Moodle 4.2 upgrade

15 November 2023
By Carly Born and Em Palencia

Moodle will be upgraded on Nov 30th.

Here’s a preview of some of Moodle’s new features.

New Look

Moodle 4.2 is a relatively large update, which brings a new look & feel. The new default theme for this upgrade is called “LearnR.” 

Screenshot of the Moodle 4.2 "LearnR" theme.
The look of the “LearnR” theme. Click image for larger version.

Some of the older theme options will still be available with an updated look, including Boost and Moove. Please see our Moodle Knowledge Base featuring Course Layouts for more information.

Screenshot of Moodle 4.2 navigation. The tabs shown are: Course, Settings, Participants, Grades, Reports and More.
Click image above for larger version.

Tabbed navigation is available in any theme.

New navigation tabs make it easy to access settings, grades, reports and more.

Screenshot of the Moodle 4.2 Gradebook.
Click image above for larger version.



New dropdown menu with indentation to visualize hierarchy makes it easier to set up and view the Gradebook.




New Features

Moodle 4.2 introduces a collection of new features, many of which have been sought after for a long time. Below are a few of the most exciting options:

  • Bulk Edit Items — Moodle activities can be shown / hidden, moved, duplicated, and deleted in bulk.
  • Add activities between existing activities — no more adding activities at the end of a section then tirelessly dragging and dropping to the desired location. Now, you can create new activities right in the place you want it to live
  • Collapsable Course index — instructors and students will no longer need to suffer the “scroll of death” to reach an activity at the end of a course page. Instead, you can use the course index located on the left-hand sidebar of the page to access a section or activity of the course
  • Timed Assignments — the same timer that has been part of the Quiz module is now available in the Assignment module!
  • Communication within Assignments
    • Send updates to students when you add or update an activity
    • Send a message to one or more students when viewing All submissions
  • Set language of specific activities
  • Better integration with textbook websites and other external tools

You can find the full feature set of Moodle 4.2 on the Moodle documentation website.

Name changes

The “Label” activity and “Fordson” theme work just as they did before, but they now will have new names. In Moodle 4.2:

  • The “Label” activity will be called, “Text and Media Area,” and
  • The “Fordson” theme will be called, “LearnR.”

Saying goodbye

A few modules will become unavailable in the new version, due to lack of use and/or lack of current development support. Some of the items to be removed are:

  • Heatmap block
  • i>clicker Moodle Integration block
  • 360° Feedback activity
  • My Courses block

For fans of the My courses block, you can still make use of the Course overview block and configure it to your preferred viewing style. Please see our Moodle Knowledge Base for more information.

Training and Support

Both synchronous and asynchronous training opportunities will become available as we draw closer to the upgrade date.

Here are some resources you can check out right now:

New Faculty: Be on the lookout for New Faculty Workshops this Winter Break.

Returning Faculty: Be on the lookout for the LTC Winter Break Conference.

For all Moodle users, the Academic Technology team will be hosting virtual AT drop-in sessions and just-in-time learning Skillshops in December.

If you have any questions about this upgrade, please reach out to the Academic Technology team at AT@justgetawaynow.com

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