Show your Moodle course topics as Tiles using the Tiles course format plugin

Moodle – the world’s most popular learning management system in world, is highly flexible and modular in nature. Being modular is also one of the main reasons behind Moodle’s popularity across 300 Million users in 240+ countries. In this article, we will cover the Moodle Tiles Course Format plugin which displays course topics as “Tiles”.

The Tiles course format plugin is developed by David Watson and it is one of most actively maintained plugin for Moodle in recent years. It is also one of the most downloaded course formats Moodle plugin in last one year.

How to install Tiles Course format

To get started with the Tiles format plugin, you need to download it from the Moodle Plugins directory. Since, it is a Course format type Moodle plugin, you need to install it into your_moodle_site/course/formats  directory followed by completing the installation process through the Notifications page.

If you are not familiar with Moodle plugins installation, check out the complete Moodle Plugins Installation guide here.

Key Features of Tiles format

The tiles format plugin can help you to display the course section into tiles rather than a list. When clicked, tile content is displayed under the tile with an animated transition. The layout adapts to different screen sizes and orientations.

Activities and resources may be shown in sub-tiles format, or in standard Moodle list format, depending on the course setting applied by the teacher. For each tile, the teacher can pick an icon from a predefined set, or upload a background photo.

Here are the key features of Tiles Format plugin:

• Tiles are used to show course topics and activities
• Animation is used to expand tiles to reveal content
• Icons or photos on each tile increase visual appeal
• Modal windows (animated pop ups) to show content
• Colours for tiles are customisable
• Theme compatibility is broad (Boost, Clean, Essential, Moove and Adaptable).
• Easy to switch into Tiles from other formats (e.g. Topics, Grid) without changing course content
• User friendly (e.g. tile icons are provided and don’t need to be uploaded)
• Mobile responsive (adapts to different screen sizes and orientations)
• Progress shown on tile with % in a circle, or as a fraction

Once installed, you can change the format for any existing course easily or choose the Tiles format for any new course. The settings page is pretty simple and self explanatory, which is pretty easy for anyone who is conversant with Moodle LMS.  You can also choose any photo as the tile instead of the icon.

The plugin is very intuitive and can turn your Moodle course into an engaging course. You can also give it a try on your Moodle development site.

What are the other Moodle course formats which you are using? Do share with us in the comments section below.