It is important to check the settings, add standards, and set up the gradebook (if this is required by your organization) before you begin creating content within a course.
You can find course settings by selecting the "More" option in the course menu and then choosing "Course properties and features."
In 'Course properties and features' you can specify how the course will be reflected in itslearning. This is where you describe your course, determine the hours and even choose the start page.
We also recommend that you add 'Course terms' to your course if they are not already listed. Note: Courses created through an integration may already have terms added. (Terms are grading segments for your school or district.)
You will want to connect your course to terms if you are going to use the grade book.
Choose “add term” then select the terms for the entire year. If there are no terms listed for you to select, contact your itslearning system administrator.
Once you have selected the appropriate terms, choose “add. Then ensure the appropriate functions and permissions are set for your course.
Functions
- Links: The links function provides a space in the sidebar for links. Within this menu, site URLs may be listed for easy student access.
- Plans: This is the hub for all teaching and learning material, which allows the instructor to easily create scope, structure and sequence for the course, while automatically building a course tree. This option enables Plans within the course.
- Files in course: Enabling this allows you to include documents that you have created in other applications in addition to Internet links.
- Participants: If this option is unchecked, participants (students) will not be able to view other participants within the course.
- Status and follow-up: Also sometimes described as 'Follow-up and Reports' this function includes a grade book, standards mastery report, and other general reports. If this option is unchecked, these reports will be unavailable to all users.
- Portfolio Assessment: Allows students to create working portfolios and showcase portfolios of course work. This option should be checked if you'd like to use an ePortfolio with the course or if you want to assign personalized tasks through the recommendation engine.
- Grade Book/Assessment record: This option will allow you to use the grade book within a course. Depending on the school or district, you may be able to integrate the itslearning grade book with your student information system.
- Learning Objectives: This option will allow you to attach learning objectives/standards to elements within your course and track mastery of the standards.
Additionally, you can add attendance reporting and progress reports to the course. Note: Some elements displayed in Functions are dependent on site/school-specific settings, so check with your system administrator.
Permissions
Allow withdrawal: This option allows a student to manually withdraw from a course (if the course does not integrate with your student information system)
Allow AICC communication: This provides the user with a link that can be added to another LMS/3rd party. itslearning will accept incoming requests and grant access to the course. Enabling this will also allow for sharing of a course in the Community Course Catalog and for users to launch a course added from the community catalog.
Accessible in course catalog: If you have the appropriate permissions, you may add your course to a local or external course catalog. The local catalog includes your school or district, while the external catalog includes the itslearning global community. If your course is added to a catalog, you will have three options for registration:
- Approval - students must apply for access to a course and await your approval
- Registration key - a key must be given to students to access the course
- Freely - anyone may add themselves as participants in your course
Share as a Template
If you have the rights and wish to share your course as a template, which means that other teachers can create a course based on your course. This is often utilized when teachers create master courses for future use. Courses can be shared at the school or district level.