Moodle Help & Support
This refers to Moodle 4.1 from December 2023 onwards
How to: create a database activity
Stage 1: Set up the database
- Login to your module and click on the 'Edit mode' toggle switch (top right).
- In the relevant section, click on the '+ Add an activity or resource' button.
- A window will open. Click on the word 'Database' and you will be taken directly to the 'Adding a new database' screen.
- In General Settings, add the 'Name' of the database (which will display on the main module page) and 'Description', e.g., to include specific directions on how students might contribute if they are expected to.
- (Optional) If you want to add a restriction, click on 'Add restriction' within the "Restrict Access" section. This will open a window, select the restriction you want to add.
- Click on the 'Save and display' button to see the database and start setting it up as below
(or 'Save and return to module' to go to module front page) - Click on the 'Edit mode' button
on your main Moodle page
Other settings
You can also add settings to:
- Entries - Set teacher approval for database entries to be viewable, allow comments, maximum entries, set entries required for completion of the activity or before students can view the entries of others.
- Availability - Similar to restrict access
- RSS - Add entries to RSS feed
- Ratings - Allow users to rate items
Stage 2: Define the fields:
You create a database by defining a set of fields that make up the database template. Each Field created will have a name and description. (Note that if you later edit the fields in a database template you must click on the Templates tab and use the 'Reset template' button, or manually edit the template, to ensure the new fields are added to the display.)
- Open your database. For a new database, the Fields window will open automatically. If not, click on the Fields tab.
- Under 'Create a field' dropdown. Choose to select the type of field. Field types include:
- 'Checkboxes' - This allows you to offer checkboxes for the user to select. Add the options one under the other. The word will appear next to a checkbox when the user clicks to add an entry. They can check more than one box.
- 'Coordinates' - This allows users to add a location via link out services such as Google Maps.
- 'Date' - This allows a user to enter a date by picking a day, month and year from a drop down list.
- 'Dropdown list' - The text entered in the options area will be presented as a drop-down list for the user to choose from. Each line become a different option.
- 'File' - Users can upload a file from their computer. If it is an image file then the picture field may be a better choice.
- 'Image' - This allows a user to upload and display an image file. "Single view" is when the image is viewed on its own; "list view" is when it is viewed in with other images. Single view can be larger than list view.
- 'Multi-select list' - The text entered in the options area will be presented as a list for the user to choose from and each line become a different option. By holding down control or shift as they click, users will be able to select multiple options. This is a fairly advanced computer skill so it may be wise to use multiple checkboxes instead.
- 'Number' - This allows users to enter any number.
- 'Radio buttons' - The user gets radio buttons and can choose only one. They can only submit the entry when they have clicked on one button. (Note:If you only have two options and they are opposites (true/false, yes/no) then you could simply use a single checkbox instead. However checkboxes default to their unchecked status and so people could submit without actively selecting one of the options. This may not always be appropriate.)
- 'Short text' - Users can enter short amounts of text up to 60 characters in length. For longer text, or for text that requires formatting such as headers and bullet points, you can use a text area field.
- 'Text area' - This allows users to enter a longer piece of text using the text editor.
- 'URL' - The user can add a link to a website here. If you select autolink then the URL becomes clickable.. If you also enter aforced name for the linkthen that text will be used for the hyperlink. For example in a database of authors you may wish people to enter the author's website. If you enter the text 'homepage' as a forced name then clicking on text "homepage" will take you to the entered URL.
- Add Field name, Field description and any other parameters to the fields (The parameters will differ depending on which field type you choose.) and click 'Save'.
- Continue doing this for as many fields as you need adding fields.
- You can choose which of the fields is used to sort the entries (by default they are listed by time created/added)
Stage 3: Define the templates
- Click on the Templates tab. The List template and Single template define the way the database entries are displayed (there are other templates too, probably not needed for basic databases). Once you've defined the fields in step 2 you can often accept the default templates without having to change anything. (More information on the Moodle site here)
- Click Save template for each (normally List Template, Single Template and Add Template are the only ones needed).
Stage 4: Add or import entries
- It's usually a good idea at this stage to add your first entry or a test entry. You will need to go to the 'Add Entry' tab of your database to do this.
- You can import multiple entries via a CSV file if you click the 'Import entries' button. The easiest way to determine the format of the text file is to manually add an entry to the database and then export it. The resulting export text file may then be edited and used for importing entries.
- The expected file format is a plain text file with a list of field names as the first record. The data then follows, one record per line.
Example
drug_name,action,category
omeprazole,suppresses gastric acid secretion,proton pump inhibitor
Records should be delimited by new lines
Note: Certain field types may not be supported (e.g., files and images).
Do not put spaces after your commas or upload will fail!
To import a file:
Select the 'Actions' drop-down menu, the select 'Import entries'.
Find your file to upload and click on 'Submit'.
- It will then confirm that your entries have been imported. Click 'Continue'.
Further reading
Online collaboration with Moodle Databases and Wikis is a useful Xerte toolkit that will help you use both Wikis and Databases more effectively for student collaboration.
See also
