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Editor Navigation Side-Bar, Presentation (Slides) View and Lesson Blocks

Build and edit formatives more quickly by utilizing the navigation side-bar on formative editor pages!

Neta Raz Studnitski avatar
Written by Neta Raz Studnitski
Updated over a week ago

What is this?

The Editor Navigation Side-Bar is a way to navigate to specific sections of your formative to complete quick actions. It allows teachers the ability to swiftly build and edit their formatives on the go. From this Editor Navigation Bar teachers can also switch between the regular view to a Presentation view (early access feature) displaying the formative as a Slides deck. Continue reading for full details and step-by-step instructions!

Accessing the Navigation Side-Bar

The Navigation Side-Bar is located on the left side of the formative editor page. Locate the Side-Bar tab icon at the top left corner of the activity and click it once to expand the Side-Bar panel. To collapse the Side-Bar, click on the tab icon again.

Using the Navigation Side-Bar

The Navigation Side-Bar allows teachers the following actions:

  1. Click to navigate to a specific existing item on the formative

  2. Add a new item

  3. Move items

  4. Select existing item(s) to copy

  5. Select existing item(s) to delete

Navigate to an Existing Item

Simply click on the desired item within the Navigation Side-Bar and the formative will scroll automatically to it!

Add a New Item

  1. Click on the blue "+Add Item" button at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar

  2. Select the item from the list

  3. The item will be added at the bottom of the formative

  4. Click on the new item on the Navigation Side-Bar to navigate to it and add details

Move Items

  1. Hover over the item's icon (located to the left of the item's number), the cursor will change to arrows and the icon will change to the moving icon (6 dots)

  2. Long-press the 6 dots icon, then drag and drop the item to the desired location within the Navigation Side-Bar

  3. The item will move to that desired location on the formative's editor page

Copy Item(s)

  1. Click on the check-mark icon at the bottom left corner of the navigation bar, to expand the actions menu

  2. Check-mark the box(es) next to the item(s) you wish to copy

  3. Click on the Copy icon within the actions menu

  4. The selected item(s) will be duplicated

  5. You can then click on the new item(s) to quickly navigate to them and edit as needed

Delete Item(s)

  1. Click on the check-mark icon at the bottom left corner of the navigation bar, to expand the actions menu

  2. Check-mark the box(es) next to the item(s) you wish to delete

  3. Click on the Delete icon (trashcan) within the actions menu

  4. Confirm your intention to delete the selected item(s)

  5. The selected item(s) will be deleted from the side-bar and from the formative

Switch to Lesson (Presentation / Slides view)

This feature changes your activity from a formative display to a lesson display. The lesson display allows teachers to work on their activity creation and editing via a presentation style display where each item is included on a separate slide.

To access this feature click the 3 dots at the top menu of your editor page, and select 'Convert to Lesson'.

(To switch back to a regular formative display, click the 3 dots at the top menu of your editor page again and select 'Convert to Formative').

The view will switch to the presentation slide deck display, from here you can follow the instructions below to navigate to specific slide(s); duplicate, edit or delete slide(s); create new items; upload Google Slides directly into your lesson; and even draw a slide:

Navigate to an Existing Slide

Simply click on the desired slide within the Navigation Side-Bar and the lesson will scroll automatically to it!

Add a New Slide (item)

  1. Click on the blue "+Add Item" button at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar

  2. Select the desired item from the list

  3. The item will be added at the bottom of the lesson as a new slide

  4. Click on the new slide on the Navigation Side-Bar to navigate to it and add details

Upload Google Slides

  1. Click on the "Import Google Slides" icon at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar (if prompted, select or login to your Google account)

  2. Select the slide deck presentation you wish to upload from and allow the system the time it needs to process the request

  3. Once the slides deck is presented in the upload window, select the specific slides you wish to upload into your formative by ensuring they are check-marked (un-check any slide you do not wish to upload)

  4. Click on the "Add X Documents" button to complete the workflow

  5. The selected presentation slides will now be added to your lesson and will appear both on the editor itself, and in the Editor Navigation Side-Bar

Note: There is a limit of 25 slides per upload batch. If you have a presentation in Google Drive longer than that, please divide it into separate smaller batches of 25 pages each.

Draw a Slide

  1. Click on the blue plus icon at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar

  2. Select 'Image' from the media content items list, and then select 'Draw an Image'

  3. The new slide with an Image (Drawing) content item will be added to your presentation

  4. Click into the Image (Drawing) content item to edit the background and add any details needed (instructions can be found here)

  5. Click 'Done' when ready to exit the Drawing board

Move Slides

  1. Hover over the slide's icon (located at the left bottom corner of the slide), the cursor will change to arrows and the icon will change to the moving icon (6 dots)

  2. Long-press the 6 dots icon, then drag and drop the slide to the desired location within the Navigation Side-Bar

  3. The slide will move to that desired location on the formative's editor page

Copy Slide(s)

  1. Click on the check-mark icon at the bottom of the navigation bar, to expand the actions menu

  2. Check-mark the box(es) next to the slide(s) you wish to copy

  3. Click on the Copy icon within the actions menu

  4. The selected slide(s) will be duplicated

  5. You can then click on the new slide(s) to quickly navigate to them and edit as needed

Delete Slide(s)

  1. Click on the check-mark icon at the bottom of the navigation bar, to expand the actions menu

  2. Check-mark the box(es) next to the slide(s) you wish to delete

  3. Click on the Delete icon (trashcan) within the actions menu

  4. Confirm your intention to delete the selected slide(s)

  5. The selected slide(s) will be deleted from the side-bar and from the formative

Lesson Blocks

As part of the Lesson (Presentation / Slides) view, Formative also offers a Lesson Blocks tool. Utilize this powerful tool to instantly generate questions and activities to match the desired progression of the lesson and the purpose of the assignment you are creating. We offer several lesson blocks to accommodate the beginning of a lesson, the middle of a lesson, and the end of it, the different item types include:

Beginning of Lesson

  • Bell Ringer

  • Emotion Check

  • Predictions

  • Question for the Dat

Middle of Lesson

  • KWL

  • Pulse Check

  • Compare/Contrast

  • Mid Lesson Check-In

  • Summarize

  • Illustrate

End of Lesson

  • Today I Learned

  • Life Connection

  • Confidence Poll

  • 3-2-1 Reflection

  • Write Pair Share

  • End Lesson Check-In

Use Lesson Blocks

Access the Lesson Blocks

  1. Expand the navigation side bar

  2. Switch to Lesson from the triple dots menu at the top of the activity

  3. Click on the Lesson Blocks (Beta) icon at the bottom of the navigation side bar

Select and add desired items

  1. Check-mark the item types you wish to add to your formative lesson from any of the lesson stage tabs (you can select as many items as you please)

  2. When done selecting, click the blue "Add" button at the bottom of the Lesson Blocks window

  3. The desired blue-print items will be generated and populate your formative (this may take a few moments to complete, please allow our system the time it needs to fully generate all selected items)

  4. The items will be added at the end of your lesson

  5. Review each item and edit it to your needs

  6. If you need to move or remove items you can check-mark them (following the instructions listed above in the "Presentation View" section) to take these actions

Related Articles
Create and Manage Folders
Teacher Paced Mode (Present a Formative)
Building an Activity (the Formative / Lesson Editor)
The Home Page / Dashboard
Assign or Present Activities
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