Skip to content Skip to navigation

Connexions

You are here: Home » Content » How to Use the Course Composer

Navigation

Content Actions
  • Download module PDF
  • Add to ...
    Add the module to:
    • My Favorites
    • A lens
    • An external social bookmarking service
    • My Favorites (What is 'My Favorites'?)
      'My Favorites' is a special kind of lens which you can use to bookmark modules and collections directly in Connexions. 'My Favorites' can only be seen by you, and collections saved in 'My Favorites' can remember the last module you were on. You need a Connexions account to use 'My Favorites'.
    • A lens (What is a lens?)

      Definition of a lens

      Lenses

      A lens is a custom view of Connexions content. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see Connexions through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

      What is in a lens?

      Lens makers point to Connexions materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

      Who can create a lens?

      Any individual Connexions member, a community, or a respected organization.

    • External bookmarks
  • E-mail the authors

Recently Viewed

How to Use the Course Composer

Module by: Sarah Coppin, Mark Husband

Summary: Instructions on how to use the Connexions Course Composer.

Create a New Course

Creating a new course is similar to creating a new module. You access the Course Composer from your workspace or workgroup.

  1. Select Course from the drop-down list next to the Create New Item button and click Create New Item. The "New Content: Licensing" screen displays.
  2. Select the check box at the bottom of the screen to signify that you agree to place the course under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  3. Click Next. The "Metadata" tab displays with the message that a course has been created. The "Course Status" sidebar appears on the right side of the screen and lists the current state of the course and the last action taken, which was creation of the course along with the name of the person who created the course and when they created it.

Figure 1: Course Composer editing screen
Figure 1 (coursecomposerfig1x.png)

Enter Identifying Metadata for a New Course

  1. Select the "Metadata" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Enter the appropriate information in the metadata fields, including:
    • course title (required)
    • institution name - institution where the course will be taught
    • course code - the catalog number, for example, BIO 201
    • instructor name - the person teaching the course
    • course home page - a full URL beginning with "http://". Examples are course announcement pages or the course syllabus
    • keywords - terms that aid Connexions users to search and find the course
    • abstract - a brief description of the course (required)
    If you do not make an entry in a required field, you will be prompted for an entry when you click Save to record the metadata.
  3. Click Save. The metadata entries are saved and the "Contents" tab displays with the title of the course. This tab is where you do the actual assembly of the course. It has two areas. The left side of the tab has a course outline display. The right side of the tab is where you add, arrange, or remove content objects in the course.

Add a New Section

A section is a grouping of related modules within a course. Each section has a heading that identifies its contents to the viewers. You may place sections within sections, creating subsections.

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Click on the title of the course in the course outline, if it is not already highlighted. It is the highest-level object in the course outline.
  3. Display the "Contents" tab, if it is not already displaying.
  4. Click Add New Section in the "Contents" tab. A new section is added to the course outline as the last object and the "Edit" tab displays with a blank field for the name of the new section.
  5. Enter the name of the new section in the "Title" field.
  6. Click Save.

The title you entered appears as the new section in the course outline. This section is highlighted, enabling you to add content to it in the form of a subsection or a module.

Add a Subsection

A subsection is a grouping of related modules within a section. Each subsection has a heading that identifies its contents to the viewers.

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Click on the section title in the course outline, if it is not already highlighted.
  3. Display the "Contents" tab, if it is not already displaying.
  4. Click Add New Section in the "Contents" tab. A new subsection is added to the course outline under the section that was highlighted. The "Edit" tab displays with a blank "Title" field for the name of the subsection.
  5. Enter the name of the subsection in the "Title" field.
  6. Click Save.

The title you entered appears as the new subsection in the course outline. This subsection is highlighted, enabling you to add content to it.

Add a Module

You can add a published module to the course from the Content Commons or from the course's own workspace or workgroup. When adding a module, Connexions does not copy the module into your course. The module remains in the Content Commons and Connexions inserts a reference or a pointer to the module in your course. Any new or existing modules can be added to a course with the following considerations:

  • A module cannot be inserted into a course more than once.
  • A module must be published in Connexions before you can insert it into a course.
  • Searches in the Content Commons for modules use titles, names, authors, keywords, or text strings.
If no matches are found for your search string, Connexions displays some suggestions about search entries.

