This entry relates to the Database activity.

Templates for the database activity allow you to control the visual layout of information when listing, viewing or editing database entries. A basic level of HTML knowledge may be necessary to edit database templates. If you need help, contact your local eLearning support team. 

There are six template types, but the most important ones (for a good user experience) are the Add template, Single template and List template. You will need to make changes to all three templates. The instructions below are for basic customisations only. For more sophisticated customisations, contact your local eLearning support team. 

1. View template options 

Then create your templates in the following (logical) order:

1. Add template (how the Add entry looks)
2. Single template (how a single entry looks)
3. List template (how a list of entries looks)

View template options

These instructions tell you how to bold the field names, and make the table that field names and field types sit in more viewable and usable.

To view the complete list of templates, and access the View list, View single and Add entry types:

1. Click on the database activity you have set up
   
   
2. In the next screen, click on the Templates tab. You will see the template options. Select the tab you want to create a template (Add template, Single template, List template)
   
   

1. Create an Add template

The Add template determines what users see when they click on the Add entry prompt (ie how the fields are displayed). In this template, you can provide more information/instruction to users about what they need to enter into a field (eg instead of just having the field title, have a question and/or examples). Example field name: 'Duration' – the question could be 'How long did this task take? (Please enter in hours, rounded to the nearest full hour)'

These instructions tell you how to bold the field names, and make the table that the field names and field types sit in more viewable and usable.

1. As per the steps above (View template options), make sure you are in the Add template tab
   
   
2. To bold field names, highlight the field name and click on the B prompt in the HTML toolbar
   
   
   
3. To make the table more user friendly, by creating more space between field names (left column) and responses (right column), you will need to go into the HTML code. To do this, click on the HTML icon in the HTML editor 
   
   
   
4. You will now see the HTML code view for the template
   
   
5. Add style="width:100%;" cellpadding="5" align="left" [+ space after "left"/before code that follows] after <table ...> (ie <table style="width:100%;" cellpadding="5" align="left" ). This code means the table will use all space available in the screen (width:100%), the distance between table cell and text will be 5 pixels (cellpadding="5"), and text will be aligned left (you could also align "center" (note American spelling) or "right"
   
   
   
6. To provide instructions to the user adding an entry, put your cursor at the beginning of a right-hand row, and click Enter. Fill in the space above with the instruction
   
   
   
7. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save template
   


8. To see what your changes look like, click on the Add entry tab
    
   

2. Create a Single template

The Single template determines how one result looks to the user. This is the template where you can add a user tag so that you know who has contributed.

These instructions tell you how to bold the field names, and make the table that field names and field types sit in more viewable and usable.

1. As per the steps above (View template options), make sure you are in the Single template tab (under Templates)
   
   
2. Follow steps 2-6 above (under Create an Add template)
   
   
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save template 
   
   
4. To see what your changes look like, click on the View single tab (you need to have added an entry to see what this looks like)
   

Add a user tag

If you add a user tag, you will be able to see who has added an entry, which will be useful for adding comments etc. You can update the template with this tag even after the database is open for adding entries (and entries have been added).

These instructions assume you have already set up this template (see above).

1. Under Templates, click on the Single template tab
   
   
2. With your mouse, select the row in the Single template text box that you want to add a user row/column after/before
   
   
   
3. Click on the Table icon in the HTML toolbar and select Insert row after or Insert row before (or column)
   
   
   
4. To add the user tag, place your cursor where you want it to go in the template box, then select User (under Other) in the Available tags box. The ##user## tag should automatically appear in the selected location in your template table
   
   
   
5. Scroll down and click Save template
   
   
6. To check, click on the View single tab (add an entry to see how this looks if the database is not yet open to students)
   
   
   

3. Create a List template

The List template determines how a list of results (entries) looks to the user. You do not need to include every field (eg as for the Add template), particularly when there are lots of fields. The list can just be some key fields (eg Journal name).

1. As per the steps above (View template options), make sure you are in the List template tab
   
   
2. Follow steps 2-6 above (under Create an Add template)
   
   
3. To delete a field, select the table row, click on the Table icon in the HTML editor and select Delete row
   
   
   
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save template
   
   
5. To see what your changes look like, click on the View list tab (you need to have added at least one entry to see what this looks like)
   
   

• as a collaborative collection of web links, books, book reviews, journal references etc
• to display student-created photos, posters, websites or text for peer comment and review.

1. Plan

The success of the database activity is in the planning. Once students begin adding content (entries), it can be tricky to change the fields, so thinking ahead is key. 

What is the intended purpose of the database activity? 

• What fields/questions do you want your students to answer? What format – uploading images or documents? Links? What fields are required/optional?
  
• How does it link to assessment – is it an assessment item itself, or is it a step towards an assessment item (eg resource supporting assessment, digital literacy skill development)?
  
• How interactive do you want the activity to be? Allow comments on entries (moderated/unmoderated)? Students/teachers rate entries? Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the Gradebook.

The structure of the entries is defined by the teacher as a number of fields. The visual layout of information when listing, viewing or editing database entries is  controlled by templates. 

When creating a database for the first time, it can be helpful to think about it like an Excel spreadsheet. The teacher creates the columns (fields), and students and/or teachers add rows of content.

