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Overview A variety of content can be added to your subject site including: Item: Create and style your own text or HTML content File: Add a document (e.g. Word, PDF, ZIP) for students to download Audio: Add an audio file (e.g. mp3) for students to play online or download Image: Display an image (JPG, GIF, PNG) directly in the page Video: Display a video (e.g. mp4) directly in the page URL: Add a hyperlink to an external web site (e.g. http://www.wikipedia.org) This type of content can be added to any content area (such as Subject Materials) or a Learning Module. The basic process to add any content item is: 1. Turn Edit Mode ON 2. Navigate to the content area where the content is to be added (e.g. Subject Materials) 3. From the Build Content menu, choose the type of content you wish to add (Item, File, Audio, Image, Video or URL) 4. Select the file by choosing Browse my Computer or Browse Subject Files buttons. (You can also select a Browse Mashups button in the case of media files) 5. Type a Name for the content item (and optionally a description in the Text Box) 6. Set any options specific to the media being managed (e.g. Dimensions) 7. Set Standard Options (e.g. Date and Time Restrictions) if required 8. Click Submit to embed your file in your subject site. 2
Adding an item When creating or modifying content in LearnJCU (such as document or folder descriptions, test questions or discussion board threads) you work within what is known as the Visual Text Box Editor (VTBE) The VTBE enables you to add text that can be formatted in a variety of ways such as bulleted lists, numbered lists, bold, italicised etc. Images and multimedia files, such as audio and video, can also be added to LearnJCU content items using the VTBE. The icons on the VTBE toolbar are similar to that in Microsoft Word. You can move your pointer over each icon to reveal its function. The most popular functions are: Top row: Style, Paragraph,Font,Size,bullets, numbered,text colour,highlight,remove Far right top row: Preview, help. Full screen, show Second row: Cut copy paste find undo redo, alignment, superscript, subscript,insert/edit link, undo link, direction, line, horizontal rule, nonbreaking space character, toggle spellcheck Third row: Attach file, attach image, embed media, Mashups,shownon printing characters, block quote,symbol,emoticons, anchor,table tools,html view, CSS style To add an Item to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose Item 2. Type a Name for the content item 3. Add your content and style it in the VTBE 4. Optionally, select an additional file to attach to your item (e.g. Word doc, PDF) in the Attachments section. Select a file to attach using the Browse my Computer button or Browse Subject Files button 5. Optionally, set availability dates in the Options section 6. Click Submit to add your item. Tip: Click the Save as HTML checkbox in the bottom left corner of the VTBE to place a re-usable copy of your Item in your Subject Files area. 3
Adding a file Add a File to your site when you simply need to make a document available to students for download and don t need to display any additional information. Supported file types include:.doc,.exe,.html,.htm,.pdf,.ppt,.pps,.txt,.wpd,.xls,.zip. To add a File to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose File 2. Select a file to upload using the Browse my Computer button or Browse Subject Files button 3. Type a Name for the your file 4. For the Open in New Window option, choose Yes (Important for cross-platform compatibility) 5. Optionally, set availability dates in the Standard Options section 6. Click Submit to add your item. 4
Adding an audio file A digital audio file (e.g. a voice recording of a lecture) can be recorded on your computer with a microphone and suitable software like Audacity or Camtasia Relay. The most accessible format to use is mp3, which can be played on most platforms, although a number of audio formats are supported including: aiff,.asf,.moov,.mov,.mp,.wav,.wma,.wmv. We recommend keeping the bitrate down to 48 kbps to reduce the file size. To add a audio file to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose Audio 2. Select an audio file to upload using the Browse my Computer button or Browse Subject Files button 3. In the Name field, type a name for the your file 4. Set your audio options. In almost all cases you will want to set Autostart to No and Loop to No. If you have a text file containing a transcript of the recording you can upload using the Browse button in the Include Transcript field. 5. Select required options under Standard Options: Permit users to view, track number of views and date and time restrictions. 6. Click the Submit button to embed your audio file in the page. 5
Digital audio files can be played online directly in LearnJCU if you have an appropriate browser plugin (e.g. QuickTime) installed. Alternatively, you can download the file using the link below the player controls. NOTE: If you have trouble playing the file through completely online using the player control, click the Download link for full playback Adding an Image Digital images are typically photos taken with a digital camera, screenshots, original digital artwork, or images you have found on the web services such as Flickr or Picasa. Acceptable image file formats for display in LearnJCU include: jpg, gif and png. We recommend sizing your image to the actual display size required in LearnJCU before uploading the image. To add an image file to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose Image 2. In the Find File field, select an image file to upload using the Browse my Computer, Browse Subject Files, or Browse Mashups button 3. In the Name field, type a name for the your file 6
