introduction to mole - university of sheffieldcics, july 2012 introduction to mole 2. grade centre...

Introduction to MOLE

July 2012

University of Sheffield

CiCS, July 2012 Introduction to MOLE

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CONTENTS

1. Content Creation ........................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Left Hand Navigation Menu................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Adding Content ................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Edit Mode / Student View ................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Control Panel .................................................................................................................... 10

2. Grade Centre ............................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Full Grade Centre .............................................................................................................. 12

Grading assessments in Grade Centre ............................................................................................... 14

3. Collaboration and Communication .............................................................................. 16 Blogs .................................................................................................................................................. 16 Creating a Blog .................................................................................................................................. 16 Using the Blog ................................................................................................................................... 17 Adding a blog entry ........................................................................................................................... 18 Accessing the Chat / Virtual Classroom ............................................................................................. 20 Creating a new Chat / Virtual Classroom .......................................................................................... 20 User Roles ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Virtual Classroom Group Browser ..................................................................................................... 21 Whiteboard Tools .............................................................................................................................. 22 Recording a Session ........................................................................................................................... 23

3.2 Discussion Boards ............................................................................................................. 24 Creating a Forum ............................................................................................................................... 24 Creating a Thread .............................................................................................................................. 25 Grading Discussion Board Participation ............................................................................................. 26 Evaluate performance in a Forum ..................................................................................................... 26 Evaluate performance within a Thread. ............................................................................................ 26 Moderating a Forum ......................................................................................................................... 27 Peer Review Through the Discussion Board ...................................................................................... 28 Rating a Discussion Board Post ......................................................................................................... 28

3.3 Groups ............................................................................................................................. 29 3.4 Journals ............................................................................................................................ 32 3.5 Announcements ............................................................................................................... 32

Creating an announcement ............................................................................................................... 32 Editing an Announcement ................................................................................................................. 33

3.6 Notifications ..................................................................................................................... 34 Editing Notification Settings .............................................................................................................. 34

3.7 Wikis ............................................................................................................................... 36

4. MOLE Assessments...................................................................................................... 37 4.1 Assignments ..................................................................................................................... 37 4.2 Surveys ............................................................................................................................. 38 4.3 Tests................................................................................................................................. 40

Building a new test.... ........................................................................................................................ 40 Adding Questions.... .......................................................................................................................... 40

4.4 Question types... .............................................................................................................. 41 Calculated Formula ........................................................................................................................... 41 Calculated Numeric ........................................................................................................................... 41 Either/Or ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Essay questions ................................................................................................................................. 42 File Response Questions ................................................................................................................... 42 Fill in the Blank Questions ................................................................................................................. 42 Fill In Multiple Blanks Questions ....................................................................................................... 42


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Hot Spot Questions ........................................................................................................................... 42 Jumbled Sentence Questions ............................................................................................................ 42 Matching Questions .......................................................................................................................... 42 Multiple Answer Questions ............................................................................................................... 43 Multiple Choice Questions ................................................................................................................ 43 Opinion Scale/Likert Questions ......................................................................................................... 43 Ordering Questions ........................................................................................................................... 43 Quiz Bowl Questions ......................................................................................................................... 43 Short Answer Questions .................................................................................................................... 43 True/False Questions ........................................................................................................................ 43

4.5 Deploying the test............................................................................................................. 44 4.6 Question Pools... .............................................................................................................. 45

How to Create a Pool... ..................................................................................................................... 45 Finding questions... ........................................................................................................................... 46

4.7 Copy or linking questions... ............................................................................................... 47 To copy questions: ............................................................................................................................ 47 To link questions: .............................................................................................................................. 47

4.8 Test results ....................................................................................................................... 47 4.9 TurnitinUK Assignments .................................................................................................... 48

Setting up a TurnitinUK Assignment .................................................................................................. 48 Marking TurnitinUK Assignments... ................................................................................................... 51

5. Multimedia ................................................................................................................. 53 5.1 Audio, Video and Images .................................................................................................. 53

Multimedia as an Item ...................................................................................................................... 53 Multimedia as file specific content ................................................................................................... 56

5.2 Mashups (Flickr / SlideShare / YouTube) ............................................................................ 57 Mashup as a Content Item ................................................................................................................ 57 Mashup as a Text Editor Item ........................................................................................................... 59

1. Content Creation

1.1 Left Hand Navigation Menu

The Left Hand Navigation Menu contains sets of links which open new main window folders, most of which allow you to add content. If you think of it akin to a website, with links to new pages, you can begin to see how this works. You can add as many links to this menu as you require. So for instance, you could have links to individual sessions, links to contact details, links to tools such as email or blogs, links to external websites, etc.

Click on the link in the left hand menu, and the corresponding page (or folder) will show in the main window (see pic below).


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To move a link around in the Left Hand Menu, simply move your cursor to the left of the link title, where a dual arrow should appear: you would then click and drag the link to the desired position (you may have to wait for the dash box to catch up with your movement, on occasion).

Instructors can easily create additional Content Areas or edit existing Content Areas. For example, a Content Area named Assessments may be added and the name of the area may be edited (renamed) to be called Tests. This can be done by placing your cursor to the right of the link title, and clicking on the dropdown arrow. From here you are give options to

Rename Link (and therefore the title of the page in the main window), Hide Link (from students) or Show Link (if you had not chosen to

Show to Users when creating the link) or Delete.

To create a new Content Area, click the ‘plus’ icon at the top left of your navigation menu, and select Create Content Area. You will need to give the content area link a title, and can choose to Show to Users (users = students) by

ticking the box below the title. The link will now appear at the bottom of your menu.

These links to Content Areas create the first level of the Course Menu tree directory, a little like a contents page showing chapters in a book.

If the Content Area contains no content, an icon of a dotted square appears. If the

Content Area is unavailable to

students (if you have left the box unchecked when creating the link), an icon of a square with a line through it appears. To make the hidden link available to students, click on the drop down to the right of the title, and choose Show Link.


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It is also possible to change the aesthetics of this menu in order to highlight particular sections of the course content or visually separate some sections. This can be done by using Create Subheader or Create Divider. A subheader is a title (not a link) that can be used to head a particular section of content. For example; a subheader of Sessions could host a number of content areas such as Weekly Sessions (Week 1 and 2 in the example). A divider will create a line which physically separates parts of the course into sections. This can be helpful in visually grouping certain items together, making navigation easier for learners.

1.2 Adding Content

The most regularly used type of link you can add to this menu is known as a Content Area. A Content Area allows you to add content (such as docs, pdfs, powerpoints, etc.) to that main window. This area is recognisable by the three Content Buttons (Build Content, Assessments and Tools), known as the Content Page Build Menu, visible in the main window.

This is where you would begin adding content to pages. By default, one Content Area

can always be found in a course (this area is usually named Course Content).

From the Build Content most learning content types can be added


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A summary of the types of content that can be added from this menu can be found in the following table:

Content Type

Description Create

Item

A general piece of content such as a file, image, text, or link to which a description and other items may be attached.

