Using the Course Builder in Carmen
You will use the Course Builder in Carmen to create the structure and organization for your course. The Course Builder in Carmen is a relatively new tool that makes it very easy to create your course organization even if you don't have all the files and content ready to upload yet. You can create a course directly in Carmen Content, and you are welcome to do this if that is what you prefer and are used to doing. However, the distinct advantage of using the Course Builder is that you can create placeholders that tell you what content you plan to put in a module or unit, but you don't need the already-prepared content to create the placeholder. However, if you work in the Content area of Carmen, you cannot, for example, create a link to a syllabus unless you have the actual syllabus to upload; that is, there are no placeholders in Content.
If this sounds confusing, don't worry. Just keep reading, watch the video, and things should become much clearer.
To learn to use the Course Builder in Carmen, first open it up in your own Carmen course. You can access your Course Builder by clicking on Edit Course in the gray navigation bar and then clicking on Course Builder.
You may want to spend a few minutes orienting to the Course Builder. Here is a one-page text resource (a quick read) from University of Colorado that should help. If you want more detailed help with instructional videos, take a look at this University of Wisconsin resource that addresses both the Course Builder and the Content area.
Let me just point out one more time that whatever you create in the Course Builder appears in Content, and whatever you create in Content appears in the Course Builder with the exception of empty placeholders. You can create an empty placeholder for a file or activity in the Course Builder, but you cannot do that in Content. (And empty placeholders that show in the Course Builder will not show in Content until you fill the placeholder with something that actually exists.) Don't be afraid to experiment and click around in Carmen and the Course Builder. You can't break anything, and even if you do, it won't matter! I'll create another course for you. If you're feeling confused, go ahead and view the two resources above. I think you will feel much more comfortable with the tool after you put the Course Builder in action.