2. Build

Once you have planned your database fields, you are ready to set up your database.

1. Create a database activity (settings)
2. Define database fields (preset, create your own, make your database searchable)
3. Customise the templates (View list, View single, Add entry)
   

3. Test

The database activity is a highly customisable and very versatile tool, so it's important to test what you've built thoroughly before releasing the activity to students. Ask your local eLearning support team to check your Database for you (especially if this is your first time). It is best to amend mistakes before students add entries.

• Practice creating an entry – as a form of scaffolding, you could support students by showing what an entry that's added looks like
• Preview the Single, List, and Add views – is the layout is clear and easy to understand?
  

4. Administer

When setting up your database activity, you can enable a number of optional settings. Some of these settings require administration by a teacher:

• Approve entries – If enabled, entries require approving by a teacher before they are viewable by everyone
  
• Give ratings to entries – if ratings are being used for marking (settings)
  

To encourage students to add entries, you could add an initial entry to model good practice, setting a standard and ensuring that instructions are not misunderstood. You could add the first entry in the Test phase). This is equivalent to making the first post in a forum. The fields you set up when you built the database will also prompt students as to what to add to create an entry. Students like examples and will engage more promptly with the tool.

You can see how many students have contributed on the topic homepage:

5. Review

How did your database activity go? Would you set up the activity differently next time round? Talk to colleagues and/or your local eLearning support team to get ideas for improvement.

If you are happy with the activity and you want to use the content in a future topic version/other topics, you can ask your eLearning support team to roll over or import the database activity. The entries will need to be exported/imported separately. 

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 My FLO page.

Image specifications

The same image file is used for both the topic site banner and the topic card viewed on My FLO, with each displaying different elements of the picture. It should also be noted that these two regions can vary slightly depending on window size, device and whether the navigation menu is open.

Most landscape orientation photos will be roughly 4x3 aspect ratio (width x height). If a full image like this is uploaded, the central area is displayed as in the example below.

To ensure a high quality banner, images should be optimised and cropped to 1920 x 850 pixels (px), the recommended dimensions. The example below shows the image which would be uploaded to FLO.

On My FLO, this banner image would appear like this in topic cards:

Within the topic, this banner image would appear like this:

The FLO topic name and navigation breadcrumbs sit over the left side of the banner. Depending on the image content, it may be useful to flip the image horizontally. In this example, the image has been flipped and the darker less interesting region has the topic title overtop.

What if the area of interest in the image is not central?

If the area of interest is not central in the image, it may still be a suitable image for a banner, as long as it can be cropped to 1920 x 850 px region centred around the area of interest.

Examples:

For staff who wish to prepare their own banner image, Snagit is a University-supplied program which can do everyday image editing. Snagit is available through the IDS Support Portal. Home-use licences are also available (request via Service One)

Banners for teaching sites will be uploaded by college eLearning teams. Send your image via a Service One request. You can either send them a cropped, optimised image or a candidate image that they can prepare for you.

If you wish to see how your banner looks, try uploading it to your sandpit.

Note: Images must be royalty/copyright free.

Suggested sources of free images

1. Pexels
2. Unsplash
3. Pixabay

• Is dialogue the right tool for what you want to do? Find out about other options

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.

2. Build

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

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

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
   
   
   
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.
   
   
   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.
   

   
   
   

3. Enter a Subject and type a 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.
   
   

Return to Video - main entry

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

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. 

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. 

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. 

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
   
   

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.

    How are students being supported?

• Print any webpage to a PDF
• Book - print as a PDF
  
• Collaborate - downloading recordings
• Databases - exporting files
• Exams - printing a master copy
• Forum - exporting discussions
• Glossaries - exporting files
• Kaltura (My Media) - downloading personal videos
  
  

Further assistance

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

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.
   
   

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 12.

Quizzes without random questions

4. Use your browser’s Back button to return to the last page.
   
   
5. Click on the cog icon [1] and select Edit settings.
   
   
   
6. Open the Review options section. In the ‘After the quiz has closed’ column, make sure The attempt and Right answer boxes are ticked.
   
   
   
7. Click the Save and display button.
   
   
8. 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.
      
      
9. Click the Finish attempt link. You do not need to answer any questions.
   
   
   
10. 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.
    
    
11. 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.

At the ACODE (Australasian Council for Open and Distance Education) business meeting on Friday 13 March 2020, discussion focused on e-exams and alternate assessments. Members have distilled and articulated some key points from the discussions. The following are a first draft of some recommendations for institutions for consideration for any teaching that is moving online.

• Run alternate assessment meeting the same learning outcomes, of smaller multiple stakes assessments, to meet the same ends. For example, where they might be a 60% exam these could become 3 assessments of 20% each run over successive weeks.
  
  
• Randomise and tightly time questions in the LMS quiz tool (in FLO), limiting the opportunity for students to refer to other students or to resources. One would need to be realistic in the timings and warn students beforehand.
  
  
• The use of proctoring tools is problematic at scale for both the service itself and for the University. We recommend caution. As many universities will be moving to this option over the next few weeks, it would be unlikely that proctoring solutions will be able to meet demand globally.
  
