Brightspace Advanced Training for Faculty

Transcription

1 Brightspace Advanced Training for Faculty Release Conditions Release conditions allow you to create a custom learning path through the materials in your course. When you attach a release condition to an item, users cannot see that item until they meet the associated condition. For example, you could attach a release condition to the second topic in your course s content area that would hide that topic until users viewed the topic before it. Or you could create a condition that required users to view a content topic before gaining access to a quiz, or one that required them to post to a discussion topic before they could see a content module. In addition, you can create release conditions based on NOT completing something, and thus an can be sent based on a user not participating in a discussion, not submitting an assignment, or not completing a quiz. If you attach multiple conditions to an item, users must meet all conditions before they can access the item. For example, you could require users to visit the first three content topics in a unit before gaining access to an associated quiz. NOTE: Once a user meets a release condition, the condition is cleared for that user and cannot be reset. For example, if you attach a release condition to a discussion topic requiring users to achieve more than 60% on a quiz before they can access that topic, and one of your participants receives 72% on the quiz but you adjust their grade to 55% they will be able to access the topic because they did meet the requirement at some point. You can put release conditions on the following items: Awards Checklists Content modules and topics Custom widgets Discussion forums and topics Assignment Folders Grade items and categories Announcement items Quizzes Surveys Best Practices for Creating Release Conditions Set up conditions before users access the course Create all of your course materials and set up your release conditions before the course opens to users. This gives you a chance to check for mistakes in the conditions or for circular, contradictory, or unnecessary conditions. If you add new release conditions after users have accessed the course, users might be confused by resources disappearing. Since conditions cannot be reset, you also risk having users meet conditions before your resources are ready (e.g., accessing a content topic before it is finished). Avoid unnecessary conditions Each condition you associate with a tool takes additional time for Learning Environment to process. Using as few conditions as possible to set up a learning path minimizes the amount of time that users spend waiting for pages to load. For example, you set up a content topic, a quiz, and an assignment submission folder for the second week of class. You want users to read the topic before taking the quiz, and you want them to read the topic and attempt the quiz before submitting the week s work to the assignment submission folder. For the assignment submission folder, you only need to attach the condition

2 that users attempt the quiz. Since users must read the content topic before they can take the quiz, it is not necessary to add this condition to the assignment submission folder. Avoid circular references A circular reference makes it impossible for users to satisfy a set of conditions. For example, if you set the condition that users must view a content topic before they can access an assignment submission folder, and then set a condition that they must submit a file to the assignment submission folder before they can access the content topic, you have a circular reference. Users can t satisfy either condition without satisfying the other one first. Circular references are more likely to occur with long chains of conditions. For example, a content topic that depends on a quiz that depends on an assignment submission folder that depends on a checklist that depends on the content topic. Avoid impossible conditions Ensure that your conditions are not impossible for users to satisfy. For example, a condition that users must achieve greater than 100% on a grade item would be impossible (unless bonus marks are available for the item). If users are unable to satisfy a condition, they are unable to access the content or tools to which the condition is attached. Avoid contradictory conditions Contradictory conditions occur when two or more conditions that cancel each other out are associated with an item. For example, the conditions User must achieve greater than 49.9% on Grade Item 1 and User must achieve less than 50% on Grade Item 1 are contradictory. Users could not satisfy both conditions at the same time; they would not be able to see the item associated with these conditions. Attaching a Release Condition 1. Locate the release conditions area, found in the item's editing mode. See the documentation for the appropriate tool for help editing items in that tool. 2. Select Create and Attach. 3. Select the Condition Type and complete the Condition Details. 4. Select Create. 5. Choose whether access to the item is dependent on meeting all or any of your conditions. 6. Select Save. Special considerations Condition Content All Content Topics Visited Notes This condition requires users to visit all modules within your course. You cannot specify only a single module. If you want to create a condition that would make a tool available only after a user has completed a specific module, create a condition using the Content Topic Visited option and require that they visit the last topic within the applicable content module.

3 Discussions Discussion posts authored in Topic If posts to the selected topic require approval, this condition is only satisfied once posts are approved. Reusing a Release Condition If you ve already created a condition and want to apply the same condition to another item, you can quickly select the condition from a list of existing conditions in your course by selecting Attach Existing. This saves you entering the criteria a second time. NOTE: When you attach an existing condition from another item to a second item, the two conditions are not associated in any way. If you change the condition on either item or remove the condition from either item it has no effect on the other. 1. Go to the edit page for the item you want to attach the condition to and locate the release conditions area. 2. Select Attach Existing. 3. Select the condition. 4. TIP: To narrow the list of conditions, choose the tool the condition is based on from the View Conditions for drop-down list. 5. Select Attach. 6. Select Save. Removing Release Conditions 1. Go to the edit page for the item you want to remove the condition from and locate the release conditions area. 2. Select the Remove icon beside a specific condition to remove it, or select Remove All Conditions button to remove all conditions for an item. 3. Select Save. Creating and Customizing a File or Page Apply an HTML Template to a New Document 1. In a Content module, Select Create a File from the Upload/Create button. 2. Select a Document Template from the drop-down list. 3. Once you have selected a template, customize it according to your needs and select Publish or Save as Draft. NOTE: If you decide to save a draft based on an HTML template to a different file path, all links to images, css, or js assets are retained.

