Saturday, 2 December 2023, 2:55 AM
Site: Flinders Learning Online
Topic: FLO Staff Support (FLO_Staff_Support)
Glossary: How-to glossary
DIALOGUE

Dialogue - main entry

The dialogue tool in a topic ideally consists of 4 stages, in a looped process.

1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  ||  Support 

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assignment-related resources are provided below. 

Communication, interaction and collaboration tools in FLO | Facilitating Student-Teacher interaction in FLO 

Dialogue icoxThe dialogue tool allows you to start one-to-one conversations with your students or allows students to initiate conversations with you or others in the topic. A copy of all messages will be kept within the topic.


1. Plan your dialogue

The dialogue tool has some similarities to other communication methods (e.g. email, forums, messages). Dialogue allows for one to one conversations inside the topic, as opposed to forums which are mainly for group discussions and messaging, which is for one on one discussion, but is not recorded in the topic.

You could use the dialogue tool to:

  • ask a question of some or all students in your topic, and have them reply individually
  • ask students if they have any problems working in their project teams.
Conversations between a student and a staff member can be seen by all staff with access to the topic. This can be useful for larger topics, but may not be appropriate for topics where a lot of sensitive discussions are expected.


2. Build

The dialogue tool can be set up with a few quick steps:

  1. In your topic click Turn editing on
    turn editing on
  2. In the week/module where you want the dialogue to appear, click Add an activity or resource
    add an activity or resource button
  3. Select Dialogue and click add button
  4. Fill in the dialogue Name and Introduction
    type a dialogue name and description
  5. Click Save and display
    save and display button


    3. Test

    The easiest way to see how the dialogue tool works is to try it out with a colleague (or multiple colleagues).


    4. Administer

    You can send a message to a particular person, or send identical copies of a message to everyone in a group.

    1. In the dialogue activity, click Create
      Select 'create'

    2. If sending a message to a single person, start typing the users name in the People box. Select the name of the person from the dropdown list.
      Begin typing the user's name and then select student from the drop-down menu

      If sending a message to multiple people, click on Bulk open rule and select a group to send the message to. If you want to include any users who may join the group in the future, tick Include future members.

      select a group from the drop-down menu

    3. Enter a Subject and type a Message
      type a subject and message

    4. Click the Send button when you are ready. If you are sending a message to a group, each person in the group will get an individual copy of the message.
      click save
    If you are not receiving notifications about new messages, check your notification settings in the preferences menu:
    Preferences menu Notifications link

      Training and support

      Troubleshooting

    Support
    eLearning support team
    There are no known issues with this tool.
    DOWNLOAD FLO

    Download FLO - database exporting entries

    Entries can be exported from the database in either a CSV (comma separated values) or ODS (OpenOffice) format. 

    Database image 1

    To export entries, click on the Export tab at the top of the database [1]. Select the export format [2] and choose the fields that you wish to export [3]. Select the export options [4] and click export entries to export the entries [5]. 

    Entries can also be exported from the Actions menu cog. 

    Database image 2

    Download FLO - downloading personal videos from Kaltura

    Kaltura has been our default video tool in Moodle and with the move to Canvas, videos stored in the personal section of Kaltura might not be migrated as we may not have access to them. To avoid losing these videos, you can download your videos and store them for later. 

    To access and download your personal videos from Kaltura on Moodle (FLO), 

    Access your FLO dashboard and then click on the down arrow next to your profile. 


    Click on 'MyMedia' tab on the drop down menu. 

    A screenshot of a computer

Description automatically generated

    Once you open your My Media dashboard, click on the video you would like to download. This will open another window. 


    At the top right corner of the media window, click on the download icon. 


    Download FLO - export a glossary

    The glossary tool in FLO/Moodle has no corresponding equivalent tool in Canvas. However, you can export the entries from an FLO glossary as a text file (that you may wish to reuse in Canvas via another tool such as pdf, an H5P object etc). 

    To export content from the glossary tool:

    1. Open the glossary you wish to export entries from. 


    2. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the glossary tool, and select Export entries.


    3. Select a format (usually File download) then click the Export to portfolio button.


    4. Choose the export format (usually Spreadsheet) then Next, then Continue.


    5. The content will be plain text in a spreadsheet and will not include any pictures.
      If you wish to export the pictures from your glossary entries, you will need to right click and click Save image as… (for PC) or Control + click (for Mac) for each glossary entry picture individually.
      eg

    Download FLO - main entry



    As teaching in FLO will end in November, FLO, Collaborate and Kaltura will shut down at the end of 2023. Make sure to save any recordings and other learning content by December 21st if you’d like to access them next year.

     

    The most recent availability of each topic in Moodle will migrate to Canvas, plus course sites from this year and any non-teaching sites (e.g. Academic Integrity). Topics in the Doctor of Medicine are being migrated for a longer period, to meet requirements.


     

    Older versions of topics and personal sites will not be migrated to Canvas. If you have Collaborate recordings and personal Kaltura videos that you wish to keep, you will need to download them.

    Some less commonly used tools do not have equivalents in Canvas and cannot be migrated. If you are affected, we will advise you once you get access to 2024 topics.


     

    If you do not download your materials by the end of the year, we will not be able to recover them for you.


     

    We have contracted an archiving service to assist with grade challenges and student complaints. However, it does not have the capacity to provide you with missing content.


     

    Students have a similar set of resources to the ones you see below. In addition to the posters and signage around our campuses, we will also communicate with students through Ping, email, and social media.

    If you want to help, we have created a PowerPoint slide that you can include in your lectures.



    How to download content

    Most resources can be saved by either printing to a PDF or copying and pasting the text into Microsoft Word, but the following tools have special instructions:


    Further assistance

    For further assistance, please contact your local eLearning Support Team.


    Call 15000 (or external: 8201 5000) - please listen to the prompts for your college.
    Submit a Service One request

    Download FLO - printing a Master copy of Exams

    We have a legal requirement to save a Master copy of exams in perpetuity. SAS teams will make a copy of online exams to meet these requirements, but topic coordinators may wish to make a copy for personal reference.


    Check if the exam was run as a quiz or an assignment

    1. Open the topic.

    2. Scroll down the page until you find the exam modules.

    3. See if the exam is delivered as an assignment or a quiz.


    Assignment

    Identify where/how the exam questions are provided to students. They may be:

    • Text included within the assignment.
    • Files attached within the assignment.
    • Files included in the module.

