Moodle: Activities & Resources: Custom Certificate

The custom certificate allows an instructor to distribute a certificate to students upon completion of an activity, module, course, etc. The certificate is a PDF, and can be customized per student automatically. There are two steps you must complete:

1. Add the certificate activity to the course
2. Create the certificate (customize it)

Before creating a certificate, you will need a background image file.

To Add a Certificate:

1. Log into Moodle and open your desired course.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Create Learning Activity.
   
    
3. Select Certificate from the sidebar at the left, then click Add at the bottom.
   
    
4. Assign a Name to the certificate. The description is optional. Use the Restrict access settings to outline the criteria for students to receive the certificate.  
   
   Note: The default Options settings allow students to print their certificate, but not to modify or copy it. Each certificate, when issued, is given a unique code that can validated. You may want to change the email notification so students are alerted when they receive a certificate.
   

5. Click Save and display.
    

To Create the Certificate:

Now that you have added the certificate activity, it is time to customize it.

1. In the upper-right corner, click on the gear icon to open the Admin menu, and click Edit certificate.
   
    
2. For a certificate that is in landscape (versus portrait) dimensions, switch the height and width. Begin customizing by adding elements to the certificate. Use the drop-down menu to select from a variety of options, including student name, date, course name, text, etc.
   
   Note: It is recommended that the first element added is the background image.
   
    
3. When adding an element, you will be able to customize the appearance of it, such as changing the font size, color, etc.
   
    
4. After you have added all of the elements, click the reposition elements link. You will see the certificate background image, and all of your elements will be in the upper-left corner. You must drag and drop each element onto the certificate where you want it to appear.
   
    
5. When the elements are positioned correctly, click save and close. You will be brought back to the edit page, where you can save and preview the certificate. After saving, navigate back to your course.
    

Resources:

For more information on adding and editing an assignment, read the following documentation. Note that MoodleDocs does not show the same Moodle appearance, but the functionality of the settings is the same. All links will open in a new window.

• MoodleDocs: Adding a custom certificate to a course
• MoodleDocs: Viewing Issued certificates
• MoodleDocs: Verifying certificates