Moodle Frequently Asked Question
Moodle is the campus Learning Management System (LMS) or digital classroom. Faculty use Moodle to post assignments, host quizzes, deliver lessons, manage discussions, give feedback. Unlike the registration system, Moodle is focused only on teaching and learning.
• Pwani University Moodle can be accessed online form the PU website, through the Moodle mobile app, and directly at the URL https://soma.pu.ac.ke/
• Once you are on the Moodle homepage, look for the ‘Login’ block or click the ‘Login’ link in the upper right corner. If you have a small screen, the login in block will be located beneath the initial content in the center section.
• PU faculty members and students can log into Moodle using their PU corporate mail/ username and password.
• Remember your username is everything before the ‘@’ symbol in your email address.
• If you’ve forgotten your password or wish to update your password, seek assistance through Pwani University Help Desk
• Once you login, the courses in which you are currently enrolled and to which you currently have access will be listed:
• In your “My Courses” block in the left column (remember, if you have a small screen, it will be underneath the center section)
• In your “My Courses” list in the center of the page
Please contact the Pwani University Help Desk for assistance with login problems.
Please highlight the missing unit code and its title, then submit through Pwani University Help Desk for updating of your page.
Moodle will automatically log out a person who has been inactive for 60 minutes. The inactivity is determined by the server. We have found that when entering information into any edit box in Moodle, the server does not recognize that as activity and will log you out after an hour.
The server will recognize selecting the "Save changes" button in an assignment or the "Post to forum" button in a forum. We recommend that students select the appropriate button periodically when typing in an edit box of an assignment or forum to have the server recognize their activity. Students can then go back and continue entering information. Students can also write up their work in a word processor first then copy and paste the information into an assignment or forum edit box.
In our current computing environment, where many of the services we access are Web-based, you may find it useful to have more than one Web browser installed on your computer.
If you are a PC user, we recommended both Google Chrome and Firefox. The Moodle Gradebook has issues with Internet Explorer. With many students and grade columns, the students' name column does not align correctly. This does not occur with Chrome and Firefox.
If you are a Mac user, we recommended having both Firefox and Safari installed on your computer.
When using Moodle, we cannot guarantee that all course features will function in any other browser than what is listed.
General browser settings needed for Moodle:
• Enable Cookies
• Enable Javascript
• Do not block pop-up windows
Internet Explorer comes standard on a PC, while Safari comes standard on a Mac.
You can download Chrome at: Chrome: https://www.google.com/chrome/
For Firefox, visit the appropriate download link below to initiate the install:
Firefox PC: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-windows
HTML5 Extension for Windows Media Player Firefox Plug-in
(Install if Firefox is unable to play web videos.)
Firefox Mac: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-mac
• Click on your Name in the upper-right and click Switch role to…
• Click Student.
• The course will change to the view that the student sees.
• To switch back to the Teacher view:
• Click on your Name in the upper-right and click Return to My Normal Role
Can students self-enroll for courses?
No, the University does not support self-enrollment into Moodle course sites. Students are automatically added to a Moodle course site based on their enrollment in the portal.
Yes, the Moodle app is available for Android and IOS devices. Once downloaded
Provide the site address: https://soma.pu.ac.ke/
Use your PU Login Credentials
BigBlueButton recorded sessions are accessed by clicking a respective big blue button icon, recorded sessions will appear below the join session link.
Click on the link labelled presentation to view the session. The duration of the class is indicated on the time column on the extreme right