4 Creating Content in the Design View of the HTML Editor 1. Navigate to the file you created in Content. 2. Select Edit HTML from the context menu. 3. Enter your content into the HTML Editor. 4. To insert tables, images, links, audio/video/animation files, special characters, and equations, use the Insert options and Table options. 5. Save your changes. HTML Editor Options Icon Name Function/Description Editing Options Cut Copy Copies and deletes the selected content to the clipboard. Copies the selected content to the clipboard. Undo Undoes the last action. Redo Paste Redoes the last action. Note: the paste button has been removed. Copying using Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V is recommended, and text that is copied and pasted will come into Brightspace as Plain Text. Text Formatting Options Paragraph Applies a preset style to selected text. Font Family Changes the font of selected text. Size Changes the size of selected font. Apply Color Changes the color of selected text.

5 Bold Makes the selected text bold. Italic Makes the selected text italic. Underline Underlines the selected text. Strikethrough Puts a line through the selected text (as if it has been crossed out). Subscript Makes the selected text subscript. Superscript Makes the selected text superscript. Paragraph Formatting Options Indent Moves the margin of the current paragraph to the right. Outdent Moves the margin of the current paragraph to the left. Unordered List Inserts a bulleted list. Ordered List Inserts a numbered list. Align Left Aligns the selected paragraph to the left. Align Right Aligns the selected paragraph to the right. Align Center Aligns the selected paragraph in the center of the page. Align Full Fully aligns the selected paragraph (creating flush margins on both sides).

6 Left to Right Tags the selected paragraph's text direction as left-to-right. This ensures that users' browsers render the text appropriately. Useful when the text direction of the paragraph differs from the system locale or other content in the HTML Editor. Right to Left Tags the selected paragraph's text direction as right-to-left. This ensures that users' browsers render the text appropriately. Useful when the text direction of the paragraph differs from the system locale or other content in the HTML Editor. Insert Options Insert Stuff Enables you to insert media (including audio and video) files from a variety of sources. Insert Image Insert Quicklink Graphical Equation MathML Equation LaTeX Equation Insert Symbol Insert Line Inserts an image at the current location of your cursor. Enables you to insert a quicklink to a resource inside Learning Environment. Launches the Equation Editor, allowing you to insert graphical equations. Launches the Equation Editor, allowing you to insert MathML equations. Launches the Equation Editor, allowing you to insert LaTeX equations. Enables you to insert symbols and other special characters. Inserts a horizontal line separating paragraphs. Insert Attributes Enables you to add Title, ID, Class, Style, and Text Direction attributes to selected text without opening the Source Editor. Table Options

7 Insert Table Table Cell Properties Table Row Properties Inserts a table at the current location of your cursor. Enables you to change table properties such as cell padding, cell spacing, alignment, height, width, etc. Enables you to change the properties of the cell your cursor is located in. Enables you to change the properties of the row your cursor is located in. Remove Column Deletes the column your cursor is located in. Remove Row Deletes the row your cursor is located in. Delete Table Insert Column Before Insert Column After Insert Row Before Deletes the table your cursor is located in. Adds a blank column before the column your cursor is located in. Adds a blank column after the column your cursor is located in. Adds a blank row before the row your cursor is located in. Insert Row After Adds a blank row after the row your cursor is located in. Cut Row Copies and deletes the row your cursor is located in. Copy Row Paste Row Before Paste Row After Merge Table Cells Copies the row your cursor is located in. Pastes a previously copied or cut row before the row your cursor is located in. Pastes a previously copied or cut row after the row your cursor is located in. Joins selected cells together. Existing content within the cells merges together.

