Creating Resources Using LOCO

Creating resources using LOCO

What is LOCO

Learning Object Composer, or LOCO, is a software tool for the rapid creation of learning resources. LOCO can create electronic learning resources (similar to eXe or CLIPS) and online quizzes (similar to Captivate) that integrate with OLS or Moodle.

This document gives an overview of how to:

• create LOCO learning resources with OTEN or WSI themed professional branding
• create quizzes that can be integrated with the OLS or Moodle
• publish resources and quizzes in a variety of formats including html (for web, CDor SmartBoarddelivery), print and epub for AppleiBooks.

Setting up LOCO working and output folders

When setting up the folders for a LOCO project it is important that files (documents, images, etc.) are placed in a suitable locations that are common across your project. This will make it easier for everyone involved in the project.

It is also important to provide all the source files (word docs, captivate files etc) with the LOCO file when archiving so that if any updates/amendments need to be made to the attached files, the files are all in the same location.

Folder structure

The following structure is recommended:

For example:

Using LOCO

The LOCO interface

The toolbar

Move and delete elements / Text tools / Edit/Preview buttons / Help button
/ Navigationpane

Creating learning resources

To create a new resource:

Click File > New

Then select -

New single-page resource

Or

New book

Single page resources

When a new document is opened a page is created onto which all elements are attached. This page contains the title of the resource and some introductory text.

Books

A book is similar to Single Page but it allows for “chapters” to be created. Each chapter creates a left hand navigational menu item. Each page within a chapter creates a sub-menu item.

For detailed information on how to create a LOCO Book for your learning resource, watch this short how-to video “Creating a LOCO Learning Resource (Book)”

Adding content to the resource

Pages are created using blocks of content, or elements, known as items and sub-items. Much like building a Lego figure, resources are created by putting one block of content on top of another to build your resource. And just like Lego,blocks can be added or removed or edited and moved to a new location at any time.

New elements can be added by right clicking on an existing element and choosing the required item from the context menu or double clicking on an element type in the lower left hand section of the screen.Elements can then be rearranged by being moved up or down using the arrows in the toolbar or be deleted using the red button.

At ‘page’ level, the following sub-items can be added:

Each content type is described below. For detailed instructions on how to use each ‘element’ or ‘sub-item’, click on the title for each one to watch a short video.

Attach document

Word and PDF documents can be attached within the learning resource.

Note: For the LOCO export to Word, these documents need to be reattached to the finished product as appendices.

Audio

A transcript must be provided for all audio tracks. A caption and description can be added, along with an image if required. Preferred audio format is .mp3

Copyright attribution

Each media element that you add (audio, image, video) MUST have copyright attribution attached. Resources may well be returned to teaching sections for modification if copyright attributions are missing.

If you have questions about copyright direct them to RD_Archive, OTEN

Image

An image can be inserted from a local drive (resize to ‘web small’ first, using the MS Office editor). A caption and description can be added. The image can be made into a link by adding a URL to the Link field. Images can be jpg, gif or png formats.

Video

Allows a video to be embedded from YouTube, for example, or from a local drive. There is also a text field for adding a caption to the video, and print version instructions. Preferred video formats are .mp4 and .flv

For details on how to embed .mp4 or .flv files, watch the “Embedding a video” video

For details on how to embed a YouTube video, watch “Embedding a YouTube”

Question Group

Allows for single or multiple self-check questions to be inserted into the learning resource. Once a Question group is created, quiz questions will be available by right clicking on the Question group folder. You can then select the appropriate question type.

Table

Allows for the creation of simple tables within a section. More complex tables are better attached as Word or Excel documents.

Textual elements

Section

A section consists of a heading and text, with an optional icon. A section can be one word or hundreds of words.

Text

Text differs from a section in that it has one field in which to enter text. Use Text instead of Section when a heading is not required.

Copy and paste

The copy and paste function can be used for copying from MS Word, pdf, web and other document types into LOCO. However it is recommended that you copy and paste into Notepad first.

Formatting of tables and bulleted lists does not work well if copied and pasted directly into LOCO and this should be avoided.

After pasting, you may need to preview to see the results of the paste. You can then go back into edit mode to make changes.

Linking to internal files/folders

When linking to a local file (i.e. resources that you have on hand) the link in LOCO should look something like this.
Note: This can only be done when linking from text, not images. For these custom links, you will need to add the folder to the exported HTML output manually for the link to work
/ File name integrity
Be sure that there are no spaces in folder or file names.
Incorrect - Assessment information/start here.html 
Correct - Assessment_information/start_here.html 

Creating quizzes

To create a new quiz:

Click File > New

Then select New Quiz

Quizzes are created in a similar way to learning resources with each question being its own element that can be rearranged, duplicated and edited independently. There are six question types to choose from, including multiple choice, true false and matching.

For detailed information on creating a quiz, watch the short training video entitles “Creating a LOCO Quiz”

LOCO quizzes can also be imported into Moodle. To learn how to do this, watch the short training video entitled “Importing a LOCO quiz into Moodle”

Publishing

Themes

Before publishing select a visual theme for your resource.

To apply a theme, select the OTEN or WSI theme (Edit > Themes) as appropriate. The themes have been professionally designed to match OTEN and WSI branding.

Note: Only the OTEN and WSI themes have been tested for use.

Publishing steps

The publishing process for quizzes and documents is essentially the same. All resources can be published in html for OLS, web or CD delivery, to Microsoft Word format for print delivery, and to Apple iBooksepub format.

For detailed information on how to publish your LOCO resource, watch the short video “Publishing LOCO”

Notes prepared using LOCO 0.8.21Page 1 of 7

Updated: February 2016