We're often asked the best way to allow students to share their files. For years, the only way to accomplish this has been by having students make a post in a discussion forum and attach their file(s). While this works, it is clunky and requires a lot of additional steps. With our current version of Moodle, it is now possible to create a folder in your Moodle site and give students permission to upload files to it—and to download files from. These instructions show you how easy it is to achieve this effect.

Bonus Feature: When you set up an open folder, create a link to these instructions for students for uploading and downloading files to a folder—https://inside.sou.edu/distancelearning/pdf/folders-for-students.pdf.

Suggested Instructions for Students

Feel free to copy these instructions into the Description area of the folder you create for students to share their files:

Click on Edit below. Drag and drop your file into the File picker area (or click on +Add in the upper margin of the File picker.)

Before you post:

• Be sure your file has a unique name—add your last name or initials to the file name.
• Avoid using symbols in your file name—they don't translate well online.

To download files:

1. Open this folder and click on Edit.
2. Click on Download files... in the top margin of the  File picker area.
3. Save the resulting .zip file to your computer, then extract the files.