AContent Administrator Handbook

Use the Search field to find learning content in the AContent Repository, or choose from the Categories to browse the list of lessons available in each category. In the lessons that appear in Search Results or by browsing, click on a lesson title to view the lesson, or click on the download icon to export the lesson as a standard IMS Content Package.

Unzip Content Packages then click on the index.html file to view the content on your local computer.

Content packages, in their zipped state, can be imported into systems that support the IMS Content Packaging standard.

Register

In order for a user to login to AContent and create content, manage translations, or administer the system, a unique account needs to be created. Use the Register link to access the registration form. If email-confirmation has been enabled by the system administrator, a message will be sent to the email address entered containing a link that must be followed to confirm the new account. Once this has been done, the login name or email address, and the password entered during registration can be used to Login.

In addition to searching, downloading, and viewing content, available to non-registered users, a basic account allows users to add lessons to their account, and store them as bookmarks for future reference.

When registering, you can also request authoring privileges by choosing I would like to author content. Additional personal information is required when registering as an author, so content is properly attributed to an author. When the system's administrator has approved your author request, the Create Lesson tab will appear, which leads to the AContent authoring tools.

Login

A user may login to AContent with their Login Name or Email address, and the Password created during registration. Logging in gives users access to the bookmark feature for Regular users, and to the authoring tools for Author users.

Password Reminder

If you have forgotten your password, follow the Forgot your password? link on the Login screen. The form will email the login name to you, along with a link you must follow to change your password.

Profile

Once you have registered an account on the system, a Profile is created. You may modify the information associated with your profile, though you may not change your Login name, or the generated Web Service ID. If you are requesting a content authoring account, you must provide additional information about who you are so content is properly attributed to an author.

Web Service ID

The Web Service ID is a unique identifier that can be used to link other systems with AContent through its Web Services. This ID will be useful for developers creating systems that access AContent Web Services, or to administrators of learning management systems who wish to link AContent into their LMS. ATutor administrators can enter the Web Service ID of any user in the AContent system, into the AContent Setup screen to link the repository into their ATutor system. See the Web Service API, linked from the footer area of AContent for more about developing an interface to the system.

Change Password

This page allows users to change passwords. The form authenticates users by checking their old password first, and then setting a new password and typing it again.

Change Email

This page allows users to change email addresses.

User Management

This section allows administrators to manage all user accounts. Each user belongs to a user group to which privileges are assigned.

There are three types of default user groups that are created when AContent is installed. These are described below along with the default privileges associated with each groups.

Administrator: Administrators have privileges to use the Home, manage users, languages and manage their own profile.
Regular User: Regular users have privileges to use the Home and manage their own profile.
Translator: Translators have privileges to use the Home, translate AContent terms from English to other languages, and to manage their own profile. The languages that can be used in the system are defined by users who have "Language Management" privileges.

Creating User Accounts

The users who belong to a group that has "User Management" privileges can manually add users to the system by using Create User.

User accounts can also be created by individuals using the Registration form available through the public pages of AContent. The accounts created via the Registration form are automatically set to user group "Regular User".

User Group

User Group is used to create new user groups and edit existing user groups.

Create/Edit User

All fields on "Create User" and "Edit User" forms are required. Most fields are self-explanatory. When the "Account Status" field is set to disabled, the user is not able to login.

User accounts can also be created by individuals using the Registration form available through the public pages of Transformable. The accounts created via the Registration form are automatically set to user group "Regular User".

Change Password

All fields are required and self-explanatory. Once the new password is set successfully, an email notification is sent to the user.

User Group

The User Group section allows administrators to manage user groups. User groups define the privileges that are granted to the users who are members of a group. Note that "Administrator" and "Regular User" groups can not be deleted. They must exist for proper operation of the system. All other groups are optional.

There are three default user groups. Below is a description of the default privileges that are granted to each group. The privileges in user groups are editable by users who are a member of a group that has the "User Management" privilege.

Administrator: Administrators have privileges to use the Home, manage users, languages and manage their own profile.
Regular User: Regular users have privileges to use the Home and manage their own profile.
Translator: Translators have privileges to use the Home, translate Transformable terms from English to other languages, and to manage their own profile. The languages that can be used in the system are defined by users who have "Language Management" privileges.

