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Project Activity Editor

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Projects allow users to create robust and organized project activities. Users can automatically include a discussion, blog, wiki, journal, or add additional components. See Create Course Activities and refer to articles contained in the Editor Section of Pearson Connexus Support if you have questions on how to access or use these features.  

Selecting Project from the Add To screen displays a new window to add the Title as well as Start and End Dates for the project.  Projects by default are created as folders in the course.  Use Add To from the Editor to add activities to the project.  

With the activity editor:

  1. Use the Filter by group icon to make and/or review activity settings that apply only to specific groups (if groups have been created in the course).
  2. Preview the activity.
  3. Save changes.
  4. Depending on the type of activity you're editing, the Activity Editor can include up to four tabbed screens. Project Activities contain three screens:
    • Use the Activity screen to add/edit basic content that, information, and metadata about an activity that is visible/accessible to the students (e.g., activity titles, thumbnail images, introductory content, instructions, attachments students need to complete the activity).
    • Use the Settings screen to configure the way you want the activity to work for the students (e.g., gradebook settings, objective mastery and badge details, visibility, access).
    • The History screen only appears when changes have been made to an activity since its creation. Use it to review changes and restore previous versions of the activity's content.

Image of the activity tab highlighting the tabs and icons just listed.

Some cards in the Activity Editors are collapsed by default; to expand them, select the arrows.

The badges icon

Activity tab

Use the Activity tab to:

  1. Provide the Title.
  2. Provide a Thumbnail image to represent the activity by selecting the plus sign next to the thumbnail.
    • Recommended file type: PNG or JPG (Pearson Connexus converts all files into PNGs.)
    • Ideal size: 400px x 400px (Pearson Connexus automatically resizes images, so uploading images smaller than 400px x 400px may reduce quality.)

Image of the activity tab higlighting where to add a title and a thumbnail.

  1. Create a Landing page description for the project using the rich text editor. This content always appears at the top of the activity.

Sample of the rich text editor for the landing page displaying an added image and text for that courses' added activity.

Settings tab

Project settings

With Project settings, you can:

  1. Select the correct Grading Period for the folder if your domain has them set up.
  2. Enable Student Choice for this folder and specify:
    • The Number of required choice activities.
    • Whether you want to Allow extra choices.
    • Whether you want to Allow choices from any folder in the course.
    • Whether you want to Allow choices from  Library.
  3. Specify that the Folder is a project which allows you to provide the Project start and Project end dates.

Image of the project settings card with enable student choice for this folder, allow extra choices, and folder is a project checkboxes selected.

Gradebook settings

If you choose to make the activity Gradable, you can specify:

  1. The activity's numeric Weight in category; this number defines how much impact this activity's grade has on the final grade, relative to the other gradable activities in the same category. (Weight in category is not available in courses using Multi-Outcome Scoring.)
  2. The desired Score entry type (Points, Rubric, Percent (%), or Letter grade):
    • If you choose Rubric, select Add rubric to define it (not available for all assessments).
    • If you choose Letter grade, a field appears where you can select the desired Grade scale.
  3. The Grading category you want the activity to be a part of. Grading Categories allow you to apply different grade settings to groups of activities within the same course.
  4. The grading Period you want the activity to be a part of. Separate grading Periods allow you to divide grades by date range without building additional courses in Pearson Connexus.
  5. Whether you want the activity to be considered Extra credit.

Image of the gradebook settings card. <

In Multi-Outcome Scoring courses, Gradebook settings allows you to align activities with Scoring objectives and requires you to use Points as the Score entry. Assign the desired number of Pts possible for each objective that you want aligned.

Image of the gradebook settings card for multi-outcome scoring courses, listing grit, academic, and global citizenship options.

Objective mastery

Select Choose Objective to align the activity with one or more objectives. Objective mastery will only appear in core courses or courses that objectives have been added. 

The objective mastery card

Visibility and access

With Visibility and access settings, you can choose to:  

  1. Make the activity visible to:
    • Students, teachers and observers: This is the default setting for activities intended for students to complete.
    • Teachers and observers: This setting works well for Lesson Guide materials that observers like parents, mentors, etc. need access to. A map icon appears next to these activities in the Activities pages for teachers and observers.
    • Teachers only: This setting works well for Lesson Guide materials that only teachers need. A map icon appears next to these activities in the teacher Activities page.
  2. Check the Hide from student's table of contents and to-do list box. Note that it is still accessible with course links and bookmarks unless otherwise restricted.
  3. Check the Block access until student completes other activity box.
    • If it appears, you can check the Require passing score if gradable for mastery(optional).
    • Select Choose Activity, and select the activity or activities that you want to make access dependent on.
  4. Check the Block access until student masters objective(s) box, select Choose Objective, and select the objective(s) you want to make access dependent on. This option only appears for core courses with objective mastery.
  5. Check the Block access until a specified date box and enter the desired date and time. This option does not appear for continuous courses.
  6. Check the Student must enter a password box and enter the desired Activity password in the field. This is different from assessment-specific passwords, which must be entered each time a student attempts the assessment and are managed in the assessment Advanced options card.
    • By default, students must enter this password only once and can access the activity without entering the password thereafter.
    • Also, you can check the Require password each visit to override the default if needed.

Badges

Select Choose Badge to select one or more badges that you want automatically awarded to students who successfully complete this activity.

Learn more:

Image of the badges card

Metadata

Admins can create custom Metadata fields for activities in their domain. This content is only visible to teachers, course authors, etc. and provides further insight into an activity, such as:

  • An activity Description for course authors.
  • An idea of how this activity fits into the goal of the course or the Big Picture.
  • Essential Questions that should be answered by the activity or that students should keep in mind as they complete it.
  • Any relevant Vocabulary.
  • Associated Resources.

The metadata card displays a rich text editor for big picture and essential questions.

Some of the fields under Metadata ask for content that, if set up by your system admin, can be used to make an activity searchable in the Library. Contact your system admin to find out if there are fields in your domain that can be used this way.

Advanced gradebook options

Manage Advanced gradebook options (only appears for gradable activities), like:

  1. Whether you want to Hide returned scores until a certain date, and if so, providing the Score visibility date and time.
  2. Defining the minimum Passing score (%).
  3. Whether:
    • The assessment's Score can be dropped from calculated course score (unavailable if the activity is marked as Extra Credit in Gradebook settings).
    • To Include this activity's score in the final grade calculation.
    • To Require a passing score for course credit.
    • To Treat as zero in gradebook until this activity is scored (unavailable if the activity is marked as Extra Credit in Gradebook settings).  

Image of the advanced gradebook options with the options just listed all selected.

Advanced activity options

Manage Advanced activity options, like:

  1. Completion requirements. You can set the activity to Mark as completed when the student:
    • Views this activity for a specified time
    • Submits this activity
    • Receives any score
    • Receives a passing score
  2. If the Student must complete this activity before continuing to the next one.
  3. Changing the activity's folder Location using the dropdown menu.
  4. Giving the activity a new Activity ID in the field.

Image of the advanced activity options card.

History tab

The History tab records changes made to the activity and allows you to retrieve previous versions:

  1. Select the version you want to restore.
  2. Preview the content.
  3. Select Restore.

Image of the history tab

Pearson Connexus does not itemize changes to all settings, but does track them. Users can access them by selecting the Details link that appears at the bottom of the history table.

Additional Articles: 

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