OPAL
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The abbreviation CP stands for Content Package. Specifically, it refers to completed learning content (consisting of several pages) with an individual layout and its own navigation. CP learning content pages can easily be created in the learning platform and flexibly edited using a text editor.

A single CP learning content element can replace many course elements of the type Single page in a course.

IMS Content Packaging is a standard for using web-based learning content on various systems. Therefore, you can also use your created CP learning content in other systems that support this format.

Content

Usage: Learners' View

Overview

The course element CP Learning Content clearly presents different learning content on individual pages, which can be structured like a book and divided into chapters. To navigate, use the course menu on the left or the buttons Next and Back in the content area.

Functions for users

The following functions are available to users:

Navigation in the CP

  1. Open the course element CP Learning Content in the course.
  2. Click the Next button in the bottom right corner to navigate to the next page and the Back button on the left to navigate to the previous page.

If you are on the first page of the course element CP learning content, the Back button will be greyed out. If you are on the last page of the course element CP learning content, the Next button will be greyed out.


Navigation im Kursbaustein CP

Configuration: Authors' View

In the course editor

The following functions are available in the course editor:

Add a course element CP learning content

To integrate a course element into your course, proceed as follows:

1

Open the course you want to edit.

Use the pencil icon at the top of the page to open the editing mode.

Switch from the course view to the editing mode

2

Select a course element from the menu on the right.

Select course element

3

In the new window, you can define the position of the new course element within your course structure (left navigation pane). The available positions are marked with an insert icon.

To insert the new course element into an existing substructure, you need to open the substructure by clicking on the small triangle symbol next to its title. The area will open and you will again see insert icons at the positions which are available.

Click on the insert icon at the desired position within the structure. The selected area will be highlighted.

Confirm your choice with Insert course element.

Insert course element into the course tree

4

The element will be inserted into the course structure at the selected position.

Depending on the course element, you have to make additional configurations or add content in order to complete the configuration.

For these changes to take effect, you must publish the course. The course element will then also become available in the course view.

Configure and publish course element



General configuration settings

In the course editor, you will find the following configuration tabs:

Title and description

Course editor settings in the tab title and description

ElementsDescription
Title

You need to enter a title for the course element. The title can comprise a maximum of 100 characters. All special characters and numbers are permitted. The title will appear in the navigation menu of the course and also as a heading in the content area.

(warning)  If you change the title of the first course element, the new content will only be applied to the main course node and then displayed in the opened course. If you wish to edit the course title or description, you can do so using the more settings menu of the course.

SubtitleYou can enter a subtitle for the course element with a maximum of 255 characters. All special characters and numbers are permitted. The title will appear as a tooltip in the navigation menu and - if selected and configured accordingly - as a subtitle in the content area.
Description

Here you can describe the course element. The description will appear in the content area below the title.

Depending on the settings configured in the element Display, this additional text is displayed to the user when opening the course element. The user can expand or collapse the view of the text.


Display

Define which information about the course element should be displayed in the course view. In addition to the content, you can optionally display the title and description. All course elements are provided with a reasonable presetting, which mostly includes the setting Title, description and content. You can adjust this setting in accordance with the options available for each course element. For an example of the different setting options, refer to the help page Displaying information about the course element.

Set link for this course element

Each course element can be accessed via fixed link addresses. Therefore, an internal and an external URL is assigned to each course element. These direct links to concrete elements can be used within courses or provided to learners. The URLs are located below the title and description of the element and will appear upon selecting Set link for this course element.  

  • External link: To refer to this course element from outside of the course or learning platform, you can use the external link and insert it, for example as a href attribute, into the desired HTML page.
  • Internal link: To set a link to another course element within the same course, you can insert the internal link as a href attribute into the desired HTML page.
IDYou will need the ID number of the course element (on the bottom right), for example, if you wish to use the expert mode in the visibility or access tab.


Visibility

In the areas Visibility and Access, authors and course owners can individually determine the presentation of course elements. If no input is made in the access area, the content of a course element will by default be visible to all course participants after publishing the element. Apart from the general options listed below, additional configuration options are available depending on the course element.

The following general options are available for the configuration of visibility and access:

Course editor - Tab visibility and access


General configuration optionsDescription
Only blocked for guests

Ist diese Checkbox markiert, ist das Element oder die Funktion ausschließlich für angemeldete Lernende, Betreuer und Administratoren des Kurses verfügbar.

Diese Checkbox ist nur notwendig, wenn Sie in einem sonst öffentlichen Kurs (Publikationsstatus "Öffentlich - Für jeden sichtbar" bzw. BARG ) einzelne Kursbausteine oder Funktionsabschnitte dennoch für Gäste sperren und nur für angemeldete Nutzer zugänglich machen wollen.