8 Split Table Cells Splits the selected cell into two cells. Existing content inside the cell remains in the first cell; the second cell is empty. Inserting Quicklinks in the HTML Editor You can insert Quicklinks to existing course materials such as discussions, quizzes, assignment submission folders, and calendar items in the HTML Editor. 1. Select Insert Quicklink in the HTML Editor. 2. Select the type of item you want to link to from the list in the Insert Quicklink window (for example, a quiz, a course file, an external URL). 3. Select the item from the list of options that display. Inserting media files in the HTML Editor You can use HTML Editor's Insert Stuff option to embed media files: Insert a media file from your computer 1. Select the Insert Stuff icon. 2. Select 3. Select Browse button to browse and select a file from your computer. 4. After you choose a file, select Choose Destination button to select or create a storage location for the file. 5. Select Select a Path button. 6. Select Upload. 7. Select Insert. Insert a media file from your course offering files 1. Select the Insert Stuff icon. 2. Select to browse and select a file. 3. Select your file from the file directory or select to upload a file to the directory. You can also select a file type from the Media Type drop-down list and select Apply to filter your directory search. 4. After you choose a file, select Next 5. Enter a Link Text and an Alternate Text. 6. Select Insert. Insert a YouTube video 1. Select the Insert Stuff icon. 2. Select to browse and select a video you want to insert.

9 3. Select Next. You can preview the YouTube video from the YouTube Properties page. 4. Select Insert. Groups Accessing Groups 1. Select on Communications on the navbar. 2. Select Groups. Creating a group category Use categories to organize and manage related groups. For example, you can have a category for Assignment 1, Assignment 2, Seminars, Remedial Help, and Book Reviews. If you want to create a new set of groups, you need to set up a category and create restricted work areas for the groups first. 1. On the Manage Groups page, Select New Category button. 2. Enter a Category Name and Description. 3. Select an Enrollment Type from the drop-down list. 4. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, enter the Number of Groups to create, the Number of Users per group, or both. 5. To apply a distinctive prefix to each group name and code in the category, enter it in the Group Prefix field. If you do not fill in this field, the prefix defaults to "Group". Tip: Add the org unit ID to the group code to further distinguish it from other group codes. 6. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, select Auto-enroll new users to automatically enroll users to groups. 7. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, select Randomize users in groups to randomly place users in groups. If you do not choose this option, users are placed alphabetically based on the classlist. 8. If you select an Enrollment Type that supports self enrollment, to set a deadline after which learners can no longer self enroll in the group, select Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date. 9. If you select Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date, but you want all learners who do not enroll before the expiry date to be enrolled, you can select Allocate unenrolled users after Self Enrollment Expiry Date to automatically, randomly and evenly distribute them into the available groups. Note: This option adds group members beyond the capacity of groups, if applicable. The automatic enrollment recurs at a set interval after the expiry date to ensure that all learners are assigned to a group. Note: Enable the options in the Create Workspace area only after you've customized your group names. The Discussions areas are then created with the customized group names right away, and you do not have to edit their names manually later. 10. Select Save. 11. To customize individual group names, select the group and enter a new group name. 12. Select Save.

10 13. To set up discussion areas and assignment submissions folders with the customized group name, from the category name's context menu, select Edit Category. 14. In the Create Workspace area, select Set up discussion areas, and/or Set up assignment submissions folders. 15. Select Save. 16. On the Create Restricted Topics page, select the Forum in which you want to create restricted topics. 17. If you have the new group topic creation feature enabled, do one of the following: a. If you want instructors to manage each topic individually, select the Create one topic per group radio button. Learners can only see topics assigned to their group. b. If you want to enable instructors to manage all activity and assessment from one topic, select the Create one topic with threads separated by group radio button. Learners can only see threads from their own group. 18. Select Create and Next. 19. Enter a group discussion Title and Description. 20. Select Create and Next. 21. Select Done. 22. Select Set up discussion areas if you want to associate discussion areas with the groups in the category. 23. Select Set up assignment submission folders if you want to associate assignments with the groups in the category. 24. Select Save. Creating Group Restricted Discussion Areas When you create a new category with Set up discussion areas selected, you are automatically taken to the Create Restricted Discussion Areas page. On this page, you can create a separate topic for each group within an existing or new forum. 1. Do one of the following: a. Select an existing Forum from the drop-down list. b. Select the New Forum link to create a new forum for the category. 2. Select Add Another if you want to add more than one discussion forum, then repeat step Select Create and Next when finished. Creating Group Restricted Assignment Submission Folders When you create a new category with Set up assignment submission folders selected, you are automatically taken to the Create Assignment Submission Folders page. Creating an assignment submission folder from this page creates a folder for each of the groups in the category. Modifying or adding group enrollment 1. On the Manage Groups page, select the category that contains the group or groups you want to modify or add enrollments to from the View Categories drop-down list. 2. Select Enroll Users from the context menu of the category.

