Within the ‘Library’ tab, a drop-down menu will be available for Modules, Documents and News Articles. This is where you would maintain and create modules, documents and news articles. Follow this link for more information about Surveys.
Modules
An existing list of modules currently available, including their current status, will be displayed.
Under ‘Status’, the following will be displayed:
Available: Can be allocated / distributed.
Restricted: Only available to existing allocated users.
Disabled: The module is switched off for both users who have already been allocated the module and it cannot be distributed.
The following functionality may not be enabled for your organisation. Please contact Sponge Support.
Creating a New Module
Click on ‘Create new module’
Add the name and description of the module as well as a tag is desired:
Click on ‘Choose file’ and use the file browser to locate the appropriate zip file. It will automatically determine if the format is Tin Can or SCORM.
Size
Sponge Learning creates full-screen (responsive) modules that adjust to the size of the screen. If you wish to upload a module from a different source, it is likely that it will have fixed dimensions. If so please select the ‘Size’ drop-down menu and enter the appropriate dimensions.
Status
Choose the status for the module, as per the descriptions earlier.
Modules can also be limited to certain Organisational Units or placed within certain Folders.
Click on ‘Create module’.
Your module will then upload and this may take some time, please be patient.
Once uploaded, the system will process the uploaded file and will display a green bar when complete
Note. The uploaded does not include a tile graphic for the module and this must be added manually.
Adding a Tile Graphic
Tile graphics appear in the ‘My own training’ screen which is a library of all your modules, documents and news articles.
Select the module you wish to add a tile graphic to and select ‘Edit module’.
The image you have sourced should be 4:3 aspect ratio and at least 640×480px in size.
Select ‘Choose file’ from within the 'Backdrop' section and click 'Save Changes'.
You only need one version in colour, the system will generate a desaturated version.
Modules - editing / creating a new version
When clicking on the module name, a breakdown of the users’ progress will be displayed, i.e. Pending, In Progress, Passed, Failed and Overdue. If a due date has been set for a user and if they are overdue, it will display the overdue period in red.
‘Edit module’ will not be available to anyone who does not have permission to edit modules. If you do have permission and wish to make changes, click on ‘Edit module’.
If the button is not present, it is not enabled for your account. Contact Sponge Support.
Details
You can edit the name, description, associated tags and tile image for the module.
Variant
Each variant (different version, i.e. offline/different language etc.) of the course, will be displayed in its own tab.
If you wish to create a new variant, click on the + and follow the process for uploading a new version.
Note: The name of the module is made up of the 'base name' + 'variant name', unless these are the same at which point it will use 'name'.
Certificate
If you have certificates loaded onto your LMS, you are able to select which certificate that you would like to distribute on successful completion of the module, then it must be selected here.
The certificate must first be created, to find out more, please refer to 'Settings - Certificates'
Within the ‘Variant’ tab, you will be able to click on ‘Releases’, allowing you to view the history of updates to the module.
If the version is a Presentation (offline module), you will find extra fields:
With Presentations/Offline modules, historic versions don’t expire immediately. If you wish to stop a version from being used you need to tick ‘Obsolete’.
Once a module version has been marked as obsolete, users will be locked out and no longer able to run that offline version. Provided a new version has been created, as soon as the user tries to access the obsolete version, they will receive a warning that a new version is available for download.
Module Download
You now have the ability to download a module within the "Releases" tab within a module variant.
You have the ability to download each release by clicking on the corresponding "Download" button. In the pop-up screen that will appear, please select "Download" and wait for the confirmation that the file is ready to download before proceeding.
Please note that the module you will download is not the same file that has been uploaded. This functionality only allows for downloading a module based on it's state within Spark.
Documents
As well as delivering training modules, Spark is also a communication platform whereby documents can be uploaded and distributed to users. Just like the training modules, you can view who has received the documents and who has read them or not.
Click on ‘Documents’.
File
Choose the document file you wish to upload.
Name
Give the document a name. This will be displayed on the trainee’s dashboard.
Description
Add a brief description, i.e. what is the document about?
Status
As per module statuses, see earlier.
Tag
If you want to issue the document based upon a tag, you can add the tag.
Once you have created the document, you will be able to locate it within the list on the main ‘Documents’ tab.
Documents - uploading a new version
On the ‘Documents’ main tab, click on the document you wish to edit. Within this, click on ‘Edit document’, found at the top right-hand corner.
The basic Document information will be displayed, including the name of the document, the description that was given to this document when it was originally uploaded and the chosen status and tags.
You are able to update any of the basic information if you wish to do so.
The version history will display what versions of this document have already been uploaded and when they were uploaded.
To upload a new version of the document, click on ‘Choose file’.
News Articles
News articles are another great way to communicate with your team and keep them informed.
Click on ‘News articles’.
Click on ‘Create new article’.
Fill in the basic details of your news article:
Headline
Add the Headline / Subject of the news article.
Publication Date
Add the date the news article is to be published. (It will not be displayed until this date/time).
Body
Add the content of the news article. You will be able to edit text, and has some of the same features as Word such as bold/italic, bullet points, etc.
Tag
You can add any tags required here.
Click ‘Create article’.
Note: As with modules, documents and news articles still require to be allocated to users before notification emails are sent letting the user know the items are displayed in Spark.