How-To: Create And Download a Backup of Your Moodle Class Site - Faculty

Any Moodle class site can be backed up and stored off-line for archiving and later reuse. This may be because:

  • You want the additional security of a copy stored off-line
  • You're leaving the college, and wish to take your course materials with you
  • You're creating a new course based on an older course and want to import the older materials as a starting point

This guide will show you how to create a backup of any Moodle course, and then download it for off-line storage, transfer, or reimport.

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  1. Log into your Moodle Dashboard as usual.
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  2. Open the site for the course you want to back up.
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  3. From the Action/cogwheel menu, choose Backup.
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  4. Select your preferred initial backup settings. Mostly, it's fine just to take the default settings, but you must be sure to uncheck Include enrolled users.
    NOTE: This step is critical. User data must never be included in any backup you create for offline storage. Including such data risks exposing legally protected, privileged information.
    Click Next.
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  5. On the Schema settings tab, select the specific activities, resources, and topics you wish to back up. Quickly select or deselect all items on the list using the Select All/None links. Click Next.
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  6. On the Confirmation and review tab, first check the prefilled filename, and revise or replace it as you prefer.
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    Then review the backup settings. Use the Back button to make any necessary changes. When you're ready, click Perform backup.
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    The backup will run, notifying you when it is complete. This may take anywhere from a few seconds for lighter weight courses, to several minutes for resource-intensive courses.
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    Once the backup is complete, click Continue.
  7. Next, you will be taken to the Restore course page. Depending on your settings, your course backup file will be listed in the Course management area, the User private backup area, or both. Download a copy of the backup file by clicking the Download link in the same row as the filename. Backup files may range in size from 1 to 2 MB for smaller sites, to several gigabytes for courses with many files and resources. Once the file is downloaded, you can store it wherever you like – T&I recommends Google Drive for safe, secure storage.
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