11 3. Select the group you want from the Display drop-down list or select "All Groups" to see all groups. 4. Enter information in the Search For field to find a specific user, or select the Search icon to find all users. 5. TIP: Select the Not Enrolled search option to find users that that do not belong to a group. 6. Select the check boxes beside each user's name to add them to groups. Clear check boxes to unenroll users from groups. 7. Select Save. Single user, member specific groups (Private Discussions) There is a new group category type called Single user, member-specific groups. Using this group category creates a group with a single user where the first name and last name of the learner is the name of the group. When a new learner is enrolled in the course a group is automatically created for them. Instructors no longer have to rename groups of one. A private discussion board may be useful when creating assignments that ask students to write about sensitive information that they may not want to share with the rest of the class. For example, you want students to write about legal or ethical situations that they have encountered in a clinical setting. A private discussion board ensures that students cannot see each other s posts, but instructors can still respond and assign grades to the threads.. Step 1: Navigate to the Groups tool 1. In the Groups tool, Click New Category and enter a Category Name 2. Select Single user, member-specific groups from the drop-down menu 3. Check Set up discussion areas 4. Click Save

12 Step 2: Select a Forum for the discussion topic. 1. If a Forum has not yet been created, you can create one by clicking [New Forum] 2. Select Create one topic with threads separated by group. 3. Enter the Title for your discussion topic. 4. In the Description box, enter the directions or question(s) for the discussion. 5. Click Create and Next. Step 3: Navigate to the Groups page to see a list of the groups 1. Click Groups in the Communication menu, 2. Each student in the course should now be listed as the single member of a group Group Discussion Improvements Brightspace Learning Environment simplifies the management of group discussion topics starting in version New Topic workflow When you are creating a new topic, on the Properties tab, the topic type defaults to Open topic. You can select the new Group or section topic option instead. Once you create and save the topic, you cannot change the topic type. If you selected the topic type as open, you can access the original Group Restrictions area on the Restrictions tab.

13 New Group Category workflow To create a new group category the original way, select the Create one topic per group radio button. To create group categories the new way, select the Create one topic with threads separated by group radio button. Creating / reading / participating in group discussions One discussion topic is created for an entire group and posts within it are associated with specific groups. As a result, instructors observe less scrolling on the discussion list. Instructors can use the new All

14 Groups filter on the topic to view all posts or to only view posts for a specific group. Inside a discussion thread, users can see which group the thread belongs to. New thread - choice of group to post thread Groups filter

15 View discussion thread Assessing Group Discussions Only one grade item is required. This makes assessing discussion topics faster as instructors do not have to navigate in and out of topics to complete an assessment. Copying groups Now, when instructors copy groups to new courses, the group setup (grade item, assessment option, etc.) is also copied over. Intelligent Agents Improvements to Intelligent Agents Brightspace Learning Environment and introduces new features and functionality for Intelligent Agents: A new history page allows users creating Intelligent Agents to see each time the agent runs, which users it identifies, what s have been sent, and details on any errors that occurred during the agent run. You can view this page by clicking View History on the Edit Agent page. It is also available from the context menu of the agent on the Agent List page. You can view the history of the most recently executed run directly from Results of Last Run in the agent list. This lists how many users were identified, and/or error information. A new mode for running Intelligent Agents allows users to select Practice Run from the agent context menu on the Agent List page. This runs the agent, and reports back a list of users who met the specified criteria. Users identified in a practice run are not notified or ed. A practice run does not count as an action when using the Take action only the first time the agent s criteria are satisfied for a user type of agent. As with existing Intelligent Agents, the agent must be turned on to trigger a practice run. In conjunction with the new history page, users can also now see the history of all practice runs. In Intelligent Agents Settings, instructors can now set custom values for the Name that s come from and Reply-To address for responses so that the automated s can appear to come from the instructor instead of from a helpdesk. Learners can reply directly to the agent s and replies are directed to the instructor. If instructors want their s to continue to come from a helpdesk and do not want to have a reply-to function, they don't have to take any action to maintain the existing behaviour. The course values for Name that s come from and Reply-To address for responses

16 are not copied during copy course components and instructors need to update these fields postcopy. When an instructor uses custom values, the Name that s come from displays to learners as the person from whom the is sent, both in the header and in Messages alerts in the minibar. When learners reply to an , responses route to the address specified in Reply-To address for responses. There is no longer a 4000-character limit on text from Intelligent Agents. This is now unlimited. The Agent Name field in an Intelligent Agent previously truncated to 50 characters. It now has an available length of 128 characters. Existing Intelligent Agents without any conditions attached to them ( empty agents) no longer run and spam all users. When an empty agent is triggered, it fails with an error and is automatically turned off. This error info is available on the history page. Users can now copy Intelligent Agents within the same course from a new context menu item for each agent listed in the Agent List. The copy is called "Copy of <name>" and is turned off by default. Scheduled intelligent agents stop running and are automatically disabled if the course is inactive, over (end date passed), or deleted. You can still set up a practice run or a manual run of an intelligent agent at any time in a course with a passed end date. Users can now multi-select and delete agents on the Agent List page. The new Restore Agents page allows you to restore deleted agents. All restored agents maintain existing properties and history. Deleted agents do not run if they have a recurring schedule. Customizing the Reply to: and From: fields on the s sent Previously, the s sent by Intelligent Agents came from an address that was set by the D2L administrator for each institution. There was only one From: and Reply to: address that could be set per institution. If students replied in the normal way to the received, their would not be received by the instructor who executed the Agent. With this new feature, these two important fields can be customized for each instructor or other Brightspace user who has access to the Agents tool. To change these fields, go into the Intelligent Agents Settings by clicking on the Settings link on the Agents home page.