    Exams may contain one or multiple of the above.

    1. Download and name any files, as appropriate.
    2. Print any text instructions within the assignment. In your list of printers, you will see an option to save the page as a PDF. Name and save the page as needed.


    Quizzes

    1. Open the quiz.

    2. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Edit quiz [2].


    3. Scroll the list of questions looking for random questions. Random questions are named differently from other questions and have a special dice icon.


      1. If there are no random questions, continue below.
      2. If there are random questions, go to step 13.
    Quizzes without random questions
    1. Use your browser’s Back button to return to the last page.

    2. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Edit settings.


    3. Open the Review options section. In the ‘After the quiz has closed’ column, make sure The attempt and Right answer boxes are ticked.


    4. Open the Common module settings section. Change the Availability to Hide from students.


    5. Click the Save and display button.

    6. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Preview [2].


      A small number of quizzes will ask for a password. If the quiz requires a password, you will need to:

      1. Edit the quiz settings.
      2. Open the Extra restrictions on attempts section.
      3. Click on the eye icon, then the pencil icon.
      4. Copy the password.
      5. Return to the preview screen, and start a new preview.
      6. Enter the password when prompted.

    7. Click the Finish attempt link. You do not need to answer any questions.


    8. Click the Submit all and finish button. A small window will appear asking you to confirm your decision. Click the Submit all and finish button on this screen as well.

    9. A review page will load. Print this page. In your list of printers, you will see an option to save the page as a PDF. Name and save the page as needed.
    Quizzes with random questions
    1. Return to the topic’s home page and make sure that editing is turned on.

    2. Duplicate the quiz.


    3. Hide the duplicate quiz from students.

    4. Open one of the quizzes. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Categories [2].


    5. You’ll see a page listing all of the quiz categories in the topic. Scroll down the page until you see the Add Category section.
       
    6. Create a category named Exam export [1], then press the Add Category button [2].


    7. Open the duplicate copy of the quiz. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Edit quiz [2].


    8. Click on Add link above the random questions. Select + a new question.


    9. Add a Description question type (the last item in the left-hand column).

      1. Change the Category to Exam Export [1].


      2. For both the question name [2] and the question text [3] add “X random questions from the following”, with X being the number of random questions being used.

      3. Click on the Save changes button.

    10. Click on the Add link above the random questions again.
      1. Add another description.

      2. Choose the Exam Export Category again. For both the question name and the question text add 'End of random questions'.

      3. Click on the Save changes button when you are done.

    11. Click on the Add link above the random questions. This time, add all of the questions from the question bank the random questions are drawing from.

    12. Delete the random questions from the quiz, by clicking on the trash icon to the right of each question.

    13. Use the crosshair icons to the left of the questions:

      1. Drag the first question you created above the first quiz question.

      2. Drag the second question you created below the last quiz question.


    14. Repeat steps 20-25 for each set of random questions. You will need to repeat all the steps – you can’t use the same question multiple times in a quiz.

    15. Open the Review options section. In the ‘After the quiz has closed’ column, make sure The attempt and Right answer boxes are ticked.


    16. Click the Save and display button.

    17. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Preview [2].


      If the quiz requires a password, you will need to:

      1. Edit the quiz settings.
      2. Open the Extra restrictions on attempts section.
      3. Click on the eye icon, then the pencil icon.
      4. Copy the password.
      5. Return to the preview screen, and start a new preview.
      6. Enter the password when prompted.

    18. Click the Finish attempt link. You do not need to answer any questions.


    19. Click the Submit all and finish button. A small window will appear asking you to confirm your decision. Click the Submit all and finish button on this screen as well.

    20. A review page will load. Print this page. In your list of printers, you will see an option to save the page as a PDF. Name and save the page as needed.

    Forum / Announcements - exporting forum posts

    1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer   |  5. Review   || Support

    forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

    Once the forum is made available to students (via the Forum settings), you may want to do one or more of the following actions, depending on the forum settings.


    Export an entire forum, or part of a forum

    1. Open the forum, then click on the cog icon in the top-right corner of the page (parallel with the title of the forum). Select Export from the bottom of the list

    2. You can choose to export the entire forum or add filters to export part of it:
      • Specific students
      • Specific discussion topics
      • Posts within a particular date range

    3. Choose a file format. The default file format is a CSV file, which opens in Excel, but there are other file formats you may prefer. Note that all the export options show data in a tabled layout.

    4. Under the Export options section, make sure that both boxes are ticked (these make the exported file easier to read).

    5. Click the Export button


    Export a discussion thread

    1. Open the forum and open the discussion topic you wish to export.

    2. Above the first post, select Mahara ePortfolio from the File Download menu, then click on the Export whole discussion to portfolio.


    3. You will be asked if you want to confirm if it is in HTML (a web page) or Leap2A format (a Mahara compatible format), then confirm the export.

    4. The exported HTML file will download to your computer. The exported Leap2A file will be available in Mahara.

    Alternatively, if you want to export the discussion topic without sending it to Mahara, you could print the page as an Adobe PDF file.



    Export a single post

    You (or a student) can export a post to a portfolio.

    1. Find the post you wish to export

    2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the post, click on the Export to portfolio link.


    3. Select Mahara ePortfolio from the Select destination menu

    4. You will be asked if you want to export the post as a HTML file (a web page) or Leap2A file (a Mahara compatible format). Then click Next.

    5. Confirm your export by clicking Continue

    6. The exported file is now available in Mahara.

    You can also copy and paste the post’s text into Mahara. While this easier, be aware that it doesn't carry across the post date and time, so won’t be suitable in all situations.

    EXTERNAL TOOL

    External tool - main entry

    The external tool activity enables students to interact with learning resources and activities on other web sites using LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability).

    1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  ||  Support 
    external tool iconExternal tool activities differ from URL resources in a few ways.

    • External tools are context aware (ie they have access to information about the user who launched the tool, such as institution, topic and name).
    • External tools support reading, updating, and deleting grades associated with the activity instance.
    • External tool configurations create a trust relationship between your site and the tool provider, allowing secure communication between them.

     


    1. Plan

    Decide what external tool you want to use from the University-wide pre-approved list:

    To create an external tool not listed above, please contact your eLearning support team before you sign up for a product. External tool requests are not automatically added. Requests are reviewed and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

     


    2. Build

    You have planned what external tool to use, now follow these steps to set it up in your topic.

