Moodle Learning Management System Administration Training Course

Course overview

Moodle administrators are expected to keep learning services available, secure and easy to use while responding to requests from L&D teams, instructors, IT and learners. Poorly configured roles, inconsistent course templates, unmanaged enrolment methods and untested upgrades can create support backlogs, expose learner data or disrupt mandatory training. This course equips participants to administer Moodle as an operational learning platform rather than simply create courses within it.

Participants work through Moodle’s administration interface to configure site settings, authentication and enrolment workflows, roles and permissions, course categories, cohorts, completion tracking, badges, reports and notifications. They learn to design repeatable course provisioning standards, diagnose common access and configuration faults, manage plugins responsibly, and plan backups, restores and version upgrades. Practical attention is given to aligning Moodle settings with organisational learning processes such as onboarding, compliance assignment, manager reporting and instructor self-service.

Instruction combines guided demonstrations with hands-on administration in a Moodle sandbox. Participants configure a multi-department learning site, resolve realistic support tickets, build reporting views and test recovery procedures. By the end of the week, each participant leaves with a Moodle Administration Runbook containing a site configuration checklist, role matrix, enrolment workflow, backup and upgrade plan, support triage process and prioritised improvement actions for their own organisation.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure Moodle site settings, course categories and default course formats for a structured learning catalogue
• Create roles and permission overrides using Moodle capability assignments and a documented role matrix
• Implement authentication, self-enrolment, manual enrolment, cohort synchronisation and guest access methods
• Build completion tracking rules, activity completion conditions, course completion criteria and digital badge pathways
• Administer users, cohorts, bulk uploads and organisational enrolment workflows using Moodle administration tools
• Produce learner progress and completion reports using Moodle Report Builder, custom report sources and filters
• Execute a backup, restore and recovery procedure for Moodle courses and associated learning content
• Develop a Moodle Administration Runbook covering governance, support triage, plugin review and upgrade planning

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Moodle Administrators — who configure and support the platform for learners, instructors and business owners
• Learning Systems Administrators — who need repeatable processes for user access, course provisioning and reporting
• L&D Technology Specialists — who translate learning operations requirements into Moodle settings and workflows
• HRIS and Learning Operations Analysts — who manage learner data, compliance assignments and completion records
• Instructional Designers — who need to understand the administrative settings that affect course delivery and tracking
• IT Support Engineers — who support Moodle authentication, permissions, backups and service continuity

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have regular experience using Moodle as a teacher, course creator or support administrator and be comfortable navigating courses, activities, users and basic reports. Familiarity with core L&D processes such as enrolment, mandatory learning, completion records and learner support is assumed. Participants should also understand basic web concepts, including browsers, URLs, user accounts and file uploads. No programming, PHP development, Linux server administration or database administration experience is required; the course focuses on functional Moodle administration, with technical dependencies explained in practical terms.

Training methodology

An experienced Moodle practitioner leads short configuration briefings followed by guided work in a dedicated Moodle sandbox. Participants complete administration tasks using realistic L&D scenarios: creating department structures, assigning roles, importing users, applying enrolment rules, configuring completion and producing management reports. Case-based support tickets require participants to diagnose access, permission and tracking problems. Peer reviews compare governance choices and configuration trade-offs. The final session converts each participant’s sandbox work into an actionable Moodle Administration Runbook and a 90-day improvement plan for their workplace.

Course outline

Day 1: Moodle architecture, governance and site setup

• Moodle LMS architecture, administrator roles and responsibility boundaries
• Site administration navigation and configuration change control
• Front page settings, site policies and user profile fields
• Course categories, subcategories and catalogue taxonomy design
• Course formats, default settings and reusable course templates
• Language packs, localisation settings and accessibility considerations
• Moodle governance model for L&D, IT, instructors and support teams

Workshop: Configure a multi-department Moodle site structure and produce a governance map showing ownership of key administrative decisions.

Day 2: Users, authentication, enrolment and permissions

• User account lifecycle management and bulk user upload files
• Authentication methods and account confirmation settings
• Manual enrolment, self-enrolment and guest access configuration
• Cohorts, cohort synchronisation and audience-based course assignment
• System roles, course roles and Moodle capability permissions
• Role overrides, prohibited permissions and least-privilege design
• Access issue diagnosis using enrolment status, roles and logs

Workshop: Resolve a set of learner access tickets and create a role matrix plus cohort-based enrolment workflow for an onboarding programme.

Day 3: Course operations, tracking and learning experience controls

• Course creation workflow and course request approval settings
• Activity and resource administration for scalable course delivery
• Groups, groupings and restricted access conditions
• Activity completion settings and automatic completion tracking
• Course completion criteria, completion aggregation and re-completion rules
• Competencies, learning plans and evidence of achievement
• Moodle badges, badge criteria and issuer configuration

Workshop: Build a compliance course shell with restricted activities, completion criteria, a digital badge and a documented quality-assurance checklist.

Day 4: Reporting, integrations and operational support

• Moodle Report Builder sources, columns, filters and audience access
• Custom reports for enrolment, progress, completion and overdue learning
• Logs, live logs and activity reports for support investigation
• Notification settings, messaging outputs and automated learner reminders
• H5P content bank administration and content reuse controls
• BigBlueButton activity configuration and virtual classroom administration
• Plugin governance, integration review and dependency documentation

Workshop: Create a compliance completion report and investigate a simulated learner-support case using logs, reports and notification settings.

Day 5: Resilience, release management and administration planning

• Course backup settings, backup files and restore options
• Restore testing and recovery procedures for deleted or damaged courses
• Moodle upgrade lifecycle, release notes and compatibility assessment
• Plugin update assessment, testing sequence and rollback planning
• phpMyAdmin orientation for safe read-only database inspection
• Security housekeeping, privacy settings and data retention considerations
• Moodle Administration Runbook structure and 90-day improvement roadmap

Workshop: Complete a backup-and-restore test, assess an upgrade scenario and present a Moodle Administration Runbook with prioritised operational improvements.

Tools & standards covered

Moodle LMS, H5P, BigBlueButton, phpMyAdmin

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions