Settling in at the University takes place at different levels and in different formats: with attend-ance on site, on the learning platform Moodle and in digital courses. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has compiled four tips that aim to support you in settling in at the University digitally and to provide assistance during your studies.

Tip 1: Settling in on the learning platform Moodle:

To increase your visibility in the digital university world for your fellow students and, of course, also for your teachers, a personalised profile in Moodle is useful. If you add a profile picture, you appear less anonymous to other persons. A short description of your person allows you to provide an impression to others in written form. You can be as creative as you wish. It certainly makes sense to mention your subject, your specialisation and fields in which you are especially interested.

User guide: Add your profile picture to Moodle

User guide: Add your profile picture to Moodle

• Sign in to Moodle.
• On the top right, you can find your name and next to it a drop-down menu: Click your name and then “Profile”. Click “Edit profile”.
• Scroll down to the section “User picture” and upload a picture.

Please note: After updating the information, click the “Update profile” button at the very bottom.

User guide: Add a short description to your profile

User guide: Add a short description to your profile

• Click “Edit profile” (see user guide “Add your profile picture to Moodle”) and scroll down to the “Description” field.
• Add a text that you deem fit for this purpose. More layout options are displayed if you click the arrow pointing downwards on the top left.

Please note: Do not forget to click the “Update profile” button at the very bottom after updating the information.

Tip 2: Staying up to date in Moodle

Tip 2: Staying up to date in Moodle

The majority of university courses also has a Moodle course. Many teachers use the forums to provide organisational information or discuss a subject with students. Use the forum preferences to receive regular updates of contributions from teachers and fellow students by e-mail.

User guide: Daily digest about new forum posts

User guide: Daily digest about new forum posts

• On the top right at your name, click the drop-down menu and then “Preferences”.
• Now click “Forum preferences”.
• We recommend the following settings: Daily digest with the subject of the forum posts; subscription to a forum when I post; for forum tracking, highlighting new posts.
• Please note: Click “Save changes”.

Tip 3: Contribute actively to digital university communication

Tip 3: Contribute actively to digital university communication

Participate in digital discussions as part of courses. The discussion in written form gives you the opportunity to hone your argumentation skills. It also gives you more presence towards other participants. The following recommendations are useful to succeed in written contributions:

• If you reply to an already existing discussion thread, take care that you continue to post on the concrete topic.
• When opening a new discussion thread, take care that your post has a meaningful subject.
• Participate in the discussions on a regular basis, if possible, and reply quickly: We recommend scheduling this time in your weekly schedule.
• Try to write as clearly and comprehensibly as possible: Read your text out loud before you actually post it and check if it is also comprehensible to others.
• Be polite and respectful in your post: Do not forget to add a salutation at the beginning and the end and consider correct language use regarding orthography, grammar and punctuation.
• Also, take into account that written statements are more prone to misunderstandings compared to oral communication. Remind yourself that the receivers of your posts are individual beings. Avoid ambiguous statements and adhere to common netiquette guidelines.

Tip 4: Use study-specific forums

Forums on different social media channels can support you in familiarising yourself with your new university environment and getting to know students from other semesters:

• Use online forums that are offered by several students’ representatives.
• Try to find social media groups of the relevant degree programme and contribute to these groups.