Create/Edit User Group

All fields are relatively self-explanatory.

There are six privileges provided by Transformable. Privileges are fixed and not changeable.

Home: This is where user implements own functions.
User Management: Create, edit, delete users.
Language Management: Create, edit, delete, enable, disable languages.
Translation: Translate all Transformable terms into languages other than English, or edit existing English text.
Profile Management: Edit profile, change password or email.

Create Lesson

There are two ways to create a lesson, manually by defining course properties, and automatically by importing an existing IMS Content Package or IMS Common Cartridge.

Manual Create Lesson

Follow the "Create Lesson" link on the Create Lesson screen. Fill out the Lesson Properties screen then save. You will be directed into the lesson, after which you can add folders and content pages to the lesson.

Import Lesson

If you have an existing lesson, either created in ATutor, or created in another system that generates content packages or common cartridges, you can either upload the zipped file, or you can enter the URL to its location on the Web to import it. Once imported, use the content editing tools to modify the content.

Hide Lesson

While developing content it is advisable to select the "Hide lesson from other users" checkbox. Once the lesson is ready for public viewing, change the setting in the lesson properties.

Lesson Properties

While viewing any folder of page in a lesson, click on the Lesson Properties icon () to modify the following:

Title: Write a few words to provide a short description of the lesson content.
Category Name: Select from the available content categories, the one that best categorizes your lesson. If the category you need is not present, choose Uncategorized, or suggest a new category to the system's administrator.
Primary Language: Choose from the available languages, the one your lesson is written in. Available languages are based on the languages installed on the system. To have additional languages installed, talk to your system administrator.
Description: This a longer description of the lesson, expanding on the description in the title.
Optional Copyright Notice: Write a copyright notice to appear at the bottom of each page in the lesson.
Hide Lesson: Select this checkbox if you want to prevent others from searching or viewing the lesson. This might be enabled while a lesson is being created, then disabled when a lesson is ready for distribution.

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Add Question to a Test

After selecting a test from the main Test & Survey screen and pressing the Questions button to list the questions associated with that test, click on the Add Questions tab above to open the Question Bank. Either choose a category of questions to add to the test, or choose individual questions, then press Add to Test/Survey to add the questions. You will be redirected back to the question list for that test, at which time you must assign mark values to each question (unless you are creating a survey in which case questions have no mark value).

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Question Categories

Before creating questions it may be helpful to create a number of categories into which questions can be grouped. Categories might be as simple as "questions for test 1" so when the questions are to be added to the test, you may choose the category to have all the question added, instead of choosing questions one by one. Categories might also be used to define difficulty level, or perhaps topic area. Categories can define any type of grouping for questions.

Create and Edit Content

There are many ways content might be assembled into a lesson. Generally, content is created by adding folders to contain the content, and adding pages to folders on which the content is displayed. There are a variety of tools available to add folders and pages to a lesson. These tools are described below. The tools that appear at any given time, depend on context.

Editor Icons

Follow the Export Content icon to generate an IMS Content Package of the current page. Note, to export an entire lesson, use the export tools next to a lesson listing on your AContent home page, as either a content package or a common cartridge.
Follow the Edit This Page icon to open the content editor for editing the page you are viewing.
Follow the Add Structure icon to add a learning object structure to a lesson. Structures include such things as a goals page, a lesson overview, an assessment, or an activity for example. Some pages within a lesson structure are mandatory and cannot be deleted, while others are optional.
Follow the Add Sibling Folder icon to add a folder at the same level in the content you are current located.
Follow the Add Sub Folder icon to add a sub folder to a folder you currently have open.
Follow the Add Sibling Page icon to add a content page at the same level in the content you are currently located.
Follow the Add Sub Page icon while a folder is open, to add a content page into the folder.
Follow the Delete This Page icon while viewing a folder or a content page, to delete it. If you delete a folder, all of the pages and folders it contains will also be deleted.
Follow the Lesson Properties icon to modify various characteristics of the lesson being viewed including its title, category, language, description, copyright notice, and whether it is hidden or viewable by others.
Follow the Arrange Content icon to move folders and pages around within a lesson.
Follow the Delete This Lesson icon to completely remove the lesson and all its content from the system.
Follow the Exit Lesson icon to leave the lesson area and return to your AContent home page.