File

An HTML file that can be used in the Course. These files can be viewed as a page within the Course or as a separate piece of content in a separate browser window.

Audio

An audio file that can be played directly from the page. The audio can be looped or started automatically when the page is opened.

Image

An image file that can be shown directly on the page.

Video

A video file that can be played directly from the page and is hosted in uPlayer.

URL

Link to an outside Web site or resource.

Offline Content

A direct path to a specified file on a drive, usually a CD-ROM. To access this file, users must have the correct CD-ROM in their computer.

Learning Module

A set of content that includes a structured path for progressing through the items.

Lesson Plan

A Lesson Plan is special content type that combines information


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about the lesson itself with the curriculum resources used to teach it.

Syllabus

Content item that enables an Instructor to build a Course Syllabus by walking through a series of steps.

Course Link

Link to another item in a Course or in another part of the system such as Course Objectives or Content Management.

IMS Content

Content that matches IMS specifications. Additional information may be found at http://www.imsproject.org.

NLN Content

A package of content developed by the National Learning Network. (NLN) Additional information may be found at http://www.nln.ac.uk.

SCORM Content

Content that adheres to Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) standards.

Course Content

Items found within your course / all courses and can be displayed into a content area.

New Page

Content Folder

An organizational element that contains Content Items. Folders allow content to be structured with a hierarchy or categories.

Blank Page

A blank page can have text added, attachments uploaded and Mashups embedded.

Module Page

A page containing dynamic personalized content modules that help users keep track of tasks, assessments, assignments, and new content added to the course.

Tools Area

A shortcut to a specific tool in the Course, such as a Discussion Board or Messages.

Mashups

Flickr Photo

A Mashup that includes a link to a site for viewing and sharing photographic images.

Slideshare Presentation

A Mashup that includes a link to a site for viewing and sharing PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, or Adobe PDF Portfolios.

YouTube Video

A Mashup that includes a link to a a site for viewing and sharing online videos.

http://www.imsproject.org/

http://www.nln.ac.uk/


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1.3 Edit Mode / Student View

To view the course as a student, click on the Edit Mode button, found to the top right of the main window, to Off: You will see all the editable features are now removed and you see the course as a student would, with one exception: You (as you are logged in as an Instructor) will always be able to see the Control Panel (below your Left Hand Navigation Menu) – but students will not be able to see / access this panel.

To return to Instructor view, click the Edit Mode back to On.

Please Note: You also have the option to add a Test Student (which will be named yourUserID_S and you will be asked to choose a password). This student can then be enrolled on to any of your courses, where you can log out and back in again as that student. This feature allows you to run tests, check assignments, groups, etc., as a fully enrolled student. To add a Test Student, got to: Control Panel>Course Tools>Add Test Student.

1.4 Control Panel

The Control Panel sits below the Left Hand Navigation Menu. This panel is available / accessible by Instructors TAs and Course Builders. Students cannot see this panel.

The first link, Content Collection, allows you to view your files from that course, or any other course you are enrolled on. You can also share permissions on content with other instructors or courses from here.

Course Tools – gives you access to the main pages for any of the available tools in MOLE (such as Wikis, Journals, Contacts, email, etc.).

Please Note: If you create anything such as a blog, journal, test, etc., in the Control Panel, students will not be able to see it until it is actually deployed in a Content Area in the course.


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The next option in the Control Panel is Evaluation. From here you can access Course Reports (run reports); Early-Warning System (set up rules for notifications); Performance DashBoard (check which docs students have viewed, forums accessed, etc., if option to Track User Views is checked when creating the item, forum, etc.); and SCORM reports (should you use SCORM).

The next option in the Control Panel is the Grade Centre:

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2. Grade Centre

2.1 Full Grade Centre

The Grade Centre stores both automatically and manually awarded grades for student attempts at tests, assignments and assessments. Students can view the grades awarded to them through the Grade Centre via the My Grades link (a standard link included in all courses, which is found in the Left Hand Navigation Menu). Instructors can choose which grades entered into the Grade Centre are visible to students and which are hidden.

The Grade Centre menu offers Instructors two options to enter the Grade Centre: Needs Marking and Full Grade Centre. Needs Marking offers the Instructor a view of submitted assessments that are awaiting grading whilst the Full Grade Centre allows access to a view of all assessments, assignments and tests for each student whether they have submitted attempts or not.

Items that are added to Course Content such as Assignments, Tests and Surveys automatically generate a

column in the Grade Centre and are displayed against the row for each student.

Items that are not added from Course Content need to have a column created

manually in Grade Centre.

Blogs, Discussions and Journals don’t automatically generate a Grade Centre column, unless a grade option is entered on creation of the tool.

Please Note: Once a grade is entered, you cannot go back in and edit that blog (journal, etc) to not have a grade. In this instance you would need to create a new blog from scratch.

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changed from the Manage>Row Visibility

To create a column manually, start by selecting the Create Column option in the

Grade Centre menu. Within the Create Column page, Instructors will be required to complete a number of fields to set up the column including:

1. Column Information (name, description, grading format, maximum points)

2. Dates (created and due date)

3. Options (include column in grade centre calculations, show column to students,

show stats to students).

The new column will appear next to the automatically created columns.

The layout of Grade Centre columns can be changed to make viewing more intuitive for the Instructors. Columns can be moved using the drag and drop functionality in the Manage>Column Organisation drop down menu to group together certain types of tests or quizzes, or to be organised in a way that helps Instructors manage grading.

Similarly, Row Visibility can be

but temporarily hidden for convenience.

section of the menu, in order that certain rows (or students) can be hidden from view. Rows will not be removed from Grade Centre,

Functional columns can also be manually added to the Grade Centre. These columns do not relate to a single type of assessment such as a test or a blog, but are columns that automatically perform calculations to select groups of assessments or all assessments to provide an overall grade for a category or a time period such as Semesters or overall yearly grade.

Standard functional column calculations include:

Average Grade

An Average Grade column displays the average for any number of quantities. An Average Grade Column can include any non-text columns.

For example, an Instructor can display the average for all Tests, or display the average grade for each Student for a grading period.

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Minimum/Maximum Grade

A Minimum or Maximum Grade column displays either the minimum or maximum grade for a selection of Columns. This column is displayed to the Students or just the


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Instructor.

For instance, an Instructor may choose to find the minimum scores of all the Tests from a Grading Period and display it only to the Instructor.

Total Points

A Grade Centre Total Points column is a grade based on the cumulative points received, related to the points allowed.

For example, an Instructor may create a column to determine the final grade for the first quarter by creating a Total Points column that includes all of the columns in the first quarter Grading Period. Alternatively, an Instructor can create a Total Points column that displays the percentages of a particular Grade Centre column, or a Category or Categories.

Weighted Grade

A Weighted Grade is a Calculated Column that displays the calculated result of quantities and their respective percentages. A Weighted Grade is displayed as a column in the Grade Centre. Instructors control the visibility of the column in the Grade Centre as well as controlling the release of the column to students and other users.

