Opening up a course to guests means anyone on the Internet can access the course without needing an account. It is possible to set an optional password for guests. If there is content under copyright or sensitive information in the course, but guest sharing is turned on, make sure to set a password to prevent open access to the material.
Enable guest access
Go to the Participants Tab (under the course title)
In the pulldown menu labeled Enrolled Users → select Enrollment Methods
If Guest access is not already listed, select Add Method → Guest Access.
If Guest Access is listed but greyed out, enable it by clicking on the eye icon.
If you wish to set a password, click the gear icon and type in a password in the text box. Most people who turn on guest access set a password because the course may have fair use copyright materials or because they don't want anyone on the Internet seeing the contents of their course.
You can now copy the URL of your course main page and share it with non-Swarthmore users. It is also possible for non-Swarthmore users to browse through the course catalog in Moodle and find your course.
When you make a course available to guests, anyone on the Internet will be able to access your course. If this is an issue, see "Adding a guest password" below to limit access to the course.
Add a guest password
To add a password to guest access, go to the Participants Tab (under the course title)
In the pulldown menu labeled Enrolled Users → select Enrollment Methods
To the right of Guest Access → select Gear Icon, enter a password → Save.
Instructions for Guest Users
Follow the instructions above to allow guest access and optionally set a password. Email a copy the URL of the course and the guest password to your visitor or write the password on the board in class and ask non-enrolled students to browse through the Moodle course catalog to find your course.
Disable Guest Access
To remove the ability for guests to access your course:
Go to the Participants Tab (under the course title)
In the pulldown menu labeled Enrolled Users → select Enrollment Methods
Click on the Trash Can icon on the Guest access row
Is Guest Access Enabled?
On your Moodle course page, go to the Participants Tab (under the course title)
In the pulldown menu labeled Enrolled Users → select Enrollment Methods
If Guest Access is in the list of Enrollment methods and it is not greyed out (the Eye icon does not have a slash through it), guest access is enabled. If Guest Access is not listed as an Enrollment method or if it is listed but the Eye Icon has a slash through it, Guest Access is not enabled.