SoftChalk INSPIRE™
Quick Start Guide
Updated July 21, 2020
Contents
Introduction
INSPIRE Quick Start Guide Web Link
Step 1 - Create a SoftChalk INSPIRE Account
Create Your Account
Cancel Your Account
Re-Subscribe to Your Account
Step 2 - Create Your First SoftChalk Lesson
Start Create Online
Add Content
Add a Page Break
Save and Preview Your Lesson
Choose a Theme, a Layout, & Enter a Title
Add an Activity
Add a Self-Check Question – Example: Multiple Choice
Embed a YouTube Video
Student Score Summary and Certificate of Completion
Student Score Summary
Student Score Summary
Certificate of Completion
Exit Create Online
Step 3 – Edit and Share a SoftChalk Lesson
Edit Your Lesson
Share Your Lesson Link
Advanced Topics
Save content to the Files area
Replace a File
Organize Your Content with Folders
Other Resources and Guides
Help
Copyright Information

Introduction

Welcome! We're excited to help you get started using SoftChalk INSPIRE! This Quick Start Guide is designed to give you a quick overview of the basics for using SoftChalk INSPIRE to create your first online lesson.
Just follow our simple 4 step process to create engaging, interactive, media-rich online lessons. Using this guide, you'll learn how to quickly create a lesson in your SoftChalk INSPIRE account, add interactive games, quizzes, and videos, and then share your lesson with your students.
Of course, that's just the beginning! After learning the basics in this guide, you can get additional info about all the features in SoftChalk INSPIRE from the "Get Started" page on our website and our Video Tutorials.
Do you have a question that is not answered here? Or need additional help to get started? Please visit our SoftChalk INSPIRE Support webpage. For purchase information, please visit About SoftChalk INSPIRE.
Let's get started!!

INSPIRE Quick Start Guide Web Link

The web link for this guide is below. As we update this guide, the URL will remain the same. (You may want to bookmark this link in your web browser.) https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/870678588/inspire_guide.pdf?api=v2

Step 1 - Create a SoftChalk INSPIRE Account

Create Your Account

If you have not already created a SoftChalk INSPIRE account, please use the steps below to create an account.

1. Go to https://inspire.softchalkcloud.com/join and complete the form.

2. Upon submitting the account form, you will be directed to PayPal to setup payment for your account.

   • Your first 30 days are free, and you may cancel at any time. If you do not wish to be charged, please cancel before your 30-day trial ends.

3. Once you have completed payment, you will be automatically directed back to the SoftChalk INSPIRE site, and you will be automatically logged into your account.

Cancel Your Account

To cancel your account, login to your SoftChalk INSPIRE account, click the Account tab on the nav bar, and then choose Overview from the submenu. This will display your Account Overview information. Click the Cancel Subscription button.

Please note that once you cancel your subscription, your account will expire on your next renewal date. Once your subscription expires, the content in your account will no longer be accessible to your students and you will not be able to create new content or edit your existing content.
When your account expires, the content in your account will remain in your account for at least 60 days so that if you renew your subscription within that time-period, you will once again have access to your content. The content in your account may be automatically deleted 60 days after an account expires.

Re-Subscribe to Your Account

If your INSPIRE account subscription has been cancelled or expired, you may re-subscribe as follows:

1. Login to your INSPIRE account using the username and password you created when you established your account.

2. At the top of the INSPIRE screen, click the 'Subscribe' link. Follow the dialogs to re-subscribe.

3. After completing payment, you will be returned to your INSPIRE account and you will have access to the content that you had previously created in your account. Any lesson links you have put in your LMS or made available to others will become active again.

Step 2 - Create Your First SoftChalk Lesson

Below are instructions for creating a simple three page lesson with a feedback question, an activity and an embedded YouTube video. We also provide information if you want to include a Certificate of Completion, Score Summary, or have student results emailed to your email address.

Start Create Online

1. Login to SoftChalk INSPIRE with the username and password you selected when you created your account.

2. From the SoftChalk INSPIRE menus, choose My Content, and then Lessons to display the Lessons Folder view. From the Actions menu, choose Create Lesson in Create Online.

