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Work Areas

Module by: Mark Husband, Adan Galvan

Summary: An explanation of the work areas: My Workspace and Workgroups.

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Connexions Work Areas

Connexions provides two types of areas in which to work on content: "My Workspace" and "Workgroups". You can perform the same content creating, editing, and managing tasks in both work areas. The difference between the types of work areas is user access. "My Workspace" is a private work area. Only you can access it and view or modify its contents. Every person with a Connexions account has their own "My Workspace". It was created automatically when their Connexions account was set up. "Workgroups" are for collaborative projects. Their contents can be accessed by a group of users and each of the group members can view or modify its contents. "Workgroups" must be created by you. You can create multiple workgroups, having a different one for each project. Both of these types of work areas are described in this module.

Viewing Work Areas

Once you log into Connexions, the "Log in" sidebar in the lower left of the Connexions home page is replaced by the "Workspaces" sidebar. This sidebar remains on the home page and the other Connexions web pages as long as you are logged in, and allows you to switch among your work areas easily and quickly.
workspacebox.png
Figure 1: "Workspace" sidebar.

My Workspace

"My Workspace" is your personal work area in Connexions where you can work independently of anyone else. In this work area you can keep your own modules, files, and courses that no one else can view or modify. Many authors prefer to work on modules or courses in "My Workspace" before moving them to a workgroup where a group of collaborators can make comments or edit the material.
You can display your personal work area from a Connexions web page by clicking on the My Workspace link in the "Workspaces" sidebar or by clicking on the My Workspace link in the Personal toolbar.

Workgroups

A workgroup is a private "scratch area" where a group of Connexions authors can collaborate on a common set of modules. This allows authors working together to see their progress without letting the rest of the world see their work.
Warning: Remember that workgroups are not a substitute for communication between collaborators. The members of a workgroup must communicate openly because all the members in a workgroup have the same level of privilege. Any member in a workgroup may add or remove another member and modify, add, or remove content. The creator of a workgroup has no extra privileges.
Each workgroup can have modules or files that are associated with it. The members of the workgroup can add existing modules from the Content Commons to the workgroup. Once a module is created or checked out, any member of the workgroup who has editing permission on that module may modify it. To have editing permission, a person must have the maintainer role for that module. For more on this see Editing Module Roles.
The names of the workgroups of which you are a member are listed in the "Workspaces" sidebar. You can display the contents of a workgroup by clicking on the name of the workgroup.

Creating a New Workgroup

To create a workgroup, use the following steps:
  1. Click Create a workgroup in the "Workspaces" sidebar. The "Create Workgroup" screen displays.
  2. Type the name of the workgroup in the "Name" field.
  3. (Optional) Type a group e-mail address in the "Email" field. This should be a common e-mail address or mailing list that is shared by all members of the workgroup.
  4. (Optional) Type a description of the workgroup in the "Description" field.(optional)
  5. Click Create. The screen for the new workgroup displays.
Since it is a new workgroup, it has no content and you are its only member. See Managing Work Area Contents for a description of how to add content to the new workgroup. See Managing Workgroup Members for a description of how to add members to the new workgroup.

Managing Work Area Contents

To display "My Workspace", click on the My Workspace link in the "Workspaces" sidebar. To display a workgroup, click on its name in the "Workspaces" sidebar. If this is the first time you have displayed "My Workspace" or if you have just created the workgroup, there will be no content in the work area.
The "My Workspace" display has a "Contents" and a "Properties" tab. The workgroup display has "Contents", "Properties", and "Members" tabs. The "Content" tabs for both work areas are the same, except for the title at the top of the page. The following figure shows the "Contents" tab for a "My Workspace" that contains a course and three modules.
personal.png
Figure 2: "Contents" tab for "My Workspace".