For example, an Instructor may create a Weighted Grade column that calculates a quarterly grade (grade for one quarter of the year), in which each Category, such as Test, Survey, and Assignment are given a certain percentage of the final quarter's grade. Alternatively, the Instructor may create a Weighted Grade that is the final grade for a course, with the quarters and exams included in the Weighted Grade.

Instructors can create any number of Weighted Grade columns, including Weighted Grade columns that include other Weighted Grade columns. For example

Grading assessments in Grade Centre

Outstanding items for grading in Grade Centre can be accessed in a couple of ways. The most helpful and direct route is via the Control Panel>Grade Centre>Needs Marking option. By selecting this option, you will be taken straight to any assessments, tests or assignments that are awaiting manual grading, including any tests that contain short answer questions that would otherwise automatically grade. Instructors are able to grade each test separately or in one go.


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Alternatively, grading can also be accessed by selecting Control Panel>Grade Centre>Full Grade Centre however as this will take the instructor into the full Grade Centre suite, students that require assessments and test to be marked will need to be manually located.

To grade a test, click in the cell in the relevant test column, on the row of the student requiring grading.

The cell will become editable. Enter the achieved grade in the cell, and select OK to save. Any grades entered manually in this way for assessments or tests that are automatically graded will be identified by an orange triangle to highlight it as an Override Grade, otherwise the grade will update unflagged.


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3. Collaboration and Communication

Blogs

Blogs are available in MOLE, and act as an online journal for a group or an individual, for other learners within the course to see. The openness of blogs makes them a useful collaborative tool.

Within the Blog the user posts entries, which are displayed in reverse-chronological (newest first) order. These entries can include a wide variety of media as well as text. Other users on the course can view and post comments on the entries.

Creating a Blog

Go to the Blog tool under Course Tools section of the Control Panel to open the

Blogs summary page, where you can create, view, edit, and delete any Blogs in a course, as well as changing their availability.

On the Blog summary page click Create Blog.

This opens up the editing page. Give the Blog a name, and add instructions if it is designed for students to use.

Set the availability to Yes to open the Blog up for use. Please note: At this stage, the blog is not available to users (students) until you create a link to it in a Content Area (using the content buttons>Tools>Blogs, or in the Left Hand Menu>Tool Link>Blogs. S

You can limit the Blog’s availability to the date set in the options below. Click the check boxes for Display After and Display Until and enter the date and time desired. You can check just one of the two dates to make the Blog display indefinitely after a set date. By default both fields are blank, which sets the blog to be available indefinitely immediately.


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The Blog type can set up two types of Blog:

Course blog: everyone on the course can add entries and comments

Individual blogs: only the blog owner can add entries, everyone can comment

The Blog type is a permanent choice that can’t be changed after the Blog has been created.

Group Blogs can be set up in the Group tool by choosing Blog as one of the optional tools to include when creating group. See the help for groups for more information.

You can also choose to Allow Anonymous Comments. This can encourage critical discussion.

Under Blog Settings the default setting for Index Entries is monthly, and should be

suitable for all but the most active of Blogs. You can allow users to edit and delete entries as well as comments.

You can choose to grade the Blog by clicking on the Grade option and entering the points possible. This is a permanent change; when you choose this a column is set up for the Blog in Grade Centre, and you will not be able to set the Blog back to No Marking later.

When you are happy with the settings click Submit.

Using the Blog

Once a Blog has been set up you should create a link to it on a content page to make it visible to students. Open the content page you want the Blog to be linked from and

click on Add Interactive Tool > Blog. You can choose to either link to the Blog

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summary page or one specific Blog. You can also link to the Blog summary page via the navigation panel by clicking on the blue + icon at the top left of the panel and choosing Create Tool Link, then choosing Blogs from the drop down menu.

You can view any Blog on the course by navigating to the Blog summary page and clicking on the Blog you want to use. This opens up the Blog.

In the main panel you can see the entries and can open the comments by clicking Comments at the bottom left of any entry. The Comment button at the bottom right opens up a dialogue box for adding a comment, below which may be an option to make the comment anonymous.

The contextual menu to the right of every Blog title gives the option to mark an entry

as new, increasing its visibility and sending out a notification of a new Blog entry. If the Blog creator has set the Blog up to allow users to edit and delete posts these options will also be available here.

To the right are details about the Blog, a navigation index of the Blog entries and navigation tools to Blogs of other individuals if you are in an individual Blog.

Adding a blog entry

Go to the Blog tool under Course Tools section of the Control Panel to open the

Blogs summary page.

On the blog summary page click on the Blog you want to use.

Add entries by clicking Create Blog Entry. This will open the entry creation screen.

The entry must be given a title. The Entry Message can contain text and other media.

The Blog post can also have files attached from your computer or the Content

Collection.

When the Blog post is ready click Post Entry, or click Save Entry as Draft if you have to leave the entry unfinished.

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3.1 Chat and Virtual Classroom

Collaboration Sessions are real-time lessons and discussions. Two Collaboration Tools are available: Chat and Virtual Classroom. Chat is an exchange of text messages online. Virtual Classroom is a shared online environment where users can view links, share desktops, exchange files, and chat. Both types of collaboration can be recorded and saved for future review.

Comparison:

Chatroom

Chat sessions allow users/students to chat purely via text in real-time. It can also be accessed separately.

Virtual Classroom

Users engage in a real-time discussion with other users, access the Web, and engage in question and answer sessions. Users may also access the Whiteboard tools to display text and images.

Chatroom

Virtual Classroom

Note: Java Plug-in: The Java 2 Run Time Environment is required to use the Collaboration

Tools. The plug-in may be downloaded from the page that appears when a user first joins a Collaboration Session.


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Accessing the Chat / Virtual Classroom In MOLE, the Chat / Virtual Classroom can be accessed via the Control Panel>Course

This will take you to the following page:

Creating a new Chat / Virtual Classroom To create a new Chat or Virtual Classroom, you would click on the Create Collaboration Session button on the Collaboration page. This will open the following Information page, where you can enter all information and properties for the Chat session, such as name of the session, availability (dates/time), and this is where you would specify either Chat or Virtual Classroom.


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After clicking Submit, you will then see your new Chat / Virtual Classroom session in the Collaboration page list:

Please Note: Once again, as the Control Panel is not accessible by students, you would need to create a link to this session in either the Left Hand Navigation Menu, or in a Content Area in the course (using the Tools button) in order for them to view the session and attend.

User Roles There are two roles available for users in Collaboration Sessions: Passive and Active. The Session Administrator controls user access during a Collaboration session by assigning Passive or Active roles. For example, Session Administrators determine which users can chat, send private messages, or ask questions during a session by assigning specific Access Rights to the different roles. The User icon appears in the Role column next to those Users who are Active. Users who are Passive, but would like Active rights, can signal the Session Administrator by clicking the hand icon. The Session Administrator then makes the user Active.

