Slate - Lecture 27

SLATE LECTURE 27 DROP BOX The Drop Box feature allows instructors and students to share documents within a private folder for each student. The Drop Box works like Resources to allow you to upload many types of files and multiple files at a time. The Drop Box also allows nested folders (folders within folders). Adding a new folder By default, your Drop Box has one folder in it containing your name. To add a subfolder: Next to the existing folder, from the Add menu, choose Create Folders.  Type a name for the folder in the box provided.  To enter an optional description, click Add details for this item.  You can add additional folders from this screen by clicking Add Another Folder. Note: To remove a file from the list of files to add, click the red X next to it. Click Create Folders Now. Adding a new Drop Box item Whenever you add a new Drop Box item, you have the option of sending an email notification. Check Send an email notification to the student/instructor. Follow the instructions below for the type of item you want to add: File upload To upload an existing document or other file from your computer: Next to the folder to which you want to upload the file, from the Add menu, select Upload Files.  For each item, click Browse, select a file to upload, and then click Open.. Next to "Display Name", type a title for the item (if you don't add a title, the filename will be used for the title).  If desired, click Add details for this item, which will allow you to enter a description, choose a copyright status and add copyright information, and add detailed descriptors by clicking Optional properties  To upload more than one file, click Add Another File. You can add any number of files at once, as long as the total file size does not exceed 200 MB. Note: To remove a file from the list of files to add, click the red X next to it. Click Upload Files Now to finish. URL To specify a URL to a web site as the Drop Box item: Next the folder to which you want to add the URL, from the Add menu, select Add Web Links (URLs).  For each item, type the URL in the box. (You may omit the http:// prefix.)  Add a title for your URL link item. If you don't add a title, the URL will be used as the title of the item.  If desired, click Add details for this item, which will allow you to enter a description, choose a copyright status and add copyright information, and add detailed descriptors by clicking Optional properties  To add another URL, click Add Another Web Link. Note: To remove a URL from the list of URLs to add, click the red X next to it. Click Add Web Links Now to finish. HTML page To create and display an HTML document: Next to the folder to which you want to add the HTML page, from the Add menu, select Create HTML Page.  Enter the content of your page and click Continue.  Enter a title and an optional description in the appropriate text areas.  Choose your page's copyright status, add copyright information, and choose whether or not to display a copyright alert.  To add detailed descriptors, click Optional properties. Click Finish to add your HTML page to Drop Box. Text document To create and display a plain text document: Next to the folder to which you want to add the document, from the Add menu, select Create Text Document.  Type the content of your text document and click Continue.  Enter a title and optional description in the appropriate text areas.  Choose your text document's copyright status, add copyright information, and choose whether or not to display a copyright alert.  To add detailed descriptors, click Optional properties. See the Optional properties section below for more information.  Click Finish to add your text document to Drop Box. Editing a Drop Box item To edit the name, description, or copyright status, choose Actions, and then click Edit Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save them. To update the content of most items, choose Actions, and then click Edit Content. Make your changes, and then click Continue. For a file, you will have to make the changes and save them on your computer, and then upload a new version. From the Actions menu, select Upload New Version. Deleting a Drop Box item To delete an item from Drop Box: To remove one item at a time, choose Actions, and then click Remove. To remove several items at a time, mark their corresponding checkboxes, and then, above the list of items, click Remove.  To confirm that you want to remove the item(s) listed, click Remove. Or, to cancel, click Cancel. Note: You can't delete a folder that contains an item. You must remove (i.e., move or delete) its contents first before deleting a folder. Optional properties To add detailed descriptors, click Optional properties. You can then add information to the following fields:  Alternate Title Creator Publisher Subject and Keywords Date Created Date Issued Abstract Contributor Audience Audience Education Level Moving or coping dropbox item to another folder To move or copy item(s) from one Drop Box folder to another: In the menubar of the relevant site, click Drop Box.  Click the black triangles to the left of "Title" to expand all the folders in the Drop Box, or click the folder icon to the left of the name of the folder you wish to expand. (If a folder contains items not currently displayed, a plus sign will appear on the folder icon.)  Check the box next to the item(s), and click Move or Copy.  Click the "Paste copied items" icon (  ) next to the folder in which you want to paste the item(s), or from the Actions menu, choose Paste copied items. CHAT ROOM You can use the Chat Room tool for real-time, unstructured conversations among site participants who are signed on to the site at the same time. Reading Chat Room messages To read messages in the Chat Room, do the following: In the menu bar, click Chat Room. To see who is presently in the Chat Room, look under "Users in Chat" on the right side of the screen. Messages appear in chronological order, with the most recent at the bottom. Messages will always identify the sender. To hide or display the date or time messages were posted, select the appropriate option from the "View" drop-down list: Time Only, Date and Time, Date Only, or Neither Date or Time. To limit the list to messages from only the past three days, click Past 3 Days. To return to a view listing all messages, click All Messages. Posting Chat Room messages To post a message, follow these steps: In the text box at the bottom of the window, type your message, and then click Add message. Note: No one will be able to see your message until you click Add message, but once you do, only an instructor or a participant who has special permission can delete your message. To discard a message that you haven't sent yet, click Clear. Deleting Chat Room messages You can only delete a Chat Room message if the administrator has granted this permission to students. To delete a message, simply click the trash can icon next to your name of the posting, and then click Delete. If you don't see a trash can icon, you don't have permission to delete the message. SECTION INFO The tool is designed to help an instructor manage a course that may consist of lectures, labs, discussions, studio work, recitations, or any combination thereof. The Section Info tool is designed to work with other tools, such as Announcements, Gradebook, and Tests & Quizz FORUMS Site participants can post replies to a topic (a new thread) or reply to other replies (a "threaded" discussion). A site's Instructor can also choose whether or not to allow site participants to post their own forums topics. Forums are the top level in gray bars. Topics appear under the categories, and replies appear grouped with the appropriate topic. Posting a new message From the Forums tool, click the title of the topic for which you'd like to post a message Click Post New Thread; the Compose Forum Message screen will open Next to Title, type the subject (title) of your message Under Message, use the WYSIWYG editor to compose your message NOTE: Use the Paste From Word tool if you copy and paste text from a Word document Under Attachments, you can attach a file from your local computer or from Resources, or specify the URL for a file on the web When you're finished, click Post Message or click Cancel. Note: If the forum or topic is moderated, the message will appear as "PENDING" until approved by a moderator. Posting a Response to a Message or Topic Click the Title of the desired topic Click the subject of the desired message Click Reply to Thread or Reply In the text field next to Reply Title, give your reply a title Under Message, use the WYSIWYG editor to compose your reply. To insert a quote of the original message, click Insert Original Message (located above the WYSIWYG editor). NOTE: Use the Paste From Word tool if you copy and paste text from a Word document Click Add Attachment to attach a file from your computer or Resources, or add a URL When you're finished: To post your message, click Post Message To cancel your message without saving it, click Cancel. Note: If the forum or topic is moderated, the message will appear as "PENDING" until approved by a moderator. Only site maintainers, instructors, and others with special permissions can delete discussion items. ROSTERS The purpose of the site roster is to provide a user with the list of all users in the worksite. The roster tool also provides link to the individual user’s profile. SITE INFO The Site Info tool allows site participants to see general information about the worksite. This includes the description of the worksite, the site creation date, and users with the ability to join.