Hat Ihr Kurs den Publikationsstatus "Öffentlich - für registrierte Nutzer" haben nicht angemeldete Nutzer (= Gäste) grundsätzlich keinen Zugang zum Kurs.

Blocked for learners

Wenn Sie die Checkbox markieren, ist der Bereich oder Funktionsabschnitt ausschließlich für Betreuer und Administratoren des Kurses sichtbar bzw zugänglich. Angemeldete Lernende und auch nicht registrierte Gäste sehen das Element nicht bzw. haben keinen Zugang zum Inhalt.

Block access or visibility for learners
Depending on dateMark this checkbox to specify a particular access time. You can set individual dates or date ranges by filling in only one or both input fields respectively. You can also create or delete dates via the + and - buttons.

Set access or visibility rights depending on dates

Depending on group

Select this checkbox to restrict the accessibility of the course element to learning groups or learning areas. You can then select existing groups and areas or create new ones.

If you set restrictions with the configuration option "depending on group", the corresponding course element will be restricted for all non-members of the group. This includes, for example, users who have not yet confirmed the group invitation or who are on the waiting list for a group. Such users cannot yet see or access the restricted course element.


Set access or visibility rights depending on groups

Depending on assessmentHere, you will find all assessable course elements. These include, for example, the elements test, assessment, task, or structure. 

If you select the option Check for "passed", you will be able to choose a course element from the input field Course element, which the user must have passed as a prerequisite to accessing this course element. 

If you select the option Check score, you can indicate a number of points in the input field "Passing score", which have to be achieved in order to be able to access the course element.

Set access or visibility rights depending on assessments

Depending on attribute

Whether or not this option is displayed is system-dependent. You can use it to set visibility or access privileges according to user attributes. Only users who meet the predefined conditions will see the course element or have access to its content. If you want to use several attributes, you need to link them with one of the operators (AND/OR) above the attribute list.

The following comparison operators can be used depending on the selected attribute:


  • "contains the value"
  • "does not contain value"
  • "has exactly the value"
  • "does not have value"
  • "starts with value"
  • "ends with value"
  • "greater than" (>)
  • "less than" (<)
  • "greater than/equals" (<=)
  • "less than/equals" (>=)

See the Overview of OPAL-Shibboleth attributes page for a list of attributes available for selected institutions.

OPAL School authors can use the Main school attribute to restrict course access to their own school. An example can be found on the Publish course only for users of one/my school help page.

The verification of the created attribute rules is not case-sensitive to the specified values. That means, for example, if your access rule reads "Study group" attribute contains the value "Law", the actual verification will be done with the word "law" in lowercase. As a result, the course element will be accessible both to users in the "Law" and to users in the "Family law" study group alike.



Set access or visibility rights depending on attributes

Apply rules also for author, owner and tutorThis option does not become visible until one of the other options has been selected. If you activate the checkbox, the same access rules which apply to users will also be valid for tutors and course administrators.

Apply rules also for author, owner and tutor

PasswordThis option is only available in the area Access and can either be applied to the whole course or a structural element of the course. Enter the desired password, which users will need to use in order to gain access to the course content, in the text field.

Set access or visibility rights depending on passwords

Display expert modeClick on the button Display expert mode to open an input field, which allows you to perform a more complex configuration according to your needs. For more detailed information about the expert mode, see the help page Publishing within courses (expert mode).
Set access or visibility rights in the expert mode
Advanced configuration optionsIn the case of individual course element types, there are further attributes to configure access to editing rights for course participants.

If various restrictive single options are set, they will be linked with AND, i.e. all conditions of the single options must be met for the user to see and have access to the course element. The only exceptions are the single options Attributes. In this case, various restrictive single options can also be linked with OR. The OR linking only requires the fulfilment of one condition in order to enable visibility or access, unless other restrictive single options prevent this.

All restrictions are also automatically valid for all subordinate course elements.

Note about hiding access restrictions

If a course element is visible, but there are

  • current or future access restrictions or
  • restricted rights for the course element,

the user will be informed accordingly when accessing the course element. This information helps the user to learn more about the functions available, e.g. which functions will be available at what time and under what conditions.

If required, however, you can hide this information text (from the user) for each course element individually.

Notification message about existing access and authorisation restrictions in the course view:

Course element with notification message about authorisation restrictions

1

To hide this message, open the course editor and switch to the Visibility tab of the respective course element.

