Overview of how to find learning resources in Microsoft Class Server (821497)

SUMMARY

This article describes how to find Learning Resources by using Class Server - Teacher client in Microsoft Class Server. It contains information about how the Find feature works, and discusses how to customize the Find feature.

In Class Server 3.0, you can search for Learning Resources by using the following options:

• The Curriculum Library.
  
  The Curriculum Library is a Web site or shared folder that is created and maintained by the Class Server administrator. To open the curriculum library, click Open curriculum library in the Class Server - Teacher client. The curriculum library settings are configured by the Class Server administrator.
• The Find Learning Resources option on the File menu.
  
  When you click Find Learning Resources on the File menu of the Class Server - Teacher client, you can search for Learning Resources that are shared at school or on the Internet.

Note This document was originally written for the Class Server 2.0 Find feature. In Class 2.0, you access the Find feature on the File menu of the Class Server - Teacher client. This option is also available in Class Server 3.0. Although the primary method of searching for Learning Resources in the Class Server - Teacher client of Class Server 3.0 may be by using the Curriculum Library, this document can still help you configure the Find functionality in Class Server 3.0.

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Find Shared Learning Resources

Use the Find home page in Class Server to view and download the Learning Resources that you want. When you view the list of shared Learning Resources that appear on the Find Web pages, you view the metadata that describes the Learning Resources. The actual Learning Resources are stored on the server where they are shared, or in the repository where they are warehoused. When you select a Learning Resource to download, the metadata points you to the location where the Learning Resource is stored.

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Types of Share Locations

The share locations that are used by Class Server for Learning Resources include the following:

• Find Shared Learning Resources at School:
  • Looks for shared Learning Resources in one school.
  • This is a build-in component, and is turned on automatically when you install Class Server.
• Find Shared Learning Resources on the Internet:
  • Looks for shared learning resources from all participating schools.
  • To use this component, you must sign up when you configure Class Server.
  • The computer must be accessible on the Internet.
• Find Learning Resources from Publishers and Partners:
  • View Learning Resources that are created by educational content publishers.
• User-Defined Locations for Learning Resources:
  • Exposes an additional Find user interface in the Class Server-Teacher client.
  • To use this feature, the Class Server administrator must edit the registry and add a new registry values on the server.
  • The Find interface is a URL to a location that stores Learning Resources, such as a Web site, a Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server site, or a shared folder.

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How the Find Feature Works

Find Shared Learning Resources at School

To find shared Learning Resources at school, follow these steps:

1. When a teacher shares a Learning Resource, and the information is synchronized on the server, the Learning Resource metadata and its location are added to the index of shared Learning Resources on the server.
2. When another teacher searches for shared resources at a school, the server displays the index of shared Learning Resources, and the metadata that is associated with the Learning Resources.
3. When a teacher clicks the Learning Resource that they want to use, the Learning Resource is downloaded and saved to My Learning Resources on the teacher's computer.

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Find Shared Learning Resources on the Internet

To find shared Learning Resources on the Internet, follow these steps:

1. Teachers can search and download Learning Resources from the Internet. However, before teachers can share Learning Resources on the Internet, the Class Server system administrator must click Register under Registration and Internet Sharing to activate Internet sharing during the "Configure Class Server" portion of Setup.
2. When a teacher shares a Learning Resource and the information is synchronized on the server, the Learning Resource metadata and its location is added to the index of shared Learning Resources on the server.
3. Each week, the Microsoft Find Indexing Agent queries all registered schools if they have any Learning Resources to share on the Internet. To do so, the Find Indexing Agent connects to port 80 of the server and accessing the Index.xml file that contains information about shared Learning Resources in the school.
4. The Microsoft Find Indexing Agent adds the data from the school's Index.xml file to the master list of shared Learning Resources on the Internet.
5. When another teacher searches for share resources on the Internet, they connect to the Web site (Http://classserver.msn.com/Find/default.htm). The Web site displays the master index of shared Learning Resources that are available on the Internet.
6. When a teacher clicks the Learning Resource that they want to download, the server redirects the request to the school that is sharing the Learning Resource, and the Learning Resource is downloaded and saved to My Learning Resources on the teacher's computer.
   