      1. Turn editing on using the green button which is available on the topic homepage (top left of screen) 
        Turn editing on button

      2. Go to the module where you would like the external tool to appear

      3. Click the Add an activity or resource link at the bottom of the module
        Add an activity or resource link

      4. Select External tool from the Activities tab
        External tool

      5. Give the tool a name in the Activity name section

      6. Select the tool required  from the Preconfigured tool list
        Select preconfigured tool

        Timeline block: Using the 'Expect completed on' date in the Activity completion setting will show a date to students in the Timeline block.

      7. If using Feedback Fruits, you will also need to select that activity using the Select Content button.

      8. Click Save and display

       


      3. Test

      Check the recently added external tool to make sure it is working as expected.

       


      Training and support

      Troubleshooting

      Support

      Please contact your eLearning support team

      You may have one of the following issues:

      External tool - Readings

      This entry relates to the list of External tools

      Readings iconThe Readings tool allows you to assemble materials of all types – physical books, ebooks, online or digitised book chapters, scholarly articles, videos, newspaper articles, websites, and more – in a structured, comprehensive resource list. 

      Good practice guides and tip sheets

      Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to readings-related resources are provided below. 

      Considerations associated with compiling a reading list | Considerations associated with selecting a textbook




      1. How does Readings work?

      You can put any number of resource types into your readings list including (but not limited to):

      • books and book chapters
      • streaming videos
      • government reports
      • blogs
      • websites
      • lecture slides
      • an image from the Online Collections Catalogue (Flinders University Museum of Art)



      2. Where can I find it?

      Readings is added to every topic. If it has been removed from your topic, please contact your eLearning support team.
      Readings logo



      3. What can I do in Readings?

      • Build your readings list from:
        • the Library collection
        • online browsing
        • databases
        • your own personal collection
      • Manage and update all your readings lists in one place, throughout the teaching period
      • Structure reading lists to your own teaching practices
      • Monitor student engagement through system analytics – view reports to see what citations students are looking at, see full-text access views, and when students are accessing resources

      The Library will:

      • appropriately source licensed resources and manage copyright compliance
      • automatically add resources from Flinders' licensed subscriptions
      • maintain links and access


      Support

      • View the Readings Workshop FLO site for written instructions
      • Contact the Learning Access Team via the Readings query in Service One (Education Services).

      Statement of Assessment Methods (SAM)

      A piece of paper with a series of ticks on it.The Statement of Assessment Methods (SAM) lists the assessment requirements for each topic. SAMs for each topic are found in that topic's FLO site but are edited in Flex.



        Where to find the SAM for your topic

        The SAM is located in the Assessment module in each topic:

         

        It shows any available SAM for your topic. If 'not available' appears in the 'Link to SAM' column, this means your SAM has either not been created or is currently in draft format and not yet published.

        SAM

         


        Where to go for SAM's support

        Please visit the dashboard in FLEX  https://flex.flinders.edu.au.   This contains a complete guide for all of your SAM’s questions


        Good practice guides and tip sheets

        Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

        Authentic assessment | Assessment principles | Completing Statement of Assessment Methods for 2022 | Developing learning outcomes | Policy implications for assessment design | Students are engaged in authentic and experiential learning |  Using gradebook | Moderation | Providing students with comprehensive assessment information and support in FLO | Constructive alignment in FLO | Negotiated assessment



        FEEDBACK

        Engaging content - polling

        Students provide responses to questions or surveys. Polling can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous or real-time polling in class allows you to display and analyse the results immediately. Asynchronous polling can be used prior to a teaching session where you collect and analyse results to inform delivery of your class.

        Good practice guides and tip sheets

        Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to polling-related resources are provided below. 

        Design principles for creating engaging digital contentSourcing and creating digital content






        Active Quiz icon

        FLO Active Quiz

        Active Quiz is designed for in-class quizzes. The quiz uses questions from the question bank, questions can be timed/not timed, grades are reported back to the Gradebook. You can view student responses in real time to offer in-class discussion about the results. Students can use any device. Group quizzing is supported.

        Good for

        • Delivery of time-boxed questions (synchronous)
        • Multiple poll questions in one session where the availability of each question is controlled by the teacher
        • Use in-class to check understanding of materials during presentations to allow for clarification
        • Use in-class to explore class views on issues for discussion

        Useful features

        • Active quiz is a synchronous (real-time) timed quiz
        • Multiple choice (MCQ) and True-False questions will generate a dynamic histogram of answers, making them good for polling
        • Functions in group mode
        Cautions

        • In a live classroom setting, be careful what your screen is displaying – questions other than MCQ and T/F will display identified student answers
        Tips

        • Create a QR code of the Active quiz URL. Insert into your lecture presentation to make it quick and easy for students to access
        • Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class
        Help resources





        Choice iconFLO Choice

        The Choice activity allows you to ask a question and set up radio buttons which learners can click to make a selection from a number of possible responses. They can choose one or more options, and they can update their selection if you allow them. Choices can be useful as a quick poll to stimulate thinking about a topic, to allow the class to vote on a direction for the course, or to gauge progress.

        Good for

        • Asynchronous use (eg asking a question pre-class to explore class views on issues for discussion)
        • Single in-class question where time-boxing of answer is less important
        • Use at beginning of class before presentation commences
        • Use at end of class to determine comprehension

        Useful features

        • Designed as a single question asynchronous (not real time, students working on it individually at own pace/time) polling activity
        • Can be used in a live setting (synchronous/real time)
        • Can display a histogram of responses
        • Results can be exported
        • Can be run in group mode
        Limitations

        • Teacher will need to refresh their screen to display the choice results
        • Limited layout and styling control
        • Only one question per choice activity
        Tips

        • Generate a QR code form the choice URL. Add to lecture slide to take students directly to the poll
        • Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class
        Help resources

         






        Feedback iconFLO Feedback

        The Feedback activity allows you to create and conduct surveys to collect feedback. Responses can be anonymous. There are a number of question types including MCQ, True/False and free text.
        Good for

        • Asking multiple questions, including free text
        • Asking the class what material they would like further clarification on in tutorial or revision sessions

        Useful features

        • Can deliver more than one question
        • Designed for surveying, responses can be anonymous
        • Can be used as a live activity in class
        • Results of some question types can be displayed as a histogram
        Limitations

        • Teacher needs to refresh the results page to see incoming responses
        • Limited layout and styling control
        Tips

        • Create a QR code from the feedback activity's URL. Place the QR code into a lecture slide to make it efficient for students to get to the activity on a mobile device
        • Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class
        Help resources

        Feedback - main entry

        Whether you are starting from scratch or working with a feedback activity already created, using the feedback activity in a topic ideally consists of 5 stages, in a looped process."]

