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6 Ways to Introduce Content Into a Section
Introduction
This page offers step by step instruction to the different variants of introducing content into a Vista section. For each variant the most probable way to access it is presented, however other accesses that might be more practical for your situation can be found in the Designers and Instructors Reference, WebCT Vista 4 (pdf, 2.5 MB). Get UN & PW at edutech Vista Support.
Table of content
File Upload
This is the classical method. In File Manager use the "Upload File" button to browse your computer for files to upload. A one-file-at-a-time method this can be quite slow. If you first zip the files and than upload this zip-file you will gain quite some time.
Nice side effect: If you zip your whole website with its folders and subfolders, this will be unzipped exactly as is and guaranty that the situation inside Vista corresponds exactly to the situation on your hard disk. This avoids pathway problems with your relative links. More details in: Uploading Files.
Using WebDAV
With WebDAV you can place an immediate access to the File Server of a section, course, group, etc., which behaves as if you had a supplementary disk drive in your machine. This allows you drag and drop directly from your folders into the WebDAV folder. A part from being very convenient this method seems to expose your machine to a bigger risk concerning your security in the Web. More details in: Installing WebDAV.
Creating content
You can directely create HTML pages inside Vista using the Vista editor. This has little advantages compared to using a HTML editor such as Mozilla, FrontPage or DreamWeaver on your machine. Using a web-based program will be always slower than using a program sitting on your machine. For pathway questions and security reasons you would any how have to download the file onto your hard disk. And for sure the dedicated HTML editors on your machine will always be more convenient and efficient and possess more functions as Vista can provide. More details in: Creating content with Vista HTML Editor.
Linking
With this method one can display - inside any section - files from other sections, courses, groups and institutions, provided one has the corresponding rights. These files are not really stored inside the sections' "File Manager" but are indicated in italic to show that they are links to a file from somewhere else. This procedure can be a powerful way of producing and maintaining learning content at one place and disseminating it to many other places. But one has to really make sure that one links all the parts involved. If a page contains images one has to link to not only the html page but also all the images, simulation, animations etc. that come with it. More details in: Managing File Subscription.
Assigning a template
Similar to the linking, this method allows you to create a model section - a parent - from which you can draw linked copies - a child. But in contrast to the linking the relation is not only between files, but between sections. Any number of children can be derived and those children sections will present the same settings and functions as the parent and also all the content files in the children will be adapted automatically to corrections in the parents content files. A template can also be use as a sort of repository. This could contain the learning content collected by members of a group of teachers or by a group of institutions that wish to join there effort and share their learning material or even collectively create a shared teaching section. More details in: Associating and Assigning Templates.
Importing content
Vista allows you to add pre-formatted material that can be use as a whole. This concerns:
- SCORM Modules. More details in: SCORM Module
- WebCT Campus Edition courses. For more details contact the edutech Vista Support
- Learning Modules from other Vista courses, Content Modules from Campus Edition courses and material that has been created by Third Party Provides (Respondus, MacroMedia, etc.). More details in: Exporting and Importing Learning Modules.
- Assessments (Quizzes, Surveys, Self-tests ). More details in: Export and Import of Assessment.
- Questions from the question data base. More details in: Export and Import of Questions.
- Importing Content as a new Template (not for section designer)
- In Template Manager, you can create a template using content you import. Types of content you can import include:
- WebCT Vista assessments (quizzes, self-tests, surveys), learning modules, and questions in the Questions Database
- WebCT Campus Edition (CE) courses or components which include content modules, quizzes, surveys, and questions
- LRN content from third party applications including, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, Microsoft FrontPage web sites and HTML files, and Respondus 2.0 assessments
- e-packs available from third-party content providers.
Implementing either of the above mentioned possibilities results in quite a number of ramifications and consequences that have to be analyzed thoroughly and presupposes quite some experience with Vista. So be warned.