Introduction

Whether you are migrating a course from another platform into Texas Gateway, or developing a new course for Texas Gateway and Gateway Courses, this lesson will help you to create course components that are sized for readability, navigation, and reuse. 

Resources in Texas Gateway are the smallest content objects that can be assigned or used on their own. Resources are also the building blocks for Binders and Gateway Courses. Resources are made up of Sections.  This lesson will provide strategies for sizing and structuring your course into resources that are:

• Reusable on their own or in other courses
• Readable
• Easy to navigate in Texas Gateway and Gateway Courses viewers.

Planning, for Migrators and New Developers

Before you load your content—from another source or platform, or from your new course materials—into the Texas Gateway CMDS, take some time to map out your content’s structure and granularity. Look for places to break up your course into segments that can map to resources and/or sections in Gateway. Here are some guidelines to follow as you plan your content migration. Refer to the Quick Start Guide for a step-by-step workflow.

Think strategically about use and reuse of your content. Think about what is the smallest unit of content that can be used . . .

• On its own (outside of any course or binder), e.g. in the classroom. I should ensure that my resource is small and modular enough to be used by Teachers—for their students (if appropriate), or as a short PD activity, reference or lesson—without needing additional context or content.
• In a course or courses for which I am writing this content.
• In other contexts, for example, other courses (or binders)—my own, or those of another content developer. I should ensure that my resources are small and modular enough to be used by another content creator/editor, in a different context, without needing to be combined with other content I’m creating.

In some cases, your resource may only be valuable within the context of a binder or course. You may be using a resource more as a way to structure content for better navigation, rather than making it more granular for reuse. You can hide a resource from being searchable on its own. See What if I only want my resources to be seen in the context of a course or binder? in the CMDS Help Center.

Granularity

Look for the smallest units of your content that can be used as a stand-alone lesson, activity or instructional object on its own or in another context. These will be your course’s Resources. Anything smaller than these - segments that cannot stand alone, but are subsections of the Resources, will be Resource Sections.

Process: Map your source content to Resources and Sections. Use an outline, TOC, your content’s heads, themes and segments, etc. As you evaluate each segment of your content to determine if it should be a Resource, or a Section of a Resource, check for these elements: context, autonomy, audience, length and scope. Use the following activity to learn more about each element. 

A Right-Sized Resource

The resource Absolute Value Inequalities is sized to deliver a complete lesson at a digestible length. Absolute Value Inequalities contains 3 sections:

• A short introduction with a problem statement (as in this case, the section can be titled something other than "Introduction"; the opening section of Absolute Value Inequalities is titled "How Far Away?", for the problem example that it introduces.) 
• An explanation of how to solve absolute value inequalities, with an interactive activity
• A practice section with its own interactive activity.

The practice section could be further broken out as as resource. However, it is an important component of the parent resource and relies on the explanation section for complete instruction, so the practice works best as a section. The Absolute Value Inequalities resource is sized appropriately for use on its own for instruction, and for inclusion in binders and courses on absolute value and related concepts. The following figure shows this resource, with its 3 sections.

A right-sized, modular resource. Source: Absolute Value Inequalities, Resource ID: MATH_ALGII_ABSVAL

Breaking Up a Long Resource: an Example

Responsibility of Instruction is a Resource made up of sections that—with minor modifications—could each stand on their own as resources.

Responsibility of Instruction is a lengthy resource that would be more effective as multiple smaller resources. It is already made up of 11 well-defined sections (listed below). This resource could easily be broken up into multiple resources by converting each existing section into a resource.

SECTIONS: Each (except Introduction) could be a Resource

• Introduction
• Field Investigations and Experiences
• Lab Room Tour
• Fire Safety
• Safety Shower and Eye/Face Wash
• First Aid Kit
• Fume Hood
• Chemical Labels
• Animals in the Science Classroom
• Classroom Responsibilities
• Creating a Safety Plan

Source: Responsibility of Instruction, Resource ID: R4SCI0075

Except for the Introduction, each section could exist as a standalone resource because it addresses a separate topic in classroom safety. Each section could be used independent of the parent topic. As a whole, the sections do fit well within the context of the parent resource, which acts as a cohesive mini-course. This contextual flow could still be achieved by converting the sections to resources, and combining them in a binder or a course. The Introduction would be an added component of the binder or course.

For example, The Fire Safety section of this resource—if converted to a resource on its own—could be used in classrooms independently of other content. Segments such as paragraphs that appear under a head—for example, Electrical Wires and Fire Blanket—could be sections within the resource.

The following figure illustrates how one of the sections of Responsibility of Instruction could be converted to a resource, with its own sections. 

Right-sizing migrated content. Break up longer content into smaller resources that can be used on their own. Break up logical segments, like paragraphs under a heading, into Sections. Source: Responsibility of Instruction, Resource ID: R4SCI0075

As resources, the individual sections of Responsibility of Instruction would have the added advantage of being available to Gateway content developers and instructors for use in other contexts. As resources instead of sections, they can be added to other binders or courses. Single, smaller resources can also be used as targeted student or PD lessons.

For example, as a resource, Fire Safety could be combined with other resources on safety, fire fighting or prevention, physics, chemistry, etc. Depending on the language level and focus, it could be tagged as a student-facing instructional object. As a section, on the other hand, the Fire Safety topic is forever ‘locked’ into its parent resource, and cannot be used in any other context. It cannot be used in a binder or course, without the rest of the parent resource. Because the parent Responsibility of Instruction resource is tagged only for an audience of teachers, the Fire Safety content will not appear when users are searching for student content.

As a resource, the Fire Safety content could be further broken into sections. Sectioning the resource improves navigation for the user when browsing the resource in the Gateway, or when viewing it in a Gateway Course.

Here is how the existing Fire Safety section of the Responsibility of Instruction resource could be restructured into a resource with its own sections:

Resource Title: Fire Safety

Sections:

1. Electrical Wires
2. Fire Blanket
3. Fire Extinguisher
4. Video

Content Integrity

Now that you have identified your content’s granularity by mapping it into resources and sections, take some time to scan through the text to look for language and structural elements that may need to be modified.

If you imported your text from another course platform or system into Texas Gateways, there may be references to navigation or structure that are no longer relevant or accurate. If you broke up a longer course into autonomous resources, you may be able to add introductions, summaries, assessments, or other components to each resource that will add context and improve comprehension. 

For either migrated or new content, be aware of directional references in text that may not be accurate when viewed in another platform. The following image depicts an image with a textual reference, as viewed in Texas Gateway content viewer. What directional reference appears in this example? What is wrong with this, and how could it be rewritten or otherwise changed?

Source: Safety in the Lab, Resource ID:SM0L1, Safety Information section

The following chart lists common things to look for: navigational references, introductory and summary paragraphs, and activities or assessments.

The following image illustrates a Lesson Review section that could be repurposed as a resource to make it available for other courses or binders on Lab Safety, or as part of a diagnostic assessment.

Source: Safety in the Lab, Resource ID:SM0L1, Lesson Review section