        1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  |  5. Review  ||  Support 

        Good practice guides and tip sheets

        Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assignment-related resources are provided below. 

        Communication, interaction and collaboration tools in FLO | Facilitating Student-Teacher interaction in FLO | Designing holistic rubrics | Constructive alignment in FLO

        Feedback icon A feedback/survey/poll activity is an asynchronous way to measure how students are engaging with your topic materials. It might be useful to do this early on in the topic to check progress and identify any issues, which may allow you to make changes/adaptations that better meet student needs. A feedback activity mid-topic could help you determine how to scaffold activities that lead to topic completion and achievement of the learning outcomes. 


        1. Plan

        The feedback tool enables a teacher to create a custom survey for collecting feedback from participants using a variety of question types including multiple-choice, yes/no or text input. Feedback responses may be anonymous if desired, and results may be shown to all participants or restricted to teachers only.

        Feedback activities may be used to:

        • provide formative feedback about student learning (for example the Touchpoint survey)
        • evaluate a topic, helping improve the content for later participants
        • enable participants to sign up for events, etc.

        Example: Touchpoint survey

        This short survey is designed as a ‘snapshot’ to provide formative feedback about student learning. You can use it once or more in your topic to see how students are going with their learning.

        You can request the Touchpoint survey  from your eLearning support team and change the questions to suit your needs.


        2. Build

        You have planned your feedback. Now you are ready to set up your feedback. Below are instructions for creating a feedback activity and adding questions. Alternatively, you could ask your eLearning support team to add the Touchpoint survey to your topic, and alter the questions if you need to.


        Create a feedback activity
        1. Turn editing on using the green button – this button is available top left of screen on the topic homepage
          Turn editing on button

        2. Go to the module where you would like the Feedback activity to appear

        3. Click the Add an activity or resource link at the bottom of the module
          Add an activity or resource link

        4. Select Feedback from Activities tab
          Feedback activity option

        5. Give the feedback a Name and Description(optional)
          Feedback activity add name

        6. Open the Availability section and set an opening and closing date
          There are two settings under availability - 'Allow answers from' and 'Allows answers to'

          Timeline block: The 'Allow answers from' date will show to students in the Timeline block.

        7. Under Question and submission settings, set the Record user names option to either Anonymous or User's name will be logged and shown with answers
          Feedback activity record user names

        8. Under After submission, set the Show analysis page to Yes if you want students to see a summary of responses, otherwise leave as No
          Feedback activity show analysis page

        9. Click Save and display
          Save and display button


        Add questions to a feedback activity

        1. In the feedback activity, click Edit questions
          Edit questions tab

        2. Using the Select menu, choose the type of question to add
          Add question


          The types of questions are as follows:

          • Longer text answer
          • Multiple choice
          • Multiple choice (rated)
          • Numeric answer
          • Short text answer


          You can also add information and structural elements such as

          • Page break
          • Captcha
          • Label
          • Information
        3. Complete the required information and click Save question button


        3. Test

        Once you have set up the activity, ask your local eLearning support team to check it for you (especially if this is the first time you have set up this activity).


        4. Administer

        These instructions include the use of the Touchpoint survey.

        View the results of a feedback activity

        1. Click the feedback tool from the topic page 
          Feedback activity Touchpoint icon 

        2. To view an analysis of submitted responses, select the Analysis tab 
          Analysis tab 

          By default, the responses from all participants will display in this view.  

          To view only the results submitted by members of a specific group, select that group from the drop-down menu. The option to view groups is only available if groups have been enabled in the administration settings of the activity (feedback administration>edit settings>common module settings) 

        3. To view responses on the individual level, select the Show responses tab 
          Show responses tab 
          If the survey is not anonymous, it is possible to view the set of responses submitted by each respondent. Filter by group or by first or last initial, then click on the date beside the respondent's name 
          view responses 
          Anonymous surveys responses can also be viewed at the individual level. Anonymity is maintained by the removal of the student's name, which is replaced by a response number.  
          show anonymous responses 
           
        4. To export responses, select the required format and click Download
          Export to Excel button


        5. Review

        How did your feedback activity go? Would you set up the activity differently next time around? If you used the Touchpoint survey, did you make changes to your topic during the teaching/learning process? If yes, were the changes successful? Talk to your colleagues and/or your local eLearning support team to get ideas for improvement. 


          Training and support

          Troubleshooting

        Training / Support

        Contact your college eLearning support team

        • If notifications of submissions are enabled, they will also be sent to staff who have lost access to the topic. View bug report



        Feedback - Touchpoint survey

        1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  |  5. Review  ||  Support 

        Feedback activityThis entry relates to the Feedback activity.

        The Touchpoint survey is a short survey designed as a ‘snapshot’ to provide formative feedback about student learning. The survey can be added to your topic early, mid and late (eg weeks 3- 4, 7, 11 or equivalent, depending on the topic structure), or just once in the topic. It prompts students to voluntarily and anonymously give feedback about their experience of the topic so far. 

        The questions are:

        • How are you going with this topic so far?
        • Is there any topic content (covered so far) that is not clear to you?
        • Are you having any difficulties with the topic? If so, what?
        • Could anything be improved about this topic or the teaching?

        These questions can be easily altered to suit your needs. The data provides formative feedback about where students are at, to allow adequate time to make changes to teaching if needed. It also helps reinforce that students are an active part of their own learning. The data from the survey remains with (is stored in) the topic.


        Use the Touchpoint survey in your FLO site

        1. Make a request to your local eLearning support team to have the tool added to your FLO site
        2. Unhide the tool (you can also edit/add questions if you like)
        3. Prompt students to use it via an announcement
        4. Later, click into it and check responses using the Show responses tab at the top (in the Analysis tab you can also Export to Excel)
        5. Think about what the results means for topic design and teaching
        6. Thank students and summarise your response via another announcement (to reward their efforts)
        7. Make any adjustments to the topic accordingly
        FLO BASICS

        FLO interface - main entry

        Flinders Learning Online (FLO), Flinders University's web-based learning and teaching platform, facilitates the creation of online educational environments by non-technical users. FLO can be used to create entire online topics and courses or to provide interactive tools that supplement or complement existing topics and courses. All topics at Flinders have a FLO site. FLO is a 'suite' of technologies. The core of FLO is Moodle, but it also includes related educational technologies.

