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Activities are where the real learning often takes place. Activities usually include watching a video, viewing a presentation, or engaging with documents and images. Activities can be followed by actions, such as quizzes and surveys, that reinforce the information presented in the activity.
Note: Every chapter must contain at least one activity. While you must have at least one course, chapter, and activity in your module, you may create as many as you need.
Activities provide both downloadable and inline viewing of the following file types:
- Document file: PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document saved as a PDF
- Image: .png, .tif, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, etc.
- Video saved as or converted to MPEG4 (.mp4) format, or embedded from a YouTube or Vimeo link
In this article, we will explain:
- How to access the Learning Management System Module Administration page
- How to add a new activity to a chapter
- How to add an image
- How to add a PDF slideshow
- How to add a PDF
- How to add a video
- How to add a downloadable file
- How to edit an activity
- How to publish or unpublish an activity
- How to delete an activity
- How to reorder activities
ACCESS THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM MODULE ADMINISTRATION PAGE
Activities can be created and managed through the Learning Management System Modules Administration section of your portal. To access the Learning Management System Modules Administration page, click the drop-down menu in the top left-hand corner of the page and select the Portal Administration link (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The Portal Administration link
From the Portal Administration page, click the Learning Management System Module Administration card (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. The Learning Management System Module Administration card
ADD AN ACTIVITY TO A CHAPTER
To add an activity to an existing chapter, enable edit mode by clicking on the Edit Mode toggle (Fig. 3) in the top righthand corner of the page. Click on the preferred module, course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter, and click the Create Activity box (Fig. 4).
Figure 3. The Edit Mode toggle
Figure 4. The Add Activity box
From the Add Activity page (Fig. 5), enter your activity Title and an optional activity Introduction. The Introduction can include rich text, which allows for bulleted or numbered lists (just click on the appropriate icon above the text bar). You may also include bold, italic, underlined or linked text in the introduction.
Click the Save button. Once saved, you will see the Edit Activity page (Fig. 6). From the Edit Activity page, you can add attachments or modify the Title and Introduction. Add attachments to your activity by clicking on the button for the preferred attachment type.
Figure 5. The Add Activity page
Figure 6. The Edit Activity page
ADD AN IMAGE
To add an image, click the Add Image button (Fig. 6) to access the Add Image page (Fig. 7). Drag and drop your file in the Add Image box or use the Add Image button to select your file. If preferred, crop your image using the magnifying glass icons and click the OK button.
Enter your image title in the Title field.
If you would like your image to appear expanded when the user views the activity, click the This file should appear expanded by default checkbox. If you do not click the checkbox, the user will see a thumbnail image of the file. When user clicks on the file, the image will expand.
Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor button.
Figure 7. The Add Image page
ADD A PDF SLIDESHOW
A PDF slideshow will convert your PDF file into a series of viewable pages (slides).
To add a PDF Slideshow, click the Add PDF Slideshow button (Fig. 6) to access the Add Slideshow page (Fig. 8). Drag and drop your file in the Add Slideshow box or use the Add Slideshow button to select your file.
Enter your PDF slideshow title in the Title field.
If you would like the file to appear expanded by default, click the This file should appear expanded by default checkbox.
If you would like to require users to view all slides before the activity can be marked as complete, click the Require users to view all slides checkbox.
Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor button.
Figure 8. The Add Slideshow page
ADD A PDF
To add a PDF, click the Add PDF button (Fig. 6) to access the Add PDF page (Fig. 9). Drag and drop your file in the Add PDF box or use the Add PDF button to select your file.
Enter your PDF title in the Title field.
If you would like to require users to view the PDF before the activity can be marked as complete, click the Require users to view this document checkbox.
Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor button.
Figure 9. The Add PDF page
ADD A VIDEO
To add a video, click the Add Video button (Fig. 6) to access the Add Video page (Fig. 10). Drag and drop your file in the Add Video box or use the Upload a Video button to select your file. If you prefer you can simply link to an existing video on YouTube or Vimeo. Click the button next to the name of the site you'd like to use and paste the URL of the video in the field (Fig. 11). Click Save when done.
Figure 10. The Add Video page
Figure 11. The Add Video page showing the Video URL field
To select a video preview thumbnail image, use the frame advance arrow buttons (Fig. 12) to change the current video frame position. When a suitable frame for the thumbnail image is found, click the Accept button (Fig. 11) to select and save the preview thumbnail.
Enter your video title in the Title field.
If you would like your video to appear expanded when a user views the activity, click the This file should appear expanded by default checkbox. If you do not click the checkbox, the user will see a thumbnail image of the video. When the user clicks on the thumbnail image, the video will expand.
If you would like to require users to watch the video before the activity can be marked as complete, click the Require users to watch this video checkbox.
Note: Once 90% of the video has been watched, it will be marked as complete.
Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor button.
Figure 12. The frame advance arrow buttons and the Accept button
ADD A DOWNLOADABLE FILE
To add a downloadable file, click the Add Downloadable File button (Fig. 6) to access the Add Downloadable page (Fig. 13). Drag and drop your file in the Add Downloadable box or use the Add Downloadable button to select your file.
Enter your downloadable file title in the Title field.
If you would like to require users to download the file before the activity can be marked as complete, click the Require users to download this file checkbox.
Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor button.
Figure 13. The Add Downloadable page
EDIT AN ACTIVITY
To edit an activity, navigate to the preferred module and enable edit mode by clicking on the Edit Mode toggle (Fig. 3) in the top righthand corner of the page. Click on the preferred course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter. Click on the pencil icon to the right of an activity title to access the Edit Activity page (Fig. 14). From the Edit Activity page, modify the activity Title, Introduction, and Attachment(s) as needed and click the Save button.
Figure 14. The Edit Activity page
PUBLISH OR UNPUBLISH AN ACTIVITY
When an activity is created, it is automatically published.
Unpublish an Activity: To unpublish an activity, navigate to the preferred module and enable edit mode by clicking on the Edit Mode toggle (Fig. 3) in the top righthand corner of the page. Click on the preferred course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter. Click on the pencil icon to the right of an activity title to access the Edit Activity page (Fig. 14). Click the Unpublish button (Fig. 15) in the bottom righthand corner of the page.
Figure 15. The Unpublish button
Publish an Activity: To publish an activity, navigate to the Edit Activity page (Fig. 14) and click the Publish button (Fig. 16) in the bottom righthand corner of the page.
Figure 16. The Publish button
DELETE AN ACTIVITY
To delete an activity, navigate to the preferred module and enable edit mode by clicking on the Edit Mode toggle (Fig. 3) in the top right-hand corner of the page. Click on the chosen course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter. Click on the pencil icon to the right of an activity title to access the Edit Activity page (Fig. 13). From the Edit Activity page, click the Delete button (Fig. 17) in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Figure 17. The Delete button
REORDER ACTIVITIES
To reorder activities, navigate to the preferred module and enable edit mode by clicking on the Edit Mode toggle (Fig. 3) in the top right-hand corner of the page. Click on the chosen course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter. Click the Reorder Activities toggle (Fig. 18) in the top left-hand corner of the page and move your activities to the preferred order. Once complete, turn off the Reorder Activities toggle.
Figure 18. The Reorder Activities toggle
