OERbit Publishing Steps

OERbit Publishing Steps = Administrative Tasks =

Logging in
Go to your OERbit site and login using a URL in the form of: http://your.site/user.

NOTE: A site administrator or content manager can give you access if you cannot login.

Managing the Workflow
OERbit is set up so that you can manage your content using a series of workflow states as you progress from building your course, through review, and finally to publishing. The available workflow states are: New/In Progress, Ready for Review, Ready for Publication, Published, and Unpublished. Here are some tips for managing workflow:


 * You do not have to progress through all the workflow steps. For example, you can jump from New/In Progress directly to Published.
 * You can also jump backwards from Published to any of the other workflow states.
 * Workflow management applies to all elements of a course or resource, including individual files (lectures, handouts, etc.), course landing pages, and department landing pages.
 * When you click "Save", whatever workflow state you have selected will take effect immediately.
 * You also have the option to schedule the workflow state change for a later date and time, by using the "Schedule" feature.
 * You can use the revision system along with the workflow to keep a current page published while you work on a new revision of that page. You can also revert to a previous version of a page.

Preparing Files for Uploading

 * 1) Acceptable file formats are: text files (.txt), Microsoft Office 1997 – 2004 formats, (.ppt, .doc, xls), Open Office (.odp, .odt, .ods), images (.jpg, .png, .gif), PDFs, and compressed archives (.zip). Several formats of data files are also acceptable, but will be have ".txt" appended at the end of the filename.
 * 2) Maximum file size is 512 MB.
 * 3) Sound and video content (.mp3, .wav, .flv, mp4, .mov, etc.) can be uploaded directly to OERbit, but can also be hosted on external sites, such as YouTube, Internet Archive, and Blip.tv and linked from or embedded in OERbit.
 * 4) Zip files may contain other zip files.
 * 5) Filenames should only use alphanumeric characters and underscores or dashes.
 * 6) Filenames should NOT include spaces or slashes.

Adding a User
Most people will simply access the site as an anonymous, unauthenticated user. They will be able to see published content and download materials. In order to give users access to the publishing process, they'll need to be added to OERbit as one of the following user types:


 * Site Administrator: this user can perform all the backend processes (the admin menu in OERbit) and can edit/publish anything within the site.
 * Content Manager: this user can edit/publish anything within the site. They can also add new users, set the user role, and block/activate users.
 * Unit Manager: this user can edit/publish anything (including resources/courses) within designated units. A site administrator or content manager sets this user's authorizes unit on the user's "Hierarchical Permissions" page.
 * Resource Manager: this user can edit/publish any content within designated resources/courses. They can also create new content in those resources/courses and delete their own content.

If you're an admin or content manager and you can add a user to OERbit:


 * 1) go to: http://your.site/admin/user/user/list and make sure the user you want to add isn't already in the system. If they're not, click on the "Add user" tab (or go here: http://your.site/admin/user/user/create).
 * 2) Add the username.
 * 3) Add an email address. It can be whatever the user wants.
 * 4) Set a password. The password is required, but it doesn't matter what's put in here. The user can change this.
 * 5) Select a role and access rights for the user. You need to decide what this user needs access to. Only site administrators and content managers can add users and make widespread changes to the site. Unit managers can make changes (and delete content) within a specified unit or sub-unit. Resource managers can make changes (and delete their own added content) within a specified course/resource.
 * 6) If your user is designated as a resource or unit manager, you need to perform some extra steps to give them access to the units, courses, or resources they will be maintaining.
 * 7) First, display the user by going to the menu bar in the upper left and selecting: User Management -&gt; Users -&gt; List.
 * 8) When the list appears, look for the user and click "Edit."
 * 9) When the user's page appears, click the "Hierarchical Permissions" tab.
 * 10) From the list that appears, click the names of the units, courses, or resources you want this user to be able to edit. Scroll to the bottom and click "Save."
 * 11) Choose whether or not you want to email the new user separately, or have Drupal send the email.

