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Navigating the Learning Managment System (Moodle)

Every unit you take has its own page on the LMS. That is where your lecturer puts notes, slides, reading, assignments and marks. Before you can see any of it, you must join the unit. This guide shows you how - it takes about two minutes per unit.

Before you start

  • Your university Google account - the same one you use for your student email. The LMS has no separate password.
  • The unit code or unit name - for example ISTP 701, or Foundations of Peacebuilding. Your timetable has these.
  • An enrolment key - but only for some units. Your lecturer gives you this in class. Not every unit needs one.

Step 1 · Sign in

The LMS uses your Tangaza Google account. There is no separate LMS username or password to remember.

  1. Open your browser and go to lms.tangaza.ac.ke.
  2. Click the Google sign-in button. It is the only way in.
  3. Choose your Tangaza account from the list, or type your university email address and password if Google asks for them.
  4. The first time only, Google may ask you to allow the LMS to see your name and email. Click Allow.
Use your university account, not a personal Gmail. If you sign in with a personal address the LMS makes you a brand new, empty account and none of your units will be there. If that happens, sign out completely and sign in again with your tangaza.ac.ke address.
If Google will not let you in: the problem is with your university account, not with the LMS. Contact ICT. There is no password to reset on the LMS itself.

Step 2 · Find your unit

There are two ways. Either works.

The quick way - search

The other way - browse

  1. Open the menu and go to the course categories.
  2. Click your School, then your programme, then the current academic year.
  3. Click your unit in the list.
Cannot find it? The unit may not be published yet. Lecturers open their units at different times. Wait a day or two, then ask your lecturer.

Step 3 · Join the unit

When you open a unit you have not yet joined, the LMS shows you an enrolment panel. It looks like one of two ways.

A. There is only a button

  1. Click Enroll me.
  2. That is all - you are taken straight into the unit.

B. There is a box asking for an enrolment key

  1. Type the enrolment key supplied by your Institute admin.
  2. Click Enroll me.

Three things about keys:

  • Capital letters matter. Isaac and isaac are not the same key.
  • Watch for trailing spaces. If you copied the key from a message, make sure you did not copy a space at the end. This is the most common reason a key is refused.
  • You only type it once. It is not a password, and you will not be asked for it again.
Please do not share unit keys outside your class. The key is how your lecturer keeps the unit to the students who are registered for it.

Step 4 · Check that it worked

  1. Click My courses in the main menu.
  2. Every unit you have joined is listed there.
  3. If a unit is missing, you did not finish joining it. Go back to Step 2 and try again.

You only join a unit once. From then on, it stays under My courses for the rest of the semester, and you go straight in with one click.

If something goes wrong

What you see What to do
There is no Enroll me button on the unit page Your lecturer has not opened enrolment yet. Ask them, not ICT.
My key is not accepted Type it by hand rather than pasting. Check capitals. If it still fails, ask your lecturer whether the key has changed.
“This course is currently unavailable to students” The unit is still being prepared. Ask your lecturer when it will open.
I cannot find the unit anywhere Check you are looking in the right academic year. If it is still missing, ask your lecturer for the direct link.
I joined the wrong unit Open the unit, go to the unit menu and look for Unenrol me. If you cannot see it, ask your lecturer to remove you.
I signed in but My courses are empty and everything looks new You are probably signed in with a personal Gmail. Sign out fully, then sign in again with your university address.
Google will not let me in at all This one is for ICT, not your lecturer.

Who to ask

Your question Ask
The enrolment key for a unit Your lecturer
When a unit will be opened Your lecturer
Assignments, marks and deadlines Your lecturer
Google sign-in problems, password resets, account locked ICT Service Desk - ICT Help Desk Link
Signed in with the wrong account ICT Service Desk -ICT Help Desk Link
The site is down or very slow ICT Service Desk  - ICT Help Desk Link
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