Add a Module from the Content Commons

To search the Content Commons for a module and add it as content in your course, use the following steps:

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer, if it is not already displaying.
  2. Click on the item title in the course outline where you want to insert the module, if it is not already highlighted. This item could be the course title, a section title, or a subsection title.
  3. Enter a word or text string related to the module in the search text box.
  4. Deselect the checkbox for "Courses". Leave the checkbox for "Modules" selected.
  5. Click Search. A list of all the modules that match the search input displays. If more matches occurred than will fit on one page, then additional pages of matches are listed.
  6. Select the checkbox for any module or modules you want to add as content.
  7. Click Add selected content.
The titles of the selected modules appear in the course outline under the section you selected.

Add a Module from Your Workspace or Workgroup

To add a module from your workspace or workgroup as content in your course, use the following steps:

  1. Display the "Contents" tab for your workspace or workgroup that contains the course and the module.
  2. Select the checkbox for the desired module. You can add only modules that are in the "published" state.
  3. Click Copy. A message displays that the item was copied.
  4. Click on the course title to access the Course Composer. The Paste button now appears on the "Content" tab along with the Cut, Copy, and Remove buttons.
  5. Click on the section title where you want to insert the module.
  6. Click Paste on the "Content" tab for the course.
The title of the module appears in the course outline under the section you selected.

Note:

If you try to add a module that is not published, an error message displays. To verify that the module you want to add is published, look in the "State" column in the "Contents" tab of your work area.

Provide an Alternate Module Title

Modules that are published in the Content Commons display the titles given to them by their authors. If these titles are not appropriate for the module when it appears in your course, you can provide an alternate title for the module. The module displays your alternate title when it is accessed from within your course. The module displays its original title whenever it is accessed from outside of your course.

  1. Click the module title in the course outline. The module level "Edit" tab appears on the right side of the screen.
  2. Type the new title for the module in the "Alternate Title" field.
  3. Click Save.
The module title in the course outline changes to the alternate title.

Select the Module Version

When a module is updated or edited, Connexions saves the previous version of the module in history and uses the latest version of the module for viewing. Each new version of a module is given its own version number. You can select which version of each module is used in your course.

  1. Click the module title in the course outline. The module level "Edit" tab appears on the right side of the screen.
  2. Select the Version radio button for the version of the module you want to use in the course. The default is "Always use newest version".
  3. Click Save.

Rearrange Contents

The Course Composer has two methods of rearranging the content items within a course. The first method uses up and down arrows to move items around within a course or within a section. The second method uses the Cut and Paste buttons to move items from course to section or from section to section.

Rearrange with the Up and Down Arrows

To move items around within a course or within a section with the up and down arrows, use the following steps:

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Click on the course title to rearrange the content items within the course, or click on a section title to rearrange the content items within that section. A listing of the contents of the course or selected section appears on the right side of the screen.
  3. Click the up or down arrows in the "Move" column to relocate a content item to a different location within the course or section. The outer two arrows move the content item to the first or last position. The inner two arrows move the content item up or down to the next position.

Figure 2: "Title" and "Move" columns
Figure 2 (coursecomposerfig2.png)

Rearrange with the Cut and Paste Buttons

To move items from course to section or from section to section with the Cut and Paste buttons, use the following steps:

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Click on the course title in the course outline to cut and paste content items within the course, or click on a section title in the course outline to cut and paste content items within that section. A listing of the contents of the course or selected section appears on the right side of the screen.
  3. Select the checkbox to the left of the content item or items you want to move.
  4. Click Cut.
  5. Click on the title of the section in the course outline for the section in which you want to paste the content item.
  6. Click Paste. The content item or items appear in the course outline under the selected section title and disappear from under the originating course or section title.