Adding an Instructor

 * 1) Under the left nav, click "Add instructor."
 * 2) In the "Name" field, add first and last name.
 * 3) Include the email address for the instructor. This will ONLY be available to authorized users - this is NOT published.
 * 4) Add a brief bio and list his/her degrees.
 * 5) Include keywords that describe the instructor's areas of expertise.
 * 6) Upload the instructor's image (if available). Optimal image size is 140x140 pixels.
 * 7) If available, include a website for the instructor. This will ONLY be available to authorized users - this is NOT published.

= Establishing a Hierarchy: Publishing Units =

Adding a Department or Academic Unit

 * 1) Under the left nav, click "Add academic unit."
 * 2) In the title field, add the title for the department or academic unit, for example "Literature, Science, and the Arts".
 * 3) In the Code/URL field, add what you want included in the URL for this department or academic unit, for example "LSA".
 * 4) In the description field, add a description for your department or unit.
 * 5) In the "Academic Unit Type" pull down field, select College, School, Department, Program, or Library.
 * 6) In the "Website" field, include a web address for the College, School, Department, Program, or Library you are adding.
 * 7) Under, "Is this a parent unit?", select "Yes" if this unit is at the highest level and you want it to appear in the left nav for the site. Select "No" if you want it to appear under another unit and use the field below to select the unit it should appear under.
 * 8) Click "Academic Unit Image". Click "Browse" next to the Image field and navigate to the image you want to use for the course or resource. In the "Image Caption" field, at the attribution and license for the image. Be sure to add the appropriate links to the original image and for the CC license.
 * 9) Under "Workflow" select where the unit should be in the publishing workflow. This is up to you or your site administrator to decide. To leave the unit unpublished to start, select "New/In Progress" and then scroll down and click "Save".

Publishing a Department/Unit Landing Page

 * 1) Display the Department/Unit landing page you want to publish. Click the "Edit" tab.
 * 2) Under "Workflow" click "Published". Scroll down and click "Save".

Adding a Resources Section to a Unit:

 * 1) Navigate to the appropriate department for the resource.
 * 2) Click "Add new Academic Unit/Department/Curriculum".
 * 3) In the "Title:" field, type "Resources". In the "Code/URL" field, type "resources".
 * 4) Under "Academic Unit Type" select "Program" from the pull down list.
 * 5) Leave "Website:" field blank
 * 6) Under "Is this a parent unit?" click "No", but make sure that your department is listed below.
 * 7) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

= Publishing Content: Courses, Resources, and everything in between =

Adding a Course or Resource

 * 1) Click "Find" and then navigate to the appropriate unit or department for the course.
 * 2) Click "Add new Course/Resource".
 * 3) Under "Content Type" select "Course" or "Resource".
 * 4) In the Title field, add the title for the course/resource. You can also include the course number (if available). For example, "SI 110 - Introduction to Information Studies". The entire title will show up in the left nav.
 * 5) In the Short Title/Course code field, add "SI 110".
 * 6) The URL field will auto-complete using the text you added in the Short Title/Course code field. For example,"si-110". You can change this to whatever you want to appear in the URL.
 * 7) If you are adding a Resource, instead of a Course, the URL field auto-completes using the text from the Title field. So, if the Title of your Resource is "Breast Cancer Detective", the URL field will say "breast-cancer-detective". Edit this if you want it shortened for the URL. Feel free to include hyphens here if you wish.
 * 8) In the description field, put in the course or resource description.
 * 9) In "keywords" put in the keywords for your course separated by commas.
 * 10) Under "Academic Unit" the name for the department should already appear. If you need to, you can change this in the future.
 * 11) Add the appropriate information for Education Level, Structure, Term and Year. The Education Level and Structure are NOT displayed on the course/resource page.
 * 12) NOTE: if you are adding a Course or Resource and do not want it associated with a particular Term or Year, perform these steps: Under the pull down for "Academic Term", select "-None-". Under the pull down for "Academic Year, select the blank.
 * 13) Click "Content Image". Click "Browse" next to the Image field and navigate to the image you want to use for the course or resource. In the "Image Caption" field, add the attribution and license for the image. Be sure to add the appropriate links to the original image and for the CC license.
 * 14) Click "Ownership." Enter the creator of the course, usually the instructor. This individual will appear as the default creator for any material that is uploaded for this course/resource. People you add under "Contributors" will end up listed as a contributors for every material you upload and add to the course.
 * 15) Click "Creative Commons License." From the pull down, select the appropriate license for the course.
 * 16) Click "Course Instructor." Start typing the instructor's name. If he/she is already in the system, the field will autocomplete with the full name. If he/she is NOT already in the system, you will be prompted to add him/her.
 * 17) Under "Workflow" select "New/In Progress" and then scroll down and click "Save".

