How Do I Manage Module Meta-data?

Most of the data displayed in Delphinium components is pulled from your Canvas course. However, we can create more complex data visualizations and improve Canvas' functionality by linking some Delphinium data to Canvas data. Data that describes other data is called meta-data. Delphinium adds the following meta-data to Canvas data:

  • Module images

  • Module item tags

  • Module order (in Delphinium components)

  • Parent/child relationships between modules

This meta-data allows Delphinium to do things like:

  • Show thumbnails for modules (images in module map)

  • Track progress in assignments by specific outcomes or competencies (tags in tag tracker)

  • Display module text headers as notes in the module item modal (tags in module map)

  • Display branching paths for modules (parent/child relationships in iris module map)

More details for how Delphinium components use Module Meta-data can be found in the tutorials for those components.

Open Delphinium Settings

On the Delphinium page, in Teacher or Periscope View, click the Settings icon in the top right corner of the page

The "Settings" dialog will open.

The "Settings" dialog will open.

Click the Module Meta-data Tab

Click the Module Meta-data tab in the tab bar at the top of the Settings dialog.

The “Module Meta-data” tab will be displayed

Change the Module Order

Modules in the Module Meta-data tab are shown as an outline list. By default, all modules are listed as "level 1" in the outline in the order they appear in Canvas. You can drag modules up and down in the outline list to change their order.

Note: Changing the module order in the Module Meta-data tab will change the order they appear in Delphinium components like module map, BUT the order will not change in the Canvas Module page.

Mouse over a module bar in the module outline list to highlight it in blue and show the "move" cursor.

Drag the module bar up or down to change the module order.

Note: As you drag, a light blue "destination" box will appear under the "module bar" to show you where the "module bar" will land when you release the mouse. You can improve your accuracy as you move "module bars" by focusing on the moving the light blue "destination" box to where you want the "module bar" to land.

Make a Module the "Child" of Another Module

Parent/child relationships between modules are created by indenting modules in the module outline list. You can create as many indented levels in the outline list as you like (e.g., children, grand children, parents, and great grand parents). Components like the Iris Module Map can use the parent/child relationships to display branching module relationships.

Mouse over a module bar in the module outline list to highlight it blue and show the "move" cursor.

Drag the module bar left or right to change the parent/child relationships between modules.

Note: As you drag, a light blue "destination" box will appear under the "module bar" to show you where the "module bar" will land when you release the mouse. You can improve your accuracy as you move "module bars" by focusing on the moving the light blue "destination" box to where you want the "module bar" to land.

Note: Dragging a parent module that has children will move all the children as well.

Note: Dragging a child module to the left to create a sibling module to it's former parent can be tricky if there are other children in the former parent. You will need to drag the child module either above the former parent, or below all of the other children before the child will become a sibling.

Expand/Collapse the Module Outline List

It is sometimes convenient to expand or collapse levels in the "module outline list" to make it easier to view or move modules.

To expand or collapse an individual parent module in the module outline list, click the down chevron or right chevron.

To expand or collapse all modules in the module outline list, click Collapse all or Expand all.


Add a Canvas Module in the Module Meta-data Tab

It is sometimes convenient to add a Canvas module to your course directly from the "Module Meta-data tab", for example, when adding modules to use as tab in Module Map.

Click + Module.

The "Add new Module" popup will appear.

Add a Module name.

Click the Add Module button.

A new published module will be added at the bottom of "Module Outline List".

Note: A module will also be added at the bottom of the Canvas Modules page.

Publish/Unpublish a Module in the Module Meta-data Tab

It is sometimes convenient to publish and unpublish Canvas modules in the Delphinium "Module Meta-data" tab instead of opening the Canvas Modules page, changing the publish state, and "Refreshing the LMS Data" in Delphinium to view the changes.

Click the circle-check or circle-slash icon in right side of a module bar to change the module's publish status. A green "circle-check" icon indicates it is published, a gray "circle-slash" icon indicates it is unpublished.


Add an Image to a Module

You can add an image to modules. This image will be displayed by Delphinium components like Module Map.

Click the image icon to the right of a module bar.

The "Add an image" dialog will open.

Click Select image to open the "select a file" dialog in your computer. Select and open an image file.

The image will be displayed in "drag to crop" and "Preview" area.

Drag and resize the box in the "drag to crop" area to select the portion of the image you want to use as the module image. The selected area will be displayed in the "Preview" area.

To improve the experience for students using screen readers, add "Alt text" and click the Save Alt Text button.

Click Save Image to save your selected image as the module image.

Note: To remove a module image, return to this dialog and click Delete Image.

View a Module's Module Items in the Module Meta-data Tab

To the far right of each module bar in the module outline list is a menu icon for displaying a module's items.

Click the module item icon.

The module bar will open and display any module items for that module.

Each type of module item is indicated by a unique icon

  • Lightbulb - Canvas quiz

  • Page - Canvas page

  • Pencil - Canvas assignment

  • Conversation bubble - Canvas discussion

  • Chain link - External link

  • T's - Text header

Clicking the name of a module item will open the corresponding Canvas page in a new tab.

Publish/Unpublish a Module Item from the Module Meta-data Tab

It is sometimes convenient to publish and unpublish Canvas module items in the Delphinium "Module Meta-data" tab instead of opening the Canvas Modules page, changing the publish state, and "Refreshing the LMS Data" in Delphinium to view the changes.

Click the circle-check or circle-slash icon in right side of a module item bar to change the module's publish status. A green "circle-check" icon indicates it is published, a gray "circle-slash" icon indicates it is unpublished.

View Tags Currently Assigned to a Module Item

Delphinium allows you to add tags to module items. These tags can be used by Delphinium components to group assignments or change how module items are displayed in Delphinium.

Click the tags icon to the right of a module item bar.

The module item bar will expand and reveal the tags UI. Tags currently assigned to a module item will be listed under the "Current tags" header.

Add/Remove a Tag for a Module Item

To add a tag to a module item, click the button with its label under the "Available tags" header.

The "tag button" will move from "Available tags" to "Current tags".

To remove a tag from a module item, click the "x" next to a "tag button" under the "Current tags" area.

The "tag button" will move from "Current tags" to "Available tags".

Default Tags

Delphinium adds two default tags to every course: "Optional" and "Description".

Both default tags impact how module items are displayed in the module item modal in components like Module Map and Cafeteria-style Module Map.

When the "Description" tag is added to a Canvas text header, the text is formatted as a paragraph. This is useful for adding instructions or explanations to a module or module item.

When "Optional" is added to a module item, a text header labeled "Optional" is added to the bottom of the list of module items, and the module item is moved in the list below the "Optional" text header.

Update the Page to View Changes in Module Meta-data in Delphinium Components

Click Update Page to view how your changes to Module Meta-data settings impact Delphinium components.