0.4 How to create a connexions lens  (Page 2/2)

The advanced settings section consists for four items:

• Don’t show the tags – appropriate for lenses that are not using tags
• Lens ID – The lens is going to be established as a URL and this allows you to decide the last part of its URL name. The instructions indicate to use all lower case letters. On names that involve more than one word, we suggest that you use a dash instead of a space. In other words, make it one continuous id name with no spaces.
• Language – Defaults to English and would be changed as appropriate
• Text for External Web Page – Above in the “Basic Information” section you might have identified a web page associated with the lens. If you did, then you may decide the exact wording that appears before that web link when the lens is created.

Remember to “Save” the lens when you have completed build it.

Adding lens contents

In order to add contents to a lens you must be logged in to your account. If you are not, don’t fret. The Connexions web site will automatically inform you that you need to login. After you have logged in the same content still shows and you can then add it your lens. Here is an example of adding content to a lens.

Remember, every account has a “My Favorites” lens and you might also have other lenses that you decide to build. In our example, we have found this item (content that is a module in the repository) on complex numbers and what to add it to the Math Materials lens.

We use tags to further focus a lens, that is to narrow the contents to items that are similar. Thus, we would want to use tags that are consistent within a lens. In the example, we used “complex-numbers” and “geometry” as tags. Note the use of a hyphenated word instead of two words.

Comments are not always added to the item as it is placed into a lens. Some lens makers comment on the quality of the materials or some special aspect of the item that would be pertinent to those using the lens.

You can add content to a lens without adding any tags or comments.

Once you click on the “Add to lens” button, the Connexions site will add the content to your lens and update the “Lenses Box”.

Changing or editing a lenses properties or contents

When you are logged into your account, you can edit any existing lens easily whenever you see the (edit) link at the end of a lenses name.

Pick the tab necessary to either change the properties of the lens or its contents.

Practice creating lenses

We suggest that you start slowly so that you can understand more fully how lenses are built and content is assigned. Perhaps it would be best to first learn how to add some content to your “My Favorites” lens. Then build a “Member List” lens (making it private) and add some content to it.

The item unique to endorsement and affiliation lenses

In addition to building “Member List” lenses, organizations have the ability to create lenses that appear in either the “Endorsement” or “Affiliation” lens area. Some organizations will choose to create only one “Endorsement” lens. Other will create more than one “Endorsement” lens, because they have a need to focus on many different parts of the repository. “Affiliation” lenses are used to show that the content from the repository has been created by them or by members of their organization.

The “Advanced Setting” has an additional item and the organization selects from the drop down box either: “Endorsement”, “Affiliation” or “List” (meaning a regular “Member List”).