Adding Materials to your Course
OERbit currently displays the following Material Types:


 * Lectures
 * Assignments
 * Exams
 * Labs
 * Demos
 * Data
 * Image Collection
 * Handouts
 * Case Studies
 * Supplemental Readings
 * Student Projects
 * Student Papers
 * Student Presentations
 * Group Exercises
 * Misc

This list of material types can be updated/altered with a slightly convoluted process:


 * For site administrators ONLY: Adding a Material Type 
 * In the admin menu at the top, go to Content Management &gt; Content Types &gt; Edit Material &gt; Manage Fields &gt; Material Type (*/admin/content/node-type/material/fields/field_material_type)
 * Under "Allowed values" you can add/delete/modify the list of material types.
 * Click "Save field settings" and in the admin menu go to Site Building &gt; Views &gt; List (*/admin/build/views/list). If you don't see "Views" in the menu, make sure to "Enable developer modules" under the block 'M' in the admin menu.
 * Find the "Materials" view in the views list and click "edit".
 * Click on Filters -&gt; Content: Material to make sure that any new material type is selected. Basically you want all except for Unknown to be selected. Update &amp; Save.
 * Find the "Materials Links" view in the views list and click "edit".
 * Click on Filters -&gt; Content: Material to make sure that any new material type is selected. Basically you want all except for Unknown to be selected. Update &amp; Save.

Back to adding materials to your course...


 * 1) Navigate to the materials tab in the course/resource page. To upload lectures, for example, select all the PDF lecture files and zip them. (You will upload files in other formats in another step later.) Please note that 512 MB is the maximum file size for upload to Drupal.
 * 2) Return to your course. Click the "Materials" tab. Click "Zip Upload". Click "Browse". Navigate to the lectures zip file on your desktop and click "Upload".
 * 3) You will see a list of your lecture files. The name of the course creator and appropriate license should appear on each line. Over on the far right, you will see an "edit" link next to each lecture. Click on this link.
 * 4) In the "Material Type" pull down, select "Lectures". In the "Title" field, add the title for the lecture. There are no restrictions on characters you can include in your Resource titles.
 * 5) IMPORTANT: Drupal lists the materials you add in alphabetic order. So, if you want to impose a different sequence, add something like "Week 01" or "Session 01" to the front of each file title. If you have multiple resources for an given week, you must use the "Week 01a", "Week 01b", "Week 01c" convention. (See example). Also, if adding "Sessions" to your course, and you have multiple resources (handouts, labs, etc.) to combine within that session, it is helpful to name those resources "Week 01 Handout: Looking for Social Structure" or "Week 01 Assignment: Write a Simple Program". (See example)
 * 6) Under "File:" you will see the name of the PDF file you just uploaded. If you want to upload other versions of the same file (for example, Open Office and MS Office), click "Browse" and navigate to the files on your desktop. Find the Open Office version of the lecture. Click "Upload". Repeat this process to upload the MS Office version.
 * 7) Make sure "List" is checked for each version of the file - this will make sure the file is displayed.
 * 8) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

Adding Video and Audio Materials
Sound and video content (.mp3, .wav, .flv, mp4, .mov, etc.) should be hosted on external sites, such as YouTube, Internet Archive, and Blip.tv and then added as links to your courses or resources. Drupal can handle storing these types of content, but other services might be a better solution for hosting.

Video

 * 1) Display the landing page for your course or resource. Click the "Materials" tab.
 * 2) If your video is associated with a lecture, select "Lecture" under "Material Type" (or pick another selection if appropriate).
 * 3) Under "Resource Type", select "Video".
 * 4) In the "3rd Party Video" field, enter the URL for your video.
 * 5) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

Audio

 * 1) Display the landing page for your course or resource. Click the "Materials" tab.
 * 2) If your audio is associated with a lecture, select "Lecture" under "Material Type" (or pick another selection if appropriate).
 * 3) Under "Resource Type", select "Link".
 * 4) In the "Link" field, enter the URL for your audio.
 * 5) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

Replacing Content or Deleting Individual Files
If you want to delete a file or replace it with something newer, perform the following steps.

