Resource Library Management

Overview

The Resource Library serves as a teacher’s central location for all files and links related to the teacher’s classes for the current school year. Storing all files and links in this one location ensures there is a single copy of the resource across all related sections. Teachers can attach resources from the Library to other class material such as assignments, lesson plans, and their class website without needing to re-upload the resource.

The resources, collections, and labels in a teacher’s Library remain with them across school years, so there is no need to re-upload, import, or reorganize each year.

Resource Library Organization

Resources within the Library are organized into Collections which in turn can be organized using Labels.

Collections

A group of related resources.

• Example: If a teacher instructs the courses English III and Honors English IV he/she might name the Collection in which the course resources will be housed “English III” and “English IV – Honors.”
• Example: A teacher could create a collection called “Presentations” that contain just their power point files.

New Collections can be added by clicked the  button in the Resource Library.

Labels

A subset of the collection which can represent chapters, topics, or units within the course.

• Example: In the Collection “English” the teacher may create five labels, one for each Unit of the class that will be covered during the semester.

A new Label can be added by clicking the  button from each Collection in the Resource Library.

Adding Materials to the Library

Files

Files that are 25mb or less may be added directly to the library from the Resource Library main page using the  button. This will open the file upload screen from which the teacher can specify where they would like this file to go. This same file upload screen will be used for all file uploads made anywhere in the Teacher Portal. Click the  button to upload new files. As the file is uploading, assign it to a collection/label and to display on the class website (optional).

Note: teachers cannot upload files from Google drive to their resource library.

Collection & Label

Although a file can be uploaded directly from the library’s main page, they should still be tied to a collection and label. This ensures the resource library remains organized even as files are uploaded from various places in the Teacher Portal. From the file upload screen, use the “Select a Library Collection and Label” dropdown to choose which collection and label the file applies. If a teacher clicks into one of their existing collections first and then uploads a file, the dropdown selection will only present selection options for labels within that collection.

Class Website

Teachers may also assign the file to their class website by associating it with a topic for each of their class sections. Under the “Display on Class Website (Optional)” section of the file upload screen all class sections per course are displayed. Teachers can toggle between their active, past, and future classes to assign files as necessary. The file can be associated with any topic for a class section or associated with all class sections within the course. When a file is selected to use in a topic for a class section, it will appear under the topic on the Resources tab on the class website.

This is an optional step. Files do not need to be displayed on the class website in order to be uploaded to a collection/label in the library. If, however, a teacher decides they later want to use this file, they can select it from the Resource tab on the website tab of the class using the “Select Resources” button under the correct topic.

Note: in order for a file to be assigned to a topic within the class website, topics must first be setup from the website tab on the class section in the Teacher Portal. Learn more about adding topics to class websites.

Links

The same process for uploading files applies to adding links. Teachers must assign the link to a collection and label, and may choose to display it their class website. Instead of the  button, teachers will copy and paste the link URL into the “URL” field and enter a name for the link.

Uploading Files to Class Content

Resources are not attached directly to classes, but instead are related to other content in a class such as assignments, lesson plans, and class websites. All files are attached to content directly from the content. If the file does not exist in the Library, the teacher can add it first and then attach to their content without leaving the upload window. Files also can be easily removed from content without removing it from the Library.

Attaching Resources from the Resource Library

Accessing the Resource Library from each content area (i.e. assignment, lesson plan, etc.) is slightly different, but the process for attaching resources is the same.

There are two workflows for attaching resources:

1. Attaching existing resources from the Library.
2. Attaching new resources from the computer and then from the Library.

This example demonstrates attaching files to assignments. See the specific class content sections below for more details on how to upload files to that area of the Teacher Portal.

