The “Edit components” function, accessed via the “Course overview” menu, is available to the "Course manager" and "Tutor" roles assigned when a tutor is assigned to a course. Access to this function allows tutors to edit the course "Components, “Library” and “Social media” tabs to add, remove, or rearrange media. This feature therefore allows selected tutors to actively participate in designing the course according to their preferred delivery methods. If participants have already started processing the course, further changes should remain an exception but are still possible; in particular, this applies to progress hierarchies and scheduling dates.
Functions of “Edit Components”
The selected Tutor roles can be used to edit the course components via three tabs: “Components”, “Social media” and “Library”; the "Info" tab only displays basic course information. Each of the three editing tabs, along with their sub-functions, is described below:
Components Tab
The "Components" tab represents the syllabus of the course and contains the learning components that the participants must complete. There are 11 sidebar icons for interacting with the syllabus components as described below. There are additionally two columns, "Update" for automatic version updates and "Progress weighting" to increase the importance of selected components.
Create
Items including folders, course-specific media items and course sets consisting of sub-courses can be created.
Edit Lows Many Changes to Component Structuring Including
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Editing folders and course specific media items which can be identified via the "Course-specific" column.
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Components can be "Cut" and "Pasted" into different locations.
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The release of components can be "Scheduled" before or after a certain date or enrolment status. This could include providing access to pre-reading x days prior to a course, in a long course unlocking folders x days after the start date or unlocking a feedback form x days after the participant has concluded the course.
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Learning logic rules can be created to define processing actions and logic checked. A blue tick in the "Learning logic" column indicates that there is an existing rule on the component. Options for defining learning logic for components vary by the media type; For example, a Test can have a Passed or Failed status whilst other media items have Complete or Incomplete statuses. For tests, WBT SCORM and AICC, the number of tries until the follow-up action is triggered can also be defined. Rules with multiple conditions are possible. In this case, all conditions need to be fulfilled for the follow-up action to be triggered. A blue tick in the "Learning logic" column indicates that there is an existing rule on the component. It is a good idea to use the "Check logic" option to simulate the learning logic rules to ensure they work as expected.
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Tests can be exported to XML formats that other systems can ingest.
Add
Existing media items for which the Tutor has clearance can be added.
Remove
Highlighted media items can be removed.
Delete
Folders or course-specific media items can be deleted.
Move up
Highlighted folders or components can be moved up one place. Alternatively, drag-and-drop or cut-and-paste actions are supported.
Move down
Highlighted folders or components can be moved down one place. Alternatively, drag-and-drop or cut-and-paste actions are supported.
Notifications
Viewing and editing of some activated course notifications is enabled when selected media types such as "Events" or "Virtual classrooms" are highlighted.
Preview
The highlighted component opens in a pop-up for viewing.
Generate QR Code
Two types of QR codes can be generated, including direct access links to all media types and an attendance tracking QR code for "Event" media types. To enable event attendance tracking via QR code, the following settings are required; 1) Learner cannot conclude media, 2) No learning logic with tutor confirmation can be on the media, 3) In the mentioned scenario, if a user scans a QR code and the user status of such an event is open, then the status is set to "In progress" with confirmation of the user through a confirmation message "Do you want to check in?", 4) "Done" with confirmation of the user through a confirmation message "Do you want to check out?”. The event cannot be set to "In progress" by opening it via syllabus and the learner cannot conclude media.
Social Media Tab
The “Social media” tab is used for selected media types including “Forums” and “Virtual meetings” such as GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, Webex, Vitero, etc. New course-specific media items can be created here and existing ones can be added. Forums can be especially valuable on courses where discussion amongst participants is encouraged and, if the Tutor is a listed Moderator, the "Preview" icon will allow moderation in a back-end view.
Note: If social media components have been added, it must also be ensured that the "Course room type" selected on the course has the "Social media" panel enabled.
Library Tab
The “Library” is where further materials that are not part of the core syllabus can be made available to the participants. These are generally supporting documents and are not considered in completion progress percentages. All media types can be added, as well as tests and feedback forms. The sidebar options are very similar to the "Components" tab, with a few fewer icons and functions, which makes the "Library" easier to update.
Folders with additional materials such as sample solutions or evaluation guidelines can be marked as tutor folders in the library tab and will not appear to learners, but only to tutors.
Note: If library components have been added, it must also be ensured that the "Course room type" selected on the course has the "Library" panel enabled.
Hints & Tips
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Dividing learning materials into multiple folders is recommended for courses with a large number of contents.
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When creating course-specific media items it is best to create "System-wide" if the media item could be used in other courses or areas of the LMS such as catalogue or bookshelf assignment.
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Forums are not directly supported on the "Components" tab, but a link media type can be created course-specific to link to the forum.