at the code and testing it with the latest version in the Moodl 3.9 branch, I've been able to confirm that this behaviour hasn't changed since then. The summary to understand how the description of restrictions works is that:
  • Teachers always see all the restrictions.
  • Students only see the requirements they don't meet.

I'll try to explain the current behaviour from Moodle 3.9 onwards (the only modification done between the Moodle versions is the way this description is displayed, but the content is exactly the same in all the versions).

  • If you create an activity with several restrictions, like Group and Profile, the teacher will see all of them:
    Activity restrictions with Group and Profile fields
    Restrictions as teacher
  • However, the student will only see the restrictions that they don't meet (in that particular case, the student belongs to Group 1 and has s1@moodle.invalid as their email address):
    Restrictions as student

  • If the previous restrictions are updated to change the Profile one with "contains @", then teachers will still see it in the description:
    Edit restrictions to change Profile to "contains @"Restrictions as teacher


  • But students with proper email address won't see it anymore (as they meet this restriction):
    Restrictions as student without email contains


I hope this message helps to clarify the current behaviour. If you think this behaviour should be changed, feel free to raise an issue in the tracker to let the UX team to take a look and decide whether this should be changed/improved or not: https://moodledev.io/general/development/tracker

Kind regards from Barcelona,

Sara

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Emma Richardson -
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As Sara explained it, that is how it has always worked and, in my opinion, should work. It makes sense to only show those students the restrictions that they still need to meet. I am sure if maybe you had a clash in restrictions which was why the quiz did not open the second time - that part would concern me and I would have to test that. You could also just hide the quiz altogether until the restrictions are met.
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Dominique Bauer -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

Hello Emma and Sara,

Perhaps I may have been a bit hasty in my conclusions. In the future, I will make sure to clearly state an issue in the Tracker... if there's a need.

Thank you for having taken the time to consider my question. I truly appreciate it.

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Access restrictions in Moodle 4...

by Sara Arjona Téllez -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
Hi Dominique!
Thanks for confirming that the current behaviour is OK. I think it's great you raised this topic (because I'm sure there are more people with the same doubts!). So please, keep sharing your thoughts here wink
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