  
• Alternate assessments for work integrated learning (WIL) could consider freely available simulation labs that can be downloaded and run from their own sites or through the LMS (FLO). Asking students to reflect on the activities in these simulations could provide an adequate approach in the short term.
  
  
• Another approach to this could be to ask students to reflect on the situation they (we) now find themselves in, that is, having to work remotely. For example, if a student was to do a work placement in an accountancy firm, they could reflect on how they might, as an accountant, have to work remotely and provide potential solutions to this scenario.
  
  
• All students have mobile devices, where they may not all have laptops with cameras in them. A possible solution to this is to use the audio capability of their mobile devices, in relation to assessment. For example, students could be asked to respond to long-form answers via an audio or video recording that could then be submitted through the institution's LMS (FLO).
  
  
• With many professional bodies relaxing their strict requirements for proctored exams, take-home or open-book exams could be considered. If this is the case, it would be suggested that instead of providing just one scenario, multiple scenarios could be deployed.
  
  
• Where nothing can transfer, then we need to consider the possible deferment of assessment; however, this should only be necessary in a minority of cases. This will most likely be planned, invigilated paper-based exams where alternatives are unrealistic.
  
  
• Practical assessments or practicums could be bundled into a supplementary unit which can be offered in the following semester.
  
  
• Instead of in-person exams, or employing expensive proctoring software solutions you could use the quiz tool in the LMS (FLO) in conjunction with Collaborate, so tutors/teachers can at least watch the faces of students undertaking these quizzes. Realistically, this could be done with classes of up to 16, or if multiple staff were watching, up to 30 at one time. Please be aware that not all students will have webcams, so this will need to be considered.
  
  
• ACODE will establish, over the next week, discipline-focused CoPs for more nuanced discussion that will provide more discipline-based examples of alternate assessment practice.
  
  
• Ideally where changes to assessment like the above are proposed to be used, it would be suggested to gain some institutional agreement across the faculties or academic groups.

The eLearning store is an online booking system for all Flinders staff where they can book equipment for short loan periods (from one hour to a few weeks)

1. Bookings

2. Equipment

Items that can be booked include:

• COWS (Computer on Wheels - trolley containing 12 or 14 PC or Mac laptops)
• CALF (smaller COW - trolley containing 6 PC laptops)
• Laptops (PC)
• Voice recorders
• iPads
• Microphones
• Video cameras
• Tripods
• Web cam/USB headset kits
• Catchboxes
• Wireless presenters
• Video projectors
• PA amp
• Portable green screens

When setting group work tasks for your students, do you provide them with a digital space where they can easily collaborate? Whether the task requires a group or individual submission, it’s possible to create a space within FLO for each group to discuss and create their work.

Animation is moving images that contain graphic elements but not live action – these may be animated models, diagrams or characters.

For research insights into the effectiveness of animations for learning, and tips for creating animations that work well for learners, we recommend the short article Create animations that are good for learning by Connie Malamed. 

Camtasia

Good for

• Creating basic movements and transitions with graphics you have created or sourced elsewhere
• Creating animations that include sound elements or narration

Useful features

• Able to have items move or transform with time
  
• Able to add some animated effects to video (eg zooming in). Click and drag animated effects onto timeline from library
  
• Able to add animated annotations over video
  

Limitations

• Basic movements of objects only
  
• Limited library of shapes for animation (generally you need to create or source graphic elements outside of Camtasia)
  
• Cannot create character animations

Cautions

• Can be time consuming

Tips

• Keep animations and effects minimal and limit to where they add value to your video
  
• Camtasia project files can be large. While working on your project save your files to the hard drive of your computer. Working with your project files on network storage will slow editing down and can also cause crashes. Once complete, store the files on OneDrive or S: drive (your U: drive generally won't have enough space for these large files)
  

Help resources

• How to make an animated explainer video
  
• Animations in depth
  
• Playback requirements for quizzes, hotspots, and captions (Smart Player)
• Camtasia Tutorials
  

PowerPoint

Good for

• Building relatively simple animations using the graphic elements already available within PowerPoint, or graphics sourced elsewhere
• Most suitable for animations that feature basic movements / reveals of the graphic content (ie to represent processes, systems, interactions, relational concepts)

Useful features

• Familiar environment
  
• Extensive drawing tools, shapes, icons, smart art libraries, grids, guides, grouping, alignment and layering options make diagram creation easy
  
• Built-in animation effects and animation properties which provide control of timing and sequencing
  

Limitations

• Animation of objects is fairly limited
  
• Cannot animate characters
  

Cautions

• User triggered / interactive animations will only be available when viewing in Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow. Must be provided as .pptx or .ppsx files. Users must download and open
  
• Mobile devices require Microsoft PowerPoint app
  
• Printing of a PowerPoint slide that contains animations would only show starting point of objects
  

Tips

• Use motion path animation type to move items around the slide
  
• Use a Morph transition to smoothly change an object from a starting state (size, colour position) (first slide) to a final state (second slide)
  
• Export presentation as a video to record animation (playthrough, but not interactive). Upload to Kaltura
  
• Keep animation and transition effects simple and only use when adding value
  

Help resources

• Animations and multimedia
  
• Using the Morph transition
  
• Add a motion path animation effect
  
• Trigger an animation effect: 
• Trigger an animation effect (text instructions)
• Trigger an animation effect (video)
  
• Export presentation as video
• Microsoft Office has a large amount of training and help resources and there are many third party help resources, how-to guides, videos, tutorials that can be found by searching the web
  (Note the linked Microsoft page is for windows users. The Mac PowerPoint software is so similar that these windows resources are still useful to Mac users. Mac help resources are also available)

FLO tools: Lesson Quiz Active QuizChoice  Feedback Book Page Glossary

FLO tools cannot create animations but can be used to deliver/publish animations to students.