The Content Editor

The Content Editor is use the create content for a lesson. It include a number of tabs across the top, and a number of tools for working with your content.

Editor Tabs

Content: This is where most content development will occur. To create a content page, enter a title, choose the format, and add some content to the body area.
- Plain Text: Simply type into the body area. Text is displayed without any formatting
- HTML: When selected, the visual editor is displayed in the body area. Type or paste your text into the visual editor, then use the various tools to format the text with headings, colour, layout, and other formatting features. Note the first button in the visual editor is used to toggle between simple and advanced modes.
- Web Link: This option allows you to enter a URL to an external Web page, and have is display as part of the lesson content.
Theme: When enabled by the AContent system administrator, a Theme can be selected to apply a graphic design to the content. When an author edits the content, by using the Theme tab in the content editor, he/she can select and apply graphic elements to a page. Such elements are implemented as CSS rules, setting, for instance, font-size, font-family, foreground and background colors, borders, italic and/or bold style, text alignment and so on, to be added to the page cascading over the default graphic design provided by the LCMS. A Theme can be applied to a single content page or to an entire lesson.
Template: When enabled by the AContent system administrator, authors can use the Template tab to format the organization of content on a page. Page templates are much like predefined page organizations in word processing applications. The author can select the page organization from a set of predefined templates, then add or edit content in and around the chosen page organizations. Each page template is an HTML fragment, structured in conformance with HTML standards.
Meta-data: Associate keywords with the content page to make it easy to find when searched. Duplicate key words from the content to raise the ranking of the page when those keywords are searched, enter synonyms of words in the content, or enter words that otherwise describe aspects of the content on that page such as grade level, language, or perhaps audience.
Adapted Content: To accommodate a diverse population of learners, authors can include adaptations of their original content to make it more accessible to a broad range of people. For example, include a text or audio equivalent of an image or other visual content to make the content more accessible to blind or low vision learners. Add a sign language alternative for text or audio content to better accommodate deaf learners. Or, include an audio alternative for text to accommodate people with learning of reading disabilities. When the Adapted Content tab is opened, it scans through the content of the page being edited and identifies any associated resource files and lists them as Original Resources. First select the appropriate checkbox to define the original resource type, either auditory, textual, or visual. Then click on the Add buttons in the Alternatives columns, and select files from the File Manager to add as an alternative for the original resource. Upload the files if necessary, and click Use As Alternative to associate it as an equivalent for the original resource.
Tests: Choose from the available tests you've either imported or created, to associate them with the content page.

Content Editor Tools

Use the Preview tool to open the content you are currently editing to view it before saving.
Opening the Accessibility tool will evaluate your content for compliance with various international accessibility guidelines using the AChecker Web service. Note that there is also a smaller accessibility icon in the visual editor that performs the same function.
Use the Scripts/CSS tool to add HTML content that would normally appear in the head area of an HTML document. This can include things like Javascript, styles, a reference to a stylesheet, or perhaps HTML meta-data.
Use the Paste tool to upload HTML files that you have created in an external HTML editor. These must be full HTML pages. Note that there is also a Paste from Word tool in the visual editor itself that can be used to take DOC files and convert them into ATutor content pages.
Use the File tool to open the File Manager. Upload files into the file manager that are linked into your content, then use the Insert button beside a file to insert a link to it in your content page.

Edit Content Folder

To create or edit a content folder, click on the edit icon () or add folder icon(), then simply edit a title for the folder. Keep folder titles as short as possible.

Arrange Content

While viewing content in a lesson, click on the Arrange Content icon () to move pages and folders around within that lesson. To move an item, select the radio button next to it, then use the before icon () to move the selected item before another item, use the after icon () to move an item after another item, or use the child of icon () to move an item into a folder.

Import/Export Content

All the import and export content tools can be found in one place by following the Import/Export Content icon () while viewing any page or folder in a lesson.