17 Important Note: that if you use the Copy Course Components tool, these customized settings are not copied over to a new course, and the default values are still entered in these two fields. You would need to update the Settings again for the next course. Accessing Intelligent Agents 1. Select My Tools on the navbar. 2. Select Course Admin. 3. Select Intelligent Agents. Creating intelligent agents When you create a new agent you need to determine: What criteria it looks for. What the content is for the that the agent sends when its conditions are met. How often it looks for users meeting its criteria. 1. Select New on the Agent List page. 2. Enter an Agent Name. 3. Enter a Description. 4. Select the Agent is enabled check box if you want the agent enabled once you save. 5. Determine the criteria the agent looks for: a. If you want the agent to search for system login activity, select the Take action when the following login criteria are satisfied check box and choose which of the two login activities you want to monitor. b. If you want the agent to search for course access activity, select the Take action when the following course activity criteria are satisfied check box and choose which of the two course activities you want to monitor. c. Select Attach Existing or Create and Attach to select or create release conditions for the agent to monitor.

18 6. Determine the action the agent takes when its conditions are met: a. Select one of the Action Repetition options to set whether the agent takes action once or every time the conditions are met. The Action Repetition setting determines how many s an agent might send to users who satisfy its criteria. Take action only the first time the agent's criteria are satisfied for a user: When you select this setting, all users that satisfy the agent's criteria receive only one no matter how many times the agent is evaluated. Take action every time the agent is evaluated and the agent's criteria are satisfied for a user: When you select this setting, the agent sends an to all users that satisfy its criteria every time the agent is evaluated. b. If you want the agent to run on a schedule, select the Use Schedule check box, then select the Update Schedule button. c. Set the schedule in the Update Agent Schedule pop-up. d. Select Update to save the schedule and return to the New Agent page. 7. Select HTML or Plain Text for the format. 8. Enter the names of recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. You can use special replace strings in these fields. 9. Enter an Subject. You can use special replace strings in this field. 10. Enter a Message. 11. Select Save and Close. Replace strings for intelligent agents Address Replace Strings You can use the following replace strings in the address fields for the agent s. Replace String Description {InitiatingUser} {InitiatingUserAuditors} The user who performs the action that meets the agent s criteria. The auditors for the user who performs the action that meets the agent s criteria. (This is not typically used) Body Text Replace Strings You can use the following replace strings in the HTML editor for the agent body. Replace String {OrgName} Description The name of the organization.

19 {OrgUnitCode} {OrgUnitName} {OrgUnitStartDate} {OrgUnitEndDate} {OrgUnitId} {InitiatingUserFirstName} {InitiatingUserLastName} {InitiatingUserUserName} {InitiatingUserOrgDefinedId} {LoginPath} {LastCourseAccessDate} {LastLoginDate} The code for the Org Unit. The name of the Org Unit. The start date specified for the Org Unit. The end date specified for the Org Unit. The id for the org unit. The first name of the initiating user. The last name of the initiating user. The UAnetID of the initiating user. The Student/Employee ID number of the initiating user. The address of the login path for the site. The date the initiating user last accessed the course. The date the initiating user last logged in. Running an intelligent agent manually Typically, intelligent agents are set up to run automatically. If you do not have a regular schedule set up for an agent, you must run it manually. When you run an agent manually, it sends a confirmation to the user that requested or set up the agent. This lists the following information: Org unit code and name. Which agent ran. Time and date the request was submitted. Time and date the request was finished. Whether the agent took action. Any error text. Run an intelligent agent manually On the Agent List page, select Run Now from the context menu of the agent you want to run manually. Test out your Agents with a Practice Run Click the drop-down menu by the name of any Agent, and you ll now see an option for a Practice Run. Executing this option will provide you with information about who would be identified as meeting the Agent criteria, without actually executing the Agent and sending out s. Using this option does not impact the functionality of the Take action only the first time the agent s criteria are satisfied for a user setting. The Practice Run is a great way of testing out a new Agent to help ensure that it is properly formed.

