Site Info

From e-Learning Documentation

Contents 1 Overview 2 Edit Site Information 3 Edit Tools 3.1 Web Links 3.2 RSS Feeds 4 Page Order 4.1 Reorder Tools 4.2 Hide Tools from Students 4.3 Edit the Name of the Tool 5 Add Participants 5.1 Change a Participant's Role 5.2 Make a Participant Inactive 5.3 Remove a Participant 6 Edit Class Rosters 7 Link to Parent Site 8 Manage Groups 8.1 Create a New Group 8.1.1 Create Groups from File Import 8.2 Auto Groups 8.2.1 Create Random Groups 8.3 Edit a Group 8.4 Delete a Group 9 Manage Access 10 Duplicate Site 11 Import from Site 12 Import from File

Overview

Site Info is the tool that allows for the control of many aspects of the course. This tool cannot be removed from the Toolbar because if its importance to the course. In this tool, you can select which tools to use in the course, which tools to display to students, create and manage groups, add participants and bring in content from other courses in which you are an Instructor.

You will see here the content that is on your Home Page. Beneath that content you will see a list of all course participants, including the Role and Status. Beneath the list of Participants is a brief description of each of the Roles. A much more complete and accurate description of roles can be found at Participants - Overview of all Roles

While Site Info is valuable to instructors, there is little of value to students. Many instructors choose to hide the tool from the students. See "Page Order" for instructions on hiding tools.

Edit Site Information

This option allows you to edit information that is displayed to the students on your Home Page. This is identical to clicking on Options on the Home Page and making your edits there. But within "Edit Site Information" you can also edit certain information such as a contact information. If all contact information is provided elsewhere in the course, students get no added benefit from seeing the Site Info tool.

Another option that could be of value here is if you are in a Project Site instead of a Course. Project Sites can be "joinable" and appear on a list of all site that people can join. You may add a "Short Description" of no more than 80 characters that will let prospective participants know what your site is about so they can decide if they want to join.

Edit Tools

Some tools are provided in every course created, but there are other tools available for your use. A description of each tool is at: Tools - Overview of all Available Tools. "Edit Tools" allows you to choose which tools to use in your course. Simply check the box beside the tool(s) you want to add and uncheck the box beside the tool(s) you want to remove. Click Continue. You see the tools listed, click Finish.

Web Links

If you choose "Web Links" you will get an additional screen after you click "Continue." You will be asked to give a "Title" to the tool. This Title is what will appear in the course tool bar so brevity is important. You will also be asked to provide the URL (Web Address) to the website where this tool will point. In another tab or browser, go to the website, copy the URL and paste it into the box labeled "[missing key: multiple tools source]." Click Continue. You see the tools listed, including your new Web Link, click Finish.

RSS Feeds

If you choose "RSS Feeds" you will get an additional screen after you click "Continue." You will be asked to give a "Title" to the tool. This Title is what will appear in the course tool bar so brevity is important. You will also be asked to provide the URL (Web Address) to the website where this RSS Feed will point. Many news website offer a list of RSS Feed links. For example, CNN.com has an "RSS" link at the bottom of the Home Page. Here you find a list of URLs for the various news topics. Copy the URL and paste it into the box labeled "[missing key: multiple tools channel-url]." Click Continue. You see the tools listed, including your new RSS Feed, click Finish.

Page Order

When you click this link, you will see a list of all the tools that you are utilizing in this course. This option allows you to reorder the tools in the course toolbar, hide tools and edit the name of a tool.

Reorder Tools

To move a tool to a different place in the list, hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the location where you want it to be. Release the mouse button to drop the tool in that location. NOTE: By default, "Home" is at the top of the list. If you place a different tool at the top of the list, that tool will replace the Home Page as the first thing students see when they go into your course. This is not recommended!

Hide Tools from Students

There are time when you may want to hide a tool or tools from students, but still make it available for your own use. An example might be the Site Info tool, which is of little value to students. You also want to hide one of the Gradebook tools from the students to avoid confusion. If you are using the Resources tool for your own use rather than for distributing files to students, you will hide that tool also. Site Stats is another example of a tool that you might want for your own use, but not allow students to access.

NOTE: There are four tools that appear both in the tool bar and also in the right pane of the Home Page - Announcements, Calendar, Messages (Mail) and Forums (Discussions). If you hide any of these tools in the toolbar, the tools still show up in the right pane of the Home Page. BUT, the Messages and Forums tool no longer works from the right pane of the Home Page. Participants will still see that there are new messages, but when they click the link to go to the Mail or Discussion tool, nothing happens. Announcements and Calendar still work fine if the tool is hidden.

To hide a tool from the students:

1. Click Site Info in the left menu bar
2. Click Page Order at the top of the page
3. Click the yellow lightbulb icon beside the tool name. It turns grey when the tool is hidden.

Edit the Name of the Tool

You should be very cautious about renaming tools. While you might think that you want to rename the "Assignments" tool to be called "Homework Submissions," it could create problems for the students. If a student calls the Help Desk asking for assistance with the "Homework Submissions" tool, Help Desk staff will not know how to assist the student. If the student goes to tutorials for help in using this tool, he won't be able to find a tutorial on "Homework Submissions" tool. When you reuse content from one semester to another, the tool in the new course will not retain the name you gave it, but will revert to its system name.

