TABLE OF CONTENTENT
Activities
Activities allow for interaction so we recommend they be used more often than resources because it helps students interact with content, not merely consume content. Assignments, tests, tasks and surveys appear in students’ task blocks.
Keep in mind that the rich text editor (if activated) will be included in all activities. So if you want a student to watch a video and demonstrate their understanding, the video can be embedded within the assignment itself. The student can then demonstrate understanding through a short quiz or student created content such as writing a synopsis.
The following list (as seen in the image above) provides default itslearning activities, however school or district elements can be added by an administrator.
- Assignments require a digital submission. This digital submission might be a typed essay, PowerPoint presentation, Video, Image, etc. that demonstrates users’ knowledge. Assignments can be aligned to standards/learning objectives with rubrics and assessment criteria to track standards mastery. There is also an option for students to work in groups.
- Registrations allow instructors to create a list of options for participants to register for. This may include a study session, presentation time, or group project.
- Tests might be quick quizzes or formal exams. Questions can be aligned to standards, categorized, and assigned specific point value. (Questions can also be imported.) There are several question types that include technology-enhanced questions. Each question and in some cases also the answer alternatives includes the rich text editor, so videos, sound clips, and images can be part of the question/answer.
- Discussions allow students to reflect on a topic, which may include media elements. Students may then read all posts and replies.
- Surveys can be utilized within a course or open externally. They include four question types (yes/no, open answer, matrix, multiple choice) and can be set to be anonymous.
- Learning path is where you can create a progress-based sequence of resources which means students can take different paths to reach the same goal. You can read more about learning paths by clicking this link.
- Tasks are non-digital submissions and may include student artwork, oral presentations, hand-written essays or face-to-face discussions. Tasks allow the teacher to provide digital directions and grading specifications, but the work will be submitted, assessed, and graded manually.
Resources
Resources are consumable elements and do not require the student to complete or submit a task. The image below shows resources that may be added, however we recommend using the following.
- Folders help you organize content in a course.
- Links lets you to share web URLs.
- Note: The note is another utilization of a rich text editor. Content that can be embeded can also be included here such as YouTube videos, etc.
- Page include content blocks of information around a single topic. Polls, videos, images, etc. can all be included within a page. Page is a good tool for student created content as well.
- File or Folder gives you the option of uploading files and folders directly from your computer or cloud.
- Additional resources such as Word and PowerPoint if your system administrator has set this in the site settings.
Ready-to-Use Content
Ready-to-Use Content includes elements that can be imported from other learning management systems or platforms as well as content that are in a shared library of resources. (Sometimes known as a learning object repository or LOR.)
