Content: Basic

Follow these steps to upload and present course material, such as your syllabus, course readings, audio-video files, images files, or Web links.

For best results, work through these steps in order. For a general overview of Content, see Content: Overview.

Step 1: Gather and Organize Materials

Gather Materials

Gather current or create new course materials (e.g., PowerPoint slides, Word documents, scanned articles, and so on) to populate your course Content area. (See File Types for a list of compatible file formats.)

You can transfer course materials and other course components from an existing Carmen course for which you have instructor access. See Copy Course Components for more information.
When gathering materials, remember to place requests with the Library for eReserve materials. Also, arrange for streaming services or other resources such as Media Manager to store large multimedia files or deliver unsupported file types. See Working with Other Media Sources for information.
Whenever possible, optimize PowerPoint and PDF documents to conserve space, speed download times, and improve accessibility. See Content Optimization/Accessibility for instructions.

Organize Materials

Before uploading materials, plan how you will group or arrange files.

In Carmen, content is organized using modules and topics. Think of modules as file folders and topics as items in the folders. Modules act as section headings, and topics are links to content items, such as PowerPoint class slides.

Modules are like folders and topics are like content placed in the folders.

You can have several topics under a single module. You can also nest modules inside other modules. However, you must have at least one module, and topics can't exist outside a module.

Two common ways to organize Content into modules are chronological (e.g., 'Week 1', 'Week 2') or subject-based (e.g., 'The Treaty of Versailles' or 'Photosynthesis').

Step 2: Upload and Manage Files

Content files are stored in the File Manager, where they can be organized or made visible in a course at a later time.

Show me how to "Upload Content."

1. Log in to Carmen and go to your Course Home page.

2. Click on Edit Course on the right-hand side of the Navigation Bar.

3. Choose the option labeled Files.

To upload individual files:

1. Within the File Manager window, click Upload.

2. In the pop-up window, Click Browse and locate the file to upload.

3. Select the file and click Open.

4. Click Upload.

5. Your file now appears in the File Manager. To view an uploaded file, click on its name. Within the File Manager, files may be renamed, moved, deleted, or reorganized. (See Using the File Manager for information about organizing files into folders or moving, renaming, or deleting them.)

You can upload multiple files simutaneously. See "Upload Multiple Files" in Upload Files for instructions.

Step 3: Create Content Modules and Topics

Content is organized with modules and topics. Modules act as section headings, and topics are links content items, such as PowerPoint class slides.

Show me how to "Manage Content."

Course material may be set up all at once or done as the class progresses. However, before setting up your content, it is recommended that you plan a structure for your course material.

Create Module(s)

1. Log in to Carmen and go to your Course Home page.

2. Click on Content in the Navigation Bar.

3. Click Manage Content if not already highlighted.

4. In the Content Manager Window, click New Module.

5. If other modules exist, you can choose a Parent Module (i.e. folder) to nest the new module. Otherwise, choose --None-- to create a New module.

6. Enter a Title for your module, such as 'Foundations of Communication Theory'. Note, a title is required.

7. Enter a Short Title, such as 'Comm Theory', which will appear in the module's sidebar when students view content.

8. If desired, check Hide Enumeration for this module to hide the numerical/alphabetical prefixes of an outline structure.

9. If desired, click on the Restrictions tab to check Hidden, set Date/Time Restrictions, or implement special Release Conditions. Note, clicking on the Restrictions tab will automatically save information from the previous tab.

If no Set Start Date is chosen for available starting and the Module is not hidden, the module will be visible immediately once the course itself is Active. To temporarily hide a module from students, check Hidden in the Restrictions tab. To schedule availability, set available starting and available ending dates. For more information on these features, see "Edit Properties" under Manage Content.

10. If desired, click on the Comments tab to share comments regarding the module either to yourself in Personal Comments or to other instructors of the course in Shared Designer Comments. Note, clicking on the Comments tab will automatically save information from the previous tab.

11. Click Save when done. Or click Save and New to continue adding modules.

Create Topics

1. Log in to Carmen and go to your Course Home page.

2. Click on Content in the Navigation Bar.

3. Within the left column, as well as in the Content Manager window, click Manage Content if not already highlighted.

4. Click New Topic to the right of the module where you would like to place the topic.

You may also create topics in bulk. See Shortcuts for Creating Modules and Topics for information.

5. Choose the method of placing content into the new topic. There are several ways to create individual topics within a module, depending on the type of content and how you wish to interact with it:

Create New File - Uses the built-in HTML Editor to create a new file; the file will be saved and automatically linked to the File Manager.

Course File - Links a file from the File Manager to the content.

Upload a New File - Uploads a file from your computer and creates a new topic in one step; the file will be saved and linked automatically to the File Manager.

QuickLink - Provides a hyperlink to a Web page, file stored online (e.g. on the streaming server or Media Manager), or another part of your Carmen course, (e.g. Quiz or Discussion board). See Add a QuickLink for details.

See Manage Content for information on managing modules and topics that have been created.

6. After the topic is created and information placed within it, Save the topic. If you plan to create multiple similar topics under a module, such as at the start of a quarter, choosing Save and New saves the previous topic and starts the process again from Step 3.