Virtual Classroom Group Browser The Group Browser option (in Virtual Classroom only) enables users to collaboratively browse the Web. This tool opens a URL that is viewable by all users.


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URL's used in the session are recorded in the archive if one is created. The Session Administrator determines whether this function is made available to users.

Note: Only users who have an Active role can access the Group Browser.

To insert a URL/Website into a Chat/Virtual Classroom session: Click on the Group

Browser option on the upper left menu. Then type the URL in the Enter Address field box below.

Click Display to Users to display the window in the Whiteboard, or click Preview in

New Window to open the Web site in a new browser window.

Whiteboard Tools

The Whiteboard has the following tool options: Pointer, Pen tool (to draw freehand), Text (to type in text), Slanted line (to draw straight lines), Square (draw squares/rectangles), Circle (draw circles, ovals) as well as a Math/Science Equation Editor.

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Recording a Session

You can record your Classroom session by simply clicking the Record button to the top right of the classroom window (small blue circle). Next to that you will find the Pause icon, then Stop Recording and finally Insert Bookmark into Recording (to allow easy navigation to a specific time period in the chat/class). Once you start recording, you will note the message confirming this to the bottom left of the window (e.g.: ‘Recording 24-Feb-2011 16-10-35 GMT’).

Pause Bookmark

To end the recording, click the Stop button and you will see the message change to ‘Recording has been stopped’.

Record Stop

To view the Recordings later, simply access the Collaboration page (via Control Panel > Course Tools > Collaboration), click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the

required classroom session, and click Recordings.

You will then see the list of all recordings in order of Recording Name (default) – you are also given the option to search via date.

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Please Note: If you delete a recording, this is irreversible.

3.2 Discussion Boards

The Discussion Board in MOLE presents a forum that can be utilised by both groups of students and individual students. It can be utilised for simple discussion and for assessment purposes.

The Discussion Board in MOLE can be accessed

via the Course Tools in the Control Panel or, more commonly via the Add Interactive Tool button on a content page.

Creating a Forum

Follow these steps to create the Forum:

1. Type a name, description, and select yes to make the Forum available.

2. Set date and time restrictions

3. Select whether you want to allow certain options such as:

Anonymous Posts (If selected, the posts cannot be graded). Allow Author to Delete Own Posts Allow Post Tagging (Tags are bits of meta data added to posts so that they are

grouped together during collection based on a word or phrase). Allow Members to Create New Threads Allow Members to Rate Posts (Posts are rated using a five star system)


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Force Moderation of Posts (Require that all messages are reviewed and approved or rejected by a moderator).

Do not allow subscriptions

No Grading in Forum (Members will not be graded for individual contributions to the Forum.)

Enable grading at the Forum level or thread level.

Forums can appear throughout a course, in any area where an Instructor chooses. Each

group may also have a private Discussion Board with Forums available only to those users that are a part of the group. All Forums that are not a part of a group are accessible from various points in the course or by going to the Discussion Board tool.

When users open the Discussion Board tool they will only see those Forums they can access. Unavailable Forums can only be viewed by Instructors, Administrators, and other user roles with similar permissions. The unavailable status of a Forum is displayed on the Discussion Board page, beneath the name of the Forum.

Forums are used to organize threads. The fields on the Create Forum page and the Edit Forum page are the same. The Create Forum page opens with empty fields while the Edit

Forum page opens with a Forum already populated.

Creating a Thread

Threads are a series of posts related to a similar topic. When creating a Forum, the Instructor has the option of allowing or not allowing users to start Threads. Generally, the purpose of the Forum will dictate whether or not users can start Threads. A moderated, Graded Forum used to evaluate Student performance will usually be tightly controlled and users cannot create Threads. Other Forums are designed for users to share opinions and thoughts on tangential or unrelated topics. In this case, it is would be fine to allow users to create Threads in order to spark discussions.

Follow these steps to create a Thread.

1. Open a Discussion Board Forum.

2. Click Create Thread. The Create Thread page appears.

3. Type a Subject and a Message. It is also possible to attach files to the post.

4. Click Submit to create the Thread or click

Save Draft to store a draft of the post.


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Grading Discussion Board Participation Students can participate in discussions that form part of an Assessment. The Student interactions with the Discussion Board are a permanent record of participation and the instructor has the option of grading Students at the Forum level or at the Thread level.

Grading options are enabled when the Forum is created or by editing the Forum. Once Grading has been enabled, a Grade Centre Item is created and all the advanced management features that are applied to the item should be managed from the Grade Centre.

The Grade settings appear at the bottom of the Add Forum page and the Edit Forum page. Select Grade Forum and enter a point value to evaluate participants on performance throughout the Forum.

Select Grade Threads to evaluate student on performance in each Thread. When the Grade Threads option is used, a Points Possible option appears each time a Thread is started.

Students cannot create new Threads if Grade Threads is selected for the Forum.

Evaluate performance in a Forum 1. Open the Discussion Board. A list of Forums appears. For each Forum that may be

graded, an icon appears in the Grade column. 2. Click Grade in the contextual menu. The Grade Forum User page appears.

3. Click Grade for a User.

4. A collection of the students posts in the Forum will appear. Evaluate the posts and

enter a point total in the Grade field. 5. Click Submit to add the grade to the Grade Centre.

Evaluate performance within a Thread.

1. Open the Discussion Board. A list of Forums appears.

2. Open a Forum to see a list of Threads.


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3. Click Grade Thread.

4. Click Grade for a user. A collection of the students posts in the Thread appears.

5. Evaluate the posts and enter a point total in the Grade field.

6. Click Submit to add the grade to the Grade Centre. Moderating a Forum

Moderation of a Forum can be necessary in order to monitor and prevent inappropriate posting. Instructors can assign Discussion Board users to act as moderators. Moderators review posts before they are added to a thread and displayed in the Course. The Moderator may be the Instructor or other participants.

It is also possible to prevent an individual student from posting at all. Assigning a student the role of Blocked will prevent the user from accessing the Forum. Assigning an individual student the role of Reader will allow the user to view content in the Discussion Board but prevent the student from posting content.

Many of the settings to enable moderation are in the forum options:

Allow Anonymous Posts

Allow Authors to delete Posts and Allow Author to Edit Published Posts Allow Members to Create New Threads Force Moderation of Posts

Set up a moderator on the Manage Forum Users page. Otherwise, the Forum manager must take responsibility for approving posts.

Follow these steps to moderate Forum posts:

1. Open the Forum.

2. Click Moderate Forum. The Moderate Forum button will appear only those users who have a Forum Role of Manager or Moderator.

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3. The Moderation Queue page appears with a list of posts that are awaiting approval. The posts appear in chronological order. Those at the top have been in the queue for longer than those at the bottom.

4. Click Moderate for a post. The Moderate Post page appears displaying the message.

5. Select Publish or Return. Published messages are immediately posted to the Thread. If returning the post, add a message to the author explaining why the post is being returned and some suggestions for editing the post so it is appropriate for the discussion.