20 Another possible use of the Practice Run is to learn which students meet certain criteria, even though you don t intend to send them an from the Agent tool. This would provide you with information about which students are doing certain things, not doing certain things, or a combination of both. Results of Last Run now appears on Agents home page There is now an on-screen notification about the number of users that were identified as meeting the Agent criteria during the last run, and also includes the date of the last run. View History In the image above, you ll see the command called View History in the drop-down context menu. When you select that option, a new page opens that indicates the run-by-run history of a particular Agent. This history will tell you the date of each run, how many users were identified (with a link that will show the names of the students identified), and whether it was a Practice Run, Manual Run, or Scheduled Run.

21 Character limit on s sent from Agents is eliminated Prior to this update, there was a 4,000-character limit for s sent from an Agent. Although that s a lot of characters, there were situations where this limit caused issues for some users. There is now no limit to the size of s sent from the Agents tool. Empty Intelligent Agents no longer execute Over time, a valid Agent might become deprecated without being noticed by the instructor or course designer. For example, if an Agent was created based on a particular quiz and then that quiz is later deleted from the course, the agent will now have no criteria to act upon. Previously, this Agent would execute as scheduled, and would send confusing s to students. Now, if an empty agent is executed, it will fail and be automatically disabled. The failure error message will display on the history page as a reminder to edit or delete the Agent. Copy an existing Intelligent Agent to make a similar one Existing Intelligent agents can now be copied within the same course as a way of easily creating a similar, but different Agent. After the copy has been made, it is a matter of changing the relevant settings or conditions to make the new Agent. Copied agents are disabled by default, to allow you time to edit the copy prior to making it active.

22 Additional Agents Improvements The Agent Name on the tool home page previously displayed only the first 50 characters of the Agent Name. You could give it a longer name, but the display was truncated when viewing the list of all Agents. With this update, you will now see up to 128 characters in the displayed Agent Name. The Practice Run and Run Now options work on disabled agents. You no longer have to enable the agent prior to selecting these options. The enable/disable status only affects scheduled runs and not the agent. Enabled now means that the schedule is enabled for an agent. There are three new replace strings available for use when composing the sent with an agent: o {LastLoginDate} - The date the initiating user last logged in or Never if they have not logged in. The date format looks like: Tuesday, September 20, :39 AM EDT o {LastCourseAccessDate} - The date the initiating user last accessed the course or Never if they have not accessed the course. The date format looks like Tuesday, September 20, :39 AM EDT. o {OrgUnitId} - The org unit (course) ID required to make quicklinks work in the s sent with an agent. o There is inline help for replace strings with updated text that includes the three new replace strings. Rubrics Creating analytic rubrics Analytic rubrics allow you to assess a Competencies activity or eportfolio item based on more than one criterion in a single rubric. With analytic rubrics, levels of achievement are displayed in columns and your assessment criteria are displayed in rows. Analytic rubrics may use a points, custom points or text only scoring method. Points and custom points analytic rubrics may use both text and points to assess performance; with custom points, each criterion may be worth a different amount of points. For both points and custom points an overall score is provided based on the total number of points achieved. The overall score determines whether the activity is achieved. Create an analytic rubric 1. Select Assessment on the navbar. 2. Select Rubrics. 3. On the Rubrics page, select New Rubric. 4. Enter a Name and Description. 5. Select a Rubric Status from the drop-down list. 6. NOTE: We recommend setting a status of Draft while you are developing a rubric. When the rubric is finished and ready to associate with an Assignment Submission folder or Discussion, set the status to Published. 7. Select "Analytic" from the Rubric Type drop-down list. 8. Select how many achievement levels you want the rubric to have in the Initial # of Levels field. 9. Select how many criteria you want to break your evaluation down by in the Initial # of Criteria field. 10. Select a Scoring Method. 11. Select Save.

23 Define analytic rubric achievement levels and criteria 1. On the Rubrics page, select Edit Levels and Criteria from the context menu of the analytic rubric you want to define achievement levels and criteria for. 2. Select Edit Criterion from the context menu of a criterion you want to modify. 3. Enter a Criterion Name. 4. Select Save. 5. Repeat Steps 2-4 for other criteria. NOTE: Select Add Criteria Group if you want to create a criteria made of subsections of existing criteria. 6. Select Edit Level from the context menu of an achievement level you want to modify. We recommend that you start with the lowest achievement level and work your way up. 7. Enter a Level Name. 8. If you are creating an analytic rubric that uses a points scoring method, enter a Score (points) for the level. For custom points, you may enter a different score (points) for each criterion. 9. Enter a Description of what is required to achieve the level for each criterion. Achievement level descriptions help evaluators determine which level best reflects a user's achievement. The more detailed your descriptions are, the more consistent evaluations will be. 10. Enter a standard Feedback for each level. Standard feedback appears to users who achieve the level, and it is an easy way to communicate a rubric's evaluation methodology. 11. Select Save. 12. Repeat Steps 6-11 for other levels. Configuring an Assignment submission folder for assessment with a Rubric 1. On the Assignment Submission Folders page, Select Edit Submission Folder from the context menu of the folder you want to edit. 2. Select Add Rubric button to associate the assignment submission folder with a rubric. Select the Create Rubric in New Window link if you want to create a new rubric. You can also select an existing rubric and set it as the Default Scoring Rubric. 3. Select Save and Close. Configuring a Discussion topic for assessment with a Rubric 1. On the Discussions List page, select Edit Topic from the context menu of the topic you want to configure. 2. Select the Assessment tab. 3. If you want to link a topic score to a grade item, select your Grade Item from the drop-down list, or select New Grade Item to create a grade item for the topic in a pop-up window. 4. Specify the number you want to Score Out Of. This is the scale, ranging from zero to the number you enter, that users are evaluated on. For example, if you enter 15, users are assessed on a scale from zero to fifteen. 5. Select Add Rubric button to associate the topic with one or more rubrics. Select the Create Rubric in New Window link to create a new rubric.