Attaching Existing Resources	Attaching New Resources
Click on the ‘Select from Library’ button. Select the Collection from which the resource will be added. Check the box next to the desired resource. The selected file(s) will appear in the ‘Selected Resources’ bar at the top of the page. Click ‘Finish’ to complete the attachment.	Click on the ‘Select from Library’ button. Click on the  button and find the desired file on the computer. Once the file has been selected, the progress bar will indicate when the file has finished uploading. Associate the file with a Collection and Label using the “Select a Library Collection and Label” dropdown option. Click ‘Done’ to complete the File Upload. This completes the upload process for the new file into the collection and label selected and adds it to the ‘Selected Resources’ bar at the top of the page. To finalize attaching the file to the assignment, click ‘Finish.’

All files uploaded to the class content is visible in the ‘Selected Resources’ banner at the top of the upload window. If a teacher would like to remove any files as they are uploading new ones, they can hover of the file name and select the “X” that appears.

Attaching Resources to Assignments

Files can be attached to assignments on the General tab of the Assignment detail screen. Resources can be removed by hovering over the attached resource and selecting the “remove” button.

If a new assignment is being added, save the assignment first and then the ‘Select from Library’ button will appear.

Attaching Resources to Lesson Plans

Files can be attached to lesson plans on the General tab of the Lesson Plan detail screen. All resources that have been attached to a lesson plan will be listed in the Attachments section on the detail screen.

Resources can be removed by hovering over the attached resource and selecting the “remove” button.

Attaching Resources to Class Websites

New files being uploaded to the Resource Library can be immediately specified for use on a class website from the file upload window. Under the “Display on Class Website” section of the upload window, teachers can check each topic within a class that this resource applies to.

All resources attached to a class website are collected on the Resource tab of the website. The Resource tab is organized by topic with each file attached to one or more topic across class sections. Topics are shared across course sections, but resources within the topics can be class specific. Resources can be added directly from a topic by selecting it from the Resource Library or by uploading a new file. When a new file is added from the class website section, a condensed version of the file upload window appears because the class section has already been specified. All resources added to topics are available to parents and students on the class website’s public Resources tab.

Files are also attached to class websites from posts and pages:

1. Select the announcement, page, or discussion to which the resource will be added.
2. Click the ‘edit’ button.
3. Under the ‘Add to Page (or Post)’ button, select ‘Resource.’ This will open the Resource Library from which files can be attached.

Sharing Library Collections

The Resource Library supports sharing Collections with other teachers. Different editing privileges can be granted to each teacher so they can either view the Collection or be a co-owner of the Collection. When a Collection is shared, all labels and files within the Collection are shared as well.

There are two types of sharing options available for Collections: browse access and shared access.

Browse Access

Browse access to a Collection grants the user read-only access to view resources in the Collection. Granting another teacher browse access allows the teacher to see all resources within the Collection, but not add, edit, or delete any resources. If teachers wish to use the resource for their own classes, they will need to download the file and upload it to their own library.

All teachers can grant Browse Access to their Collections. When a teacher selects another teacher to grant browse access to they will be presented with a list of all teachers with whom they can share the Collection. If a teacher has granted browse access to a Collection, it will appear under the “Browse Collections” tab on the shared teacher’s Resource Library tab. Collections on this tab are organized by teacher.

To allow Browse Access to an existing Collection, click on the pencil icon to open the Collection edit window. Under the Browse Access section click on the “Select teachers…” field to choose from the list of all teachers.

Shared Access

Shared access to a Collection grants the teacher full control over the Collection. Granting another teacher shared access gives them to ability to add, edit and delete resources, and remove access from the Collection. Sharing access means the exact same Collection is being shared in each teacher’s Resource Library. All shared collections appear on the “My Library” tab, under the teacher’s personal collections.

The Share Access option is only available to co-teachers. Teachers who do not co-teach a class will not see the “Share Access” options in their libraries.

In order to share Collections with co-teachers, each teacher must have the class permission role of “Primary Teacher.” When a co-teacher selects another teacher to share access with, they will be presented with a list of only those teachers in which they share the role of primary teacher for a class. In the teacher’s “Personal Collections” list, the icon will appear in place of that to indicate the Collection is shared.

To share an existing Collection, click on the pencil icon to open the Collection edit window. Under the Shared Access click on the “Select teachers…” field to choose the co-teacher(s).