6. Click Submit. If the post is not approved, it will only appear to the author and the Moderator in the Forum. The post will be marked returned and the Moderator comments when returning the post will appear as a reply.

Peer Review Through the Discussion Board

The Discussion Board can be used in a Course for peer review. Each Student may start a Thread and include their work in the initial post. Other Students then review the work, assign a rating to the initial post, and include comments in a response. As users respond, the feedback expands as users reinforce and build on points made by other Students.

Users can respond to a post using a 5-star rating system. To enable this feature, select Allow members to rate posts when creating the Forum.

Rating a Discussion Board Post

Open a Thread and view the posts. Each post has an Overall Rating field with five stars. The stars show the overall rating that the post has received from users. click the Rate

this Post drop down list and select a rating from 0 to 5 stars. The rating is now included in the Overall Rating and the individual rating appears in the Rate this Post field. A student may not rate the same post more than once.

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3.3 Groups

On the Groups page Instructors can create, delete, and manage the availability of course groups. Instructors can provide communication and collaboration tools that only Group members can access.

The Instructor has the option of giving the group access to the following features: Blogs, Collaboration, Discussion Board, Email, File Exchange, Journal, Tasks, Wikis. Optional grading is also available.

The Groups tool in MOLE allows the organisation of students into Groups of any size. Groups can be created one at a time or in sets. Groups can be designated as

Self-Enrol; allowing students to add themselves to a Group, or Manual Enrol; allowing the Instructor to assign students to a Group.

In MOLE the Groups page can be accessed via the Control Panel>Users and Groups>Groups. From here you can access any available groups previously set up, and you can also create new groups (singular or sets), via the blue buttons at the top of the page.


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To Add a Group: Click on the

chevrons/dropdown arrows to the right of the Create Single Group button in the Groups page menu. Choose either Self-Enrol (to allow students to enrol themselves) or Manual Enrol to enrol students yourself as shown on the left.

After clicking the Manual Enrol button, the Add Group page will appear. Once a Group has been created Students must be added. Click Edit to access the Manage Group page and add users to that group. From here you can decide which tools to allow groups, limit availability, add grading criteria, etc.

To add the students to the Group, scroll to Option 4 (Membership), where all students will show in the left box. To enrol a student into the group, click on the student’s name (in the left box) to highlight it, then click on the arrow (in the middle of the two boxes) which points to the box on the right, as shown on the left. This will then insert that student into the right hand box, and consequently into the group.

Repeat steps to add more students to the Group.

After clicking the Submit button, you will be directed back to the Groups page, where you will see your newly-created Group as shown below.


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The dropdown chevrons to the right of the Group name reveal options to either Edit, Delete, Email or Open as shown below.

Email allows emailing of this group of

students alone; Edit re-opens the Add Group page to edit settings for the Group; Delete will indeed delete the Group, and Open will reveal all settings, tools available and assignments due that Group as shown below, right.

Click Open and from this page,

you can use the Add Course Module (which will allow you to add a specific module/widget to the Group, i.e. a Calculator, Calendar, Tasks list, etc.)

The Add Group Module lets you add only the modules/widgets you previously allowed for that Group (these are the tools you chose when creating the Group).

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3.4 Journals

A Journal is self-reflective tool for Students. Instructors can assign a Journal to each student in a group. Only the Student and the Instructor are able to view and add Comments to Journal Entries. However, Journals can be made Public by the Instructor, so that all enrolled users can read all Entries made to the Journal topic. Group Journal Entries can be read by all Group members and the Instructor.

3.5 Announcements

Announcements are available to deliver information to all users of a course. Users can receive these Announcements in a variety of ways:

Within the course itself, if a link to the Announcements widget is created in

the course.

On the users Home page in MOLE in the My Announcements or What’s

New widgets.

As an email sent automatically by MOLE to the user.

It arrives as a message with a title and description. There are also options to choose the dates that it shows on and you can choose to make the Announcement override any notification settings students may have and appear in their inbox, so as to ensure it will reach them. It can also link to an Item in the course.

Creating an announcement

Go to the Announcements tool under Course Tools section of the Control Panel to open the Announcements summary page.

On the Announcements summary page click Create Announcement.

This opens up the editing page. Give the Announcement a subject and a message.

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There are two options for the Duration:

Not Date Restricted keeps the Announcement visible indefinitely until deleted by

an instructor.

Date Restricted limits the Announcement’s visibility to the date set in the options

below. Click the check boxes for Display After and Display Until and enter the date

and time desired. You can check just one of the two dates to make the

Announcement display indefinitely after a set date.

The Override User Notification Settings option will send the Announcement to students on the course via email, even if the student has chosen to ignore Announcements in their settings.

The Course Link tool can be used to provide a direct link to any Item in the course. Click on the Browse button to navigate to the item you want to link to.

When finished click Submit.

Editing an Announcement

Announcements by default are ordered with the latest Announcement appearing at the top of the list. They can be reordered manually by dragging and dropping using the move handle to the left of the Announcement. If the Announcement is dragged

above the New announcements appear below this line it will permanently appear at the top, even after new Announcements.

To edit or delete the Announcement, click on the contextual menu at the right of the

title of the Announcement and choose the appropriate option.

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3.6 Notifications

Notifications are delivered to a variety of widgets available on the Home page in MOLE, as well as via email.

Users can customise the widgets they see on the Home page by clicking Add Module on the Home page and choosing the widgets they want. They can also remove widgets by clicking on the close button in the top right corner of almost all widgets.

Users can also choose to change the notifications they receive and how they receive them; they can receive email notifications from courses as a daily digest or individual messages, and they can set how old the messages may be. They can also choose the types of messages they receive from individual courses or all the courses they teach on.

Editing Notification Settings

Instructors and students can change the notification settings for their courses by going to Edit Notification Settings in any notification widget, i.e. What’s New. This will take them to the notifications settings screen.

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Clicking on either an individual course from the list under Edit Individual Course Settings or one of the options under Bulk Edit Notification Settings will take you to a screen similar to the one depicted below. You have a list of notifications that you choose to receive via the home page widgets (dashboard) and/or via email, or not at all.

These should be set to suit your needs. For instance most Instructors won’t need to know when materials are available (it will usually be the Instructor who created them anyway, but it might be useful if there are many instructors adding material to a course) but they will want to know when students make submissions.

Under Edit General Settings the user can choose how they receive email notifications. A Daily Email Digest is the default and recommended setting. The user can also remove old notifications and set due-date reminders; if you find you are receiving too many or too few notifications you can adjust these settings to better suit your needs.

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3.7 Wikis

A Wiki is a collaborative tool that allows Students to contribute and modify one or more pages of course related materials.

This is a new feature: In MOLE you can locate the Wikis tool in Control Panel>Course Tools>Wikis. From here you can view and access all available Wikis, as well as create a new Wiki via

the blue Create a Wiki button at the top of the page.

