Interact 2: Options for organising and presenting content

Part 1: Adding content Part 2: Organising content Part 3: Using the content editor

Part 1: Adding content

What types of content can I add to my site? You can create many different content types in organisation/course content areas. These include files, folders, learning modules, pages, multimedia, and links to external resources. In addition you can add tool links to the course menu and into content areas, giving you flexibility as to how to present and scaffold both content and experience in your site. Advance planning of the items to include in course areas can save you time and create a more organised final product.

How do I begin to add content to the menu? With Edit Mode ON click the “+” button on the menu, and choose what to add. Content Area A container for all types of content Module Page A customisable “dashboard” for the site Blank Page A blank page you can edit and add resources to Tool link A link to tools such as Discussion, Wiki, Blog etc. Web link A link to an external website Course link A link to a spot within and between i2 sites Sub header A heading to help organise the menu Divider A dividing line to help organise and space out the menu

Content area – build content A content area allows course content to be organized into folders, files, graphics, assignments, tests, web links, and other i2 tools. There can be multiple content areas on the course menu. This allows you to interweave content and processes in your site. You can make your site more hierarchical by adding folders or learning modules within content areas. Folders and learning modules can also contain the same types of content, assessments, and links to tools. Dropdown to edit to a more meaningful title

Types of content Item File Audio, Image, Video Web link including link to DOMS Learning module Content folder Blank page

Standard options with content types

Item An item is any type of file, text, image, or link that appears to users in a content area or content folder. An item can be standalone text or a link to a file as an attachment. If text is added it appears below the title of the item.

File link Add a file not already uploaded. This automatically adds the file to the Content Collection. Link to a file already in the Content Collection. Choose by filename. Options for viewing within the site or as a separate piece of content in a separate browser window. No additional text in the link is possible.

Web link A shortcut to a resource identified by a URL. Add a Web Link to a Content Area to provide a quick access point to relevant materials. Additional text may be included to provide some context for the link. Can be set to open in a new window to allow viewers to view the i2 site and its contents as well as the Web Link. Possible CSU use-case: link to the home (index) page in a website that may have been on a CD-ROM and has already been uploaded to the Content Collection, but it may be a better solution to upload files to DOMS and link to index.htm (saves storage space, reusable).

Audio, Image, Video Select a file of each type to play or appear on the page. Each option adds the file to the content collection if not already uploaded. Audio & video – no option for additional text; video dimensions can be resized Image – simply displays image, but can be resized Need to inform users about suitable plugins to play media files.

Learning modules Learning modules are a set of content that includes a table of contents. They can be used to structure a path for progressing through the items. Interact Modules can be imported into i2 as Learning Modules

Learning modules (cont’d). Learning moduleContent area LocationInside a content area Course menu StructureSequentially or non- sequentially View in any order Adaptive release?Yes, if requiredNo to an entire content area, but Yes for pieces within the area Table of ContentsYesNo Import from Interact? Yes – from ModulesNot as an area – transfer Resources separately

Content folder A Content Folder is a way of organising content items, and can contain sub-folders if required to create a hierarchy to group related material together. Content Folders can group material based on a theme, such as all placing all media clips in one folder, or group material together based on a schedule, for example placing all items for “Week 1" together. Using folders to organise content items can make materials easier to find and reduce the length of a Content Area.

Blank page The blank page tool allows you to include files, images, and text within a content area. There is no description that appears below the title of the page Users see the content only after clicking the link. See also Item

Content area – add tools To add a tool to your content area you click on the Tools button. You will then need to either choose or create the tool that you wish to add. Tools will appear in the content area.

Where can I learn more about content areas and adding content? Blackboard help pages Creating course areas for content Create content in a course area Blackboard on demand help videos Creating a tool link How to add items to content areas There are a lot of great resource and support materials on the web to help you learn how to use the content editor and its many features.

Part 2: Organising content

Organising Content Form follows function Your learning outcomes, subject material, assignments and learning activities should then inform your decisions on how to: determine course content structure and organisation create content areas in the menu

Organising Content There are many different ways of organising your content. Files and Content Links can be added to the course home page, organised into folders, or structured within a Learning Module. You can add Media Libraries and Web Links to allow students better access to relevant information. The three main ways of organising your content are: uploading individual files to the homepage, creating folders to provide grouping of similar objects using learning modules to present the material in an organised sequence. Each method of organisation can be effective for different teaching styles and content quantities.

Organising Content – form follows function Your learning outcomes, subject material, assignments and learning activities. should then inform your decisions on how to determine the content structure and organisation, and what content areas you need to create in the menu. How you structure the content will provide students different ways of progressing through the subject. Here are some examples: Using folders allows students to navigate as they wish through the course materials and resources,. Using learning modules steps students through content in a more structured manner. Use a learning module to present specific subject information that is necessary to work through before progressing to more advanced material, Create individual topics as learning modules with associated activities, while presenting generic information and resources in folders.

Adaptive Release You can control the availability of content based on a set of rules you create with the following release criteria: Date: release content only on a specified date or time Membership: release content to a specific group of users Grade: release an item if a specified graded item was attempted or users received a certain score Review status: release an item when another content item is marked as reviewed. Rules can also be combined for more complex release criteria. More information

Organising Content – form follows function After reviewing the course aims, learning outcomes, course material, assignments and learning activities, select the appropriate approach for presenting course content. There are three common approaches to delivering online course content. You can organise content areas: ChronologicallyBy type of contentBy subject area

Organising Content Example 1: Chronological Storyboard Following this approach, each content area contains one week's: Readings Assignments Discussion forums

Example 2: Content Type Storyboard Organising Content Following this structure, course content is grouped by type of content and then distributed chronologically by week or date. For example, one content area can contain lecture notes, another area can contain reading lists and another can contain assignments.

Example 3 Subject Area Storyboard Organising Content In this approach each content area contains lecture notes, discussion forums, assignments, readings and associated resources on a specific subject. This structure is well suited for courses where the content does not need to be presented in a linear fashion.

Where can I learn more about organising content? Blackboard help pages Best practice: presenting contentBest practice: presenting content There are a lot of great resource and support materials on the web to help you learn how to use the content editor and its many features.

Part 3: Using the content editor

What is the Content Editor? JQA5nBc3isN&index=38

What are the features of the content editor? Options toggle - Click this button to see more or less options. Formatting tools allow you to format your text style, add bullets, sub and super scripts, align and indent your text, Basic tools are shown in the interface such as Copy, Paste, and Find. Maths editor helps to create and deliver equations directly from the Content Editor. You can save and copy/paste equations in the math editor by using mathML. Mashups adds the ability to embed content from slideshare, flickr, or YouTube Table tools allow you to add and edit tables Hyperlink tool allows you to link to web addresses and to upload and link to files in your site. The content editor allows you to create and edit content and to create pages with rich embedded media and the ability to cut and paste seamlessly from Word.

Where can I learn more about the content editor? Blackboard help pages Content Editor Video everywhere Blackboard on demand help videos Content editor Mashups Video everywhere There are a lot of great resource and support materials on the web to help you learn how to use the content editor and its many features.

Over to you.... hands-on activity Go to your organisation 1 Create a content area in your site and add some files, folders, or pages to it. 2 Use the content editor to create or modify some content in your site 3 Experiment by adding multimedia, a mashup, maths equation, or video anywhere to your content. 4