Remove Course Contents

To remove a content item from a course or from a section within a course, use the following steps:

  1. Select the "Contents" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Click on the course title to remove a content item from within the course, or click on a section title to remove a content item from within that section. A listing of the contents of that section appears on the right side of the screen.
  3. Select the checkbox for the object to be removed.
  4. Click Remove. The item is removed from the course or section.

Assign Roles to Collaborating Authors

As creator of a course, by default you hold all three roles: author, maintainer, and copyright holder.

  • Authors receive credit for writing the material. The author is the person who is responsible for the creation of the work, but may or may not be the person who actually enters the work into the Connexions. Any module or course work must have at least one person with an author role before it can be published in Connexions.
  • Maintainers are able to edit and publish successive versions of a course. Most authors will serve as maintainers for their materials, but some may choose not to. Authors may appoint additional maintainers to assist them in updating the materials.
  • Copyright Holders have the legal right to license the materials. In most cases, the copyright holder is the same person as the author, but this may not be the case in institutions where faculty and employees are required to sign over copyright to the institution. In this case the institution serves as copyright holder and the individual retains the author and/or maintainer roles.
You can grant one or more roles to other Connexions account holders who you want to collaborate with you on the course. The "Roles" tab has a search feature for locating these people. The current collaborators on the course are listed by role under the heading "Current Roles" on the "Roles" tab. You can change the roles assigned to these people by selecting or deselecting the check boxes in the "Authors", "Maintainers", or "Copyright Holders" columns under the heading "Change Roles". The following paragraphs describe how to grant or update roles.

Figure 3: Example "Roles" tab.
Figure 3 (RolesTabCourse.png)

When you grant or update roles for a collaborator in a course in a workgroup, these changes do not take affect until that person accepts the role change and you publish the course. The prospective collaborator must accept the role because Connexions provides its account holders with the ability to accept or reject a role in another person's course. If there are any pending roles (roles not yet accepted or rejected) for a course, Connexions will not let you publish that course. Once the collaborator accepts the role or updated role, you must publish the course for Connexions to recognize the collaborator. Connexions looks to the information in a published course to see who is an author, maintainer, or copyright holder for the course.

note:

All pending role additions or changes must be accepted or rejected by the prospective authors, maintainers, and copyright holders before you can publish a module or course in Connexions. And you must publish a module or course with the new roles before Connexions will recognize the new roles.

Granting Roles to Someone Outside of Your Workgroup

To grant one or more roles in a course to a Connexions account holder outside of the current workgroup, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Roles" tab to display it.
  2. Type the first or last name of the person you want to grant a role to in the text box next to Search.
  3. Click Search. The Connexions accounts are searched and any Connexions accounts that match the search string are displayed.
  4. Select the check boxes for the appropriate roles next to the name of the person you want to add and click Add People. The name of the new collaborator appears with the names of authors, maintainers, and copyright holders under the "Current Roles" heading and in the table under the "Change Roles" heading. In both places, the new collaborator is noted as a role change that is pending acceptance.
  5. Look at the table under the "Change Roles" heading and verify that the check boxes in the "Author", "Maintainer", or "Copyright Holder" columns are checked for the roles you want to grant to the new collaborator. If necessary, you can click the check boxes to change which roles will be granted.
  6. Click Submit Changes. The next time the new collaborator logs into Connexions, he or she will be notified of a pending role request. Connexions will not apply the roles to the new collaborator until he or she accepts the role request.

Granting Roles to a Member of Your Workgroup

To grant one or more roles in a course to a member of your current workgroup, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Roles" tab to display it.
  2. Click the "Select from members of your current workgroup" link. A table that lists all the members of the current workgroup appears under the link.
  3. Locate the name of the person or persons in the table that you want to grant roles to and click the check boxes in the Authors, Maintainers, and Copyright Holders columns to select the roles for that person.
  4. Click Add People. The name of the newly added collaborator appears with the names of authors, maintainers, and copyright holders under the "Current Roles" heading and in the table under the "Change Roles" heading. In both places, the new collaborator is noted as a role change that is pending acceptance.
A notification of a pending role request will display to the collaborator upon his or her next login to Connexions. Connexions will not apply the roles to the new collaborator until he or she accepts the role request.