Export Content

In the Export section in the upper area of the screen select the portion of the lesson the export from the What to export menu. By default the entire lesson is exported.
Select the format to export, either an IMS Content Package, or an IMS Common Cartridge. The format you want to export will depend on the formats supported by the system you'll be importing the content into. Content packages include only the folders and content pages within a lesson. Common cartridges include that same content, but will also include tests and forum activities if they have been created for the content.
Choose to export the AccessForAll (AFA) adapted content with either the content package or common cartridge you export. AFA content will often include alternative formats for original content that gets presented to learners based on their personal preferences set in the system the content is imported into. For example, a blind person might chose to have text alternatives displayed instead of images, and a deaf person might choose to have sign language replace audio content.

Import Content

Use the Import Into to select the position within the existing content of a lesson to place the imported package or cartridge.
Choose to import available tests and AFA content by selecting the checkboxes by each.
Upload the zipped package or cartridge to import it. Note, that you may choose to import packages or cartridge that do not validate (vary from the standard). In some cases this is fine, but be aware that importing invalid content can create problems, such as introducing damaging files that have been included with content by malicious users, or content that is not recorded in the package or cartridge manifest may become orphaned when the content is delete, left behind as files no longer used but taking up space.
or, type the URL to a package or cartridge to import it directly from its location on the Web.

Edit Content Folder/Page

Click on the delete folder/page icon () to remove a folder and all its sub folders and pages. Click "yes" to confirm the deletion.

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Language Management

AContent can be displayed in many different languages! Through the Language Manager language packs can be selected and imported.

Managing Existing Languages

Installed languages can be edited, deleted, or exported as an AContent language pack for redistribution. When exporting a language, a download prompt will appear asking to download a zip file of the language pack.

Note that the English language (language code: eng) cannot be deleted. This is the base language pack that ensures AContent runs properly. When other languages are installed, users can disable it if they don't want AContent to be displayed in English.

Importing Languages

Language packs can be imported by retrieving the package and then importing it into AContent.

Visit AContent Language Packs to download one of the available language packs for your version.
Use the Browse... button to find the downloaded language pack.
Use the Import button to import the language.

You can contribute to the AContent community by exporting a language pack from your AContent installation, and attaching it to a message in the atutor.ca Translation Forum. Also see the Translator Documentation for further details about translating AContent.

Add/Edit Language

Adding and Editing the language properties allows users to change the following:

Language Code (2 letter ISO-639-1 language code)
Locale (two letter abritrary code to represent a variation of a language)
Character Set (should always be UTF-8)
Regular Expression (leave blank)
Language name translated
Language name in English
Status (enabled/disabled)

When "Status" is set to enabled, the language is displayed in the selector at the bottom of AContent pages, which allows users to switch to this language.

Translation

All fields are self-explanatory. Note that the language drop down box lists all the languages defined in the current installation of AContent, no regardless of the language status (enabled or disabled). If you are translating a new language for AContent, first define the language using the Language management tool's Add Language feature. If you do not have access to the Language management tools, ask your AContent administrator to add the language.

Updater

The Updater was introduce in Transformable 1.6 to allow administrators to update their systems with feature adjustments, security fixes, and other Transformable code changes in between Transformable releases. The Updater is included as a standard module with Transformable 1.6.1+, and installs as an extra module for 1.6.