24 NOTE: A Rubrics section displays in the collapsible Description area of the topic, containing links to any rubrics you associate with the topic. Selecting on a rubric link will open the rubric in a pop-up window, allowing users to preview the expectations for the topic. 6. Select Save and Close. Checklists A checklist contains important or required assignments, readings, or other items to complete. Each checklist contains one or more categories, into which checklist items are organized. For example, you might have an Assignments checklist with categories for written assignments and quizzes, both of which could have multiple items that you need to complete. Creating a checklist 1. Select Course Materials from the navbar. 2. Select Checklist. 3. On the Checklists page, select New Checklist button. 4. On the New Checklist page, enter the name of the new checklist in the Name field. 5. You can enter an optional Description to identify what the checklist contains. 6. Select Open this checklist in a new window when viewed if you want the checklist to open in a new window when users access it. By default, checklists open in the current window. 7. Select Save to save the new checklist. This brings you to the Edit Checklist page. Creating a checklist item 1. On the Checklists page, select on the checklist you want to add an item to, if necessary. If you just completed step 7 above the Edit Checklist page should already be opened to the checklist you created in those above steps.. 2. On the Edit Checklist page, select New Item button (scroll down to find). 3. On the New Item page, do one of the following: Select a category for the item in the Category drop-down list. Select the New Category link to add a new category. In the New Category pop-up, enter a Name and optional Description for the new category and select Save. NOTE: Each item you create must belong to a category. 4. Enter a Name and a Description for the new item. 5. Set a due date by selecting the Due Date check box and selecting the appropriate date and time from the drop-down lists. 6. Select Display in Calendar to make the item visible in the calendar for students. 7. Select Save to save the new item or Save and New to save it and create another one. Previewing a checklist Select Preview in a new window from the context menu of the checklist you want to preview.

25 Manage Dates The Manage Dates tool enables you to view, edit and offset the date availability, and set the Calendar status of all Content topics and modules, Discussion topics and forums, Assignment Submission folders, Grades categories and items, announcement items, and quizzes in your course from one central location. These course objects display in a grid that you can sort by any of the column headings. You can also filter the grid by specific tool and use advanced filter options to work with smaller sets of objects. If you filter your course objects, any bulk changes you make apply only to the filtered results. This enables you to update multiple availability dates based on specific criteria. In addition to managing dates, you can open each course object in a new window by selecting on its name. This launches the object's edit page where you can edit additional properties for that object without leaving the Manage Dates tool. Accessing Manage Dates 1. Select My Tools on your course navbar. 2. Select Manage Dates. Note: You can also access Manage Dates under the Course Admin in My Tools. Advanced filter options in Manage Dates Basic filter options in Manage Dates enable you to narrow your results based on tool. Advanced filter options enable you to further narrow your results by a course object's name, dates, duration, and Calendar status. Select Show Advanced Filter Options to access these additional filter options. Filter Options Name Start Date End Date Duration Additional Instructions Enter a keyword and use the drop-down list to specify how the system should compare your keyword with existing object names in your course. Choose "blank" from the drop-down list to return course objects that do not have a start date. Choose "blank" from the drop-down list to return course objects that do not have an end date. Use the drop-down list to specify how the system should compare the number you enter with existing durations within your course. Choose "blank" from the drop-down list to return course objects that do not have a specific amount of days they are available to users. Objects with unspecified durations include those containing only a start date or only an end date. Calendar Status Use the drop-down to specify whether filter results return objects that are displayed in Calendar or not displayed in Calendar.

