Resources Editor
Throughout the Learning Design "Items" are used to define meaningful hierarchical structures that reference physical Resources. In turn, Resources reference physical files or web addresses. The Resources and Files Editor allows the designer to create, modify, and organise Resources and files.
In the Resources Editor there are three areas - the Resources table, the selected Resource's dependent files list, and the physical files tree. Each area can be resized.
Files Tree
- The Files tree represents the root folder of the UoL
- You can drag and drop files and folders from the desktop to the tree. Files will be physically copied to the UoL's root folder
- Any changes to files in the root folder made elsewhere will update automatically in the tree (8 seconds refresh interval)
- You can create new files and folders from the menu
- You can delete files and folders
- You can rename files and folders (any file references used by Resources and dependent files are automatically updated)
- You can drag and drop move/copy files and folders within the tree (when moving files, any file references used by Resources and dependent files are automatically updated)
- You can view a file by double-clicking it or selecting "View" from the menu
- You can edit a file by double-clicking it or selecting "Edit" from the menu
Resources Table
- A Resource can be created manually from the "New Resource" menu item
- A Resource can be created automatically by dragging files from the Files Tree (a new dependent file entry is also created)
- A Resource can be created by dragging a Resource bookmark from the Library tree
- You can at any time change the referenced file for a Resource with the "Set file" menu item, or manually by typing
- If you change the identifier of a Resource any Items in the LD that reference it will be automatically updated
- You can sort the Resources by clicking on the table columns
- You can delete Resources
- You can view a Resource by double-clicking it or selecting "View" from the menu
- You can edit a Resource by double-clicking it or selecting "Edit" from the menu (see above for info on the Rich Text Editor)
Dependent Files Table
- This represents all the files that are components of a Resource (for example, gif, jpg files for an HTML page)
- Once a Resource is selected in the Resources Table, this table is enabled
- You can manually add dependent file(s) from the "New File Entries" menu item
- You can automatically add dependent file(s) by dragging files from the Files Tree
- You can delete file entries
- You can view a file entry by double-clicking it
- You can sort the files by clicking on the table columns
Some information about Items, Resources and Files (thanks to Yongwu Miao from the OUNL for providing this):
- An Item references a Resource
- A Resource can reference multiple physical files and/or web pages
- A Resource is used to organize physical files into a logically (pedagogically, in LD) meaningful information unit. The resource provides a static entry to access its content even if its physical file structure or the names and relative addresses of some files are changed.
- An Item is an accessible information entry for the end-user at run-time.
- An Item Model (a set of Items with a title) is a higher level information unit (a container) for organizing a set of pedagogically meaningful information units such as a chapter with sections and sub-sections, a collection of reference papers, a description of activity with one or a sequence of instruction pages, a set of pre-defined feedback pages among which some will be set as visible and others will be hidden under certain condition, a collection of students’ outcomes of a given assignment (shown as view-properties), and so on.
- Although defined Resources will be taken into account, the designer mainly considers the logical structure of the Items when defining an Item Model. When a designer defines an Item, the required Resource may or may not have been defined. If not, s/he can find/create/collect/edit material and define a Resource later on.
- Either an Item or a Resource can be created first and exist independently during the design phase.
- The designer can choose/replace a Resource as the reference of an Item anytime.
- The hierarchic file structure (at physical level) within a Resource has no mapping to the hierarchical Item structure (at logical level) within an Item Model.
- Many physical files can be used to define a Resource and one physical file (e.g., a css or a logo image) can be used by many Resources.
- One Resource can be referenced by many items, but one Item can only Refer to only one Resource.
- The Item is a kind of operable (show/hide) entity at level B.
- Resources and physical files are not operable entities in LD.