NYU Classes: The Basics of Content Management
Pro Tip: Make Your Syllabus a Google Doc
You have several options for how you’d like to display your syllabus in your course site, using the Syllabus tool. As you watch the syllabus tutorial video, consider the benefits of a Google Doc syllabus. By using the “redirect” tool to point to a view-only (or comment-only) Google Doc, you and your students are always on the same page. Any updates you make to the document will be reflected in your course site and in the file that students are viewing.
Use the Lessons Tool to Present Content and "To Do" Tasks in an Organized Sequence
In online courses, it’s important to provide an organized framework, or roadmap, for students to navigate the course. Lessons empowers you to add everything that students need for the week on one “page” within your course site. Watch the lessons tutorial video to learn about our recommended structure of a “main Lessons page” with weekly (or whatever unit of time/structure makes sense for your course) “subpages.” Pro Tip: Use the “reorder trick,” highlighted at the end of the video, to save time in copying pages!
Save Time: Upload Files in Lessons
Any materials you upload to a Lesson page (or subpage) is automatically saved in Resources, following a folder structure that mimics your Lesson page titles. For example, uploading files to a page (or subpage) called "Week 1" will magically create a corresponding "Week 1" folder in the Resources tab of your course site. Save time by uploading content directly to its corresponding Lesson page/subpage.
Integrate To-Do Tasks on Lesson Pages
In addition to adding content to your Lessons, you will also want to incorporate links to student activities for the week. This might include links to assignments, discussion forum topics, and external tools. The Lessons video featured on this page covers an example of adding a Forum topic and Assignment to a Lesson subpage.
Organize Files in the Resources Tool
The resources tool is essentially a file repository for your course. It’s your choice whether you want to upload content to Resources first before creating your Lessons. This resources tutorial video offers a visual introduction to how the tool works, and shows you how to organize your uploaded content into folders for efficient navigation.