Wiki

With a wiki (Hawaiian for quick), much like an online encyclopaedia, you can easily create articles and content and edit them together with other users.

Users like to use the wiki, for example, for the following application scenarios:

as a glossary or index of a course
as an aid to certain course topics
as a discussion forum with advanced features
as a publicly accessible repository for all kinds of texts and articles (e.g. to submit tasks)

Within a wiki, each user can create new articles, edit existing articles, link articles with each other, and discuss articles with other users. The articles can be formatted using the wiki syntax (typography, headings, lists, links). It is also possible to insert images, audio files, as well as mathematical formulas in LaTeX format.

Content

Usage: Learners' View

Overview

1	In the upper area of the wiki, you will find the functions to subscribe to a wiki and to create articles as well as the File management.
2	The left navigation area shows the wiki menu. The tutor can alter the menu and provide selected articles as quick access. Besides, you have access to all categories in the wiki and the history of your recently viewed articles.
3	In the middle section, you can see the wiki content. Using the tabs above the page, you can edit the current article, engage in discussions on this article, and view the history.

The tutor can assign various rights for the wiki. The displayed functions and areas depend on these settings.

Functions for users

As a user, you can use the following functions in a Wiki course element:

You can be assigned extended rights by a course supervisor. These rights will make additional functions, such as creating and editing posts, available to you.

Upper page area

You can subscribe to course elements to get automatically informed about changes.

How to do that?

To subscribe to a course element, proceed as follows:

Open the relevant course and go to the desired course element. Click the *Subscribe* button in the upper right corner of the course element view.	Example: Subscribing to a course element File discussion
3. If you have already subscribed to this course element, you will see the button Unsubscribe. Click this button if you want to cancel the subscription.

For further information about the general configuration options for receiving notifications, refer to the page Subscriptions and notifications.

Create article

For more information, see the section Create Wiki Artikle.

File management

For more information, see the section Wiki File Management.

Navigation pane (on the left):

Index	Displays all linked wiki articles.
From A to Z	Displays all wiki articles in alphabetical order.
Categories	Displays all categories of the opened wiki resource in alphabetical order. Click on a category entry to open a list of all wiki pages that have been assigned to this category. For more information, see the section Categories in the Wiki.
Last change	Displays a list of your last changed wiki articles. Use the link in the entries to open the respective wiki pages.
Recently viewed	Displays a list of your recently viewed wiki articles. A maximum of five entries will be displayed.

Middle area

Article	This tab displays the content of an article. If you are the author of the article, you will see the button Add artefact on the right. This button allows you to add the article as an artefact to your ePortfolio.
Edit article	This tab opens the editor view of the selected article. It will only be visible if you have editing rights within the wiki. You can then create new articles in the wiki and edit existing ones. All edit options are explained on the help page Edit wiki article.
Discussion on a wiki article	A wiki text is usually created by several authors. In the Discussion section, there is a forum for each article, which can be used to exchange comments on the article with other authors. For more information, see the section Wiki Article Discussion
History	Here you can track the status of the wiki article, compare different versions, and restore a version if necessary. For more information, see the section History in the Wiki.

Configuration: Authors' View

Functions in the course editor

The following functions are available to you in the course editor:

Add a course element wiki

Click to open instructions on how to add a course element ...

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.
2	Select a course element from the menu on the right.
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.
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.

General configuration settings

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

Title and description

Configuration options in the tab title and description ...

Elements	Description
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. Changes to the title of the first course element, the so-called main course node ... 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.
Subtitle	You 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.
ID	You 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

Configuration options in the tab visibility and access ...

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:

General configuration options	Description
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.
Depending on date	Mark 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.
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.
Depending on assessment	Here, 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.
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.
Apply rules also for author, owner and tutor	This 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.
Password	This 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.
Display expert mode	Click 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).

Advanced configuration options

In 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.

How to do that? ...

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

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

For individual course element types, there are further attributes which can be used to regulate access to editing rights for course participants.

The following editing rights can be restricted or extended using the general configuration attributes (depending on date, group, etc.):

	Task	Assignment Edit task folder Drop box - Delete own solutions Drop box Return box Assessment Sample solution
	Blog	Read Read and write Moderate
	File Dialogue	Only file download / read in the forum File up- and download/ read and write in the forum Edit or delete files / Moderate in the forum
	Forum	Read Read and write Moderate
	Calendar	Read Add and edit dates
	Link List	Display Display and add Display, edit, and delete
	Bibliography	Display Display and edit
	Messages	Read Write Manage
	Folder	Download Upload Delete
	Podcast	Read Read and write Moderate
	Page	Display Display and edit
	Profile	Display Add
	Test	Configurable in the tab *Visibility* : Conduct test View assessment View results
	Wiki	Read Add and edit articles

Access

Wiki learning content

In this tab, you can select, create, and import wiki resources. Detailed instructions are given in the following section.

Multilingualism

In this tab, different translations can be added to individual course element areas.

Special configuration settings

In the tab Wiki learning content, you can assign a wiki resource to your course element. Choose one of the three options:

use an existing Wiki learning resource (option 1),
create and use a new Wiki learning resource (option 2), or
import a new Wiki learning resource (option 3).

Start the configuration for all three variants as follows ...

1.	Switch to the Wiki learning content tab and click on Choose, create or import Wiki.
2.	A page with functions to create and import new wiki resources and a list of your existing wiki resources will open. Decide on one of the following options:
3a	(Option 1:) To use an existing Wiki learning resource, click on the plus icon next to the desired resource in the Actions column.
3b	(Option 2:) To create and use a new Wiki learning resource, click on Create. A page for creating a new learning resource will open. Expand further steps ... 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 wiki course element and displayed under Selected Wiki.
3c	(Option 3:) To import a new Wiki learning resource, click on Import. The system's default upload page will open. Expand further steps ... 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.
4. 5.	The newly imported resource will now automatically be used as a resource for the wiki course element and displayed under Selected Wiki. Publish your course to complete the configuration and to make the resource available to participants.

Functions after adding a wiki resource

Once a wiki resource has been added, you have the following options in the course editor ...

To detailed view

Use this button to switch to the detailed view of the added wiki resource. Among other things, you will find information on the supervisors and access rights in this area.

Replace wiki

Click the button to replace the added wiki resource with another wiki resource. The same window will open as in the upper section Special configuration settings. Now you have the same three options as described above to add a new wiki resource.

Edit

Click this button to get an overview of all existing wiki entries. You can then create new entries, edit existing entries, and delete entries.

Using this button will still open the edit view of the old interface. All of these functions can also be used in the course view of the course element or in the individual resource view of the wiki resource.

In the course view

Information on the functions in the course view can be found here: Functions for users

As a course supervisor, you can assign extended rights for a course element's additional editing functions to individual or even all course users. These rights can be configured in the tab Access. Further information can be found in the section General configuration settings on this page.

Space shortcuts

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