Another way to create a new Wiki in MOLE would be to access it from a Content Area Page (or create a new Content Area Page): Tools>Wikis.

Adding the Wiki from here means that you have created a direct link to that Wiki in a content area, which can be accessed via the navigation menu immediately.

This will take you to the Visual/Text Editor and Information page, where you can add details such as grading, availability, etc.

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4. MOLE Assessments

4.1 Assignments

Assignments are created in the context of a Content Area via the menu bar in a Content Area Page under the option Assessments>Assignment. On selection of this option the Create Assignment page is displayed.

On the Assignment page there are a number of options to be entered by the Instructor:

1. Assignment Information – Provide a name and instructions for the assignment. It is

possible to add file attachments and mashups via the Text Editor to enhance the

instructions.

2. Assignment Files – Files can be attached to the assignment or alternatively,

assignment instructions provided in a separate file attachment which can be

uploaded here

3. Grading – Enter the maximum points available for the assignment.

4. Availability – Instructors can make the assignment available immediately or keep it

hidden; the number of attempts allowed for the assignment can also be stipulated

and display dates customised for the assignment.

5. Due Dates – The due date of the assignment can be set. If a due date is entered,

assignments will automatically be marked as missed if they are not submitted by this

date.

6. Recipients – Choose between releasing the assignments to students individually or

releasing to groups (NB: if you want individual students within a group to each submit

an assignment, select the All Students Individually option and use the Adaptive

Release criteria to release the assignment to specific groups otherwise in MOLE

assignments released to groups will only allow 1 assignment submission per group).

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On clicking the submit button, the Assignment will be created and appear in the Content Area page. Once created, additional options are available by clicking on the double arrows and expanding the assignment menu. From this menu Adaptive Release (by criteria) or Adaptive Release Advanced (by rule for multiple criteria) can be applied. A Set Review Status can also be added, which allows students to flag when content has be reviewed (this can also be linked with Adaptive Release to restrict content release until the student has confirmed the content has been reviewed).

Unlike Tests, Self and Peer Assessments and TurnitinUK Assignments, Assignments are managed from within the Content Area it was created only, and cannot be accessed or managed via the Control Panel. Assignment grading is carried out via the Grade Centre where a column will automatically be created for the assignment.

4.2 Surveys

Surveys differ from Tests in the following ways:

Questions on Surveys cannot be assigned points

Surveys cannot include Random Blocks of questions

Instructors cannot give Students Feedback

Surveys cannot be graded

Survey questions cannot be categorized

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You can create a Survey in almost exactly the same way as you would construct a Test.

1. Click Tests, Surveys, and Pools from Course Tools.

2. Click Surveys.

3. Click Build Survey. The Survey Information page appears.

4. Enter the information required and click Submit

5. Add in the questions required (opinion Likert Scale/Short Answer/Paragraph would

probably be most useful). Then click Ok.

6. Deploy the Survey on the Content Page and add in your Survey options (as you would

with the Test options). Then click Submit.


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4.3 Tests

There are two main types of Test that are regularly used as part of student assessment.

1.) Quiz

2) Self Test

They both utilise the Tests, Surveys and Pools tool, and this can be accessed from the Control Panel.

Building a new test....

You may wish to create your question sets first,

in which case please refer to the "pools section" in the documentation below. This method assumes you wish to add your questions after you have created the Test.

1. Click Tests on the Tests, Surveys, and Pools area on the Control Panel.

2. Select Build Test. 3. Type a name, description, instructions and click Submit.

Adding Questions....

1. Select a question type from the Create Question drop-down button on the Test Canvas.

2. Create the question. (see question types below)


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3. Type the answers to choose from and select the correct answer.

4. Type any feedback that Students will see based on their answer.

5. Repeat Step 3 through Step 8 until you are finished adding questions.

6. Click Submit.

4.4 Question types...

There are 17 different question types with which to build your assessment with. Here is a brief breakdown of each one. (NB some are more useful than others).

Calculated Formula

This question contains a formula, the variables of which are set to change for each student. The variable range is created by specifying a minimum value and a maximum value for each variable. Answer sets are randomly generated. The correct answer is a specific value or a range of values. Partial credit may be granted for answers falling within a range.

Calculated Numeric

This question resembles a fill-in-the-blank question. The student enters a number to complete a statement. The correct answer is a specific number or within a range of numbers. Please note that the answer must be numeric, not alphanumeric.

Either/Or

Students are presented with a statement and asked to respond using a selection of pre-defined two-choice answers, such as: Yes/No, Agree/Disagree. It is a slight variation on the True/False question type, except more descriptive and meaningful answers may be used.

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Essay questions

Students are given the opportunity to type an answer into a text field. Sample answers are added for users or Graders to use as a reference. These types of questions must be graded manually in the Grade Center. Essay questions may use the Math and Science Notation Tool.

File Response Questions

Students upload a file from the local drive or from Content Management as the answer to the question. This type of question is graded manually.

Fill in the Blank Questions

Fill in the Blank answers are evaluated based on an exact text match. Accordingly, it is important to keep the answers simple and limited to as few words as possible. Answers are not case sensitive, but are evaluated based on spelling.

Fill In Multiple Blanks Questions

This question type builds on fill-in-the-blank questions with multiple fill in the blank responses that are inserted into a sentence or paragraph. Separate sets of answers are defined for each blank.

Hot Spot Questions

Students indicate the answer by marking a specific point on an image. A range of pixel coordinates is used to define the correct answer. Hot Spot refers to the area of an image that, when selected, yields a correct answer.

Jumbled Sentence Questions

Students are shown a sentence with a few parts of the sentence as variables. The user selects the proper answer for each variable from drop-down lists to assemble the sentence.

Matching Questions

Matching questions allow Students to pair items in one column to items in another column. Instructors may include a different numbers of questions and answers in a Matching question.

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Multiple Answer Questions

Multiple answer questions allow users to choose more than one answer. The number of answer choices is limited to 20.

Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple-choice questions allow the users a multitude of choices with only one correct answer. The number of answer choices is limited to 20.

Opinion Scale/Likert Questions

Question type based on a rating scale designed to measure attitudes or reactions. This type of question is popular to use in surveys in order to get a comparable scale of opinion.

Ordering Questions

Ordering questions require students to provide an answer by selecting the correct order of a series of items. For example, an Instructor may give users a list of historical events and ask them to place these events in chronological order. Students will be granted partial credit for ordering questions if they answer part of the question correctly.

Quiz Bowl Questions

Students are shown the answer and responds by entering the correct question into a text box. An answer must include a phrase and a question word, such as whom, what, or where, to be marked as correct.

Short Answer Questions

Short Answer questions are similar to essay questions. The length of the answer is limited to a specified number of rows in the text box. Essay questions, Short Answer questions must be graded manually.

True/False Questions

True/False questions allow the user to choose either true or false.

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4.5 Deploying the test...

