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Diving Deeper

LOR: Program LORs

Digital storage space is at a premium and there are no plans to eliminate the LOR. This means that learning objects that you publish will be secure and will be available for the foreseeable future. Along with the security of the general University of Akron LOR it is possible to create program LORs. In this type of LOR, learning objects would be available to all students in a particular program, yet not the entire university community. Individual programs would be able to control access to their own resources and learning objects. A particular class could be selected to gain access or the program as a whole. For more information on this type of LOR, contact Design and Development Services.

Select this link for an overview of the LOR.

Select this link for detailed information on the LOR.

The LOR is waiting, create a program LOR today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

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Diving Deeper

LOR: Storage

Digital storage space is at a premium. When you copy your course, you make an extra copy of every item in your course, thus duplicating storage needs.  If you copy your course multiple times, you are repeatedly increasing digital storage space requirements in Springboard.
So what’s the alternative?  The Learning Object Repository (LOR) provides a place to share your learning objects as well as store them. You can publish your content into the LOR and place a link to the objects in your course.  Now, when you copy your course, you will copy only links and not data and additional storage space will be minimal.  As an added benefit, your copy will take significantly less time!
Picture from: http://www.desire2learn.com/learningrepository/overview/
Also consider that courses older than 3 years will eventually be purged to recover space on the file system. Although courses will be purged, there are no plans to eliminate the LOR. This means that learning objects that you publish will be secure and will be available for the foreseeable future.
Select this link for an overview of the LOR.
Select this link for detailed information on the LOR.
The LOR is waiting, store your learning objects today!
Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.
Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: Metadata

Metadata is essential for the ease of use of the Learning Object Repository (LOR). Metadata can make items that you post easier to find by your colleagues and vice versa. Essentially, metadata is a series of descriptive tags that are attached to learning objects that allow them to be found easily. With the LOR, you can attach metadata to your own learning objects or search for items already in the LOR with metadata.

To attach metadata to your own learning objects, you must add the metadata during the publishing process.
1. In the course you wish to upload files from, select the content tab.
2. Next to the content you wish to upload, select the publish icon ( ) on the right side of the screen.
3. Select the option to create a new object.
4. Select whether you want to hide the object.
5. Select the metadata icon () to add metadata.

6. Add your desired metadata and select save.
7. Select next.
8. Select publish
9. The object can now be accessed from the LOR and contains the added metadata.

To search the LOR using metadata:
1. Go to the course you wish to upload files to.
2. Select the content tab
3. Under manage content, select add learning object.
4. Select advanced search.
5. Add your desired metadata search criteria

6. Select search.
7. Items relating to your search terms and metadata will be displayed.

Select this link for more information on metadata.

Select this link for more information on the LOR.

LOR resources are waiting to be found, add or search with metadata today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: Linking Versus Retrieving

Accessing resources from the Learning Object Repository (LOR) is quick and easy. Items such as quizzes, presentations, lectures, etc. can be accessed and shared among colleges or just among your own courses. When accessing materials, consider carefully if you would like to link to an object or retrieve it from the LOR.

After selecting an object in the LOR that you would like to access, there are numerous choices for you to consider.

The top two choices will allow you to link to the object in different ways. The “dynamic” link will allow you to access the newest version of the file constantly, yet this may mean a change of content or appearance. A “locked” link will always take you to the file you are viewing currently, yet you may be linking to outdated material in the future.

The next three choices allow you to retrieve the object. These choices give you the benefit of actually having the file, yet the materials may be outdated in the future and require you to access the LOR to find updated materials manually.

Select this link for more information.

LOR materials are waiting, access today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: How to Update an Existing Object

Updating objects in the Learning Object Repository (LOR) is quick and easy. Items such as quizzes, presentations, lectures, etc. can be updated to ensure that the latest version is available in the LOR.

1. In the course you wish to update files from, select the content tab.
2. Next to the content you wish to update, select the publish button ( ) on the right side of the screen.

3. Select the option to overwrite an existing object.
4. Select search to search the LOR for the previous version of the file and select it.
5. Select next.

6. Select publish
7. The updated object can now be accessed from the LOR.

Select this link for more information.

Outdated LOR assets are waiting, update today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: How to Retrieve

Retrieving resources from the Learning Object Repository (LOR) is quick and easy. Items such as quizzes, presentations, lectures, etc. can be accessed and shared among colleges or just among your own courses.

  1. Go to the course you wish to upload files to.
  2. Select the content tab; Under manage content, select add learning object.
  3. In the search field, type your desired search term or terms and select search.
  4. Select an object to view the file, select retrieve object to gain access.
  5. Select how you wish to access the object. You will have options to link, import, or download the object.
  6. The object can now be accessed through the chosen method.

Select this link for more information.

LOR resources are available, retrieve today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: How to Publish

Publishing to the Learning Object Repository (LOR) is quick and easy. Items such as quizzes, presentations, lectures, etc. can now be stored and shared among colleges or just among your own courses.

1. In the course you wish to upload files from, select the content tab.
2. Next to the content you wish to upload, select the publish button ( ) on the right side of the screen.

3. Select the option to create a new object.
4. Select whether you want to hide the object.
5. Select next.

6. Select publish.
7. The object can now be accessed from the LOR.

Select this link for more information.

Cautions
* Make sure to overwrite old versions of files.
* The LOR is only for course related content.

The LOR is waiting, publish today!

Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services.

Categories
Diving Deeper

LOR: The Learning Object Repository

The Learning Object Repository or LOR allows instructors to quickly and efficiently create and share resources between courses on Springboard. This system will allow faculty to access information that they and other faculty have made available for use. Items such as quizzes, presentations, lectures, etc., can now be stored and shared among colleges or just among your own courses.

This system can save time and make content easier to manage and organize. The LOR is here to make your lives easier and your resources more accessible.
For more overview information regarding the LOR, click here.
For an in-depth look at the LOR and its features, click here.
Why not publish to the LOR today!
In future posts I will be looking at different aspects of the LOR, such as:
1. How faculty are already using the LOR.
2. How to publish to the LOR and cautions to consider.
3. How to retrieve information from the LOR.
4. How to update existing objects in the LOR.
5. Linking objects versus retrieving objects in the LOR.
6. What is Metadata and how it is helpful?
Jacob Bane
Graduate Assistant Design and Development Services
Categories
Diving Deeper

Respondus and D2L Integration Pack

Desire2Learn has announced an integration pack for Respondus which provides users with the ability to simplify the publishing of quizzes and testbanks.

Click here to read the news release.