Forum Getting Started: Locked Sessions

By: Ernie Ghiglione

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Hi kristian,

Locked sequences can't be modified once you have "run" them with a class.

As you well point out, you can make a copy of it and modify it. However, you need to save it under a different name.

I know, this is a bit annoying, but there's a good reason for this: when you assign a sequence to a class (in monitor), sequences get locked so all students can run thru the learning experience just as you designed it.

Imagine if you could change the first activity of a sequence once half of the students have already gone thru it. Then you'll have students with different experience in the same sequence which might be inconsistent.

However, you *can* change the content of an activity in Monitor (if you have set the activitiy to "Define in Monitor" while authoring it).

Also, if you want to preview your sequences while you are authoring it, you can use the Preview button (on the top right hand side of the screen) and that will show you the sequence just as your students will see it. You can go thru it and then do any modifications you want to best suit your design.

In the next version of LAMS (1.1), we not longer lock a sequence. Instead, when we assign a sequence to a class, we automatically copy the entire sequence and only run the class with a copy of the running sequence, leaving the original design untouch, so you can modify it as you please. However, this original design is not the one you are running with your class (that will be the running copy we created when assigning it to the class).

LAMS 1.2 or later will allow you to change running copies of a design. If and only if no student has reach the part of the sequence you want to modify. And that's to ensure that all your students go thru the same design and get the learning experience as you create it.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,

Ernie

Posted by Ernie Ghiglione

By: Robyn Philip

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Kris - as a matter of course when I am authoring I just name every sequence with a number, eg history1, history2, etc and get rid of that 'copy of copy of copy' from the file name!

Ernie - that is great news re the next versions- more control for the author.

That's one of the best features of LAMS - that you can amend and change things pretty quickly. In one of the very early classes that we ran in LAMS, the lecturer had thought she'd added an important case study as a Word file to Share Resources, but the class had already started and we found the file was not visible to students. it just hadn't attached after all. So I went off to the lecturer's office computer, added the file to LAMS from her desktop, and it was available immediately to students in a few moments - with no disruption to the class. It's always great to have a back up plan or team teach! :)

Posted by Robyn Philip

By: Kristian Besley

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A couple of good ideas both, many thanks.

I hadn't really played with the 'Define in Monitor' option, so thanks for that. Very useful.

The amendments in the future versions of LAMS sound like great improvements from a control p.o.v.

Many thanks,

Kris

P.S. Robyn: How do you add a file to LAMS? I don't get as much time to play with LAMS as I'd like to have!

Posted by Kristian Besley

By: Robyn Philip

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Dear Kris,

To learn how to add files to the Share Resources tool I suggest you go to Karen's very helpful demo of the process of adding files and websites.

http://lamsinternational.com/documents/1.0/winks/

Click on the Shared Resources link to go to the animation.

All the best,

Robyn

Posted by Robyn Philip

By: Peter Miller

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I think I've said this before but it is possible to encounter problems of an ad hoc nature where your sequence depends on external websites via Share Resources. The external website might suddenly go down or, as happened to me, fix its pages mid-class so that they can no longer be hijacked by the likes of SR. Under those circumstances LAMS is great in as much as it is easy to hack a sequence based on the previous one but offering an alternative to the dead site. However, it would be nice to be able to "teleport" the students into the new sequence from the old one with a comment as to what's changed. In a synchronous class, you can make an announcement but asynch it's more difficult (maybe there should be an announcement facility?) Of course, if you're really well-prepared, the unexpected never happens, does it

Posted by Peter Miller