Similar to your macrolevel organization (course-wide structure), the microlevel organization (the modules and their content and activities) of your course should have a logical, consistent and uncluttered layout. The following guide provides you with the steps to create a module and its content.
Within your course, modules can be organized chronologically (e.g., Week 1, Module 1), by unit (e.g., Atomic Mass) or by theme (e.g., Sound). A module must be created before you can begin adding content (also referred to topics). Submodules can help further categorize content.
As you begin working with content in UB Learns, keep in mind that these items must comply with accessibility and inclusion requirements. To learn more about how this can be accomplished, please visit the SUNY OSCQR Standards pages Content & Activities and Design & Layout.
UB Learns also utilizes Anthology Ally to review document in the course and provide a meter gauge as an indicator. As the instructor of a course, you should review these indicators to learn more about whether your content needs to be improved for accessibility concerns.
Please note: the meter indicators are not visible to students, however, students will be able to select a more preferable option for how to access content by selecting the arrow next to the course item in question. Visit Brightspace's guide on improving the accessibility of course content using Anthology Ally.
A well-designed module informs the students of the learning outcomes, breaks the content into manageable chunks, identifies what activities students need to complete and the deadlines by which to finish them. You can apply motivational strategies to your module design and activities that keep students engaged throughout your course. Likewise, instructor presence is an important component of online course design and should be considered during your course development, regardless of whether your class meets in-person or not. UB Learns has automated communication tools you can employ to bring efficiency to your online presence.
When creating content in UB Learns, link topics to the course schedule by adding the dates and times to the content you build. This step further organizes your course and helps students know when content is or will become available.
To add a sub-module, navigate to a module, enter the name of the new sub-module in the Add a sub-module field in the content column on the right (you may need to scroll down the page) and press Enter.
In UB Learns, a piece of content is also called a topic.
Instructors can create new content and assessments in the Content area. Assessments already created with the Assignments, Discussions and Quizzes tools can also be added to Content.
When using Upload/Create > Create a File, UB Learns creates a webpage and stores it in the Manage Files area of the course.
Due to the way UB Learns stores webpages in Manage Files, instructors must refrain from reusing names for webpages. Naming a new webpage with an existing name, even in a different module, will overwrite the older version of the webpage.
For example, instead of creating a webpage in each module called Readings, name them Readings 1, Readings 2, etc.
In some areas, you can add files to UB Learns using drag-and-drop.
Instructors can use the View as Student feature to see if content in visible or hidden.
Use the Preview features in the Quizzes and Assignments tools to submit sample assessments.