Once you have created your Test you will also need to decide on whether this will be the formative self test or a formal graded quiz. You will then need to deploy the Test to the students.

1. The first step is to display the Test on a Content Page.

On your content page click Assessments> Test, select the required Test you have

created and click Submit.

2. You will then need to choose the deployment options of your Test. This will enable

you to decide between the formative Self Test or formal Test.


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3. To make the Test available to students select Yes in Make Link Available.

4. Decide on whether multiple attempts are allowed (good for Self Tests).

5. Set the time criteria, whether there is a timer for completion, and when the Test is

available from and to.

6. For Self Tests untick the option Include this Test in Grade Centre. The Test will not be

graded.

7. For Self Tests you can tick the options under Test Feedback. This will display after the

student has taken the test.

8. Finally decide on how the Test will present the questions. One at a time or all at once.

4.6 Question Pools... Question Pools allow Instructors to store questions in groups for repeated use. It is

important to note that Pool questions do not have point values associated with them.

When a Pool question is added to a Test the Instructor can assign a point value.

How to Create a Pool... 1. Click Tests, Surveys, and Pools from Course Tools.

2. Click Pools.

3. Click Build Pool

4. Enter a name for your Question Pool

5. Add/ or reuse questions from the Pool Canvas

6. Click Submit

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You can then add questions from this Pool to any Test you create.

Finding questions...

Instructors can add questions from other Tests through the Find Questions page.

Every question from all available Tests, Surveys, and Pools are added to a Test.

Questions that are selected through this process are displayed in the Shopping List

at the bottom of the page. Click Show List to view all the questions that have been selected. Click Hide List to minimize the Shopping List. Questions are deleted from the Shopping List by clicking the red X link next to the question. This action does not delete the question.

1. Select Find Questions from the Reuse Question drop-down list.

2. Expand one or all of the following criteria: Pools, Tests, Question Types,

Categories, Topics, and Levels of Difficulty.

3. Use the Search Current Results field to narrow the search.

4. Select the questions to add using the check boxes.

5. Click Submit.


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4.7 Copy or linking questions...

Instructors can choose to copy a question from one test to another or add a link to a question from one test for use in another. The difference is that if a linked question is changed, those changes are reflected everywhere there is a link to that question. Questions that are linked display an icon that indicates they are used in other tests.

To copy questions:

1. Select Copy Selected Questions.

2. Select questions from the Active Filter.

3. Click Submit. To link questions:

1. Select Link to Selected Questions.

2. Select questions from the Active Filter.

3. Click Submit.

4.8 Test results

Once your Test has been taken by students the Test results are reviewed in the Grade Centre. Please note that some question types are not graded automatically; specifically Short Answer Questions and Paragraph Questions. These question types require input from the instructor before a grade can be assigned and moved into the Grade Centre.


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4.9 TurnitinUK Assignments

TurnitinUK Assignments provide Instructors with the functionality to automatically check assignments and written content for plagiarism, on submission by the student. TurnitinUK Assignments are located under the Create Assessment section of the Content Area page menu as shown

right, from within a Content Area section such as a Folder or Learning Module.

On selecting TurnitinUK Assignment, Instructors are redirected to the TurnitinUK website from within MOLE. TurnitinUK provides a wizard tool for setting up an assignment.

Setting up a TurnitinUK Assignment

A Paper Assignment is the base assignment for all other types of assignments and needs to be created before either a PeerMark or Revision Assignment can be selected. A description of each type of assignment can be found by selecting the relevant radio button. On selecting Next Step, Instructors are prompted for details of the assignment.

The most basic and mandatory details required are shown on the left and consist of an assignment title, a start date, a due date and a post date (the post date relates to the date after which marks will be available through GradeMark). Although a TurnitinUK Assignment can be created on only this information, it is good


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practice and also advisable to expand the More Options menu and to customise the

settings.

1. Generate Originality Reports for student submissions

a. Immediately (first report is final) - Originality Reports for all submissions

will be generated immediately. Students cannot resubmit papers.

Submissions must be deleted by the instructor to enable resubmission.

b. Immediately (can overwrite reports until due date) - Originality Reports for

the initial submission by each student user to this assignment will be

generated immediately. Students may resubmit as often as they wish until

the assignment due date. Only the latest submission is available to the

instructor or student. Previous versions are removed.

c. On due date - Originality Reports will not be generated for any submission

until the due date and time of the assignment. Students may resubmit as

many times as needed until the due date and time without receiving

reports. Resubmissions may not be made after the due date and time of the

assignment.

2. Exclusions

a. Exclude bibliographic material from Similarity Index for all papers in this

assignment? – This provides instructors with the ability to control the

option whether bibliographic material will automatically be excluded from

Originality Reports.

b. Exclude quoted material from Similarity Index for all papers in this

assignment? – This feature of assignment creation provides instructors

with the ability to control the option whether quoted material will

automatically be excluded from Originality Reports.

c. Exclude quoted material from Similarity Index for all papers in this

assignment? - This feature of assignment creation provides instructors

with the ability to automatically exclude small matches from all Originality

Reports generated within this assignment. Once yes has been clicked the

Exclude matches by: option window will open. Enter into either the Word

Count: or Percentage: fields the numerical value for small matches that will

be excluded from Originality Reports in this assignment.

3. Allow Students to see Originality Reports? - This feature provides instructors

with the ability to control the option to allow students to see Originality

Reports within each created assignment.

4. Allow submissions after the due date? - An instructor can enable student

submissions after the due date and time. When enabled, students will be able


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to submit papers after the due date and time has passed as long as that

student has not already submitted the assignment previously.

5. Enable anonymous marking? - When anonymous marking is selected, the

author’s name will be anonymous until the post date of the assignment or

when an instructor chooses to reveal the author’s identity.

6. Reveal grades to students only on post date –

7. Repository options - Instructors will be able to set the Submit papers to

assignment option to store student papers in the standard paper reposi tory or

no repository.

8. Search options - The instructor is able to select the available repository

sources to compare submissions in the assignment against:

a. Student paper repository - works previously submitted on TurnitinUK

b. Current and archived internet - a repository of archived and live publicly

available internet pages containing billions of pages of existing content and

tens of thousands of new pages added daily

c. Periodicals, journals, & publications - third party periodical, journal, and

publication content including many major professional journals, periodicals,

and business publications.

Once More Options

have been set, click the Submit button. On submitting the assignment for creation a confirmation message will be displayed, as shown on the left.

The TurnitinUK Assignment will now appear in the selected Content Area of the course, and is editable (including the addition of further options including Adaptive Release) by expanding the drop down menu using the double arrows. Instructors can see the student view by clicking on the >>View/Complete link (and are able to complete and submit a dummy assignment).


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Marking TurnitinUK Assignments...

1. From the bottom left hand Control Panel select TurnitinUK

Assignments.

2. Instructors will be taken to a new window displaying all

TurnitinUK Assignments within the course.

