The Navigation Bar
Class and section websites have a standard navigation bar with links to the website's pages. The navigation bar is on the left side of the Stellar window.
The standard navigation bar has the following links:
Class Home - Displays the Homepage that displays descriptive information about the class and any announcements.
Materials - Displays all class documents except discussions and homework submissions.
Calendar - Displays a calendar of class events, homework assignments and due dates, and other materials added to the schedule by the instructor.
Homework - Lists all homework assignments. For assignments set up for electronic submissions, this page also lists submissions, along with grades and comments.
Forum - Provides access to the Forum discussion board.
Membership - Displays a list of the class members: students on the Official Class List, students from the Participants user group, and guests.
Staff List - Lists all faculty and teaching assistants for a class.
Search - Provides the options for searching a class website materials, assignments, etc. and the online Help for information.
Section - Lists the recitation sections, if applicable, for the class.
Website Settings - Provides links for controlling website access and content, plus options for displaying information (The Website Settings link is available for instructors only.)
- Instructors have the option of switching to a longer navigation bar that is more aligned with OpenCourseWare (OCW) navigation. Whether the website uses the standard or OCW navigation bar, instructors have the option of adding and hiding/showing links and changing link names.
You can make two levels of changes to the navigation bar:
Basic Mode - In this mode your can hide and show links and change link labels. For example, you could hide the Forum link if the class will not use the discussion board or change the Schedule link to Class Calendar.
Advanced Mode - In this mode you can make the same changes as in Basic Mode plus add links to Internet websites and to material pages on the class website. (Links to material pages list all of one type of material for the class website, such as all videos, lecture notes, or study materials.)
Another option is to switch to a navigation bar that is more closely aligned with OpenCourseWare (OCW) navigation. Basic and Advanced Mode editing are available for an Changing the Navigation Bar to OCW Categories.
Directions to Edit the Navigation Bar in Basic Mode
Use this procedure to hide or show links and edit link labels in the navigation bar. For example, you could hide the Forum link if the class will not use the discussion board or change the Homework link to Problem Sets.
Changing a link's label on the navigation bar also changes the name displayed on the corresponding page. For example, if you change the Schedule link to Class Calendar, the name displayed on the page will also be changed to Class Calendar. The only exception to this is the Homepage; regardless of the link label, the page name does not change.
- Click the Website Settings link at the bottom of the navigation bar.
- Click the Edit Navigation Bar link. The Edit Navigation Bar - Basic Mode page is displayed. Note: If the link you want to change is not listed, the link was added in Advanced Mode. Click the Advanced Mode button to modify the link.
- To hide a link, remove its checkmark in the Show column; to display a link, check its Show checkbox.
- To change a link's label, enter the new label in the Label column.
- To reset the navigation bar to the standard defaults, click the Standard button.
- Click the Submit button.
Tip: You may want to start with an OCW-style navigation bar if you plan to move the course to OCW.
Directions to Edit the Navigation Bar in Advanced Mode
Use this procedure to add links to the navigation bar; for example, links to Internet websites or to lists of types of class materials such as lecture notes, videos, and readings. You can also hide and show links and change link labels.
To make advanced edits to the navigation bar:
- Click the Website Settings link at the bottom of the navigation bar
- Click the Edit Navigation Bar link
- Click the Advanced Mode button. The Edit Navigation Bar -- Advanced Mode page is displayed.
- To hide a link, remove its checkmark in the Show column; to display a link, check its Show checkbox.
- To change a link's label, enter the new label in the Label column.
Note: Changing a link's label also changes the name displayed on the page. For example, if you change the Schedule link to Class Calendar, the name displayed on the page will also be changed to Class Calendar. The only exception to this is the Homepage; regardless of the link label, the page name does not change. - To add a link, enter its label and URL in a blank row. Also check the Show check box to display the link in the navigation bar.
See "Material Pages Links," below,To reset the navigation bar to the standard defaults, click the Standard button.
- Click the Submit button.
Material Pages Links
A materials link goes to a page that lists all the same type of class materials (such as all class videos, all lecture notes, all projects, hand so on). When adding a materials page link to the navigation bar, use the URLs in the following table:
If you plan to add several materials pages to the navigation bar, rather than enter all these URLs, it might be easier to change to the OCW navigation bar and just uncheck any page links you do not want.
Class Material |
Relative URL |
|---|---|
Syllabus |
materials/syllabus.html |
Readings |
materials/readings.html |
Lecture notes |
materials/lectures.html |
Resources |
materials/resources.html |
Study materials |
materials/studymaterials.html |
Tools |
materials/tools.html |
Exams |
materials/exams.html |
Labs |
materials/labs.html |
Projects |
materials/projects.html |
Videos |
materials/videos.html |
Audio files |
materials/audiofiles.html |
Help |
materials/help.html |
Other |
materials/other.html |
The principal difference between the standard and OCW navigation bars is how the materials are listed. In the standard navigation bar, there is one link for the Materials page. A user clicks that link to view all class materials. In the OCW bar, the different types (categories) of materials are broken out as individual links, resulting in one link to a page that lists all lecture notes, another that lists resources, another that lists readings, and so on.
The OCW navigation bar also makes it easier to convert a Stellar website to OCW. However, even if you are not converting to an OCW website, this navigation bar makes it easier for students to read through the materials list when there is a very large number of documents.
Directions to Change the Standard Navigation Bar to OpenCourseWare Categories
- Click the Website Settings link at the bottom of the navigation bar.
- Click the Edit Navigation Bar link. The Edit Navigation Bar - Basic Mode, Standard settings page is displayed.
- Click the OpenCourseWare button.
- Click the Confirm Change button to set the navigation bar to OCW categories. The Basic Mode, OpenCourseWare setting is displayed.
- (Optional) Edit the navigation bar in Editing the Navigation Bar in Basic Mode or Editing the Navigation Bar in Advanced Mode mode.
- Click the Submit button to save any changes.
Note: To go back to the standard navigation bar, repeat steps 1 and 2, then click the Standard button.
Clicking the Search link on the navigation bar displays the Search page. You can search the online Stellar Help.
A search of the Stellar help pages searches all topics in the online help.
Search the online help topics
1. Click Search on the navigation bar.
2. Enter the words or phrases to search on in the appropriate text box.
3. Click the Search button.
The results of the search of the online help are displayed in new window.