Adding and Managing Activities

Activities are where the real learning often takes place. Activities often include watching a video, viewing a presentation, or engaging with documents and images. Activities can be followed by actions, such as quizzes and surveys, which are used to reinforce the information presented in the activity.  

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 lefthand corner of page and select the Portal Administration link (Fig. 1). 

From the Portal Administration page, click the Learning Management System Module Administration card (Fig. 2).

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).

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.

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. 

ADD A PDF SLIDESHOW

A PDF slideshow will covert 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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

Click the Save button to return to the Edit Activity page. Once complete, click the Close Editor 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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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. 13). From the Edit Activity page, click the Delete button (Fig. 17) in the bottom righthand corner of the page. 

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 righthand corner of the page. Click on the preferred course and chapter to access the activities section of your chapter. Click the on Reorder Activities toggle (Fig. 18) in the top lefthand corner of the page and move your activities to the preferred order. Once complete, turn off the Reorder Activities toggle.