Quick start guide to the Sesame Platform:

Registration

If you have not already done so you need to register at the site at Once you are registered you can login (using the ‘Log in’ button in the bottom right hand corner of the site) and upload content and links.

Editing your course details

Your course has been set up using the default information available from Infosys and an image suitable for the subject that is licensed for reuse. If you want to update this information you can use the ‘Edit’ button that should appear just under your course title once you are logged in. In particular you may want to:

  • Add your name as course tutor (if you are not already registered on the site when we set up the course we are unable to do this in the first instance)
  • Attach some existing resources in the system to your course (see the guidance below on using material already in the site).

Using material already in the site

Now that has over 1200 resources you may well find material already in the site that you want to attach to your new course. This may be because you have previously uploaded something for a similar course, or because someone else has contributed a resource or link that you think would be of use to your students. If you have not yet done so, do explore other resources in the site, using keywords or subjects can be a useful short cut to discovering valuable materials. To add an existing resource to your site:

  • Go to your course and click the ‘Edit’ button that should appear just under your course title once you are logged in
  • Scroll down to the resources section and in the bottom block start typing the name of the resource you want to link to inside the box, and then select from options that appear
  • If you want to add more than one resource use the ‘Add another item’ button to do so
  • When you have added all the resources you want to associate with your course click the ‘Save’ button

You should now find these resources appearing in your course screen.

How to add content

  • To add content into the system use the ‘Add content’ button in the top right hand corner of the site, under the search box (note that this will only appear when you are logged in).
  • Be sure that you are happy that this material is suitable to be released (if you are not sure do revisit our guidance on the Weekly Class Tutor News and Resources site).
  • Once you have done this, choose the type of content you would like to add, Audio for sound files, Document for word files, PDFs, PowerPoints or other documents, Image collection for any images, Link for any links to websites or Video to add a video.
  • In every case you will need to provide a title and description. Remember to make sure it will make sense to someone who is not necessarily studying your course, and, if using a generic title such as ‘reading list’, add the name of your course to distinguish it from other reading lists on the site.
  • You will then need to upload the file. This works in a similar manner to adding an attachment to an email (unless you are adding a link, in which case paste in the url).
  • You can then attach the resource to your course using the ‘Course’ box. Start typing inside the box and select from options that appear or click the down arrow to select the course from the full list of courses.
  • To let people know you have created the resource, add your name in the ‘People’ box. As with the ‘Course’ box, start typing inside the box and select from options that appear, or click the down arrow to select the course from the full list of courses. Note that you do not need to do this when you upload a link.
  • You next need to indicate what subject this resource comes under. Do this by starting to type the subject in the box, then select from options that appear. To add another subject, enter a comma and a space after the first subject and repeat the process.
  • You can then also add keywords associated with this resource. To do so start typing inside the box and select from options that appear. To create a new keyword type it in and click return. Selected keywords appear above the box. Repeat the process to select further keywords. To remove a keyword, click on the red cross next to it.
  • Next click the tick box to agree to the copyright licensing terms. Note that you do not need to do this when you upload a link.
  • Finally click the ‘Save’ button.

Your uploaded content will not immediately appear until it has been released by a member of Continuing Education staff. This should usually be within 24 hours Monday to Friday. Once this has been done, you can change your resource at any time by clicking the ‘Edit’ button under the title.

Available training

Please note that training and guidance is available in the Weekly Class Tutor News and Resourcessite in the Sesame block. These resources will be updated in the next few weeks, so do check back to see the latest information.

This work by the Sesame Project is licensed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Licence.