Adding & Removing Sections

Sections Settings

The layout of your course homepage is alterable through the Course Administration -> Settings -> "Course Format".

The default Course Sections layout should be the following: 

• Format -> Collapsed Topics Do Not Change
• Number of Sections -> Automatically produced by the course start and end dates or 15 - see "Add Sections" for information on adding and removing sections.
• Hidden Sections -> Hidden sections are shown as not available
• Elements -> 'Topic x' / 'Week x' / 'Day x'
• Structure -> Week
• View Single Section links

Along with the Any settings from "column orientation" and down are not recommended to be changed as they will significantly alter the appearance of your course. Changes to the layout and colours can therefore be disruptive or confusing for students as they move between courses.

Hidden Sections 

• Benefits to 'not available' setting: 
  • When you have your course weeks laid out in advance you can allow students to see ahead in the class even if they can't access the actual resources, activities and assessments in future weeks.
  • Using the Section Description can help orient students to the direction of the course and any major deadline weeks. 
• Caution regarding Section Description:
• The Section Description will be visible to students - although it will appear faded. 
• Any links in the Section Description will be active
• Collapse function: You can opt to show or hide the section description when the toggle is closed. This can help produce a cleaner view of course sections if you have a lot of content in the description. This setting is found at the bottom of the Course Layout Settings list and you will find "Show the section summary when collapsed".
  • This will still be visible to students if you select "Hidden sections are shown as not available". They will just have to select the drop-down to see the content.
    

    

Elements 

• If Structure is set to Week, the default will automatically produce a heading that reads [ Month DD - Month DD ] giving the start and end dates of the given week.
• If Structure is set to Topics, the default will read [ Section # ] with the # aligning with the number of sections displayed.

Structure

This dropdown is where you can make the most significant change to your coursewide section settings. This specifies whether your course is built around a weekly format or topics-based format. It also allows you to sort your sections differently, for example - putting the current week at the top of the list.

• Week - sorts your course based on the first and last day of each week in your course, section headings default to the date structure.
  • To add non-weekly content sections at the top of the course page - such as an assignments list or a course policies drop-down - you will need to move your start date back to allow for extra dropdowns at the beginning of class that occur before the first day of classes.
  • Adding non-weekly content sections at the end of the course will not disrupt the course section behaviour.
• Topic - sorts your course based on descriptive topics, section headings default to a numbered section structure
  • The light green "Current week" highlight does not work in the Topic format - to apply this setting you will need to select the Section's edit dropdown and then "Highlight". You can only highlight one section at any time.
    

    

• Current Week/Topic first - allows your course to re-sort itself displaying the current week or topic at the top of the page.

Move/Reorder Sections

To Begin, 

1. Turn Editing On: In the menu bar at the top of your course page .
2. Close All Sections: Using the close all toggle above your sections list .

There are three methods of moving sections:

1. Drag and Drop

Left click + hold on the area of the section header that contains the text box. It should be a slightly different colour than the area which surrounds it.

Hold down and drag the section up to where you want to place it.

2. Move Up or Down One Step

To just move up one place or down one place, use the Edit Dropdown  and select Move Up or Move Down.

3. Use the "Move" System

5. Use the Edit Dropdown and select the Move option. 
6. A Move Section popup window will appear providing a full list of the course sections:
7. Move your selected section by clicking on the section you want to bump down - the moved section will nearly always* place itself above the section that you select.
• *You cannot move anything above "Welcome To" - selecting "Welcome To" will automatically place the section at the top of your section list.
• *Selecting either of the last two sections will place the moved section below the selected section.

Edit Section Name + Summary

1. Section Name

The default will be based on your overall course settings. To provide an alternate section name, you can select Custom or just start typing a section name into the field. 

You can edit the section name from the Course Homepage as well - but remember to hit [enter] to save! 

You can prevent auto-date filling in the Weekly format by selecting 'Do not show the date'. 

2. Section Summary

The section summary displays directly underneath the section dropdown and above any added activities. 

• Use this to give a description of the weekly topic
• Highlight any major due-dates in a given week
• Provide an announcement

The section summary will appear for students even if the section content is hidden from students. To hide the section summary make sure your course settings are set to completely invisible.

3. Section Restrictions

Sections can have their access restricted by activity completion, date and group.

1. Restrict by Activity Completion - you can use this to force step-by-step course completion settings. For example, Students must receive a passing grade on a prior section's quiz to access the next section's content:
   
   
   
2. Restrict by Date - you can use this to prevent students from accessing a section until a certain date has passed. You can also set this to hide content after a certain date has passed.  
   
   
3. Restrict by Group - you can use this setting to show and hide various sections to different groups in your course.

Show/Hide Restricted Content

You can select whether to reveal the hidden section (though ghosted) to students or keep it completely invisible to students until the date by selecting the 'eye' beside the restriction setting.

 Completely hidden   

Title and Description viewable but ghosted

Hide/Show Sections

toggle in the Edit Dropdown.

Add/Delete Sections

Add a Section

Turn Editing On

Navigate to the very bottom of the Course Homepage section list and locate the plus and minus signs in the bottom left corner.

The plus sign will add a new section that will appear automatically at the bottom of your section list.

WARNING: The minus sign will automatically delete the section at the bottom of your section list.

Copy a Section

If you want to duplicate the settings applied to a section, or its content, you can use the "Duplicate" function  of the Edit Dropdown.

Delete a Section

Avoid using the minus sign delete method. 

Before deleting any section, move the section to the bottom of your page and make it invisible. Re-name it "To Delete" or something similar. 

Wait a week, maybe two, maybe more. 

When you are confidently ready to delete, use the Edit Dropdown toggle and select Delete Section.