Customizing courses>>Adding content
You can add an item to any content area. Items can contain text only or can have files attached to them.
To add an item to a content area:
Click the course name on the My CourseCompass page.
Click Control Panel.
Under Content Areas, click the area to which you want to add an item.
Click Item on the Add toolbar at the top of the page.
Under Content Information, enter the following information:
Name – The item name. Select a name from the drop-down list or enter one in the box provided.
Choose Color of Name – A color for the item name. Click Pick to select a different color in the ColorPicker.
Text – Enter a description of the item or instructions for the student to follow. The text appears with the link to the item in the content area. Choose a text display format for the text or accept the default format, which is Smart Text.
(Optional) Under Content, enter the following information:
File to Attach – Click Browse, locate the file you want to attach, and click Open to add the file name and location to the File to Attach box.
Name of link to file – Enter the name of the link that students click to access the attached file.
Special Action – Select an option for displaying the attached file:
Create a link to this file displays a link to the file below the item name.
Display media file within the page embeds certain kinds of media within the page itself. If the media format is not supported, the Create a link to this file option is applied. When you select this option, you are prompted to set media file options after you click Submit to add the item.
Unpackage this file indicates the file or files are in a packaged format and should be automatically extracted when opened. You are prompted to set packaged file options after you click Submit to add the item.
Currently Attached Files – Lists files you previously attached to the item. Click Remove next to a file name to remove it from the item. Click Modify next to a media or packaged file name to modify its file options. Modify appears only if you selected Display media file within the page for media files and Unpackage this file for packaged files.
Under Options, set or modify these options:
Make the content available – Select Yes if you want students to be able to view the item. Select No to hide it. The item is visible to students as soon as you add it unless you set the Choose date restrictions options.
Add offline content – Select Yes if you want to add a link to content on a CD-ROM. If you select Yes, the page refreshes and now shows two additional fields under this option. For Path to Content, enter the path to the file on the CD you want students to access. Leave off the drive letter. In the Link to file box, enter the link text. To access this file, the student must have the appropriate CD inserted in the CD drive on his or her computer.
Track number of views – Select Yes or No to indicate whether you want CourseCompass to track the number of times a student accesses the item. If you select Yes, a Tracking button appears next to the item in the content area that you can click to open the Course Statistics page and view a comprehensive report on usage.
Add metadata – Select Yes or No to indicate whether you want to associate metadata—such as ownership, resource format, and copyright information—with the item. If you add metadata, a Describe button will appear next to the item in the content area that you can click to access the metadata page.
Choose date restrictions – This option lets you set the item availability according to dates and times. Set the Display After date and time to indicate when the item will become available to students. You can also set the Display Until option so the item is available only up to a specified date and time. (See How display dates work for more information.) Be sure to select the Display check box as well as specifying a display date and time.
Click Submit, then click OK.