1. Under the "Materials" tab, click "edit" for the item you want to delete or replace.

2. Scroll down to where the file name is displayed and click "Remove."

3. If you want to upload a newer version of the file, click "Browse" and then "Upload." Wait for the file to finish uploading.

4. Scroll down to the bottom of the and click "Save."

Bulk Deleting Files/Materials
If you need to delete files from a course or resource, perform the following steps.

1. Under the "Materials" tab, click the checkbox next to the item you want to delete. 2. Go up to "Bulk Actions" and select "Delete" from the pull down menu. Then click "Execute". 3. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete this row. Please note that when you delete a row, all the files associated with it will also be deleted. (If you plan to re-add the files later, you might want to highlight and copy the title now so you can paste it into the title field when you add the files again.) Click "Confirm". 4. That row, and all the files associated with it have been removed from the file system.

Please Note: When you edit a row, you'll see "Remove" listed under each filename. When you select "Remove", the record for this item will no longer be displayed in the database list. However, the file has not been deleted and is still in the system. Later, if you upload a new file with the same name as the one you "removed" using this method, the system will append a number at the end of the URL (e.g., "lecture1_0.pdf").

Adding Images to a page

 * 1) Position your cursor where you want the image to appear.
 * 2) In the "Body:" text window, click on the image icon in the tool bar.
 * 3) The "Image Properties" dialog box will appear. Click "Browse Server".
 * 4) Click "upload" in the upper left corner.
 * 5) Browse until you find the image you want to upload. Click the checkbox to "Create thumbnails". Click upload. The "Upload" indicator will keep spinning and spinning (this is a bug), even though the file has successfully uploaded. Close the "File Browser" window.
 * 6) The "Image Properties" dialog box will appear again, click "Browse Server" again.
 * 7) The "File Browser" window appears again and you should see your uploaded image file on the list. Highlight it and click "Send to CK Editor" in the upper right.
 * 8) Close the "File Browser' window. Your image should appear in the "Image Properties" dialog box.
 * 9) Complete the fields in the dialog box for alt text, image link, alignment, etc. as needed.
 * 10) Click OK.

Adding Sessions to your Course or Resource
Sessions provide another option for organizing and presenting the content and uploaded materials for your course. For example, you can use sessions to organize content by topic (see example), module (see example), or week (see example). Tip: be sure you upload your materials first (see "Adding Materials to your Course" above) before creating sessions.


 * 1) Click the "Sessions" tab on the landing page for your Course or Resource
 * 2) Click the "Add new Sessions" box.
 * 3) Add a title for your session. The sessions you add will appear in alphabetic order. So, if you want to impose a different sequence, add something like "Week 01" or "Session 01" to the front of each title.
 * 4) If you want to include a description for your session, add it to the "Body" field (you can also insert images, see "Adding Images" for instructions).
 * 5) Scroll down to the materials list. You will see all the content that you have added to the course. Put a check next to the materials you want associated with this session.
 * 6) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

Selecting Highlights for your Course or Resource

 * 1) If you want to call out some highlights for your course or resource, first click the "Highlights" tab. Then, click "Add new Highlights."
 * 2) Under "Title" add a title for the highlight, under "Body" add a description.
 * 3) Under the "Materials Reference" list, select any materials you want displayed as part of this highlight.
 * 4) Under "Workflow" click "New/In Progress". Scroll down and click "Save".

Enabling or Disabling a Zip Download for your Course or Resource
OERbit creates a zip file for easy download of all materials (lecture files, handouts, etc.) associated with a course or resource. A download icon and a "download all materials" link are displayed by default on the landing page for each course or resource. If your course or resource does not have any downloadable files associated with it, you can remove the download icon from your course landing page by performing these steps:


 * 1) With the "Overview" tab for your course or resource displayed, click "edit."
 * 2) Click "Display Options." If your course or resource does NOT have downloadable materials, set this to "No."