Useful features

• Animations created in other tools can be embedded within FLO tools wherever the editor is available
  

Cautions

• Content hosted on non-Flinders servers should not be relied on as critical content
  

Help resources

• FLO HTML editor
  
• For advice and support contact your eLearning support team 

Digital Content Producer

If your needs are not met by the existing tools or the resource you are looking to create is complex in some way, please speak with the Learning Designer in your college about your needs as there is some capacity for digital content production for learning and teaching.

The tools below record sound and/or dialogue (eg sound clips, podcasts).

Camtasia

Good for

• Ideal for recording and editing voiceover narration to accompany videos for flipped lecture videos, demonstrations, presentations, explainer videos
• Recording audio only – to give simple topic or assignment instructions, feedback, announcements etc a more personalised feel, or even create longer recordings to deliver topic material in a podcast-style format
• Working with audio/narration that needs a 'more than basic' level of editing; Camtasia has a good tool set for chopping, splicing, moving segments of audio and useful tools for adjusting levels and sound quality
• Adding audio recorded or sourced elsewhere (eg voiceover narration, sound effects or backing music) to a video

Useful features

• Can record audio synchronously with screen recording or record narration during project editing
• Multi-track recording ability keeps narration on a separate track to facilitate editing and alignment with video
• Can extract audio from a video track to a separate track to edit independently of the video 
• Can export video as audio only 
• Zoom into timeline to view audio waveforms to finely edit 
• Easy-to-apply library of audio effects including noise removal, volume levelling, fade in/out, pitch adjustment 

Limitations

• Usually not sophisticated enough to use for producing rich, layered audio and music recordings

Tips

• Upload to Kaltura (My Media) and request captions. Download transcript and provide for accessibility
• Camtasia project files can be large. While working on your project save your files to the hard drive of the computer. Working with your project files on network storage will slow editing down and can also cause crashes. Once complete, store files on OneDrive or S: drive (your U: drive generally wont have enough space for these large files)

Help resources

• Record voice narration 
• Audio editing basics 
• Produce an audio file
  
• Camtasia Tutorials
  

Snagit

Good for

• Recording narration/voiceover as part of a quick screen capture video or 'talking head' presentation to webcam
• Short 'one-take' style recordings, as there is only basic video editing functionality

Useful features

• Quick and easy to capture webcam and microphone

Limitations

• Audio will be part of the video. To create an audio-only file (MP3) additional software would need to be used 
• No function to edit the audio track separately from the video
• No ability to rearrange segments of the audio on the track timeline; it will be a single, linear track. You can cut bits out at the start/end and in the middle, but cannot rearrange

Cautions

• Be aware of the 'Record system audio' feature. If this is on, the recording will capture any sound played on your device, including notification sounds, sound effects etc, as well as the input from your mic. Usually it's wise to turn it off
• Snagit software has two components: the recording tool (blue icon) and the editing interface (red icon). You can still start a capture from the editing interface, but you can't edit in the recording tool 

Tips

• Import into Camtasia and export as 'audio only'
• Upload to Kaltura (My Media) and request captions. Download transcript and provide for accessibility 

Help resources

• Record a video with Snagit 

Kaltura

Good for

• Hosting and playback of all audio- and video-based learning content in your topic, regardless of which recording and editing tools you used to create the audio
• Using the Kaltura Media Vault to host your audio and video content gives you access to useful analytics on how students engage with these resources

Useful features

• Centralised University-supported system 
• Request auto-captioning (machine) of your videos, edit and download the generated transcripts 
• Closed captions available in player; button allows viewer choice 
• Publish same audio in multiple sites without duplication 
• Easy to embed anywhere in FLO (built-in button on FLO editor) 
• Students can choose playback speed 
• Viewing and engagement (drop off) analytics available 
• Editing of uploaded audio: trim ends, cut sections, fade transitions 
• Enhance audio with thumbnails, add chapter markers and upload slides to create interactive listening/viewing experience 

Limitations

• Same player is used for audio and video. Player will show black rectangle
• You cannot download and use the audio outside of FLO. When you record, the file lives in Kaltura, and is directly uploaded to FLO

Help resources

• Upload and publish in FLO 
• Edit uploaded video/audio 
• Add captions 
• Manage topic media content with the Media Vault 
• Replace a video/audio 
• Kaltura in FLO (self-paced workshop)

 Kaltura Desktop Recorder

Good for

• Recording audio-only content that you want to upload straight to FLO (eg a short audio announcement to put in a topic as an alternative to using text; a short audio-only lecture segment or 'explainer')
  
• Recording narration/voiceover as part of a quick screen capture video or 'talking head' presentation to webcam
  