The Update List: On the opening screen of the Updater will appear a list of updates available for the version of Transformable you are using, along with a description of each update. This list is retrieved from update.atutor.ca, as are the updates themselves, so you must be connected to the Internet. Updates are retrieved from update.atutor.ca by Transformable and applied as necessary.
File Permissions: In most cases you will be asked to temporarily grant write permission to the files that need to be updated or replaced, then once the update has been applied, you will be asked to change the permissions back to read only. It is important that you follow the instructions after updates have been applied, otherwise you run the risk of opening a security hole.
Types of Updates: Updates come in various forms. Some updates replace code in a file with new code. Others replace a file with a new file. Others may do both on multiple files and multiple code changes. Other updates delete files that are no longer required.
Required and Non-Required Updates: In most cases you will want to install updates in the order they appear in the update list, but not all updates are required updates. Some feature updates can be ignored if you do not need the features they would add or modify on your system. Other updates will have dependencies, requiring the administrator to install earlier updates before installing a later one. You will be prompted to install previous updates if there are dependencies.
Checks and File Backups: If you have made changes to a file the Updater wishes to change, you will be prompted to continue or not. The updater compares your local file with the same file in the Transformable code repository, and if they differ the prompt will display. In many cases the Updater can apply updates without changing the code you have modified, but if the code to be replaced was modified, the update will fail, or if the update replaces a file, your changes will be lost. In all cases the updater will create a backup of the files that were modified, identified by the filename plus the update number added as a suffix. Rename the file to its original name to restore that file back to its original state. You can list these files by clicking the view messages button next to the update listing after the update is installed. After you have confirmed that the updates were applied and are working properly, it is safe to delete the backup files, though it does not hurt to keep them around.
Private Updates: In some cases private updates can be applied by uploading a update file through the upload form below the update list. Private updates are often those used to apply changes that are not being applied to the Transformable default source code, or to apply custom features, or to share updates between users, etc. When uploading a update, be sure the update id, defined in the patch.xml file, is unique .

Creating Update

If you happen to come across a bug you can fix, or have a new feature you would like added to the Transformable public distribution, you can use Create Update to put your changes into a form that can be easily added to the Transformable public code. Or, if you have a feature you are adding to one Transformable installation that you would like to have added to another, Create Update is ideal for reproducing your feature across installations. If you are creating new features that are not going to become part of the Transformable public source code, you can build them into a update so they can be reapplied from version to version as you upgrade your Transformable system. Creating updates does require knowledge of PHP, and of SQL if you plan on creating a update that changes the Transformable database. Please refer to the appropriate documentation for information on PHP and SQL.

Transformable Update ID: The update id you give to your update must be different from all updates available for the particular version of Transformable it applies to. It is suggested you prefix your updates with a special identifier that represents the author or the authoring organization. If for example the University of Toronto is creating the update, a update ID might look like "uoft_0002."
Transformable Version to Apply: This needs to be the exact version number of the Transformable version the update applies to (e.g 1.6). including any minor version numbers (e.g 1.6.1.2) The exact version number can be found on the Administrator open screen under "Statistics and Information." In most cases when applying a update created for an older version of Transformable, the "Transformable version to Apply" will need to be adjusted. Or, this can be adjusted manually in the patch.xml file included with the source code of the update.
Description: This should be a detailed description of what the update does. Example might include "fixes problem uploading files to filemanager" for a bug fix, or "added a timer function to tests" for an added feature, or "removes registration tab" for a feature adjustment, etc. Include enough detail so those applying the update understand exactly what it will do..
SQL Statement: This optional field can be used to insert SQL commands which modify the Transformable database. It might be used to write an SQL statement to modify and existing table, such as changing a data type, or a field size, or to add or remove an field. It can also be used to insert SQL that generates a new table for a new feature created by a update, or it can be used to insert data into a table used by a feature created by the update. Any SQL can be included in this field. Be careful when running SQL, that that SQL is not going to interfere with upgrade SQL. If you are changing table structures and those same tables are being altered during an upgrade, the upgrade may fail.
Dependant Updates: It is common for later updates to require changes from earlier updates before they can be installed. If this is the case for the update you are creating, enter the update IDs into the Dependant Update ID field. Click on Add Dependent Update if additional dependencies are required. Be sure to check the updates on the opening screen of the Updater to see if the file you are modifying with your update is being modified by an update.Transformable.ca update. If they are modifying the same files, you may need to include the ID numbers for those updates in the Dependant Updates for the update your are creating.
Files: This area is where most Transformable updates are created. Click on Add File to generate a update block. A update block can include one of four actions on the file being modified, as described below. As many update blocks as required can be added to a update.
Create Update: Click on this button to build the update into a downloadable zip file. This zip file can then be uploaded in the Upload field on the main Updater screen to apply a update to a system.
Save Update: Click on this button to save the developing update to the Transformable database for future reference. Though it is not required, you should save a copy of the update in this way, so it can be retrieved and edited if necessary. Or, if a update takes more than a single sitting to build, you can save it, then retrieve it later to continue.
Cancel: Press this button to ignore the latest changes to the update, and return to My Own Updates Screen.