Publishing a Course or Resource and its Contents
When you are done building your course or resource and uploading all related materials, you need publish it in order to make it publicly available on your website. You'll use the workflow process in order to publish each item. We suggest you publish in the following order: course materials, course sessions, highlights, course landing page, department/unit landing page.

Publishing Course/Resource Materials
To publish the materials (lectures, handouts, etc.) associated with your course or resource, perform the following steps:


 * 1) Click the "Materials" tab for your course/resource.
 * 2) Click the checkbox next to the material you want to publish. Over to the right, under the "Published" column you will see the status set to "No".  Click the edit link.
 * 3) Under "Workflow" click "Published". Scroll down and click "Save".
 * 4) Back on the "Materials" tab, you will now see the status set to "Yes" under the "Published" column.

Bulk Publishing Course/Resource Materials
If you have a lot of materials to publish for your course or resource, using the process above to individually publish each item gets tedious very quickly. Luckily, there is a bulk publishing process you can use.


 * 1) Click the "Materials" tab for your course/resource.
 * 2) Click the checkbox next to "Document Title" to select all the material for a section. Repeat the process if you want to select multiple sections.
 * 3) In the "Bulk Actions" field, click the "Choose an action" pull down menu and select "Change workflow state". Click "Execute".
 * 4) Under "Target state:", use the pull down menu and select "Published". Click "Next".
 * 5) A list will appear showing all the items you want to bulk publish. Select "Confirm".
 * 6) Back on the "Materials" tab, you will now see the status set to "Yes" for all the items you bulk published under the "Published" column.

Publishing Course Sessions
If you created sessions for your course or resource, perform the following steps to publish those. (There is no bulk process for this. Each session needs to be published individually.)


 * 1) Click the "Sessions" tab for your course/resource.
 * 2) Under the blue title banner for each session, you will see "Published" with "No" next to it. Click the edit link over on the right.
 * 3) Make sure the check boxes are selected for the all the materials you want to associate with this particular session.
 * 4) Under "Workflow" click "Published". Scroll down and click "Save".

Publishing Highlights
If you created a highlight for your course or resource, you'll need to publish that tab/page separately.


 * 1) Click the "Highlights" tab for your course/resource.
 * 2) Click the "Edit" tab for the page.
 * 3) Under "Workflow" click "Published". Scroll down and click "Save".

Publishing a Course/Resource Landing Page

 * 1) Display the Course/Resource landing page you want to publish. Click the "Edit" tab.
 * 2) Under "Workflow" click "Published". Scroll down and click "Save".

= Advanced Publishing Options =

Embedding a Table within an HTML Page
To embed a table on a page, follow these actions:


 * 1) Navigate to the appropriate page in Drupal and click "edit".
 * 2) In the "body" section find the area where the table should sit.
 * 3) Click on the "Table" icon in the toolbar.
 * 4) Choose the number of rows and columns necessary. Delete the width, cell spacing, and cell padding numbers. Choose whether or not you want headers (this automatically makes those fields bold with a different background color)
 * 5) Add a summary or caption (optional).
 * 6) Click "OK".

Adding a new Page to the Site Navigation
Display the page you want to add to the site navigation


 * 1) Click on the edit tab.
 * 2) Make sure the title is the name of the page as you want to see it in the URL.
 * 3) Click on menu settings.
 * 4) Add the menu link title (should be same as or similar to page title).
 * 5) Choose the parent item (this is where you want the page to show up in the navigation - if it's a top-level page, choose &lt;Primary links&gt;).
 * 6) If you want to adjust the position of this page in the left nav, don't set the weight here, use the steps outlined in the section below.
 * 7) Click on URL path settings.
 * 8) Deselect automatic alias.
 * 9) Add the url you want to appear after your base url. for example, if you want the new page to appear under the "About" page, put in: about/newpage.
 * 10) Make sure this is published and click save.

Adjusting the position of a Page in the Left Nav
Display the section containing the page you want to adjust in the site navigation


 * 1) Hover your mouse in the left nav (upper right corner) until the words "configure" and "edit menu" appear. Click "edit menu".
 * 2) A list showing the site navigation will appear.
 * 3) Drag and drop the items until they appear in the correct order.
 * 4) Click "Save configuration".