• Short, 'one-take' style recordings, as there is only basic editing functionality

Useful features

• Easy direct recording of microphone only 
• Uploads directly to Kaltura (My Media) – see Kaltura My Media entry for advantages

Limitations

• Basic editing only 

Help resources

• Desktop Recorder 
• Kaltura in FLO (self-paced workshop)

PowerPoint

Good for

• Adding narration/voiceover to a slide deck to create a narrated slideshow or video
• Ideal for flipped learning lectures

Useful features

• Can embed audio within slides; play controls are automatically added or use triggers to start play
  
• Can record audio directly into slide; record one slide at a time
  

Limitations

• No editing of audio
  

Cautions

• A PowerPoint file with embedded narration will be very large
• Students can only play the audio within Microsoft PowerPoint software 
• Must be provided as .pptx or .ppsx files. Users must download and open
  
• Mobile devices require Microsoft PowerPoint app
  
• Not a suitable tool for audio only
  

Tips

• Export as video and upload to Kaltura (My Media)
  

Help resources

• Add or delete audio in your PowerPoint presentation
  
• Save presentations as videos​
  

Recording Studio

Good for

• Recording the voiceover elements of a video or presentation
• Creating multi-presenter content (like interviews) as there are multiple microphones available

Useful features

• Room has good acoustics and soundproofing
  
• Lapel microphones available 

Tips

• Record using the room setup, import your video footage into Camtasia, edit and export as audio only
  
• Record into your own device taking advantage of room acoustics and soundproofing
  
• Upload audio file to Kaltura (My Media) and make use of auto-captioning and usage analytics
  

Help resources

• Multimedia Recording Studio
  

FLO tools: Lesson Quiz Active Quiz Choice Feedback Book Page Glossary

Useful features

• Able to record short snips of audio directly into FLO tools wherever there is an HTML editor*
• Audio files can be embedded in FLO tools wherever there is an HTML editor. For audio stored in Kaltura, use the same process as for embedding a video

Limitations

• No editing of directly recorded audio
  

Cautions

•  Depending on use case, it may not be appropriate to include audio in Active Quiz (eg in a live class usage)
  
• Audio files uploaded to Kaltura will have a title. When embedded in FLO, the media title shows. If used in a quiz be careful that the title does not give away the question answer.
  

Tips

• Upload your audio files to Kaltura (My Media) and embed into your lesson pages
  
• Audio uploaded into Kaltura can have captions and usage analytics
  
• For accessibility, consider providing text alternative to audio recorded directly into FLO.
  

Help resources

• Record audio in FLO
  
• Upload media to Kaltura and publish in FLO
  
• Add captions
  

Digital Content Producer

Students take different pathways through learning content based on choices they make or their performance. Branching may consist of interactive scenarios or differentiated content.

Camtasia

Good for

• Creating interactive or differentiated video content; for example, branching video scenarios or giving the learner control of the order in which they view sections of the video content

Useful features

• Interactive hotspots and timeline markers allow creation of a non-linear path through the video 
• Click and drag effects from library onto video timeline
• Properties panel to define required actions to enter
• Easy but comprehensive editing and timeline manipulations

Limitations

• Considerable planning required
• Can become time consuming
• Cannot be hosted in Kaltura and maintain interactivity, therefore no ability to use the accessibility features or analytics in the Kaltura Media Vault 
• No viewing analytics within the exported video
• No captions/transcripts 

Cautions

• Must be exported as Web Page (for Smart Player) or SCORM (for gradebook integration)
• SCORM activities are generally a poor experience on mobile devices and can be incompatible
  
• Different process to publish in FLO compared to standard video

Tips

• Plan out the choices and branched pathways on a story board
• Make sure your viewers won't feel lost
• Camtasia project files can be large. While working on your project save your files to the hard-drive of the computer. Once complete store them on OneDrive or S: drive. Your U: drive generally wont have enough space for these large files. Having your project files on network storage will slow editing down and can also cause crashes.

Help resources

• Add Interactive Hotspots to a Video
  
• Playback Requirements for Quizzes, Hotspots, and Captions (Smart Player)
• Camtasia Tutorials
  
• For advice and support on publishing your interactive content in FLO contact your eLearning support team 

PowerPoint

Good for

• Easily creating branched content through use of triggers and linking on slide objects
• Creating scenario based branched learning (eg text-based 'choose your own adventure' style narratives or scenarios where learners make a series of choices and experience the consequences as they move through the scenario)
• Creating a package of content that students can navigate through in a sequence they choose

Useful features

• Use action or link (from Insert menu) to link to presentation slides in required order
• PowerPoint will update links if slide order is altered

Limitations

• Printed or PDF cannot indicate the branching

Cautions

• Interaction for branching will only be available when viewing in Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow
• Must be provided as .pptx or .ppsx files
• Learners must download and open the file;  they cannot view it within FLO, and therefore they need PowerPoint on their computer
• Mobile devices require Microsoft PowerPoint app

Tips

• Careful planning is required. Use a story board to map out possible paths through the content/scenario
• Create links which allow users to navigate back to previous pages
• Test all possible pathways
• Design so that your users won’t feel lost
• When using Link to set up navigation between slides you can add a screen tip which displays when the mouse is over the link