In the section Information if course node is visible but not accessible (max. 248 characters), remove the check mark in front of the entry Show access restrictions below the text field.

Publish your changes.

Course editor setting to hide notification message

2

The note will no longer be visible in the course view.

Course element without notification message about authorisation restrictions


Access
Learning contentIn this tab, you can select, create, and import resources. Detailed instructions are given in the following section Special configuration settings.
MultilingualismIn this tab, different translations can be added to individual course element areas.

Special configuration settings

In the Configuration tab, you can assign a resource of the type CP Learning Content to your course element and specify display options.

Select CP learning content

To assign the course element a CP resource, you can:

  • use an existing CP Learning Content resource (option 1),
  • create and use a new CP Learning Content resource (option 2), or
  • import a new CP Learning Content resource (option 3)


1.

Open the course element CP Learning Content.

Switch to the Learning content tab in the course editor and click on Select, create or import CP learning content.

Select, create or import resource button
2.

A page with functions to Create and Import new resources and a list of your existing CP resources will open. 

Decide on one of the following options:  

Three options
3a.(Option 1:) To use an existing CP Learning Content learning resource, click on the plus icon next to the desired resource in the Actions column.
Select resource
3b.

(Option 2:) To create and use a new CP Learning Content learning resource, click on Create. A page for creating a new learning resource will open.

  • Enter a title for the new resource and add a description if necessary.
  • Click on Save.
  • As a next step, you can add an image to the resource using Upload.
  • Click on Finish to complete the creation process.

The newly created resource will now automatically be used as a resource for the CP learning content course element and displayed under Selected CP learning content.

Create resource
3c.

(Option 3:) To import a new CP Learning Content learning resource, click on Import. The system's default upload page will open.

Select a location for the file you wish to import and upload the file.

  • The page for creating a new learning resource will open.
  • Enter a title for the imported resource and add a description if necessary.
  • Click on Save.
  • As a next step, you can add an image to the resource using Upload.
  • Click on Finish to complete the creation process.

The newly imported resource will now automatically be used as a resource for the CP learning content course element and displayed under Selected CP learning content.

Import resource

4.

5.

The selected resource will be displayed under Selected CP learning content.

Publish your course to complete the configuration and to make the resource available to participants.

CP learning content selected

You can replace the integrated CP Learning Content resource at any time.

Functions after adding a CP learning content resource  

Replace CP learning content

The Replace CP learning content option allows you to select another learning resource or to create or import a new learning resource.

Detailed instructions can be found in the section Special configuration settings.
Edit

Use this button to switch to the edit view of the resource. Here you can create new pages and edit, copy, import, or delete existing pages.

  • To add a new page to the CP, proceed as follows: 

    Click on the create page icon.

    It opens a new page.

    Create page icon

    Enter a title for your new page by clicking on New page.

    Enter title

    Now you can add your content.

    Add content

    Then click on Save. 

    Save button

  • To edit a CP page, proceed as follows: 

    Navigate to the entry you wish to edit and make your changes.

    An overview of the functions of the HTML editor can be found here.

    Edit page
    Click on Save to complete the editing process.
    Save button

  • To copy a CP page, proceed as follows:

    Select the page you wish to copy and click on the copy page icon.
     Copy page icon

    The copy will be automatically inserted below the original page.

    Click on Save. 

     Save button

  •   To import a CP page, proceed as follows:

    Click on the import page icon.

    Import page icon

    Select the desired file and confirm your choice with Import.
    Import button

  • To delete a CP page, proceed as follows:

    Select the element you wish to delete and click on the delete page icon.

    Delete page icon 

    Now you have the following options:

    Delete menu element and files: Clicking this button will delete the menu element as well as all of its existing files.

    Delete menu element only: Clicking this button will only delete the relevant menu element. The files in the menu will be retained.

     Delete options

A learning resource of the type CP Learning Content is not an independent learning resource, i.e. it must be integrated into a course element CP Learning Content. Further information on independent learning resources as well as tutorials on their creation and management are provided in the section Learning resources.

Display

You can customise the following display options:

  • Display CP navigation: With this checkbox, you can determine whether the navigation of your content package will be displayed within the course navigation.
  • Content character set: The system attempts to automatically detect the character set. However, if the Automatically option does not result in the desired display, you can configure the coding of the content using a predefined character set (if there is no coding, the character set ISO-8899-1 will be used by default).
  • JavaScript character set: Allows to encode the JavaScript code using a predefined character set (the same character set will be used by default for both content and JavaScript).
Modify display
In the course view

In the course view of a course element CP Learning Content, you have access to all functions available to users.