Add test students to your Moodle course

1. On the course home page, click Turn editing on at the upper right of the page. 
   
   
    
2. Scroll down the left-hand blocks panel to the Add a block block. Click Add and select Test Users from the drop-down list.
   
   
   
    
3. When the page refreshes, locate the new block, and click Create new test student.

4. A new test student will display in the list.
   
   
   
   You can continue to add new test students until you reach the maximum of 6. You cannot remove test students but you can hide the block as described below.

Test students have the same permissions as a normal student, including:

• View all activities and resources that are visible to students.
• Add to forums, submit assignments and participate in other activities such as quizzes.

Process:

1. In the Test Students block, click one of the test student names.
   
   
    
2. A message will display: You are logged in as Test Student X. Click Continue. At the upper right of the page, the message displays that you are logged in as Test Student X.
   
   
    
3. Test the appropriate activity or resource from a student perspective. Note that your profile in the upper-right of the page will notify you that "You are logged in as Test student X".
   
   
    
4. When you've finished testing, scroll to the bottom of the page and click your name to automatically re-log into Moodle as yourself. If you click "log out" you will have to log in again.
   
   

Before you release your course to students, it is important that you hide the Test Students block so that students do not see it.

Process:

1. Click Turn editing on at the upper right of the page. 
   
   
    
2. In the Test Students block, click the eye icon (Hide/Show Test Users block) to hide or unhide the block.
   
    
   

When you use the switch role function, you can get a quick overview of the course from the perspective of a student or other role.

You will have access to view the resources and activities available to that role but you will still be logged in as yourself and any participation you do will be as yourself. You should switch back to your normal role when you have finished testing before continuing to work on the course.

The switch role is best used for a quick overview and not for thorough testing as having a higher role (e.g. Instructor, TELT Administrator, Manager) can affect the outcome of testing on a role with lower permissions. 

Process:

1. Locate the User Profile dropdown menu and expand it, then select the Switch role to... option.
   
   
    
2. Select the role you would like to view the course as. e.g. Student
   
   
    
3. View the course as the role. Note that your profile in the upper-right of the page will indicate which role you are currently using. Remember that your higher role in the course may affect what you see and can access while using the switch role function.
   
   
    
4. To return to your normal role, locate the User Profile dropdown menu and click Return to my normal role
   
   

Sandpits created using the Sandpit creation form automatically have six dummy students enrolled. Instructors can log in as dummy students to view a course from the perspective of a student.

If dummy students have been added to another course then the instructor can log in as them as well.

Dummy students have the same permissions as a normal student, including:

• View all activities and resources that are visible to students.
• Add to forums, submit assignments and participate in other activities such as quizzes. Any participation will performed as the dummy student profile. Dummy students are enrolled in a large number of sandpit and test courses and viewing their list of courses may take a long time to load.
• Cannot view courses that are hidden. If testing needs to be done before a course is released, you should use test students as described above.

Process:

1. Locate the Navigation block and click Participants.
   
   
    
2. Locate and click one of the dummy students. You may need to filter on name or role to find them. Dummy students are named with the convention: "DummyXX StudentXX".
   
   
    
3. On the dummy student profile page, locate the Administration section and click Log in as.
   
   
    
4. Click Continue on the following page to return to the course. Note that your profile in the upper-right of the page will indicate which student you are currently using.
   
   
   
    
5. When you have finished testing, scroll to the bottom of the page and click your name to automatically re-log into Moodle as yourself. If you click "log out" you will have to log in again.