Help resources

• Add commands to your presentation with action buttons
• Microsoft Office has a large amount of training and help resources and there are many third party help resources, how-to guides, videos, tutorials that can be found by searching the web
  (Note the linked Microsoft page is for windows users. The Mac PowerPoint software is so similar that these windows resources are still useful to Mac users. Mac help resources are also available)

FLO Lesson

Good for

• Mixing static content, choices and questions to determine the route the student takes through the material (eg decision or problem solving scenarios)

Useful features 

• Purpose built for branching scenarios
• Branching can be based on a choice or based on answers to questions
• Can have time limit
• Can be set up as a scored activity; integrates with Gradebook
• Some analytics available about student interactions with lesson
• Possible to provide a progress bar and/or menu within lesson

Limitations 

• Requires considerable planning
• Not as straightforward as some FLO tools
• Limited page layout and styling options

Tips 

• Build all the content and question pages first, then define all the jumps and linking
• Map out all possible journeys through the content
• Test thoroughly and ask a colleague to review 
• Design your lesson pages to help your students know where they are in the lesson
• Embed media (images, video, audio) in your lesson pages for rich experience

Help resources 

• Lesson
• Lesson activity
• Building Lesson
• Using Lesson

FLO Quiz

Good for

• Providing differentiated feedback to students based on their answers and overall  performance in the quiz
• Provide struggling students with some additional resources on the basics and give high-achieving students some extension materials 

Useful features

• Some branching achievable through the quizzes overall feedback using grade boundaries – link from feedback to different information for different grade ranges
  
• Use access restrictions to further content based on quiz result (Activity completion restriction)

Cautions

• Quizzes with Essay type questions would need to be manually marked to activate branching based on quiz score
  

Tips

• Use in conjunction with FLO pages/books and 'stealthed' resources/activities (resources which are available but not displayed on the homepage of your FLO site)
  

Help resources

• Providing quiz feedback 
  
• Completion tracking
  
• Access restrictions
  
• Stealth activities
  

FLO Glossary 

Good for

• compacting content into one place (eg glossary of terms)
• organising information (eg using categories) for efficient learning
• students can interact by adding content/controlling the space

Useful features  

• Entries can be automatically linked where the concept words and/or phrases appear anywhere within the topic. Filter needs to be enabled and auto linking set per entry where required

Cautions 

• There are three settings required for auto-linking. All three must be reviewed:
• Topic level – glossary auto-linking filter must be enabled 
• Glossary level – setting to automatically link entries must be on  
• Glossary entry level – each entry that will be linked must have the setting checked 

Help resources 

FLO tools:  Book Page

Good for

• Organising content (chunking of related content)
• Page: embedded video takes up less space than in the FLO homepage

Useful features 

• Links between FLO pages or between chapters within a book can be used to create branched learning and scenarios, but not with an assessable component  
• Use of the availability status 'Make available but not shown on topic page' (stealthed activity/resource) can control entry point  

Limitations  

• Not assessable  
• Book has inbuilt navigation which would still allow linear or totally free navigation through content  

Cautions 

• When transferring between FLO sites, all interlinked pages must be included or linkages will break. During the transfer process, It is not easy to identify interlinked pages

Tips 

• Design to avoid students feeling lost   
• Map out carefully  

Help resources  

• Stealth activities     

Digital Content Producer 

If your needs are not met by the existing tools or the resource you are looking to create is complex in some way, please speak with the Learning Designer in your college about your needs as there is some capacity for digital content production for learning and teaching.

Embedded quizzing consists of questions / knowledge-check activities embedded within learning content, rather than as a standalone activity.   

Camtasia

Good for

• Adding quiz questions or knowledge checks into video content to create more engaging and interactive experiences when learning through video, and as opportunities for informal and self assessment. 

Useful features

• Built-in functionality, wizards to create and add questions
• Different question types, including multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer and true/false 
• Feedback on correct and incorrect responses
• Can score quiz, can allow viewer to see score. Overall score can integrate into FLO Gradebook if published and added to FLO as a SCORM package

Limitations

• Cannot be hosted in Kaltura and maintain quiz functionality, therefore cannot use accessibility features (captions) and viewing analytics

Cautions 

• Must be exported as Web Page (for Smart Player) or SCORM (for Gradebook integration)
• SCORM activities are generally a poor experience on mobile devices and can be incompatible 
• Different process to publish in FLO compared to standard video

Tips

• Camtasia project files can be large. While working on your project save your files to the hard drive of the computer. Working with your project files on network storage will slow editing down and can also cause crashes. Once complete, store them on OneDrive or S: drive (your U: drive generally wont have enough space for these large files)

Help resources

• Quizzes
• Playback requirements for quizzes, hotspots, and captions (Smart Player)
• Camtasia Tutorials
  
• For advice and support on publishing your interactive content in FLO, contact your eLearning support team

PowerPoint

Good for

• Embedding quiz questions or knowledge checks into content-heavy slideshows and presentations for a more engaging and interactive experience, and as opportunities for informal and self assessment
• When your students are going to download and use the PowerPoint to work through the content at their own pace – not effective in a lecture context