If you still want to change the name of the tool:

1. Click Site Info in the left menu bar
2. Click Page Order at the top of the page
3. Click the pencil icon beside the tool name. In the Title box, type the new tool name
4. Click the green check mark.

Add Participants

While all students registered for your class through the Registrar will be automatically loaded, you may want to enroll additional users as Teaching Assistants, Designers, Observers, etc. To enroll participants:

1. Click Add Participants at the top of the "Site Info" page.
2. Enter the gatorlink username or the UFID in the box. To enter more than one participant, hit "Enter" after each entry.
3. Are all participants going to receive the same role?
   • If yes, leave the "Participant Roles" set to the default "Assign all participants to the same role. When you click Continue you will see a screen where you can select the role.
   • If not, select "Assign each participant a role individually." When you click Continue you will see a screen where each user will be listed and you can select a different role for each user.
4. Click Continue
5. If you want to alert these participants that they are now enrolled in the course, change the default from "Don't Send" to "Send Now."
6. On the confirmation page, verify that the users and their roles are correct and click Finish.

Change a Participant's Role

Perhaps you want to change a user from a Designer role to a Teaching Assistant role. On the "Site Info" page list of participants, locate the person's name. In the "Role" drop-down menu, select the new role. Click Update Participants at the bottom of the list.

Make a Participant Inactive

You are not able to remove a student who is enrolled through the Registrar's office, but you can make that person "Inactive," denying access to the site. When you make someone "Inactive," all his/her submissions and grades will be removed, but will reappear if the status is returned to "Active."

On the "Site Info" page list of participants, locate the person's name. In the "Status" drop-down menu, choose "Inactive." Click Update Participants at the bottom of the list.

Remove a Participant

You are not able to remove a student who is enrolled through the Registrar's office, but you may remove other users that you have added, such as CE Students, Teaching Assistants, Facilitators, etc. On the "Site Info" page list of participants, locate the person's name and check the box in the "Remove" column. Click Update Participants at the bottom of the list.

Edit Class Rosters

Video Tutorial

Note: Starting Summer 2013 each new course will have rosters automatically associated with the course and you will no longer need to complete this process, but you will have to 'Publish' your course for students to be able to access it.

When you request your course by filling out the Faculty e-Learning Course Request form, your course and section number(s)are added to a database that can automatically pull Registrar data. This allows for your courses to be populated with students and for that roster to be continually updated during the semester. The section number is now associated with the username of the instructor listed in the form. That person is the only one who can add the roster(s).

Students who are enrolled in your course are associated with the section number. In most instances, you will not need to add the roster as the process is automatic, but if you ever do need to associate a roster, follow these steps:

• Click Site Info in the left menu bar
• Click Edit Class Rosters
• Click Add Roster(s)
• Check the box next to the appropriate section number(s)
• Click Continue
• Click Add Class(es)

Section rosters are not populated with students until a few days before the semester starts.

To remove a roster:

NOTE: If you are the owner of the roster and you remove the roster, you remove yourself from the course. If you need to remove a roster, please contact LSS at 352.392.4357x3 and we will assist you.

Link to Parent Site

"Link to a Parent Site" creates a relationship between two or more courses. This is useful in a situation where you have, for example, a course that contains both undergraduate and graduate sections. Much of the content is similar, but the grading structure might be different for the two groups. You would have a "Parent" course that contains all the content and any activities that are common to both groups. All students would be enrolled in this course. You would also have a Child course for the undergrad sections and another Child course for the grad sections. Content and activities that are unique to each group would be housed in the Child courses, as well as the Gradebook for each group.

NOTE: If you conduct graded activities in the Parent course, those grades must be entered into the appropriate Child course Gradebook.

You will want to contact e-Learning Support Services (352-392-4357 option 3 or Message Us)so that we may create the Parent and Child sites. You may also want to confirm with us that the Parent/Child set up would be the best arrangement for you.

To link to a Parent site, from the Site Info page in the Child course;

1. Click Link to Parent Site
2. From the drop-down menu, select the course that will serve as the Parent course
3. Click Set Link

A link to the Parent site is now at the top of the page. In the Parent site, links to Child courses are found at the bottom of the toolbar on the left.

NOTE:Students will only see the links to the courses in which they are enrolled. In the example above, all students are enrolled in the Parent course, grad students enrolled in the grad Child course and undergrad students enrolled in the undergrad Child course. Therefore, grad students will see links to Parent course and the grad Child course, but will not see the link to the undergrad Child course.

Manage Groups

Groups are useful in many ways. You may give Assignments, Discussions, Tests & Quizzes, Resources content and other items to specific groups rather than the entire class. You can place "special needs" students into a group that will make it easier to comply with their needs.

