Activity Basics

Activity Builder Overview #

The Parascolaire “Activity Builder” is your command center for crafting engaging online activities. It empowers you to structure your content, add various media, and assess participant learning all in one place.

Features of the Activity Builder #

Within the Activity Builder, you can:

• Build a structured curriculum: Create topics and lessons to organize your activity content logically. Easily manage the order of these elements.
• Add rich content to lessons: Populate your lessons with various content types, including text, images, videos, and downloadable resources.
• Assess with quizzes and assignments: Design a variety of assessments directly within the Activity Builder, including quizzes, interactive quizzes, and assignments. Choose from various question types, configure settings, and provide personalized feedback.

Accessing the Activity Builder #

Parascolaire offers flexible ways to access the Activity Builder, allowing you to manage your activities from different areas within your WordPress environment.

Steps to Access:

1. Log in to your Parascolaire front-end dashboard at parascolaire.ma/dashboard.
2. To create a new activity, click “Create a New Activity.”
3. To edit an existing activity, hover over the activity and click “Edit.” The Activity Builder will be available on the activity editing page.

Activity Basics #

The “Activity Basics” section is where you lay the groundwork for your online activity. This is where you’ll establish key elements that shape how your activity appears and functions.

Activity Title and URL #

• Activity Title: The name of your activity. It should be clear, concise, and accurately reflect the activity content.
• Activity URL: The web address used to access your activity. It is automatically generated based on your activity title, but you can manually edit it if needed.

Activity Description #

The activity description provides a concise overview of the activity content and learning outcomes. Use this section to entice potential participants to enroll in your activity.

Formatting with the Rich Text Editor #

Parascolaire provides a rich text editor to help you format your activity description. You can:

• Structure your text: Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points.
• Add visuals: Insert images to make your description more engaging.
• Incorporate links: Include links to relevant resources.
• Adjust formatting: Use bold, italics, and underlining to emphasize key points.

Activity Settings Overview #

The Activity Settings allow you to customize key aspects of your activity, ensuring it aligns with your teaching goals and participant needs. Here is a breakdown of the available settings:

General Settings #

• Maximum Participants: Limit the number of participants who can enroll in your activity. Leaving this field at “0” sets no enrollment limit.
• Difficulty Level: Indicate the difficulty level of your activity to help participants determine if it’s the right fit for them. Choose from:
  • All Levels
  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Expert
• Public Activity: Enable this option to make your activity publicly accessible. When turned on, participants can view the activity content without creating an account.

Content Drip #

The Content Drip feature allows you to release activity content gradually over time, rather than making everything available at once.

Content Drip Types #

Parascolaire offers flexible options to control how you drip your content:

• Schedule activity content by date: Release content on specific dates, allowing you to create a predefined schedule.
• Content available after X days from enrollment: Make content available after a set number of days from the enrollment date.
• Activity content available sequentially: Unlock lessons or modules one after another, ensuring participants progress through the activity in a defined order.
• Activity content unlocked after finishing prerequisites: Make access to certain content dependent on the completion of prerequisite lessons or quizzes.

Enrollment #

The Enrollment tab allows you to control how participants can enroll in your activity. You can manage participant limits, enrollment timeframes, and control access with ease.

Enrollment Options #

• Maximum Participants: Set the maximum number of participants who can enroll in the activity. For no limit, set the value as 0 (zero).
• Enrollment Expiration: Define how many days a participant will remain enrolled in the activity after enrolling. 0 means lifetime access.
• Activity Enrollment Period: Enable this to define a start and end date for when enrollment is open. Participants will only be able to enroll during this period.
• Pause Enrollment: Check this box to stop new enrollments. Participants will not be able to enroll in the activity until it’s unchecked.

Activity Visibility #

Parascolaire offers different visibility options to control who can access your activities. This allows you to cater to various learning scenarios, whether you’re offering open enrollment, private training, or exclusive content.

Visibility Statuses #

• Public: Anyone can see and enroll in your activity. It will be listed in your activity catalog and searchable on your website.
• Password Protected: Only those with the password can access the activity. This allows you to create exclusive learning experiences for specific groups.
• Private: The activity is hidden from public view. Only enrolled participants and administrators can access it.

Scheduling Activity Publication #

The “Schedule” section controls when your activity becomes available to participants.

Scheduling Steps #

1. Click on the “Schedule” toggle to enable it.
2. Choose the desired date and time.
3. Press “ok” to finalize.

Featured Image #

The featured image is the visual representation of your activity. It’s the first thing potential participants see. This image appears on your activity catalog page, in activity listings, and on social media when your activity is shared.

Adding a Featured Image #

1. Click the “Upload Thumbnail” button to open the WordPress media library.
2. Choose an image from your media library or upload a new one.
3. Click the “Select” button to set the chosen image as your featured image. The chosen image will now appear in the “Featured Image” section.

Intro Video #

The “Intro Video” section allows you to add a video introduction to your activity. This provides a welcoming touch and allows potential participants to get a glimpse of your teaching style and activity content.

Adding an Intro Video #

You have two options for adding your video:

• Upload Video: Click the “Upload Video” button to upload an MP4 or WebM video file directly from your computer.
• Add from URL: If your video is hosted online (e.g., on YouTube or Vimeo), click “Add from URL” and paste the video link.

Pricing Model #

The “Pricing Model” section allows you to define the pricing structure for your activity.

Pricing Options #

• Free: Offer the activity free of charge.
• Paid: Set a price for the activity (currently not supported).
• Regular Price: The standard price of the activity.
• Sale Price: A discounted price for the activity.

Categories #

Using the “Categories” feature, you can assign your activity to one or more categories. This helps organize your activities within your Parascolaire site, making it easier for participants to browse and find activities that interest them.

Creating and Assigning Categories #

1. Click the “+ Add” button.
2. In the pop-up window, enter the “Category name.”
3. (Optional) Select a “Parent” category to create a hierarchical structure. This allows you to create subcategories within broader categories.
4. Click “Ok” to save the category.
5. Select the relevant categories from the list to assign them to your activity. You can assign an activity to multiple categories to increase its visibility.

Tags #

Using “Tags,” you can add relevant keywords to your activities. Think of tags as labels that help categorize and describe your activity content. They play a crucial role in improving activity discoverability within your eLearning website.

Adding Tags #

1. Start typing a tag into the “Tags” field.
2. As you type, matching tags will appear in a dropdown list.
3. Select the desired tag or create a new one by typing it in and clicking the “+ Add (tag name)” option that appears below.

Author #

The “Author” section allows you to specify the organizer responsible for the activity. This is typically the person who created the activity content and will be managing participant interactions.

Assigning an Author #

The author dropdown displays a list of registered organizers on Parascolaire. Simply select the appropriate organizer from the list to assign them to the activity.

Adding Multiple Organizers #

The “Organizers” section allows you to assign multiple organizers to an activity.

1. Start typing the organizer’s name or email address in the search bar.
2. Select them from the list.

Notebook #

The “Notebook” feature provides a convenient space to jot down ideas, draft content, and store code snippets while building your activity.

Accessing the Notebook #

• By default, the Notebook is minimized. To open the Notebook, click on the “Notebook” bar in the bottom right corner of the screen.
• You can minimize the Notebook by clicking the minimize button. To view the Notebook in full screen within the Activity Builder, click the maximize button.

Next Steps #

Once you’ve completed the “Activity Basics” section, you are ready to move on to building your activity curriculum. Click the “Next” button at the bottom of the Activity Builder to proceed to the “Curriculum” section.