Useful features

• Create a quiz question on a slide by using individual objects ( eg text boxes) for each element of your question (question, answer options, feedback)
• Create interactivity by using animation effects with triggers
• Extensive drawing tools, shapes, lines, icons, Smart Art libraries
• Grids, guides, grouping, alignment and item layering
• Colour themes to help create consistent look and feel

Limitations

• Could be time consuming to build lots of questions
• No scoring of question(s)

Cautions

• Interaction for quizzes will only be available when viewing slideshow in Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow
• Must be provided as .pptx or .ppsx files. Users must download and open
• Mobile devices require Microsoft PowerPoint app
• If slides are printed, all items/layers (questions and answers) will print respecting layer order
• Question answers are readily available when viewing the file in PowerPoint editing mode

Help resources

• Trigger an animation effect
• Microsoft Office website has a large amount of training and help resources and there are many third party help resources, how-to guides, videos, tutorials that can be found by searching the web
  (Note the linked Microsoft page is for windows users. The Mac PowerPoint software is so similar that these windows resources are still useful to Mac users. Mac help resources are also available)

FLO Lesson

Good for

• Mixing static content, choices and questions to determine the route the student takes through the material (eg decision or problem-solving scenarios)

Useful features

• Inbuilt functionality to add questions (or groups/clusters of questions) and branch based on answers
• Multiple question types
• Questions can be imported
• Questions (except essays) are auto marked
• Variety of setup options in multiple tries
• Integrates with Gradebook
• Reports and analytics available

Limitations

• Requires considerable planning
• Not as straightforward as some FLO tools
• Limited page layout and styling options

Tips

• Build all the content and question pages first, then define all the jumps and linking
• Map out all possible journeys through the content
• Test thoroughly
• Design your lesson pages to help your students know where they are in the lesson

Help resources

• Lesson
• Lesson activity
• Building Lesson
• Using Lesson

FLO Quiz

Good for

• Formal assessment that counts towards topic grade
• Knowledge checks for informal ongoing assessment and self assessment
• Relatively short chunks of content delivery with accompanying questions, as this tool is designed more for standalone quizzing and assessment than as a content delivery mechanism

Useful features

• Embed content delivery within a quiz using description question types to create a linear lesson
• Variety of quiz delivery options such as fixed navigation, multiple tries with hints and penalties
• Extensive feedback options on questions and quiz overall provide opportunity to reinforce learning

Limitations

• FLO quiz is a standalone activity and cannot be embedded into other FLO activities

Cautions

• Be careful with organisation if using random random questions

• Provide differentiated overall feedback for quiz based on quiz score ranges

Help resources

• Plan your quiz
• Description question type

FLO tools: Book Page

Good for

• Organising content (chunking of related content)
• Page: embedded video takes up less space in the FLO homepage

Useful features

• Interactive content could be embedded where there is an HTML editor

Limitations

• Cannot be integrated with Gradebook

Cautions

• If you create interactive content using web-based tools, it's important to be aware of the hosting and ownership arrangements. Considerations are similar to when using non-FLO tools in your teaching, which are discussed in this article: Things to consider if you want to use non-FLO tools in your teaching

Help resources

•  For advice and support contact your eLearning support team 

Digital Content Producer

Hotspots are Interactive elements embedded within the content that students hover or click on to trigger an action (eg revealing more information, visit web links).

Camtasia

Good for

•  Embedding links and interactive elements into video content

Useful features

• Drag and drop hotspot interaction from library
• Properties panel to enter details of action required on hotspot
• Hotspot can link to different timeline markers/timecodes
• Hotspots can link to external websites

Limitations

• Considerable planning required
• Can become time consuming
• Cannot be hosted in Kaltura and maintain interactivity for branching, therefore:
  • No viewing analytics
  • No captions/transcripts

Cautions

• Must be exported as Web Page (for Smart Player) or SCORM (for Gradebook integration)
• Different process required to publish in FLO compared to standard video

Tips

• Camtasia project files can be large. While working on your project save your files to the hard drive of the computer. Working with your project files on network storage will slow editing down and can also cause crashes. Once complete store them on OneDrive or S: drive (your U: drive generally won't have enough space for these large files)

Help resources

• Add Interactive hotspots to a video
• Playback requirements for quizzes, hotspots, and captions (Smart Player)
• Camtasia Tutorials
  
• For advice and support on publishing interactive video content to FLO, contact your eLearning support team

PowerPoint

Good for

• Adding a wide range of interactivity elements through hotspots, including linking to content within the resource and externally, triggering movement of slide objects/text to chunk and sequence information in different ways, and as part of branching and quizzing 

Useful features

• Extensive drawing tools, shapes, lines, icons, smart art libraries
• Grids, guides, grouping, alignment and item layering
• Use Animation effects with triggers to add/hide different layers/elements on the slide
• Use Action settings on items, or links (within document) to go to a new slide of information

Limitations

• Hotspot functionality generally only allows one action to be triggered per object
• No conditional logic for actions triggered by hotspots

Cautions

• Interaction for hotspots will only be available when viewing in Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow
• Must be provided as .pptx or .ppsx files. Users must download and open 
• Mobile devices require Microsoft PowerPoint app
• If slides are printed, all items/layers will print respecting layer order