        1. Layout  |  2. Customisation  |  3. Topics  |  4. Browser compatibility  |  5. Log out   ||  Support 

        Anyone with a Flinders FAN can log into FLO. Each topic has a FLO site automatically created. Staff may request other sites (eg for courses, collaborative projects, committees) by contacting the eLearning support team in their college.

        A link to the FLO login page is provided in the Quick links menu in the top banner of the University website or via Okta. Otherwise, type https://flo.flinders.edu.au/ into your browser address bar; this link will redirect you to Okta to sign in. Once signed in you will be redirected to FLO. 


        Table of contents

        1. Layout
        2. Customisation
        3. Topics
        4. Browser compatibility
        5. Log out



        1. Layout

        My FLO homepage

        When you first log in to FLO, you will see the My FLO homepage. The My FLO page lists every topic you have a role in. Your topics are arranged in a Card layout under My Topics.

        The top of the 'My topics' block


        You can also see the items and topics that you have most recently accessed.

        The 'recently accessed topics' and 'recently accessed items' blocks.


        Blocks

        The standard layout of the FLO homepage (My FLO) consists of blocks on the right of the screen, with the content on the left. A block is a widget that can provide a link to a feature, or can aggregate content from different areas of the site. Blocks available from My FLO can link you to upcoming assessments and latest announcements.

        flo layout


        In your topics, the blocks can be accessed from the Topic Blocks button in the banner (top-right corner).

        The topic blocks button is in the top-right corner of the screen


        The blocks panel is divided into three columns. Column 1 has the Topic Links, Clock and Activities blocks. Column 2 has the Teaching team block and Column 3 has Lecture recordings and other blocks you would like to include.

        The block layout inside a topic.

         


        2. Customisation

        My FLO page customisations

        To control which topics appear on your dashboard, you can star or remove them:

        1. Under the topic click on the three dots
        2. Choose Remove from view to hide the topic
        3. Choose Star this topic to add it to your Starred list. You can access the starred list from the filter in the top-left corner of the My Topics block (FLO remembers the last filter you chose each time you come to this page).

        The three dots are marked with a red border in this picture.

        Profile customisations (includes photo)

        Every user in FLO has a profile page that is displayed to other users. To edit your profile click the picture next to your name and select Profile from the drop-down list, then the Edit profile link in the user details box.

        edit profile

        You can edit your location, time zone and add a description about yourself. Your name and email address will be automatically added.

        You can also add a picture of yourself or something you want to be identified by. You can by scrolling down to the User picture section do this by clicking the add button add buttonor drag and dropping a picture into the box with the dotted lines. You can also provide a description for the picture. Adding a picture gives you a 'social presence' in FLO and will show in some FLO activities (eg forum posts) and the Teaching Team block.

        add picture

        Click the Update profile button  to save your changes.

        Preferences settings

        Preferences, available through the profile menu, allow you to control settings that primarily control how you receive information from FLO. The following settings are available:

        Setting
        What it does
        Edit profile
        Preferred language
        • The default language is set to English.
        Forum preferences
        • How often you are notified about new posts
        • How you subscribe to forums.
        • Have new posts marked
        • Forum tracking
        Editor preferences
        • Choose which text editor to use. Note that access to the video platform is only available through the Default/Atto editors.
        Topic preferences
        • Turns on a comprehensive activity chooser. If disabled separate choosers for activities and resources are provided instead.
        Calendar preferences
        • Choose between a 12 & 24-hour calendar
        • Choose the first day of the week
        • The number of upcoming events that are displayed
        Message preferences
        • Control how you are notified about new messages
        • Prevent non-contacts from messaging you.
        Notification preferences
        • Control where and how you receive notifications for every activity in FLO
        You can return to the My FLO page by clicking the link in the topic breadcrumbs at the top of the screen. 

        breadcrumbs




        3. Topics

        FLO topics consist of resources (eg lecture notes, files, URLs, and video files) and activities (eg assignment dropboxes, quizzes, discussion forums).

        Orientation to FLO and quick editing tips:


        Find your way around (FLO features)

        Tools for managing learning (such as the Gradebook) can be used to record and monitor student progress In the Flinders My Topics area – this is a listing of all the topics you have access to and you can decide how you would like to view your topics – in progress, past, future or starred topics.

        my topics

        The standard layout for each topic consists of content (modules/weeks) in the centre, navigation menu on the left, and topic blocks in the banner image.

        The top module can be used for resources that are needed throughout the semester and do not sit specifically into a weekly module, or one of the modules included in the starter site.  Note: If you are using a Collapsed topic format, the user cannot collapse the top module, and so consideration should be given to the number of resources in the top module to avoid a long scrolling experience. 

        topic layout


        Edit content in a topic
        The editing aspects of the topic are located at the top of the screen. The Topic Management, Navigation menu and Quicklinks appear at the top of your screen in every topic, along with the Turn editing on button. To edit or add content to your topic, select the  Turn editing on button.  


        Edit week/modules and activities/resources

        With editing on, next to each activity you will see an Edit drop-down menu. This menu will allow you to move, hide, duplicate or delete the activity. 

        The options in an edit menu - edit settings, move right/move left, hide/show, duplicate, delete.  

        A week/module or activity/resource can be quickly renamed using the pencil icon and moved easily using the move icon.
        move and pencil icon

        Note: If you using a weekly format and change the default module titles by renaming them, remember to check that date-specific resources like lecture recordings appear in the correct location before teaching begins.


        Add a block

        There are various blocks you can add to a topic. See the list in Add a block located at the top of the page in Topic Blocks:
        add a block    

        When you have finished editing, ensure that you Turn editing off.


        Add/delete a module

        1. If deleting a module, delete all of the contents of the module. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
        2. Scroll to the end of the FLO topic homepage, and select either the add or delete option. blue plus and minus icons
        3. If adding a mdoule, change the module name using the pen icon, and move to the position you want it (eg below Module 0) using the icon at the left of the module name
          move module
         
        Customise the My Topics block (My FLO)

        The My Topics block has filters to help you find your FLO sites. The following filters are available:

        All All your FLO sites, (except for any you have hidden)

        In progress All sites currently running (e.g. the topics you are currently teaching in)

        Future Topics you will be teaching in the future. Topics will move to In progress at the start of the semester

        Past Topics where teaching has finished

        Starred – Topics you have marked for easy access (see below)

        Removed from view Topics you have removed from the All filter.

