How to use the collection composer

The connexions collection composer

The Collection Composer (formerly known as the Course Composer) allows you to create new collections or edit existing collections. Any number of modules within Connexions' Content Repository can be used to create a collection. You can perform the following tasks with the Collection Composer:

• Add and arrange elements
  • Add a module
  • Add a new subcollection (section)
  • Rearrange contents
  • Remove contents
  • Advanced editing of the collection's elements
    • Provide an alternate module title
    • Select the module version
    • Edit or add links on a module
• Edit an existing collection

Adding and arranging elements

At this point, you should have landed on the "Contents" tab of the collection composer. This is where you will add and arrange the contents of your collection. Basic instructions are provided at the top, but we will go through each editing feature in detail.

• Add subcollections
• Add modules
• Edit title

Add a module

You can add already published modules to the collection from the Content Repository. You cannot add unpublished modules from your workspaces.When adding a module, Connexions does not copy the module into your collection. The module remains in the Content Repository and Connexions inserts a reference or a pointer to the module in your collection. A module cannot be inserted into a collection more than once.

Instructions for adding a module

In our example, we first want to add a module entitled Connexions Workshop: Introduction to the top of the collection. To do this, we start by hovering the mouse over the collection's title. To the right, there is a link reading "Add modules":

Click the "Add modules" link. A pop-up appears with a search box. Enter a word, name, or text string related to the module in the search text box. Click the "Search for modules" button:

Results will appear in the same pop-up. If you don't find the module you were searching for on first attempt, you can try using a different search term, sorting the results by another parameter, adjusting the number of searches that display per page, or going to the next page of results. Once you find the module or modules you want to add, select the checkbox next to its title(s) and click "Add selected content".

The module you've selected to add to the collection will now appear below the collection's title in the composer. Remember that this only a pointer to the published module, not a copy of the module itself.