Overview of authoring modules

What is a module?

A module is the basic building block of a Connexions course, textbook, or other type of collection. You can think of it as a small knowledge chunk that addresses a single topic or a specific aspect of a topic. Every author determines the size of their module, ranging from a few paragraphs to an entire textbook chapter. To a student or reader viewing a course or collection, a module is simply a web page in the collection. Modules allow readers to follow the information path arranged by the author or instructor or to branch off and discover their own path. To an instructor putting a collection together, having topics in different modules allows easy selection and arrangement of the information. An instructor can include existing modules from other courses or other academic disciplines that are important to the presentation of the course subject.

Creating modules

You create and edit modules within one of your Work Areas . There are two ways to create modules:

1. Create a new module from scratch.
2. Create an adaptation of an existing module in the repository.

You can create a new module from the "Create New Item" dropdown in one of your work areas , or you can click the "Create a new module" link on the MyCNX home page:

After accepting the license, you will be asked to enter some basic information, or metadata, about your module before getting started. (If you haven't already selected a work area in which to work on the module, you will be asked to do so.) The basic metadata include:

• Title (required) A title for the module
• Language (required) The primary language used in the module
• Subject(s) The subject categories that apply to the module
• Keywords Terms that describe the most important topics in the module
• Summary A brief description of the module. You may markup the summary section with inline CNXML tags.

Click the Save button. The metadata entries are saved and the "Contents" tab displays with the title of the collection. This tab is where you do the actual editing of the module content.

Editing modules

Once you have opened a new or adapted module within one of your Work Areas, you will need to edit the module to add content and files (such as images). These operations are performed with the linksand buttons on the "Manage Files" screen or the "Module Status" sidebar. The recommended sequence to perform these operations in is described in this moduleand appears in the following list:

1. Edit the CNXML file.
2. Add any other files that youwant to associate with the module.
3. Edit the metadata to enter the appropriate search keywords and the module title.
4. Edit the module roles .
5. Add links to the module.
6. Preview the module in both print and on-line versions.
7. Publish the module.