Template Editor

The Template Editor allows administrators to create, edit and manage AContent templates. Templates are managed through the four tabs described below:

Create Template: All new templates are started here, then advance to one of the template editors described below.
Themes: review and customize existing theme templates and styles.
Structures: review and modify existing content structures.
Pages: review and tailor layouts for presenting page content.

Creating a New Template

To create a new template, select the Create Template tab, then enter at least the required information to setup the properties for your new template. The required fields are decribed below:

Template Name: A descriptive name for the theme, which appears with its thumbnail. Keep it short.
Template Type: Select either Theme, Page, or Structure
Maintainer Name: Who is maintaining the theme?
Release Version: Set this value to a number greater than or equal to 1.0 to make the template available to use while authoring content. Set to 0.9 or less to keep the template hidden while it is being developed.
Release State: Words like Dev, Beta, Stable, Mature to describe the development state.

Click the Create button to save the properties for the new template and move on to the respective template editor to create the rest of the template. See the handbook page while using each editor for more about creating and maintaining templates.

Structure Template Editor

Use the Structure Template Editor to create and modify standard content units, made up of things like a syllabus, outline, references, content, and a quiz, for instance.

The Structure Template Editor has a toolbar across the top, a text window to the left where the template XML file is generated, and the interactive treeview to the right. Review the default structures that come with AContent, to understand how content units are assembled. And, see the toolbar buttons described below.

Toolbar

As you click and select nodes in the treeview, the toolbar buttons will change according to the selected node.

Inserts a sub folder under the currently selected node. Only available for structure or folder nodes.
Inserts a page under the currently selected node. Only available for structure and folder nodes.
Inserts a pagetemplates node under the currently selected page.
Inserts a page template node under the currently selected pagetemplates node.
Inserts a tests node under the currently selected page.
Inserts a test node under the currently tests node.
Inserts a forum under the currently selected page.
Use the Name field to set the name of the currently selected node. Names can be set for structure, folder, page, test, page template, and forum nodes.
Use the Min and Max fields to set the minimum and maximum numbers for the currently selected node. Only available for structure, folder, page, test, page template and forum nodes.
Delete the currently selected node. Deleting the top structure element will delete the whole template.
Move the currently selected node up or down .

You can easily reorder treeview nodes by dragging and dropping them within a suitable parent node. For example, you can only move a Test node under a Page node. If you know what you are doing, you can also modify the XML code in the text window and the treeview will auto update to reflect your changes.

Theme Template Editor

The Theme Template Editor allows you create and customize templates that control the look and feel of a page, a lesson, or a course. On the left is the editor, either Basic, editing through the context sensitive form, or Advanced, editing the CSS directly.

To the right is the preview panel to display a live update of the template. In basic mode you can select the elements in the preview panel on the right, to have the CSS properties of the selected element displayed in the editor panel on the left. You can set values for most basic CSS properties such as text alignment, font, background and border. More complex CSS may not be supported.

If there is a style you can not create with the editor, you may edit the CSS directly to add your own custom styles.

The Associated Images panels below the editor is where you upload and manage the images associated with the theme. See how associated images are referenced by viewing the CSS of other theme templates.

The Screenshot area allows you to either automatically generate a thumbnail, or upload one to represent the theme.

Page Template Editor

The Page Template Editor allows you to create and customize units that layout the content of a page. Page templates can be as simple or complex as you like. One page template can be used as a full page of content, or several page templates can be strung together to create a page.

There are two modes: Basic and Advanced.

In Basic mode you have a WYSIWYG editor you can use to insert some basic page elements such as paragraphs, lists, boxes, tables, and images using the buttons in the toolbar. You can also modify text alignment, change text format, and font etc.

In Advanced mode you can edit the HTML code directly. View the HTML of other page templates for examples of the element included in a page template.

At the bottom is the Screenshot panel where you can quickly generate a screenshot automatically, or upload one you have custom created.

AContent

Learning Content Management