Tips

• There are a couple of ways to add hotspots over images
• Layer a cropped segment of the original image over the image and use the cropped segment as the animation trigger or link (watch video) 
  
• Add a shape with a transparent fill, use the shape as the animation trigger or link
  
• Plan the layer order of your objects
• Plan the possible pathways through the presentation
• Hide the extra information slides linked to hotspots from the slideshow
• When linking to separate slides, make sure you add a way back to diagram
• Test all possible pathways

Help resources

• Adding hotspots to PowerPoint presentations 
• How to link to other slides or websites in PowerPoint 
• Trigger an animation effect (make new items appear on the slide)
• Microsoft Office website has a large amount of training and help resources and there are many third party help resources, how-to guides, videos, tutorials that can be found by searching the web

FLO Quiz    Active Quiz

Useful features

FLO tools: Lesson Quiz Choice Feedback Book Page Glossary

FLO tools cannot be used create hotspots but could be used to deliver/publish interactive media with hotspots to students.

Useful features

• Interactive media could be embedded anywhere within FLO tools wherever the editor is available

Cautions

• If you create media using web-based tools, it's important to be aware of the hosting and ownership arrangements. Considerations are similar to when using non-FLO tools in your teaching which are discussed in this article:  Things to consider if you want to use non-FLO tools in your teaching

Help resources

• For advice and support on publishing interactive media to FLO, contact your eLearning support team

Digital Content Producer

If your needs are not met by the existing tools or the resource you are looking to create is complex in some way, please speak with the Learning Designer in your college about your needs as there is some capacity for digital content production for learning and teaching.

An infographic or diagram is a visual way of representing information through an image, or a combination of image and text. 

As background, you may like to read the article Every picture tells a story... for information about how we process image, what to look for in an image, and more.

These introductions to basics of graphic design may also be useful:

• 12 ways to design better Infographics for eLearning
• Follow these 10 basic elements of design for infographic mastery

Snagit

Good for

• Simple diagrams and graphics where you want to overlay text and image over content that you have screen captured
• Resizing images (from any source)

Useful features

• Designed for capturing and annotating screenshots 
• Extensive editing ability, which can be used on images from any source 
• Tools, libraries and styles inbuilt to easily add lines/arrows, shapes, stamps, text etc 
• Tools that allow editing of an image: select areas, erase, smart move 
• Tools to annotate, including step tool 
• Crop and resize images, add image effects, capture information
• Easy capture of software menus 

Limitations

• Limited drawing tools for creating diagrams from scratch
• Can apply colour filters but doesn’t have tools to enhance/adjust colour balance 

 Tips

• Can open any image file and annotate/edit 
• Panoramic or scrolling capture types allows you to capture items that don’t fit on one screen 

Help resources

• Snagit tutorials 

PowerPoint

Good for

• Creation of wide range of infographic/diagram content ranging from simple to complex visuals, including timelines, lifecycles, system or process graphics, instructional graphics, and more

Useful features

• Familiar environment
• Extensive drawing tools, shapes, lines, icons, Smart Art libraries 
• Grids, guides, grouping, alignment and item layering and ordering
• Insert and adjust images (crop, colour adjust) 
• Preset designs, object effects and colour themes 
• Extensive control over properties of elements 

Tips

• Use page setup to select most appropriate size and orientation of 'slides' for your diagram (eg portrait, A4) to make the graphic useable in printed and electronic formats 
• Use export function to save all slides or specific slides as image files or PDFs 
• Select an item or group and use right click > save as image (instead of saving whole slide) 
• Group components of a diagram 

Help resources

• Microsoft Office has a large amount of training and help resources and there are many third party help resources, how-to guides, videos, tutorials that can be found by searching the web
  
• (Note the linked Microsoft page is for windows users. The Mac PowerPoint software is so similar that these resources are still useful to Mac users. Mac help resources are also available)
• Google 'powerpoint infographics how to' for videos, instructions etc
  

FLO tools: Lesson   Quiz   Active quiz   Choice   Feedback   Book   Page   Glossary

FLO tools cannot be used create diagrams/images but can be used to deliver/publish images to students.

Useful features

• Images can be inserted anywhere within FLO tools wherever the HTML editor is available 

Cautions

• Ensure images have appropriate copyright and are properly attributed 
• When including images in quiz questions, ensure the image filename and ALT tags don’t give away the question answer 

Tips

• Resize image to appropriate pixel dimensions before inserting (use Snagit, or Preview on Mac OS)  

Help resources

• Styles and layout - insert an image 

Digital Content Producer

If your needs are not met by the existing tools or the resource you are looking to create is complex in some way, please speak with the Learning Designer in your college about your needs as there is some capacity for digital content production for learning and teaching.

The following options for sourcing and creating digital content range from most preferred (1) to least preferred (5), based on current resources and support, costs to the University and students, and accessibility.

1. Use University-managed electronic resources
2. Source open educational resources (OERs)
3. Build your own resources
4. Access printed publications, mass media and other copyrighted material
5. Purchase commercial content
   
   

• Animation
• Audio
• Branching
• Embedded quizzing
• Hotspots
• Infographic / diagram
• Polling
• Video