The term 'notification' appears in quick links, instructions and settings in Moodle. Notifications are small items or announcements from the system. They signal you that something is happening somewhere in the learning environment. You will receive notifications on submitted assignments, uploaded assignments, messages, deadlines, given feedback and forum posts etc. The amount of notifications depends on the profile settings which you need to adjust yourself.  

Notifications are visible in the upper right hand corner of My course page. Notifications are numbers on the small dot or circle next to your small profile image. When you click on the purple circle, the system takes you to the newest quick link on My courses page. The number increases when actions are taken on a course by course participants, and the number gets smaller when you react to the notifications of My courses page.