3. Select the TurnitinUK Assignment that is to be viewed.

4. Instructors will be taken to the TurnitinUK Assignment

Inbox which will display all submitted assignments through

TurnitinUK.

5. The TurnitinUK Document Viewer can be opened in several different ways. For a

general view of the document viewer select the Title link; for a view of the Originality

Report select the link under Report; for a view of the GradeMark function, select the

link under GradeMark; and for a PDF or .docx version of the assignment, select the

icon under File.


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6. To grade the assignment, click in the top right hand box marked Grade and enter a

numerical value less than or equal to the Out of x figure underneath the box.

7. Depending on the settings chosen for the publishing of grades with regard to time,

the mark awarded in GradeMark will automatically populate the relevant column

in MOLE’s Grade Centre.

8. For more detailed information on the use of TurnitinUK pleas e visit

http://www.submit.ac.uk/static_jisc/documentation/Instructor_Manual.pdf

http://www.submit.ac.uk/static_jisc/documentation/Instructor_Manual.pdf


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5. Multimedia

5.1 Audio, Video and Images

MOLE allows Instructors to attach or embed multimedia files such as Audio, Video and Images into content. Multimedia can be added as a Content Item in a Folder or

Learning Module, or added using the Text Editor.

Adding multimedia as a Content Item makes it a part of the information that is presented to students for them to view. Adding multimedia using the Text Editor means that you can put Images and Audio for example, in places where users can

interact with the content, such as in Test Questions, Discussion Boards, and Blogs.

Audio, Video and Image files can be attached to learning content from the Build Content as an Item, as a specific file type (Audio/Video/Image) or as a File. All options are considered below.

NB: It is important to monitor the file size of attachments as MOLE will restrict the size of a course to 1GB. Videos need to be uploaded to uPlayer and streamed back to MOLE. Please see your departmental MOLE Contact / uPlayer Administrator for assistance.

Multimedia as an Item 1. Create a Content Area from the left hand navigation panel.

2. Audio, Video and Images can be either added directly to this new

Content Area or further Folders or Learning Modules added to the

Content Area first, within which the attachments can be hosted.

3. From the content page build

menu, expand the Build Content

option and select Item.

4. The Create Item page opens

prompting the instructor to provide details of the

item:

a) Name – Name of item page.

b) Text – Text Editor box provided to add a description or accompanying text to the

attachment(s). The Text Editor also allows attachments and hyperlinks to be added

to the description.


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c) Attachments – Allows multiple attachments of varying types to be added to the item

from either the local computer or from the Content Collection.

Instructors can choose to display a link to the attachment or to display the media file

within the page so the contents are displayed on opening.

If the Display the media file within the page option is selected, depending on the file type, additional settings will be offered allowing changes to be made to size, positioning and play properties (video and audio only) as follows:

Additional Options: Image Files

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When inserting an Image file as an Item, further options including alignment, placement, customisable sizing, embedded hyperlink, launching in a new window, a border and alternative text to be displayed if the image is not loaded, are available.

Once all relevant fields have been completed, click the Submit button.

The Audio / Image file will now be placed in the learning content either as an embedded file or as a link as in the example below:

Image as Link Image Embedded

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Multimedia as file specific content

Audio and Images can also be inserted by choosing their specific file type rather than as an Item under the Build Content menu. In selecting a specific file type, MOLE will not allow unexpected file types that do not correspond with the file type selected.

Whilst the end product is in the main very similar, there are a few minor but noteworthy differences between the two methods in terms of the options available:

Item Features

Audio / Video / Image Link Features

Choice of whether the multimedia is displayed in the material or a link is displayed.

Multimedia is automatically displayed in content.

Text box provided to create a description of audio.

No text box available to provide a description for audio or video (available for image).

Option to customise placement on screen (left / right / centre).

No option to customise placement on screen (left / right / centre).

Students are able to download audio and video files via a displayed link.


5.2 Mashups (Flickr / SlideShare / YouTube)

MOLE allows Instructors to add content to a Course that is pulled from an external Web site. This content is used in a variety of ways within a Course: a standalone piece of course content, part of a test question, a topic on a Discussion Board, or as part of an assignment.

Mashups are added as a Content Item in a Folder or added through the Text Editor. Adding a Mashup as a Content Item makes it a part of the information that you

present to students for them to view. Adding a Mashup using the Text Editor means

that you can put Mashups in places where users can interact with the content, such as in Test Questions, Discussion Boards, and Blogs. Mashup content is streamed from the web and is not stored within the Course.

MOLE supports Mashup content from Flickr, SlideShare and YouTube and allows instructors to search the corresponding sites for library images, videos and presentations etc for use in learning content.

Mashup as a Content Item

1. Create a Content Area from the left hand navigation panel.

2. Mashups can be either added directly to this new Content

Area or further Folders or Learning Modules added to the

Content Area first, within which the Mashup can be hosted.

3. From the content page build menu, expand the Build Content option and select

the chosen Mashup source – Flickr,

YouTube or SlideShare.

4. MOLE provides a search function to

locate Mashup resources. More

detailed search criteria, to exclude

files with certain names for example,

can be found by selecting the More

Options button. On retrieval, Mashups

can be previewed first or selected

immediately.

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5. After selecting the chosen Mashup the Create Mashup Item page is displayed,

providing the following options:

a) Name – Edit the name of the Mashup resource

b) Description – A Text Editor box is provided to add a description or accompanying

text to the Mashup. The Text Editor also allows hyperlinks to be added to the

description.

c) Mashup Options – Mashups can be displayed in different ways within content and

Instructors should choose from the following (video examples shown):

Embed: The Mashup displays directly on the page when a student opens the

item.

Thumbnail View (with Player for audio/video): A small picture of the

Mashup displays on the page with controls to launch it.

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Text Link (with Player for audio/video): A link to the Mashup is displayed

on the page. Students click the link to launch the Mashup.

Instructors can also choose the size of Mashup (image only) and whether or not to Show URL or Show Info provided by the source site about the Mashup.

d) Attach or Link Content – In addition to the Mashup, additional file attachments or

links to other course content can also be added.

e) Options – Allows instructors to set certain properties such as viewing restrictions,

tracking and Adaptive Release by date.

Once all relevant fields have been completed, click the Preview button to confirm

layout, and then the Submit button to confirm (if you wish to edit the layout of the

Mashup once the Submit button has been selected, Instructors will need to delete and re-insert a new Mashup).

Mashup as a Text Editor Item

Mashups can also be added in the Text Editor to Discussion Boards, Blogs and Test Questions so that students can interact with them.


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From within the particular Content Item, select the symbol from the bottom row of the Text Editor.

Wherever this symbol is shown in the Text Editor a Mashup can be added.

When finished, the Mashup appears in the Folder or Content Area where it was

created. If necessary, use the action link for the Mashup item to set Adaptive Release rules, add metadata, or track the number of views.

introduction to mole - university of sheffieldcics, july 2012 introduction to mole 2. grade centre...

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