The learning path tool

From ClarolineDoc

The learning path tool of Claroline allows you to create a complete sequence of learning steps or activities that your learners can follow. The main idea is that you can suggest (or force) your students to read some documents, pass exercises or follow any learning activity that you created yourself in a determined sequence (called « learning path »). For more efficiency, you can structure your learning path in "chapters" or "weeks" for example. You can also decide that a step has to be passed by the learners before starting the next one.

A learning path is composed of modules (at least one). A modules are single learning object. In Claroline 1.5 to 1.8, they can be of three different types :

• An exercise : made with the existing exercises tool of Claroline.
• A document : in this case, the document refers to a document or a link present in the documents tool of Claroline. It can be anything that you made yourself and that is browsable and uploadable as files with the documents tool.
• A SCORM content imported module : those modules are the result of importing SCORM conformant content packages. Their contents depend on what the package provider has put in it. Exercises, documents, whatever that is browsable and importable with the SCORM standard so that Claroline can use it properly Read more about SCORM here (http://www.adlnet.org).

Table of contents

1 Create a new learning path 2 The learning path list options 3 Create your own modules 3.1 Create a Claroline exercise module 3.2 Create a document module 3.3 Create a SCORM content 4 The pool of modules 4.1 Add a module of the pool in a path 5 The options of a learning path module

Create a new learning path

When logged as teacher or admin, enter in the Learning path tool. To create a new empty learning path :

• Click on the link Create a new learning path.
• Type in the name of your newly created path.

• It will then appear as a new empty learning path in the learning path list of the same page.

You can create as many learning paths as you want within the same course. Use this option for example to display different levels of difficulties to your learners, or just different kind of learning experiences that could be available in the same course. The organization of this list is up to you, as well as what you will put into the learning paths.

Note : Creating a new learning path can also be made by importing a complete SCORM package.
See : Using the SCORM standard to import a learning path

The learning path list options

There are different options available in the learning path list when browsed in admin mode.

You can modify what you wish in the introduction text the learners will see when they arrive on this page, using the pencil ( ) or simply delete it using the .

If you have more than one path, this text should explain what are the purposes of this organisation and what the learners should do with them. Here is a description of the effect of all the links present in the list of paths. Most of them should be quite intuitive if you are already familiar with the other tools of Claroline :

• Blocking (): if this icon appears for a learning path, it means that the last module of this learning path must be passed by the learner to access to the learning paths that follow in the list of this course. You can change this setting by clicking on it.
• Not blocking ( ): if this icon appears for a learning path, it means that learners do not have to complete this path to access to the path that follow in the list of learning paths of this course. You can change this setting by clicking on it.
• Delete ( ) : this command allows you to delete a learning path. If you do so, the complete sequence of modules will be deleted but not the modules in the pool (except SCORM modules). You will still be allowed to use the modules by adding them from the pool of modules.
• Visible ( ) : if this icon appears for a learning path, it means that the learning path is visible to the learners. This is just like in the Documents tool of Claroline. You can change this setting by clicking on the icon.
• Invisible ( ) : if this icon appears for a learning path, it means that the learning path is invisible to the learners. This is just like in the documents tool of Claroline. Only the teachers, tutors, and the platform admin are able to see this path. You can change this setting by clicking on the icon.
• Move path up/down in the list of learning paths to set the order in which they will appear to the learners.
• Modify ( ) : click on this icon to access the page that allows you to modify this learning path.
• Export () : click on this icon to export the learning path into the SCORM standard.
• Statistics ( ) : click on this icon to control the activity of the students on this path.

If you click directly on the name of a learning path, you will access this learning path content as if you were logged as a student. It means without the links to modify the path content.

Create your own modules

You can put different kind of modules in a learning path :

• An exercise of the Claroline course.
• A document in the documents tool of the course.
• A full list of modules stored in a zipped SCORM conformant package.

Create a Claroline exercise module

You can re-use your exercises made with the exercises tool into your learning paths.

• You must first create your exercise with the exercises tool of Claroline.
• Then, add them as module in an existing learning path. To do so, click on the link Add an exercise of the administration page of a learning path you created.

• You will then see the list of exercises of your course. Select the exercise you want to add and click on the button Add module(s). You can add several exercises at once by checking several checkboxes.

The added modules will appear in the list of modules of the learning path.

