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. Simply locate the Side-Bar tab icon 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:
Click to navigate to a specific existing item on the formative
Add a new item
Move items
Select existing item(s) to copy
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
Click on the blue "+Add Item" button at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar
Select the item from the list
The item will be added at the bottom of the formative
Click on the new item on the Navigation Side-Bar to navigate to it and add details
Move Items
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)
Long-press the 6 dots icon, then drag and drop the item to the desired location within the Navigation Side-Bar
The item will move to that desired location on the formative's editor page
Copy Item(s)
Click on the Select icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
Check-mark the box(es) next to the item(s) you wish to copy
Click on the Copy icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
The selected item(s) will be duplicated
You can then click on the new item(s) to quickly navigate to them and edit as needed
Delete Item(s)
Click on the Select icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
Check-mark the box(es) next to the item(s) you wish to delete
Click on the Delete icon (trashcan) within the Navigation Side-Bar
Confirm your intention to delete the selected item(s)
The selected item(s) will be deleted from the side-bar and from the formative
Switch to Presentation View (Slides)
This feature allows teachers to work on their formative creation and editing via a presentation slides deck style display where each item is included in a separate slide. To access this feature simply toggle on the button "Presentation View" at the top of the Editor Navigation Side-Bar.
Note: at least one question or content item must be added to the lesson for this toggle to appear.
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 formative; and even draw a slide:
Navigate to an Existing Slide
Simply click on the desired slide within the Navigation Side-Bar and the formative will scroll automatically to it!
Add a New Slide (item)
Click on the blue "+Add Item" button at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar
Select the desired item from the list
The item will be added at the bottom of the formative as a new slide
Click on the new slide on the Navigation Side-Bar to navigate to it and add details
Upload Google Slides
Click on the "Import Google Slides" icon at the bottom of the Navigation Side-Bar (if prompted, select or login to your Google account)
Select the slide deck presentation you wish to upload from and allow the system the time it needs to process the request
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)
Click on the "Add X Documents" button to complete the workflow
The selected presentation slides will now be added to your formative 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
Click on the "Draw Slide" icon at the bottom of the Editor Navigation Side-Bar
The new slide with an Image (Drawing) content item will be added to your presentation
Click into the Image (Drawing) content item to edit the background and add any details needed (instructions can be found here)
Move Slides
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)
Long-press the 6 dots icon, then drag and drop the slide to the desired location within the Navigation Side-Bar
The slide will move to that desired location on the formative's editor page
Copy Slide(s)
Click on the Select icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
Check-mark the box(es) next to the slide(s) you wish to copy
Click on the Copy icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
The selected slide(s) will be duplicated
You can then click on the new slide(s) to quickly navigate to them and edit as needed
Delete Slide(s)
Click on the Select icon within the Navigation Side-Bar
Check-mark the box(es) next to the slide(s) you wish to delete
Click on the Delete icon (trashcan) within the Navigation Side-Bar
Confirm your intention to delete the selected slide(s)
The selected slide(s) will be deleted from the side-bar and from the formative
Lesson Blocks
As part of the 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
Middle of Lesson
KWL
Pulse Check
Compare/Contrast
Mid Lesson Check-In
Summarize
End of Lesson
Today I Learned
Life Connection
Check In
Confidence Poll
3-2-1 Reflection
Write Pair Share
Use Lesson Blocks
Access the Lesson Blocks:
Expand the navigation side bar
Toggle on "Presentation View" at the top of the side bar
Click on the Lesson Blocks (Beta) icon at the bottom of the side bar
Select and add desired items
Check-mark the item types you wish to add to your formative lesson from any of the lesson stages tabs (you can select as many items as you please)
When done selecting, click the blue "Add" button at the bottom of the Lesson Blocks window
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)
Review each item and edit it to your needs
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