Creating New Items

To create new modules or courses in the work area, use the following steps:
  1. Click the down arrow in the text box next to the Create New Item button. A drop-down list of valid item types appears.
  2. Select either the "Course" or "Module" item type and click Create New Item. The "New content: Licensing" screen displays.
  3. Select the checkbox to agree to the license and click Next. If you selected "Course", the "Metadata" tab on the "Edit Course" screen displays. See the How to Use the Course Composer for a description of how to edit a course. If you selected "Module", the "Metadata" tab on the "Edit Module" screen displays. See Editing Modules for a description of how to edit a module.
To create new files or images in the work area, use the following steps to upload the source of the file or image:
  1. Click the down arrow in the text box next to the Create New Item button. A drop-down list of valid item types appears.
  2. Select either the "Image" or "File" item type and click Create New Item. If you selected "File", the "Edit File" screen displays. If you selected "Image", the "Edit Image" screen displays.
  3. Click Browse and locate the file or image to be added.
  4. Select the item and click OK to upload the source of the file or image.
  5. Click Save to add the file or image to the work area.
The "File" and "Image" item types allow you the freedom to upload materials that you want to use in your content. These materials must exist before you can import them into Connexions. When you create the file or image in the work area, you are actually creating an instance of the item in Connexions.
When you create a new image item, once you click Save a preview of the image appears and a message that your image has been saved displays. When you create a new file item and click Save, information about the file displays and the Click here to get the file link appears.

Adding Existing Items from the Content Commons

You can add modules or courses that already exist in the Content Commons to your work area. In this way you can re-use information that appears elsewhere in Connexions. To add existing items, use the following steps:
  1. Click Search for Published Content. The "Search the Connexions repository" screen displays.
  2. Enter an object ID, title, keyword, author name, or text string in the text box next to the Search button.
  3. If desired, deselect the "modules" or "courses" checkboxes and click Search. A list of the modules and courses that match your search criteria displays on the screen.
  4. Select the checkboxes next to the items you want to add to your work area, or use the checkbox in the title bar to select all the results.
  5. Click the down arrow in the "Add selected content to" text box. A drop-down list of all the work areas to which you belong displays. Select a work area from the list.
  6. Click Add. The selected items are added to the work area you selected and the "Contents" tab for that work area displays.
addmodules.png
Figure 3: Results of a search for existing content.

Viewing the Work Area Contents

A work area can contain modules, courses, files, and images. The current contents of a work area can be seen on the "Contents" tab for the work area. The following information is displayed for each item in the work area:
  • Title - This column displays the title and the filename or ID of the item you have created or added to the work area group.
  • Type - This column displays the type of item listed. The types are: images, files, modules, and courses.
  • Size - This column displays the size of the item in kilobytes. No size is displayed for modules or courses.
  • Modified - This column displays the date and time the item was last modified. If the item is new, this column displays the creation date and time.
  • Status - This column displays the current status of the item. There are four possible statuses:
    • Published - The item has been checked into the Content Commons and is now accessible by the public.
    • Checked Out - The item was copied from the Content Commons and placed in your work area for editing purposes.
    • Created - The item has been created and placed in your work area, but no copy of the item exists in the Content Commons.
    • Modified - The item has been checked out and updated, and the changes have been saved. When you create a new item and make changes to it, its status changes from "Created" to "Modified".

Removing Items from a Work Area

To remove an item from a work area, select the checkbox next to the title of the item you want to remove and click Remove. You can select multiple items from the work area and remove them in one operation.

Renaming Items in a Work Area

To rename an item in a work area, use the following steps:
  1. Select the checkbox next to the title of the item you want to rename and click Rename. The "Rename item" screen displays.
  2. Enter the new name for the item in the "New Name" field.
  3. Enter the new title for the item in the "New Title" field.
  4. Click Rename All. You can rename multiple items at one time by selecting more than one item by clicking on the work area contents screen.
The items displayed on the "Contents" tab are updated to reflect the changes.

Cutting or Copying Items in a Work Area

To copy and paste an item in a work area, use the following steps:
  1. Select the checkbox next to the title of the item you want to cut or copy and click Cut or Copy. Cut removes the original item at the end of this process. Copy leaves the original item in its present location.
  2. Display the location where you wish to paste the object, such as another work area, and click Paste. If you paste a copied item into the workgroup where the original item resides, you will have a copy of the original item.

Work Area Properties

You can edit certain properties of a work area, such as the name of a workgroup or the description of your personal work area, "My Workspace". These changes are accessed on the work area's "Properties" tab.