        Whenever you log in to FLO, you are taken back to the filter you last chose. If you find that you are suddenly missing a topic, this can probably be fixed by checking which filter is selected.


        Create starred topics for quick access (My FLO)

        To access frequently used topics, you can 'star' a topic, which makes it easier to filter when you log in to FLO.

        1. First, click on My Topics list in the navigation menu:

          My FLO is the first item in the navigation menu

        2. Scroll down and find the topic you would like to star

        3. Click on the three dots

        4. Click on Star this topic

        Your topic will now appear in Starred, when you filter the list under My Topics.

        The filter is directly underneath the 'My Topics' heading.



        4. Browser compatibility

        FLO is compatible with any standards-compliant web browser. We regularly test FLO with the following most up-to-date browsers:

        Desktop: Chrome | Firefox

        Mobile: Safari | Chrome

        For the best experience and optimum security, we recommend that you keep your browser up to date.



        5. Log out

        Once you have finished in FLO remember to log out.

        1. Click on your profile menu
        2. Click on Log out
          log out menu



         Training and support

          Troubleshooting

        Training

        Contact your eLearning support team for any training required

        Support

        For further assistance please contact your local eLearning support team

        You may have one of the following issues:

        FLO interface - troubleshooting

        1. Layout  |  2. Customisation  |  3. Topics  |  4. Logout  ||  Support 

        This troubleshooting guide relates to the FLO Interface.


        Questions/problems




        FLO sends me too many emails

        You can control which email notifications you receive from FLO by locating your name (once logged in) in the toolbar/banner at the top of the screen. Use the drop-down arrow to go to Preferences, then Notification preferences. From here you can disable email notifications for particular activities.

        notification preferences email



        The file I want to upload is too big

        FLO has a default upload size of 50MB per file. You can change this using the following steps:

        1. On your topic's home page, click on the Topic Management button



        2. Click on the Cog icon

          The cog is in the top right corner

        3. Select Edit settings

        4. edit settings

        5. Scroll down to the Files and uploads section and select the topic size you require from the Maximum upload size drop-down list (if using Video we recommend using MyMedia instead of increasing the file limit)



        6. Click Save and display to apply changes



        I can't delete the topic links block

        This block provides key information to students about the topic and cannot be removed.



        When I delete the announcements it keeps coming back.

        The announcements activity is a key part of communicating with students on FLO and cannot be removed.



        What is the FLO starter site?

        The FLO starter site is a pre-configured starting place for a FLO topic and can be customised to work with the needs of a course or topic. Read more about the FLO starter site.

        FLO interface - WebPET (Web Presence in Every Topic)

        1. Layout  |  2. Customisation  |  3. Topics  |  4. Logout  ||  Support 

        This entry relates to the FLO interface.

        This information has now been replaced by the digital learning guidelines.

        What is 'WebPET'?

        WebPET (Web Presence in Every Topic) aims to provide:

        • a coherent and flexible student-University interface 
        • students with ready access to information which is timely, current and unambiguous 
        • a base for further use of technology to enhance the quality of teaching and learning 
        • minimum expectations of support - 'As a Flinders student I can expect…..'. 
        • efficiencies for academic and support staff 

        And in addition:

        • a more widespread and consistent use of FLO 
        • increased provision of online lecture recordings 
        • increased use of online assignment submission 

        Students are generally happy with using FLO for their studies but have expressed their desire for more consistency across their topics. 

        What does it look like?

        As a minimum, each FLO site has:

        • a topic links block (including links to topic information, library services, the SET system, a marks/grades tool, an email address lookup tool, and a link to staff and student help services) 
        • a general discussion forum 
        • an announcements forum and latest announcements block 
        • a calendar block 


        Expectations of staff

        All staff are required to:

        •  make all handouts available electronically through FLO (including the Statement of Assessment Methods
        •  post all important topic messages through the announcements forum 
        •  provide lecture recordings to students via FLO
        •  allow electronically-produced assignments to be submitted and returned electronically


        What you can expect from the University

        The University will:

        • automatically set up new FLO sites to contain the minimum tools and links
        • automatically generate the required information within sites
        • automatically insert recorded lectures into FLO sites 
        • provide support for the electronic assignment functionality 

        Topic administration - main entry

        The topic administration section describes how you administer your topic in FLO.

        1. How sites are created  |  2. Topic settings  |  3. Editing your topic  |  4. User management  |  5. Reports  ||  Support 

        Good practice guides and tip sheets

        Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assignment-related resources are provided below.

        Structuring your FLO site | Culturally responsive digital learning |  Teaching first year | Supporting students to successfully engage with the topic

        Once you have built, adjusted the settings, and edited your topic in preparation for student access, you can preview it as a student to see what it looks like from a user perspective (rather than as an administrator).



        1. How sites are created

        Topics are automatically created in FLO using data from Student Two. If your topic does not appear, contact your local eLearning support team for assistance. Staff have access to topics 77 days prior to the teaching start date, with students getting access 7 days before the start of teaching. See:

        Both staff and students have access for 730 days after teaching finishes, except when a student withdraws or a staff member is removed from the teaching team in Student Management.

        Shared topics

        A shared topic combines several cohorts (topic availabilities) into one FLO site.  View more information and guidelines

        Course sites

        Depending on its purpose, a course site may be set up to support students across topics/programs and/or staff. View more information and how to set up

        Short courses

        It is possible to create a non-award (short) course in FLO using existing infrastructure, though some processes are less automated than what is possible for award topics. View more information



        2. Topic settings

        You can do many things under the Topic management menu.

        Topic coordinator/teacher role options

        The Topic management panel can be opened by clicking the button (cog icon) on the main menu. As a teacher, you will see more options than a student. It gives you access to activities, the question bank, badges and user links. If you are on your topic's home page, you will also be able to access topic administration features (through the Actions menu actions menu).

        Cog icon main menu

        Topic management window 

        Change your topic format

        You can use different formats to change the organisation and structure of your topic.

        1. On the homepage of your topic, open the Topic management window and click the Actions menu cog
          Topic management window
          Topic management window and Actions menu cog

        2. Select Edit settings in the drop-down list
          Edit settings

        3. Under Topic format, change Format to either Grid format or Collapsed modules. See examples of topic formats (Example FLO sites)
          Topic format menu 
          Collapsed modules – shows your topic in a format where modules can be toggled/collapsed (recommended).
          Grid format – shows your topic in a visual grid format (alternative format, requires images and may have additional rollover tasks each semester).