Create a document module

If you are familiar with html, flash or any web-browsable content, importing your own pages in a learning path of Claroline is very easy. Your module must consist of some browsable files (Html,Flash,...) that you must first upload on the server using the documents tool. In fact, any document that can be seen in a web-browser is acceptable. Any PDF file for example, can become a learning path module, but in this case, we assume that the learners have a pdf viewer installed on their machine, for their browser.

• Once the document is uploaded, don't forget to set it as invisible in the documents tool if you want it to be visible only in the learning path.
• Be aware that if you use several pages, you must use relative links if you want the links between your pages to work on the Claroline server.
• When all the needed files are uploaded, go back to the learning path tool in the learning path you want to modify, and click on the link Add a document.
• You will now have to define what files in the document part will be the start page of your new module. On this page, you can browse the document part and subdirectories just like in the documents tool, but you can not modify them.
• Select the document that will load for your module and click on the Add module(s) button when done. A dialog box should appear to confirm you that the module has been added to your learning path. You can normally see the module in the list of your learning path content on the learning path administration page.

If you click on its name, you will access to the page shown to the learners before launching the module. If you want to modify the module, you must click on the "Modify" icon ( ).

Note : for technical reasons, SCORM modules do not appear in the pool of modules and cannot indeed be used in another learning path.
Do not use the documents tool to upload your SCORM packages. Even if this might work, all the SCORM functionalities might not work 
properly. Use the Import a learning path link instead.

Create a SCORM content

See How do I create SCORM content?

The pool of modules

On the main page of the learning path tool, if you click on the link Pool of modules, you will access the list of modules used in the different learning paths already present in this course. You can delete any module from here. In this case, they will be automically retired from any of your learning paths that used it.

On this page, you can also rename the module title or its introduction text (Comment column). Be aware that this modification will affect all the learning paths that use those modules.

Notes : when you just created your course, only the sample exercise of the exercises tool 
and the sample document of the documents tool should appear in this list.     
Note that only the links, the documents and the exercises that have been 
at least once added as module in a learning path shall appear in this list.

Add a module of the pool in a path

When you are inside a specific learning path administration page :

• Click on Add a module of this course.
• The list you will see shows all the modules of the course that aren't in this path yet. Select the module(s) you want to add in the path.
• Click on Add module(s).

You should normally see the module(s) displayed in the list.

The options of a learning path module

Modules inside a single learning path can be manipulated almost the same way as you can manipulate the paths in the learning path list.

You can edit the title of the path using the pencil ( ) just under it. The title can not be deleted as it can not be empty.

You can modify what you wish in the introduction text the learners will see when they arrive on this page, using the pencil or simply delete it using the X. It will be the introduction text of this learning path. Here is a brieve description of each icon you see in the list of the modules of a learning path :

• Blocking (): if this icon appears for a module, it means that the module is set as « blocking » and must be passed by the learner to access to the next module(s) of the learning path. You can change this setting by clicking on the icon. The trigger to allow the learner to pass the module depends on the kind of the module :
  • In case of document module : the learner must just load at least once the module.
  • In case of Claroline exercise : the learner must get more than a minimum result (default is 50%) to pass the module. This minimum can be set in the administration page of the module.
  • In case of SCORM module : the trigger is set by the content itself depending on the implementation of the SCORM module. It is then not possible to change it.
• Not blocking ( ): if this icon appears for a module, it means that learners do not have to complete this module to access to the path that follow in the list of learning paths of this course. You can change this setting by clicking on it.
• Delete (): this command allows you to delete a module in the learning path. If you do so, the module won't be deleted from the platform as it will still be available in the pool of module (except for SCORM modules). You will still be allowed to use the modules by adding them from the pool of modules.
• Visible ( ) : if this icon appears for a module, it means that the module is visible to the learners. This is just like in the document tool of Claroline. You can change this setting by clicking on the icon.
• Invisible ( ) : if this icon appears for a module, it means that the module is invisible to the learners. This is just like in the document tool of Claroline. Only the teachers, tutors, and the platform admin are able to see this module in the path. You can change this setting by clicking on the icon.
• Move module up/down in the list of modules.
• Modify ( ) : click on this icon to access the page that allows you to modify these module settings.

If you click directly on the name of the module, you will just access the module presentation page as if you were logged as a learner. This means without the links to modify the module configuration and/or content.

See the video tutorial Create a learning path (http://www.claroline.net/dlarea/docs/videos/en/Make_a_learning_path.htm).