   Note Learning Resources are not stored on servers at Microsoft. When you click a Learning Resource to download it, you are redirected to the school that shares that Learning Resource.

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User-Defined Find Location for Learning Resources

To specify a user-defined Find location for Learning Resources, follow these steps:

1. The Class Server system administrator must add the following string values to the registry before the custom Find URL is displayed in Class Server - Teacher:
   • FindOtherLinkURL: The URL for the link that is specified by the FindOtherLinkTitle registry value. To add this URL, the administrator must also specify the FindOtherLinkTitle and FindOtherLinkWatermark registry values
   • FindOtherLinkTitle: An optional, additional Find link on the Find home page. To add this URL, the administrator must also specify the FindOtherLinkURL and FindOtherLinkWatermark registry values.
   • FindOtherLinkWatermark: The watermark for the optional Find link on the Find home page. To add this watermark, you must also specify the FindOtherLinkURL and FindOtherLinkTitle registry values.
2. An administrator or a teacher with administrator credentials can populate the data store with the shared Learning Resources that they want to make available.
3. When a teacher searches for a shared Learning Resource, the server displays the list of Learning Resources that are available at the URL that is defined by the registry values that are added earlier in step 1.
4. When a teacher clicks the Learning Resource that they want to download, the Learning Resource is downloaded and saved to My Learning Resources on the teacher's computer.

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Customize the Find Feature

You can customize the Find feature to edit the links that are displayed for the following locations by editing the registry on the server:

• Find Shared Learning Resources at School
• Find Shared Learning Resources on the Internet
• Find Learning Resources from Publishers and Partners
• User-Defined Locations for Learning Resources

The following are examples of how you can customize Find options in Class Server by editing the registry:

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Enable Teachers to Find and Download Learning Resources Created By Other Schools

To enable teachers to find and download Learning Resources created by other schools by using the Find Shared Learning Resources on the Internet link, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Class Server/Server/Schools/SchoolGUID

4. In the right pane, double-click FindOnWebURL.
5. In the Value data box, type the URL of the Internet location that contains the Learning Resources that you want, and then click OK.
   
   Note The default value of FindOnWebURL is:

   Http://ClassServer.msn.com/find/

6. Quit Registry Editor.
7. In Class Server Configuration, click Save & Configure.

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Change the URL for the "Find Learning Resources from Publishers and Partners" Link

To change the URL for the Find Learning Resources from Publishers and Partners link:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Class Server/Server/Schools/SchoolGUID

4. In the right pane, double-click PublisherWebSitesURL.
5. In the Value data box, type the URL of the location that contains the publisher's Learning Resources, and then click OK.
   
   Note The default value of PublisherWebSitesURL is:

   Http://ClassServer.msn.com/find/publishers/

6. Quit Registry Editor.
7. In Class Server Configuration, click Save & Configure.

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Change the URL for the "Find Shared Learning Resources at School" Link

To change the URL for the Find Shared Learning Resources at School link, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Class Server/Server/Schools/SchoolGUID

4. In the right pane, double-click FindAtSchoolURL.
5. In the Value data box, type the URL of the location that contains your school's shared Learning Resources, and then click OK.
   
   Note The default value of FindAtSchoolURL is SchoolHome.htm. When you change this value, teachers can no longer share Learning Resources at your school by using the Class Server - Teacher sharing function.
6. Quit Registry Editor.
7. In Class Server Configuration, click Save & Configure.

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Enable a User-Defined Find Location

To enable User-Defined Find Location, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Class Server/Server/Schools/SchoolGUID

4. Add the following registry string values:

   FindOtherLinkURL
   FindOtherLinkTitle
   FindOtherLinkWatermark

   To do so, follow these steps:
   1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
   2. Type FindOtherLinkURL, and then press ENTER.
   3. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
   4. In the Value data box, type the URL of the location that contains the Learning Resources that you want, and then click OK.
   5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
   6. Type FindOtherLinkTitle, and then press ENTER.
   7. In the Value data box, type the title that you want for the URL that you specified, and then click OK.
   8. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
   9. Type FindOtherLinkWatermark, and then press ENTER.
   10. In the Value data box, type the location of the watermark that you want to use, and then click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor.

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