        4. Select the number of modules you require
          Number of modules setting

        5. In the Hidden modules section, select your preference ( Hidden modules are completely invisible is recommended)
          Hidden modules settings

        Upload a banner to your topic

        A banner is designed to give a face to your site and make it recognisable to your students. The banner is visible on top of the site, as well as on the topic 'card' on the MyFLO page.

        Change the maximum upload file size available in your topic

        This is managed in the Files and uploads section. By default, topics are set at 40MB but can be changed to accept files up to 2GB. If you need to upload video/audio, please follow the Kaltura (My Media) process.

        Maximum upload size setting

        Turn on completion tracking in your topic

        This setting controls completion tracking topic wide. By default, completion tracking is not enabled.

        Completion tracking settings

        Manage groups in your topic

        A group or grouping can be used on two levels — topic level and activity level. When the group mode is switched on at the topic level this is the default for all activities in the topic (including filtering in the gradebook and in participants/enrolled users pages). To enable group mode in a topic, follow the steps below.

        1. In the Groups section, select either Visible groups or Separate groups

          Separate groups – Each group can only see their own group, others are invisible.
          Visible groups – Each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups. (The other groups' work is read-only.)
          Groups settings

        2. If Force group mode is set to Yes, the Group mode setting is applied to every activity in the topic. Group mode settings in each activity are then ignored.

        3. Assign a default grouping (if required)

          Note:
          Students can see the membership of any group, so don't name groups based on extensions, grades, language proficiency or medical conditions.



        3. Editing your topic

        In this section, we go through the editing within the topic using an activity, resource or block.

        1. To begin editing your topic, click the Turn Edit On button
          turn editing on 

        2. To add a new activity or resource, click the Add an activity or resource link that will now be available at the bottom right corner of each module 
          Add an activity or resource button 

        3. The activity chooser window will open – it has tabs for different views:

          Starred – any activity or resource you (the teacher) 'star' as a favourite or frequently used activity
          All – all  Activities and Resources together
          Activities – only Activities
          Resources – only Resources
          Activity chooser

        4. To edit existing activities and resources, select an option from the Edit menu that appears as a drop-down list alongside each item and click Edit settings
          edit a resource or activity

        5. To change the name of an activity or resource, you can also click the Edit title button. Press Enter on your keyboard to save the new title
          Edit title icon

        6. To move activities and resources up and down the page, hover over the Move resource icon and then click and drag the item to its preferred location. Activities and resources can be moved both within and between modules
          Move icon

          Blocks can be moved in a similar fashion. Click the Topic Blocks button to view existing blocks. Blocks can be positioned in Column A, Column B or Column C by clicking and dragging using the Move block icon. A block can also be moved up and down within the same column.


          Blocks layout



        4. User management

        In the User management section, you can do a variety of tasks relating to users in your topic.

        View a list of participants

        You can view a list of all users in your topic on the Participants screen.

        1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
          Participants from navigation menu

          Or open the Topic management window and select Participants in the User Links section
          topic management cog
          finding the participants link

        2. A list of participants will show

        3. You can use the search filter to find participants in the FLO site based on:
          • Name
          • Student ID or FAN
          • Role (e.g. student, tutor)
          • Group name
          • Who currently has access (active)
          • How long they have been inactive

          Participants filter

        Contact a student (messaging tool)

        You can contact a student via FLO by sending a message.

        1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
          Participants in navigation menu

          Or open the Topic management window and select Participants in the User Links section
          Topic management cog
          Navigate to Participants

        2. A list of participants will show

        3. Use the search filter to search for people with a particular role, inactivity, or membership to a group. At a minimum, it is recommended to at least add a status filter to select active students (otherwise you'll message students who have withdrawn from the topic).
          Participants filter

        4. Select individual students by clicking in the box by their name 
          Student list 

          or tick the Select all box at the top of the list

        5. At the bottom of the page, click the With selected users menu and select Send a message. A message box will appear – type your message in the box and click send
          Send a message

        Download a list of student list FANs (for emailing)

        You may wish to export a list of students to aid the import groups process or extract a list of FANs.

        1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
          Participants in navigation menu

          Open the Topic management window and select Participants in the User Links section
          Topic management cog
          Navigate to Participants

        2. A list of participants will show

        3. Use the search filter to find participants with a particular role, inactivity, or membership to a group
            Participants filter

        4. Select individual students by clicking in the box alongside their name 
          Select students 

          or tick the Select all box at the top of the list

        5. Select the required format from the With selected users... drop-down list
          Export participant list 
          The .csv or .xlsx file can be opened in Excel.



        5. Reports

        You can view a wide variety of reports in your topic. Available reports:

        • Competency breakdown – allows teachers to view the competencies of each student in their topic, along with their ratings
        • Dates – allows you to filter by activity and change the dates for multiple activities all on the one screen
        • Engagement analytics – provides information about student progress against a range of indicators
        • Logs – provides logs for the topic activity for users, these can be generated by selecting any combination of group, student, date, activity, actions and level
        • Live logs – provides live logs for the topic including time, user name, topic, component, event name, description, origin and IP address
        • Activity logs – shows the number of views for each activity and resource
        • Topic participation – a report for a particular activity can generate a list of who has participated in a given activity, and how many times. This can be filtered by role, group, and action (view or post).
        • Resource activity – this report details a list of activities showing the number of views, students, not accessed and last accessed
        • Statistics – generates graphs and tables of user activity

        View Reports - main entry for more information. You can also contact your local eLearning support team.



        Training and support

        Troubleshooting

        Training

        Contact your local eLearning support team

        Support

        eLearning support teams

        No known issues

          FORUM

          Forum / Announcements - create a discussion forum

          1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer   |  5. Review   || Support

          forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

          You can create a discussion forum in any topic module. Note: The Announcements forum is included in all topics (you do not need to create it).