4. In the Alt Text field, type a short descriptive title for your image Alt or Alternate Text is recommended for all images on a webpage to meet accessibility guidelines. 5. Optionally, add a longer description in the Long Description field for users who cannot see the image. 6. In the Image options area there are a number of options that can be set, however the default settings are usually fine. Settings that can be altered include: Dimensions Choosing Original will not alter the dimensions of the uploaded image, while choosing Custom will allow you specify a width and height in pixels (e.g. 640 x 480) Border Choosing None will display your image as is, while choosing a value of 1 to 4 from the pulldown will add a black border of 1 to 4 pixels in thickness around the image. Image Target URL Place a full URL (e.g. http://www.wikipedia.org) in this field to take the user to that web page if they click on the image Open Target in New Window If an Image Target URL is specified, this option allows the linked web page to be opened in a new browser window 7. Set Standard Options (e.g. Tracking, Date and Time Restrictions) if required 8. Click Submit to embed the image in your subject site. Adding a video Digital video typically includes screen recordings, footage taken with a digital video camera or webcam, or video you have found on the web services such as YouTube. For stand-alone video files longer than a few minutes we strongly recommend you use the JCU Digital Media service to host your video and link it to your LearnJCU site. However, if you have a short video (e.g. a webcam recording) you d like to upload directly, the video can be added directly to LearnJCU. Acceptable video file formats for display in LearnJCU include: MPEG/AVI:.avi,.mpg,.mpeg Quick Time:.mov,.qt Flash/Shockwave:.swa,.swf When using video files, it is a good idea to include links to any browser plug-ins or media players that students will need to view the media. To add a video file to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose Video 2. In the Find File field, select an image file to upload using the Browse my Computer, Browse Subject Files, or Browse Mashups button 3. In the Name field, type a name for the your file 4. In the video options area there are a number of options that can be set, however the default settings are usually fine. 7
Settings that can be altered include: Dimensions Choosing Original will not alter the dimensions of the uploaded video, while choosing Custom will allow you to specify a width and height in pixels (e.g. 640 x 480). The default width for a video uploaded to LearnJCU is 320 pixels and the default height is 240 pixels. Autostart The video will play as soon as the page loads if this option is set to Yes. In most cases, this should be set to No. Loop The video will play through repeatedly. In most cases, this should be set to No. Content alignment is not currently available in LearnJCU. 5. Set Standard Options (e.g. Tracking, Date and Time Restrictions) if required 6. Click Submit to embed the image in your subject site. A note about sizing your video Check your video file properties for the native size, and then use a size to display the video that maintains the height-to-width ratio of the native size. For example, if the video file normally displays at 800x400, you can change it to 400x200 to fit the page. If you change the size to 900x300, the video will appear distorted because the width:height ratio is no longer the same. Adding a URL The Add URL item allows you to place a hyperlink to an external website (e.g. http://www.wikipedia.org) or a link to a Camtasia Relay recording directly on a page in your subject site. URLs are a great way to collect related resources without having to upload content to LearnJCU or worry about copyright. To add a link to a URL to your site: 1. From the Build Content menu, choose URL 2. In the Name field, type a name for the web site you will be linking to 3. In the URL field, type of paste the full URL of the website (e.g. http://wikipedia.org) 4. Select checkbox if the link is to a Tool provider. A Tool Provider is a 3rd-party tool that implements the Basic LTI protocol. (LTI: Learning Tool Interoperability) 5. Optionally, in the Description field, type a short description of what the web site is about 8
7. Optionally, in the Attachments section, click the Browse my Computer or Browse Subject Files button to attach supporting resources such as Word documents. 8. Set Web Link Options (open in new window) and Standard Options (e.g. Tracking, Date and Time Restrictions) if required 9. Click Submit to embed the URL in your subject site. Managing items in a content area Once a content item has been added to your subject site any of its settings can be easily edited. Content items can also be re-positioned, copied, deleted or moved to another content area in the same subject site or another subject site. To reposition an item on the page: 1. With Edit Mode ON, click and hold up/down arrows to the left of an item and drag it up or down the page to the required location 2. Release the mouse button to drop the item in its new position 9
To delete a content item: 1. With Edit Mode ON, click the action menu (double down arrow) to the right of any content item and select Delete 2. Click OK to confirm the deletion of the item. Tip: Once deleted, a content item cannot be recovered. If you only want to hide the item from students, the better solution is to make it unavailable (Use Edit in the item s action menu) or to move it to your subject files area. To copy a content item to another area within the same subject site 1. With Edit Mode ON, click the action menu (double down arrow) to the right of any content item and select copy 2. In the Destination section, the default destination course displayed is the current subject site (Leave this as is). Select the destination by clicking the Browse button in the Destination Folder field. In the Select Location pop-up window a site map of your subject will be displayed as a collapsible list of folders and items. 3. Select the destination folder by clicking through the folders then clicking on the name of the destination folder If the item you have selected cannot be copied you have the option to create a link to that item in the destination location. 4. Click the Submit button to complete the copy of your item to the destination area. NOTE: Copying an item within a subject retains a copy of the item in its original location, but Moving an item removes the items from its original location (i.e. like cutting in a Word document rather than copying ). Related Guides Using Subject Files to Manage Content in LearnJCU (PDF) Managing content availability with Adaptive Release (PDF) 10