26 Editing dates in Manage Dates You can edit dates for individual course objects or multiple objects. While editing dates, you can also display course object availability in the Calendar tool. If you filter your course objects, any bulk changes you make apply only to those filtered results. This enables you to update multiple objects based on specific criteria. Edit dates 1. In the context menu of the object you want to edit dates for, select Edit Dates. 2. Set or clear the start date and end date. 3. Choose whether the object displays in the Calendar tool. 4. Select Save. Bulk edit dates 1. Select the check boxes beside the objects you want to edit dates for and select from the top of the grid. 2. Set or remove the start dates and end dates. 3. Choose whether to add the objects to the Calendar tool. 4. Select Save. Remove dates Select Remove beside an object's start date or end date. Offsetting dates in Manage Dates Manage Dates enables you to move start dates and end dates forward or backward by a specified number of days. You can use this to move course content forward to a new term. 1. Select the check boxes beside the objects you want to offset dates for and select from the top of the grid. 2. Specify which dates you want to offset. 3. Use the Days drop-down list to specify whether you want to offset the dates forward or backward and enter the number of days you want to offset those dates by. Or choose Calculated based on two dates to quickly generate the number of days between two relative dates. 4. Select Save. Creating Widgets Widgets are the building blocks of homepages. You can create, edit, delete, customize, and preview the widgets in your organization. Creating custom widgets Custom widgets allow you to expand the functionality of available content in your homepages to suit your specific organizational and/or course needs. You can add custom HTML code to create a wide range of widgets. As an Instructor, you can create custom widgets for your courses, or use custom widgets shared to your course offerings from the organization, department, or semester level.

27 1. On the Course Home page, select My Tools, then select Widgets. Note: You can also access Widgets under Course Admin. 2. Select Create Widget. 3. Enter a Name and Description for the widget. 4. Select Save and Close. Editing widget display You can customize the following aspects of system or custom widgets for your homepages: Titlebar: text and font color. Titlebar background: fill type and color. Titlebar shadow effects: color, vertical size, and blur level. Titlebar border: style, color, and width. Widget shadow: color, vertical and horizontal size, shadow spread, and blur level. Widget border: style, color, and width. Widget shape: corner roundness or sharpness Custom widgets provide additional options that enable you to create widgets that blend into the homepage background: Widget background: transparency. Widget padding: change the spacing around the content within the widget to blend more seamlessly into the background of the page. A custom widget with a hidden titlebar, transparent background (with homepage background showing through), and rounded corners.

28 A custom widget with a gradient titlebar, titlebar dropshadow, large internal padding, and sharp corners. The page background is visible around the edges of the widget. To Do This Hide the titlebar Prevent users from closing the widget on the homepage Set a custom title Change the font color of the title Clear the Display Titlebar check box Select the Prohibit minimizing widget check box Select the Custom radio button, and enter your text in the field Select a font color from the Color selector in the Titlebar area Change the background of the titlebar Select Gradient or Solid from the Fill Type drop-down list. TIP: A gradient fill type creates a three-dimensional look for your homepage. Select a color style: soft, light, or dark. These colors are set by your administrator. Or, select a custom color for your widget's titlebar background. NOTE: If you select a gradient fill type, two color selectors appear: the gradient's top color on the left, and bottom on the right. Create a shadow effect on the titlebar Select a font color from the Color selector in the Titlebar Shadow area Set a Vertical amount and a Blur level in the fields provided

29 Change the border on the titlebar Clear the Display Border check box to remove the border Select a line type from the Border Style drop-down list Select a border color from the Color selector Select a border width from the Width drop-down list Show the page background in a custom widget Select the Transparent check box in the Widget Background area Create a shadow effect on the widget Select a shadow color from the Color selector Set the Vertical and Horizontal pixels, the Spread of the shadow, and the Blur level in the fields provided Change the border of the widget Clear the Display Border check box to remove the border Select a line type from the Border Style drop-down list Select a border color from the Color selector Select a border width from the Width drop-down list Change the shape of the corners on the widget Set a pixel value for each corner of the widget in the fields provided TIP: The higher the value, the more rounded the corners appear. The lower the value, the sharper the corners appear. The lowest value you can enter is 0. Change the padding on custom widgets Set a pixel value for each side of the widget in the fields provided NOTE: To help you meet visual accessibility standards, use the accessibility checker in the content tab of the widget. It will check your text settings and colors to ensure your content meets accessibility standards. Adding and moving widgets on your homepage 1. Select Edit this homepage in the bottom right corner of the homepage. 2. Select Add Widgets button in the Widgets section to view all widgets available for use in the homepage you are editing. Each panel has its own corresponding Add Widgets button. 3. Select the check boxes beside the widgets that you want to add to the homepage panel, and select Add. NOTE: The widgets listed in the Add Widgets dialog are dependent on the tools available for use within your organization and added to the current org unit. 4. Select and drag a widget to: Change its vertical placement on a panel. Move it to another panel. 5. Select Save and Close to apply the changes.