Repositioning a Page within the Site Navigation

 * 1) Go to "Site Building" in the gray menu bar across the top. Select "Menus" and then "List menus."
 * 2) When the Menus page appears, click "Primary links".
 * 3) When the Primary links page appears, drag and drop the page you want to move into its new position.
 * 4) Click "Save configuration".

Adding Multiple Versions of a Course within the Same Department
If you are adding a newer version of a course that is already published, the newer version will become the primary version and the older version will automatically be archived. When you display the newer version of the course, the archived version will still appear in the lower left under "Previous Terms." Here are the steps for doing this:


 * 1) Begin the "Add new course" process to begin the publishing process for your new course.
 * 2) In the "Title" and "Short Title/Course Code" fields, make sure you enter the exact same names you used for the older version of the course.
 * 3) Scroll down to "Academic Year", enter the year for the new version of your course.
 * 4) When you are done building the course, click "Published" and "Save". By including the newer date on the course, this version will automatically become the published version and the older version will now appear under "Previous Terms".

Adding an Older Version of a Course within the Same Department
In some cases, you might want to add an older version of a course that is already published. Here are the steps for doing this:


 * 1) Go to the currently published version of the course, and temporarily rename it (for example, SI510-current).
 * 2) Begin the "Add new course" process to begin the publishing process for the older version of the course.
 * 3) In the "Title" and "Short Title/Course Code" fields, make sure you enter the exact same names you used for the currently published version of the course (before you temporarily renamed it).
 * 4) Scroll down to "Academic Year", enter the year for the old version of your course.
 * 5) When you are done building the course, click "Published" and "Save". By including the older date on the course, this version will automatically become the older version and will now appear under "Previous Terms".
 * 6) Go back to the newer version of the course and remove the temporary name you assigned it. Again make sure the "Title" and "Short Title/Course Code" fields include the exact same names for both versions of the course.

Adding Multiple Versions of a Course in a Department organized by Curriculum
If you are adding multiple versions of a course in a department that is organized by curriculum (for example, M1 and M2 in the Medical School) you have to perform slightly different renaming steps to have the course appear under the correct curriculum. For example, both the M1 and M2 curriculum have a Renal sequence and you'll want M1-Renal to appear under the M1 curriculum.


 * 1) Display the curriculum page under which you want your course to appear.
 * 2) Begin the "Add new course" process to begin the publishing process for your new course.
 * 3) In the "Title" and "Short Title/Course Code" fields, make sure you append "1" to the title and course code when adding the course to the M1 curriculum or "2" if it goes in the M2 curriculum (e.g, "Renal1" and "Renal2").
 * 4) Scroll down to "Academic Year", enter the year for the new version of your course.
 * 5) When you are done building the course, click "Published" and "Save". The course should appear under the correct curriculum. If there are multiple versions of the course, the newest one becomes the published version and the one with the older date will now appear under "Previous Terms".

Creating a Redirect for a Cross-listed course or resource
You must be an admin for this step. Below, course A refers to the original course. Course B refers to the redirect to Course A from the dept which cross-lists the course.


 * 1) You need to have Course A set up (e.g. PubPol 688).
 * 2) You need to create a new node/course/resource for course B. (e.g. SI 519).
 * 3) Document Course B's node number and Course A's node number.
 * 4) Go to the redirect setup page (site building &gt; URL redirects &gt; add redirect) and add a redirect from the Course B node to the Course A node. (You need admin access for this step.)
 * 5) Test both Course A and B to make sure the redirect works as expected.

Featuring a Course or Resource on the Main Page
You can feature courses or resources as highlights on your main page. To select a course to be featured there, perform these steps.


 * 1) With the "Overview" tab for your course or resource displayed, click "edit."
 * 2) Click "Display Options." Look for "Feature on Main Page" and select "Yes". Repeat for any other courses or resources you'd like to feature
 * 3) When you want to retire a main page highlight, Click "Display Options." Look for "Feature on Main Page" and select "No".

Uploading individual files that are not part of a course or resource
You can upload individual files for static pages (see open.umich.edu/connect/projects as an example


 * 1) Go to youdomain.edu/user/
 * 2) Click the File Browser tab
 * 3) Click the upload button
 * 4) Select your file
 * 5) Once upload is complete, note the file URL (e.g. /sites/default/files/images/yourfile.txt)