Skip to main content

Using 'Log In As' Sandboxes

An Instructor’s Guide

Updated over 7 months ago

Purpose

The following tutorial outlines the workflow for Moodle sandboxes that have the ability for instructors to log in as a fake student to be able to submit work as the student for verification testing.

REQUESTING A SANDBOX

Log In As sandboxes are a unique type of sandbox and must be specifically requested.

  1. In Moodle, navigate to the Faculty Resources course and find the tile for Moodle Request Forms. Inside the tile is a link for the Sandbox Course request.

  2. Fill out the Google Form, being sure to mark “Log In As Student sandbox.”

  3. The Moodle team will email you when your sandbox is ready for you.

Moodle portal window for 'Sandbox Request', with the 'Sandbox with ability to log in as a student' check box checked.

Log In As sandboxes will have the instructor and a fake user account enrolled in the sandbox course.

The instructor will NOT have to enter a username and password to log in as the fake student account.

Click the arrow to the left of the title to open article sections

LOGGING IN AS THE FAKE STUDENT

From your new Log In As sandbox, navigate to the Participants list. Click on Sandbox Student to open their user profile page.

Screenshot showing a list of enrolled users, including an instructor and a student, with their roles, email addresses, and status in a course management system. Both users have an 'Active' status.

On Sandbox Student’s profile, a new category called Administration will be there. Click on Log in as in that category to log in as that student.

The image shows a "Sandbox Student" profile page with a "Log in as" option under the Administration section, indicated by a red arrow.

Read the security warning that pops up and click Continue.

At the top right of the screen, you’ll see your login status. It will still show that you are logged in, but that you are also logged in as Sandbox Student.

You can now interact with the course in any way a student can. You can submit work, look at grades, work through an assignment, or do anything else you need to.

Indicates you're logged in as Sandbox Student.

LOGGING OUT/RETURNING TO YOUR ACCOUNT

Returning to your original role/

At the top right of the screen, click on the arrow next to your name to open the drop-down menu, then click Log out.

You may need to log back in as yourself, or it may return to the course home page, and you can continue working from your account as needed.

Drop down menu is being shown and has the 'Log out' option highlighted.

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • When logged in as the fake student, you can only use the student within your own sandbox. You will not have access to other Moodle resources, such as the Student Resources page, Live Chat, etc.

  • The fake student will be able to follow links to the third-party teach tools (Cengage, TestOut, Pearson, etc.) used in your course, but the access to those tools will follow the same requirements any normal student will have. If that content requires a purchased access code, you may be able to receive a temporary access code directly from the vendor. Please contact them directly.

  • This sandbox is best suited for building new content, testing it, and then importing it to your upcoming course. If you need to import current content to your sandbox, please be aware that the import function will affect the dates of your activities. Please see the tutorial on importing content for other considerations to be aware of when importing content or reach out to the Moodle Support Team via the Live Chat.

  • If you would like us to import one of your other courses into your sandbox, please use the course copy request form, found under Faculty & Staff Quick Links in Moodle.

  • Once you have imported content, importing other content will just merge everything. If you would like to delete content before importing more, the fastest way is to delete whole sections. Deleting the section will delete all activities housed within that section

Did this answer your question?