Our district just upgraded from Moodle version 1.9.1 to version 1.9.7. One of the many changes I was excited about was the option to use HTML tags in activity and resource names. This means you can bold, make fonts bigger or change the color of fields that do not have the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor.

This setting is found in the admin block on the front page under Appearance/HTML Settings

Here is an example showing why this is cool

Before using HTML tags in activity or resource names

See how all activity and resource names are in the same format and small? Well, what if I want my “Homework Help Forum” to be bigger and bolder than the rest of the activities and resources? I want it to stand out.

Simply add the HTML tags to the activity name field like this:

then it displays….

Cool, huh? I’m not quite sure which version this change was made in (and I am almost 100% positive this was not an option before – correct me if I’m wrong though, and even if it was it’s useful to know!).

Of course you need to know a little HTML but I think this is a really useful and neat little option. You can also use this in quiz questions (science teachers were wanting to use subscripts in their quiz questions now they can!). I’m now going to see if any CSS styling is possible – borders maybe?

I think this small option can give teachers the power to better customize, highlight and layout their activities and resources.

Edit: “Home” = “Homework” in the ‘after’ screenshots…you get the idea : )