          Set up a forum

          1. Turn editing on

          2. In the module where you want to add the forum, click Add an activity or resource 
            Add an activity or resource

          3. Select Forum and click Add

          4. Give the forum a Name and Description

          5. Select Forum type from the drop-down menu:
            • A single simple discussion – A single discussion topic which everyone can reply to (cannot be used with separate groups)
            • Each person posts one discussion – Each student can post exactly one new discussion topic, which everyone can then reply to
            • Q and A forum – Students must first post their perspectives before viewing other students' posts. For students to be able to post to a Q and A forum, a teacher must first post a question for students to respond to
            • Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format – An open forum where anyone can start a new discussion at any time, and in which discussion topics are displayed on one page with 'Discuss this topic' links
            • Standard forum for general use – An open forum where anyone can start a new discussion at any time

              forum type

          6. Enable Availability (if required). If enabled, students will retain their ability to view the forum outside of the dates supplied, but will be prevented from further posting. Choose the Allow posts from (open) and Due date (close) dates. Note that the Allow posts from date will not block students from replying to posts. If you want students to reply during a specific period, use the 'Display period' instead. The 'Display period' settings are located under 'Advanced' when writing or editing a post. Note the Due date will not stop students from posting or replying to discussions. Use the cut-off date to set a hard due date where students will not be able to post or reply to the discussion after the date chosen.

            You can also set a date time for an individual forum to show/hide in the Display period section of a forum post.

          7. availability

            Timeline block: The 'due date' will show to students in the Timeline block.

          8. In the Attachments and word count option, select Yes to enable (if required), and set a maximum number of attachments and the size
            word count

          9. In the Subscription and tracking section, set the subscription mode and the read tracking (optional or off)
            subscription tracking

          10. In the discussion locking section, you can automatically lock a discussion after a specified time has elapsed since the last reply
            discussion locking

          11. If required, students can be blocked from posting more than a given number of posts in a given time period. This restriction can prevent individuals from dominating discussions
            block threshold

          12. Select an Aggregate type for the forum to appear in the Gradebook. If 'No ratings' is selected the activity will not appear in the Gradebook
            rating aggregrate type
            Ratings can be restricted to items within a selected date range, select your aggregate type and tick the Restrict ratings to items with dates in this range: and select the date range.

          13. Group mode can be selected in Common module settings

          14. Click Save and display

           


          Set up marking in a forum

          There are two ways to mark a forum in FLO:

          • Whole forum grading allows you to mark a student’s entire contribution to a forum as a cohesive whole
          • Ratings allow you to rate individual forum posts and choose how those ratings aggregate to a final score

          Whole forum grading
          1. Create or edit a forum and open the Whole forum grading settings

          2. Choose Point or Scale from the Grade menu

          3. Choose Checklist, Marking guide or Rubric from the Grading method menu. For more information about these options, view our resource on setting up a feedback template

          4. Click Save and display

          5. Once you have saved your changes, click on the cog icon in the top right corner of the page, and then select Advanced grading


          6.  On the Advanced grading page, select Define a new grading form from scratch

          Rating individual posts

          1. Create or edit a forum and open the Ratings section

          2. Set the Aggregate type
            • Average of ratings (default) – useful if there is more than one post/one marker
            • Count of ratings: The number of rated items becomes the final grade. Note that the total cannot exceed the maximum grade for the activity
            • Maximum rating: The highest rating becomes the final grade;
            • Minimum rating: The lowest rating becomes the final grade
            • Sum of ratings: All ratings are added together. Note that the total cannot exceed the maximum grade for the activity

          3. Set the Scale:
            • if set to Scale, the Scale will automatically be set to Non-graded pass so no Maximum points can be set
            • if set to Point, you can set the Maximum points (default is 100)
              Note: You can leave the default at 100, as if you set the weighting of the final grade for this assessment in Gradebook, the grade will be automatically scaled down

          4. If you tick the box Restrict ratings to items with dates in this range: you will need to set the dates
            • From: The date and time that ratings can begin being submitted – this could be a few days before the forum closes
            • To: The date and time that ratings will no longer be accepted – this could be the forum close date
              forum ratings

          Forum / Announcements - create separate discussion forums for groups in a topic

          1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  |  5. Review  ||  Support

          forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

          You can create separate discussion forums for groups of students in a single forum activity (you don't need to create a separate forum activity for each group).

          Note: Before creating your group discussion forum, you will need to organise your students into groups and add these groups to a grouping

          Good practice guides and tip sheets

          Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to group-related resources are provided below. 

          Group work 

           


          Create a group discussion forum

          1. Turn editing on 

          2. In the module where you want to create the forum, click Add an activity or resource  

          3. From the Activities tab, select Forum 

          4. Give the forum a Name and Description

          5. Apply other settings as necessary (see Set up a forum)

          6. Under Common module settings, change Group mode to Separate groups to give each group their own private forum, or Visible groups to create a forum for each group and allow other groups to view (but not post to)
            Group mode setting

            For the Grouping setting, select the grouping containing the groups you want to use for the forum
            Grouping setting

          7. Click Save and display

          Forum / Announcements - exporting forum posts

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          forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

          Once the forum is made available to students (via the Forum settings), you may want to do one or more of the following actions, depending on the forum settings.


          Export an entire forum, or part of a forum

          1. Open the forum, then click on the cog icon in the top-right corner of the page (parallel with the title of the forum). Select Export from the bottom of the list

          2. You can choose to export the entire forum or add filters to export part of it:
            • Specific students
            • Specific discussion topics
            • Posts within a particular date range

          3. Choose a file format. The default file format is a CSV file, which opens in Excel, but there are other file formats you may prefer. Note that all the export options show data in a tabled layout.

          4. Under the Export options section, make sure that both boxes are ticked (these make the exported file easier to read).

          5. Click the Export button


          Export a discussion thread

          1. Open the forum and open the discussion topic you wish to export.

          2. Above the first post, select Mahara ePortfolio from the File Download menu, then click on the Export whole discussion to portfolio.


          3. You will be asked if you want to confirm if it is in HTML (a web page) or Leap2A format (a Mahara compatible format), then confirm the export.

          4. The exported HTML file will download to your computer. The exported Leap2A file will be available in Mahara.

          Alternatively, if you want to export the discussion topic without sending it to Mahara, you could print the page as an Adobe PDF file.



          Export a single post

          You (or a student) can export a post to a portfolio.

          1. Find the post you wish to export

          2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the post, click on the Export to portfolio link.


          3. Select Mahara ePortfolio from the Select destination menu

          4. You will be asked if you want to export the post as a HTML file (a web page) or Leap2A file (a Mahara compatible format). Then click Next.

          5. Confirm your export by clicking Continue

          6. The exported file is now available in Mahara.

          You can also copy and paste the post’s text into Mahara. While this easier, be aware that it doesn't carry across the post date and time, so won’t be suitable in all situations.