1. Available Components

There are a range of components available to add content to your space and allow interaction between course members. See the 'Constructing your space' section for some details about how to get started designing and constructing your space.

Currently the following components are available in the standard Interact release:

  1. Calendar – A calendar can be added to notify space members of important dates.

  2. Chat – Asynchronous chat for talking to others that are online.

  3. Dropbox – This is a place where users can submit assignments or other documents. They can only view their own assignments, but the lecturer/admin can view all.

  4. File – You can upload files to the system in various formats, eg. Word, PowerPoint, PDF,HTML. You can also upload a zip file and have it unzipped on the server, which means you can upload existing websites with images, etc. included.

  5. Folder – These can be used to break course content up into sections, eg. Module One, Module Two, etc. Any of the other components can be placed within a folder, including other folders. This means you can nest your components into any hierarchy you want.

  6. Forum – A forum is an area where users can interact, post comments, ask questions, reply to others and participate in group discussions.

  7. Gradebook - Used to enter list of assignments/tasks with grades. Grades can then be assigned by the admin and viewed by the users.

  8. Group – Using groups you can divide space members up into smaller groups for discussion etc. A group acts the same as a folder. You can put any of the other components in a group, but they can only be viewed by members of the group.

  9. Heading/Spacer – Headings or spacers can be added to folders or the left menu to help organise or breakup content.

  10. Journal – Gives each user a reflective journal space in which to enter thoughts, which can then be commented on by space admins, or other users.

  11. KnowledgeBase - Your own mini database. Create collections of links, faqs, files, etc. You can also create your own custom input forms for collecting data. You can choose to allow users to add their own entries, and all entries can be commented on by users.

    As a space admin you are able to add and modify/content to an existing space for which you are an administrator, but you can't add new spaces to the system, this can only be done by a server admin.

  12. Note – Used to add brief notes in folders or groups. Useful for providing structure, or describing the contents of a folder.

  13. Noticeboard – Space admins or users can add notices, which are automatically removed after a set time period. The equivalent of an online pin board.

  14. Page – You can add pages to your space by typing in text, html, or uploading existing HTML files.

  15. Quiz - You can create self marking, multichoice or true/false quizzes. The results form the quiz can be automatically submitted to the gradebook component if you wish.

  16. Sharing/Peer Review – With this component, users can upload files, add links to share with others. Other users can then add comments. This can be useful for peer reviewing work.

  17. WebLink – The weblink option enables you to provide links to other resources on the internet, or to another section of your space.