Editing My Workspace Title and Description

To edit the title or description of My Workspace, use the following steps:
  • Click My Workspace to display your personal work area screen.
  • Click on the "Properties" tab. The "Edit Folder Properties" screen displays.
  • Type a new title or name for your personal work area in the "Title" field.
  • Type a description of your personal work area in the "Description" field.
  • Click Save.

Editing a Workgroup Title, E-mail Address, and Description

To edit the title, e-mail address, and description of a workgroup you of which you are a member, use the following steps:
  • Click the name of the workgroup in the "Workspaces" sidebar to display the workgroup screen.
  • Click on the "Properties" tab. The "Properties of" screen displays.
  • Type a new title or name for the workgroup in the "Name" field.
  • Type a group e-mail address in the "Email" field. This should be a common e-mail address or mailing list that is shared by all members of the workgroup.
  • Type a description of the workgroup in the "Description" field.
  • Click Update.

Managing Workgroup Members

Once you have created a workgroup or you have become a member of an existing workgroup, you can add other members to the workgroup. These members can work together on the content in the workgroup.
note: Only a person who has a Connexions account can be a member of a workgroup.
The names and e-mail addresses of the members of the workgroup are listed on the "Members" tab. This tab is not available in the "My Workspace" work area since that is your personal work area. You are the only person who can access that work area.
members.png
Figure 4: Workgroup "Members" tab.
Joining a workgroup requires an invitation. See Joining a Workgroup for more information.

Adding Members to a Workgroup

To add new members to a workgroup you are in, use the following steps:
  1. Type the name of the person you wish to add to the list of members in the text box next to the Search button.
  2. Click Search. A list of the Connexions account holders that match the search string appears. If the search returns no results, try the search again using just a username or a last name.
  3. Select the checkbox next to the name of the person or persons you wish to add to the workgroup.
  4. Click Add selected users. The "Current Group Members" table is updated to include the new member or members.

Removing Members from a Workgroup

To remove members from your workgroup, use the following steps:
  1. Select the checkbox in the "Remove" column for the member you wish to remove from the workgroup.
  2. Click Remove selected users from group. The "Current Group Members" table is updated to show the removal of the member.

E-mailing the Entire Workgroup

To e-mail the entire workgroup, use the following steps:
  1. Click on the email group link next to the table title "Current Group Members". Your e-mail application is launched displaying a new message addressed to the group members.
  2. Type in the text of the message and send it.

E-mailing an Individual Member

In addition to e-mailing the entire group, you can e-mail an individual member of the workgroup. To e-mail an individual member, use the following steps:
  1. Click on the address in the "E-mail" column next to the name of the member to which you want to send an e-mail. Your e-mail application is launched displaying a new message addressed to the group member.
  2. Type in the text of the message and send it.

Joining a Workgroup

To join a group, a current member of the group must add you to the workgroup member list. If you wish to join a workgroup, contact a member of that workgroup and ask them to add you to the workgroup.

Leaving a Workgroup

If you leave a workgroup or remove yourself from the member list, you are no longer a member of that workgroup. To become a member again, a current member of the workgroup must add you to the list of members again. To leave a workgroup, use the following steps:
  1. Display the "Members" tab for the workgroup you wish to leave.
  2. Select the checkbox in the "Remove" column next to your name.
  3. Click Remove selected users from group. The "Leave Workgroup" confirmation screen displays.
  4. Click Yes, Leave. You are removed from the workgroup and the workgroup name is removed from the "Workspaces" sidebar on your Connexions web page.
Once every member of a group has left the group, the group will be deleted. The last member to leave will be asked to confirm this step.

Deleting a Workgroup

A workgroup is deleted when it no longer has any members. If you want to delete a workgroup, you must remove all the members of the workgroup, including yourself. To delete a workgroup, use the following steps:
  1. Display the "Members" tab for the workgroup you wish to delete.
  2. Select the checkbox in the "Remove" column next every members' name.
  3. Click Remove selected users from group. The "Delete Workgroup" confirmation screen displays.
  4. Click Yes, Delete it. All members are removed from the workgroup, the workgroup is deleted, and the workgroup name is removed from the "Workspaces" sidebar of all members of the workgroup.

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