Automate Tab


This is for more advanced users. You use the Automate tab when you want something to happen when you pull the trigger. It could be that the student is taken to the next test when s/he finished the first test. It could be that the next unit folder is unlocked when s/he finishes this test. Maybe you want to redirect the student to a website that has peaceful vibes after you've beaten the student with your test for the last hour. This is where you set those actions.

I don't use it, but here's an explanation. There are two parts. From what I can tell the "Associated Agents" (the top part of the screen) take precedence over the "Action Settings" (the lower part of the screen).

Associated Agents. The manual says that you need to go to "the course's main Agents Console." That's the Automate tab on the main menubar. When you click on that tab, you'll be in the Agents Console. Click Add New Agent and follow a template that will build the event for you. It's still pretty tough, but it's manageable. I've clicked Add New Agent and have filled in some stuff. What I want to happen is that when the student has finished a quiz, s/he will be taken to the next quiz. The trick comes at "Select content to monitor." (It's a blue link.) I've clicked that and it's open for you. The drop-down box default is Assessment, so don't let that scare you. Click on the drop-down to find what you need. On this page I'm identifying the quiz that will trigger the action.


Click on Next. Now I'm at the second step. I didn't touch anything on this page. Notice that as you're building the action, there's a summary statement at the bottom of the page for you to make sure that what you've told the template is what you want.

Click Next. Now I'm at Step 3, and this is where I set up what I want to happen. The student is taking my quiz. When s/he submits it, I want the computer to take him/her to the next quiz. That's where you have to put something in the Match Text field. This is going to make you mad, but before you start the template to build an action, you've got to go to the quiz that the student will be going to and control-click on the test (right-click on a PC) and drag down to "Copy Link Location" (Make Shortcut on a PC) and release. The location is stored in memory. Here's an example:

https://wtclass.wtamu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=C39BEC53B2BD46DBBF20DE2A7253107C

(Another way to get this number is to go to the Manage tab. Under Data Management, click on the Course Files Manager. When the next window opens, click on the _assoc folder. It's the ID number that you need to copy into memory. When you paste into the Match Text field, you won't have to erase anything.)

Restart your template. Do Step 1. Do Step 2.  When you get to Step 3, put your cursor in the Match Text field and paste your memory into that field. You have to delete everything but the last string of alpha/numerical gibberish as I did below. Click Next.


And here's Step 4. If you're satisfied with what you've done! Click Save.


And now I have an action in the Automate tab of my quiz.


You'll see that there is a Type and an Action. Below are the choices for each.

Type
One Time – Agent will run once
On View – Agent will run once a selected item is viewed by a user
On Review – Agent will run when the selected item is reviewed
On Grade – Agent will run when item is graded
On Submit – Agent will run when item is submitted
On Take – Agent will run when a quiz, survey, or assessment is taken
Enter Course – Agent runs when a user enters the course
Exit Course – Agent runs when a user exits the course
Send Course Mail – Agent will run when an email is sent
N/A – no Type applicable

Agent
Add Variable – Add the specified value to an existing variable.
Alert – Add a JavaScript pop-up message.
Announcement – Add an announcement to a user's course announcements.
Calendar – Add an event to a user's calendar.
Email (External) – Send a message to an Internet email recipient.
Go To – Redirect the user to another content item in this course or group.
Grade Assignment – Post a grade to the gradebook.
Lock – Lock content that may have been previously released.
Mail (Internal) – Send a course/group mail message to a user.
Message – Add an HTML formatted message to the page.
Milestone Completion – Mark a manually marked milestone as complete.
Redirect – Redirect the user to another Web page.
Replace Variable Text – Replaces Find text with Replace text in specified variable.
Set Variable – Sets a course environment variable.
Task – Create a personal task.
Task Completion – Mark a personal task item as complete.
Team Enroll - Enroll the user in one or more teams.
Team Unenroll - Unenroll the user in one or more teams.
Unlock - Release password-protected content to the user.

If you find that something isn't right, you have to go back to Automate tab and click on the arrow to get a drop-down menu.



The other option, which does the same thing, is the Action Settings area, which is the lower part of the Automate window. You'll need to click on Action Editor to get things going.

I clicked on New Action and I have these choices.


I clicked on "Go to" and it opened this template. I'm going to do the same thing that I did above just to show you the comparison.


I pasted in the target quiz ID. This time, the student won't be taken to the next test until the quiz is graded (but I'm using multiple choice questions for the computer to grade), but it shouldn't take too long. Criteria is hidden, but I want this action to take place if the student has a grade of 60 or higher, so I put 59 in the field. If the student fails, s/he won't be going to the next quiz.


Let's say I also want to unlock a folder when the quiz is submitted. I clicked on Action Editor, then the Unlock link. Any folder that's protected by the password "UnlockMe" will be unlocked when the quiz is viewed.


Now I have two events associated with this quiz.


Are there any questions? Seeing none, let's move on to the Assignment tab or you can go to the Index page.