Student guide

The platform keeps you informed in two ways: notifications (automatic messages from the system – bell icon) and messages (conversations between people – speech-bubble icon).

Notifications (bell icon)

You receive a notification, for example, when:

• a teacher posts in the Announcements forum of your course;
• somebody posts in a forum or discussion you are subscribed to;
• your assignment has been graded or has received feedback;
• a deadline is approaching or an assignment is overdue;
• you have earned a badge or your competency has been rated;
• your data request has been processed.

1. Click the bell in the top bar. A panel with the latest notifications opens; unread ones are highlighted.
2. Click a notification to read it in full and to go to the related activity.
3. Use Mark all as read to clear the counter, or See all to open the full notification page.
4. The gear icon in the panel leads to Notification preferences.

Choosing how you are notified

1. Open avatar menu › Preferences › Notification preferences.
2. For each type of notification (grouped by component: Assignment, Forum, Quiz, Badges …) you can switch the delivery channels on or off: Web (the bell), Email and Mobile (the Moodle app).
3. The changes are saved automatically.

Note: E-mail notifications are sent only when the administrator has configured the outgoing mail of the platform. Until then, all notifications are shown only in the bell and in the mobile app. Check the bell regularly.

Messages (speech-bubble icon)

Click the speech bubble in the top bar to open the messaging drawer on the right. You can also open messaging on a full page: /message/index.php. The drawer has three sections:

Section	Content
Starred	Conversations you have marked with a star, including your Personal space – a conversation with yourself for notes and links.
Group	Team chats of the groups you belong to (for example "Project team A"), when the teacher has enabled group messaging (chapter 16).
Private	One-to-one conversations with teachers and other students.

Sending a private message

1. Open the messaging drawer and type a name into Search people and messages, or open the person's profile (for example from Participants in a course) and click Message.
2. Type your message into the field at the bottom and press the send button (paper plane) or Enter (if Use enter to send is on).
3. New messages appear without reloading the page. The number on the speech bubble shows unread conversations.

Working with a conversation

Click the three dots (⋮) in the header of a conversation to:

• Star conversation – keep it at the top in Starred;
• Mute – stop notifications for this conversation (useful for busy team chats);
• Add to contacts or Block user;
• Delete conversation – deletes it for you only; the other person still sees it;
• in a group chat: Group info – shows the list of participants.

Contacts and privacy

In the messaging drawer open the gear icon (Settings). Under Privacy choose who may message you: My contacts only, My contacts and anyone in my courses or Anyone on the site (if allowed). Here you can also switch Use enter to send on or off. Contacts are added by sending a contact request, which the other person accepts.

Tip: For questions about course content that may interest others, use the course forum "Questions and answers" instead of a private message – the answer then helps the whole group. Use private messages for personal matters.

Note: Messages are not anonymous – they are stored on the platform under your name, and misuse (for example harassment) can be reported and investigated. Please follow the netiquette in chapter 21 in messages as well.