Comparing the New Content Experience to the Classic Content Experience

• The Table of Contents sidebar is not always displayed. Clicking on a menu item from the Table of Contents sidebar opens the item in a new webpage which does not automatically display the sidebar. Further navigation can then occur inside the pages by clicking on the left and right arrows in the top right corner of the main content panel.
• The Table of Contents sidebar does not expand to display all content pages and activities within a unit; these are displayed within the main content panel to the right of the sidebar.

• The Table of Contents sidebar is always displayed. Clicking on a menu item from the Table of Contents sidebar opens the item within the main content panel on the same webpage, maintaining the display of the Table of Contents sidebar. Most navigation is done with the sidebar.
• The Table of Contents sidebar expands to display all content pages and activities within the unit.

Two possible levels of organization: Modules and Submodules. Modules can contain submodules; submodules can also be nested within each other.

Note: it is recommended that you only use Submodules when absolutely required. Navigation is easier for students if items are contained at the Module level, unless there are many items.

Three possible levels of organization: Units, Lessons and Folders. Units can contain several Lessons, and Lesson can contain several Folders.

Note: it is recommended that you only use Lessons and Folders when absolutely required. Navigation is easier for students if items are contained at the Unit level, unless there are many items.

‘Upload/Create’ and ‘Existing Activities’ buttons expand a drop-down menu with the available options.

• Create a new webpage to add your own content by clicking ‘Upload/Create’ and selecting ‘Create a File’.
• Add files from your computer by clicking ‘Upload/Create’ and then ‘Upload File’ to select it from a folder on your computer. To select from course files, use this same process.

‘Add Existing’ and ‘Create New’ buttons at the top of the main content panel open up screens with the available options displayed clearly with icons.

• Create a new webpage to add your own content by clicking ‘Create New’ and selecting ‘HTML Document’.
• Add files from your computer by clicking ‘Add Existing’ and in the box underneath the menu options and icons, either drag & drop your file or click ‘Browse’ to select it from a folder on your computer.
• To select from course files, click ‘Add Existing’ and click ‘More’ to reveal additional menu options including ‘Course File’.

• The down arrow next to the title of each module or content page provides the menu to delete the item or enable editing.
• Bulk editing can be enabled as a quicker way to edit multiple dates, information or visibility of content within a module. Click the ‘Bulk Edit’ button within the main content panel above the module items to enable this feature.

• The ellipsis in the top right corner of each unit or content page provides the menu to delete the item or enable editing.
• Bulk editing is not an option within the New Content Experience. Items must be edited individually.

Activities open in the main content panel when you click on an activity located inside a module. Instructions for an activity are visible in the module

Activities open in a new tab within their designated area (ex. the Assignments area). Activity instructions and due dates are not visible in the main content panel – must go to the activity directly to see this. While this involves an extra click, it can also avoid your content view from being cluttered by long activity instructions / descriptions. 

Start and end dates can be added to any type of content (modules, HTML documents, activities such as assignments or quizzes, etc.) from the main content panel. These can also be hidden or made visible through the drop-down menu next to each item in the main content panel.

• If an activity has a start date in the future, instructors can still add it to the Content area so that the details are visible but the activity itself is inaccessible.

Units, lessons, folders, HTML documents, external links and files can each be hidden or made visible by toggling the switch at the top left of the main content panel. Scheduled start and end dates are not an option for these types of content however.

Unlike the items above, activities (such as assignments or quizzes) can have availability windows. These can also be hidden or made visible in their designated area, accessed from the Course Tools menu

Activities that are scheduled to become available in the future can be displayed in the content view. 

Activities that have a start date in the future are hidden in the content view until available To create a placeholder, you can add a page and include a quicklink to the activity.  To  make this easy as possible

• go to Create New
• add a new HTML  document
• choose “05_Activity_Quicklink” from the drop down template menu next to the title field.

This will allow you to display information about a future activity directly within the topic before it comes available. 

Note that if the start date for your activity is in the future and you try to add it to the Content area as an activity (not using the method described above), toggling the ‘Hidden’ switch to make it visible from the main content panel will prompt you to clear the restriction dates.

• Students will see visual tracking (checkmarks) for items visited in the content modules.
• Students are able to bookmark content pages or activities.
• Opening an HTML document or file from the main content panel within a module will open it in a full-page view. In the top right corner of this screen, there is an icon of four arrows ‘expanding’ which you can click to view the content in a larger, full-screen view. Scrolling down to the end of the HTML document title will reveal ‘Download’ and ‘Print’ buttons.

• Students will not see visual tracking (checkmarks) for items visited in the content modules.
• Students will not be able to bookmark content pages or activities.
• Opening an HTML document or file from the Table of Content sidebar opens it in the main content panel. In the top right corner of this panel, there is an icon of four arrows ‘expanding’ which you can click to view the content in a larger, full-screen view. Clicking the ellipsis next to that icon will provide additional options such as opening it in a new tab or downloading the item. Once an item is downloaded, it can be printed from the user’s computer.