Create a New Group

From the Site Info page:

1. Click Manage Groups
2. Click Create New Group
3. "Title" - Enter a title for the group.
4. "Description" - Enter a description if desired. The description is for your own use only. It does not display to the members of the group.
5. Under the "Description" box, you see the "Membership Site Member List" and the "Group Member List." You want to move the desired participants from the Membership Site Member List to the Group Member list using the right and left arrow buttons.
   • Select a role or person by clicking once to highlight. Use the right arrow to move it to the list.
   • Select a range of roles and/or persons by clicking the first name and while holding down the Shift key, click the last name in the list. All participants between the two will be highlighted. User the right arrow to move them to the list.
   • Select several non-contingent users by clicking the first name and while holding down the CTRL key, click the other names you want to add. All participants clicked will be highlighted. User the right arrow to move them to the list.
     • To remove from the group, use any of the above processes to select the users to remove and use the left arrow key to remove them from the group.

Click Add

Create Groups from File Import

You may create groups from a spreadsheet if you want specific students in the groups, rather than manually creating them in the site. By choosing “import from file,” you can import a formatted CSV file to create groups within the site.

The CSV file should contain two columns: group title and username. Columns must be in that order, but do not include a row of column headers.

Auto Groups

Auto Groups simply serves to create a group from specific roles or rosters. For example you could make a group of your TAs and Facilitators and then post Announcements or Discussions just to that group. Or if you have several rosters associated with your course, you may group them together. Perhaps you have some undergrad sections and some grad sections. You could auto-group those together.

1. Click Auto Groups
2. Check the box beside the roster/role you want to include in the group.
3. Click Update

Create Random Groups

In the Auto Groups, you may create random groups of students.

1. Click Auto Groups
2. Check the box beside the "Student" role.
   • A box appears with two options:
     • Create a separate group for each role selected.
     • Create random groups from members with selected role(s).
3. Select "Create random groups from members with selected role(s)."
   • Two more options appear:
     • Split by number of groups needed
       • Give the group a title and designate how many groups you want. Whatever title you choose, a number will be appended to differentiate between the groups. So, for example, if you type "Group" as your title, your groups will be labeled Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 . . .
     • Split by number of users needed per group
       • Give the group a title and designate how many students you want in each group. Again, whatever title you choose, a number will be appended to differentiate between the groups.

Edit a Group

From the Site Info page:

1. Click Manage Groups
2. Beside the group you want to edit, click Edit.
3. Make your changes and click Update

Delete a Group

From the Site Info page:

1. Click Manage Groups
2. Beside the group you want to delete, check the box in the "Remove?" column.
3. Click Remove Checked

Manage Access

This option allows you to publish and unpublish your course. At the beginning of the semester, you will want to publish your course when you are ready for students to access your content. At the end of the semester, you may want to unpublish your course so that students no longer access your content.

1. Click Manage Access
   • To publish, select the "Publish site" box and click Update
   • To unpublish, select the "Leave as Draft - accessible only to site maintainers" box
2. Click Update

NOTE: An unpublished course will display "Unpublished course" in the upper left corner of the screen. It can be published by clicking the "Publish Now" button there as well as by the process listed above.

Duplicate Site

At this time, Instructors do not have the ability to duplicate their sites.

Import from Site

Instructors can import content from any other course in which they are enrolled as Instructor. This is used for importing content from one semester to another, but can be used at any time to bring in content you've created in a different course.

1. Click Import from Site
   • "I would like to replace my data" - this option replaces your current content. If you have three Assignments in your course and import three Assignments from a different course, your original three Assignments will be removed and replaced by the imported Assignments. e-Learning Support Services provides a 10-question quiz based on the "Student FAQ." If you want to keep these quizzes, do not choose the "replace my data" option, but use "merge my data" for the Tests & Quizzes tool and/or the Assessments tool.
     • This is the option that will import Gradebook settings. NOTE: While it does import all Gradebook settings, Gradebook 2 options such as dropping lowest scores and weighting within a category will have to be reentered manually as these are not available in Gradebook. You can use "replace my data" for Gradebook settings import and use "merge my data" option for other tools.
   1. Click I would like to replace my data
   2. Select the site from which you want to import content.
   3. Click Continue.
   4. Select the tools from which you want to import content. NOTE: The tool must be available in both courses in order to import. If you do not have the Tests & Quizzes tool selected in one of the courses, it will not appear as an option.
   5. Click Finish.
   • "I would like to merge my data" - this option adds the imported content to already existing content. If you have three Assignments in your course and import three Assignments from a different course, you will end up with six Assignments. This is more useful mid-semester when you already have content that you do not want to be removed. This option does not import any Gradebook settings.
   1. Click I would like to merge my data
   2. Select the site from which you want to import content.
   3. Click Continue.
   4. Select the tools from which you want to import content. NOTE: The tool must be available in both courses in order to import. If you do not have the Tests & Quizzes tool selected in one of the courses, it will not appear as an option.
   5. Click Finish.
   • "I would like to merge my user(s)" - This would only be useful if you have non-Registrar courses. This option combines all users in all courses selected.
   1. Click I would like to merge my user(s)
   2. Check the box next to the site(s) you want to merge.
   3. Click Finish

Import from File

This function does not work at this time.