Changing the Order of Appearance for Author Names

To change the order in which the authors' names will appear on the course, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Roles" tab to display it.
  2. Verify that all users who should have an author role on the course are listed in the Change Roles table. Select or deselect the check boxes in the Adjust Roles columns to make any necessary additions or changes to the course roles.
  3. Click Submit Changes to save the role changes. The next step will erase any role changes that you have not saved with the Submit Changes button.
  4. Click the up or down arrows in the "Order" column to move an author up or down in the order of appearance in the module. The single arrows move the name up or down one place. The double arrows move the name to the top or bottom of the list.
To have an author's name appear first in the course, his or her name must be at the top of the "Change Roles" table. The second name from the top of the table will appear as the second name in the list of authors, and so on.

Changing Role Assignments

To change the roles in a course that were previously granted to a user, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Roles" tab to display it.
  2. Locate the name of the person or persons in the "Change Roles" table of which you want to change roles.
  3. Click on a check box that contains a check mark to remove the check mark and to remove that role from the person. Click on an empty check box to make a check mark appear and to grant that role to the person.
  4. Click Submit Changes. The "Change Roles" table is updated to show the role changes and to note the role changes that are pending acceptance.
A notification of a pending role change request will display to the collaborator upon his or her next login to Connexions. Connexions will not apply the roles to the new collaborator until he or she accepts the role request.

Removing a Collaborator

To remove a collaborator from a course, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Roles" tab to display it.
  2. Locate the name of the person or persons in the "Change Roles" table of which you want to remove.
  3. Click on the check box in the "Remove User" column for the collaborator you want to remove.
  4. Click Submit Changes. The "Change Roles" table is updated with the removed collaborator no longer appearing on the list of users with roles.
A notification of a pending role request will display to the collaborator upon his or her next login to Connexions. Connexions will not remove the collaborator until he or she accepts the role removal request.

Set Notation Parameters

Modules in different courses may use different ways of presenting the same items, such as vectors and imaginary numbers. You can select the presentation of these items in your course with the display parameters. To set these parameters for your course, use the following steps:

  1. Click the "Parameters" tab in the Course Composer.
  2. Select the radio buttons for the desired notations. The defaults appear in the first column.
  3. Click Update Properties.

Connexions applies the specified notations to the parameter displays of all the modules in the course.

Preview the Course

Click the "Preview" tab in the Course Composer to display the course on-line, just as a student would view the finished course. This preview allows you to verify that the course displays as you intended.

Publish the Course

A published course is available to anyone on the Internet who wants to view it. Once the course is complete, you will publish it in Connexions.

  1. Verify that the metadata entries, roles, and on-line version of the course are as you want them.
  2. Click the "Publish" tab in the Course Composer.
  3. Type a brief explanation of this revision of the course in the "Description of Changes" field. This text displays on the revision history page for the course.
  4. Click Publish.
The course is published in Connexions. You may check out the course at any time and revise it with the Course Composer.

note:

Before Connexions will publish a course, the course must have a person named to the Author, Maintainer, and Copyright Holder roles. In addition, the course can have no pending role requests. All role requests must be either accepted or rejected.

Edit an Existing Course

You can edit an existing course with the Course Composer in the same way you create a new course. You can edit only courses for which you have a maintainer role. To use the Course Composer on an existing course, begin in your workspace or workgroup and use the following steps:

  1. Click Search for Published Content. The "Search the Connexions repository" screen displays.
  2. Enter a word or text string related to the course in the search text box.
  3. Deselect the checkbox for "Modules". Leave the checkbox for "Courses" selected.
  4. Click Search. A list of the objects that match the search string displays.
  5. Select the checkbox for the desired course
  6. Select the workspace or workgroup where the course will be placed from the "Add selected content to" drop-down list
  7. Click Add. The course is added to the specified workspace or workgroup.
  8. Open the course in the Course Composer and edit as described under the Create a New Course heading earlier in this section.

Comments, questions, feedback, criticisms?

Send feedback