This will open Create Online and you will be ready to start creating a SoftChalk lesson.

Add Content

1. SoftChalk Create Online works like a word processing program. Simply type your lesson information into the text area of SoftChalk Create Online. You may also copy and paste text into the text area from a Microsoft Word document or other source.

2. Use the toolbar to apply formatting (bold, italic, headings) and insert bullets, tables, weblinks, images, etc. Each of these features work in a similar way to standard word processing programs.

Add a Page Break

If you have a lot of content in your lesson, you may want to insert page breaks to "chunk" your content into multiple pages (rather than delivering all of your content in a single lesson page).

1. In the main editing window, place your cursor in the text where you'd like the page to break, then hit your Enter or Return key to create a new paragraph.

2. Go to the Toolbar and click the Insert Page Break icon

   Open

   

   .

Save and Preview Your Lesson

1. To view the lesson the way a student will see it:

   1. Name your lesson by typing into the dialog at the top of the editing window:

Open

1.  

   1. Save your lesson by clicking the Save icon on the toolbar

1.  

   1. Preview your lesson by clicking the Preview icon on the toolbar.

Your lesson will open in a new tab or a new window in your browser. Note that your lesson editing session will remain open as well. Once you've previewed your lesson, you can close the preview window and continue editing your lesson.
It's good practice to preview your lesson often, as you are adding and editing content, or modifying your lesson properties.
NOTE: SoftChalk lessons are web pages that contain standard HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, and media. Students will view your lessons using any standard web browser.

Choose a Theme, a Layout, & Enter a Title

When you first create a lesson, it has a default Theme and Layout. It's easy to change the look-and-feel of your lesson – simply select a different "Theme" or "Layout".

1. From the Toolbar, click on the Properties icon and then select Theme.

1. With the Theme dialog open, choose a theme from the options available in the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog. Create Online allows you to select from a variety of color-based theme options.

1. Additionally, you may also enter a Lesson Title and Subtitle, choose a Layout, and make other selections by clicking the Properties icon on the Toolbar and making selections for Title & Layout, Overview Page, and Sidebar.

2. Once you have made your selections, you will be returned to the main editing window.

3. To view the changes and see your lesson the way a student will see it, click the Save button on the toolbar to save your lesson and then click the Preview button on the toolbar.

Add an Activity

Activities are a great way to include formative assessment and feedback for your student. Some activities can be scored, like a quiz question. Other activities are "information presentation" style activities.

1. From the Toolbar, click the Insert Interactive Content icon

   . From the options that appear, choose, and select Create an Activity.

2. There are a variety of activities that you can customize and insert into your lesson.

Make a selection to open the activity editing dialog. Note the How To option at the top of the dialog, which is available on all activities. You can view an example of the activity and a short video showing how to create the activity.

1. Let's say you want to have students order the first eight planets based on proximity to the sun. For this, you might use the Ordering Activity. In the Ordering Activity Editor, click the 'plus' icon to create a new card.

2. In the dialog that appears, select an image (optional) and/or type text for a card. When finished, click the Back button.

1. Continue creating as many cards as needed for your activity.

2. When you have completed creating cards, enter the Max Points for your activity. (optional).

3. Click the OK button at the top of the activity editor dialog to save your activity. It will be embedded or linked into your lesson page.

4. Back in the main editing window, you will see a 'placeholder' image that represents the location of the activity in your lesson page. If you need to make changes to the activity, you can right-click on the placeholder image, then choose Modify Activity to reopen the activity for editing.

5. To view the activity in your lesson the way a student will see it, click the Save button on the toolbar to save your lesson and then click the Preview button on the toolbar.

6. In the main editing window, hit your Enter or Return key to create a new paragraph after the activity and continue adding additional content to your lesson.

Add a Self-Check Question – Example: Multiple Choice

Adding self-check quiz questions to your lesson is a great way to include formative assessment and student feedback into your lesson. You can insert individual quiz questions anywhere in your lesson to provide your students a way to self-check their understanding of concepts as they progress thru the lesson.

1. From the Toolbar, click the Insert Interactive Content icon

   . From the options that appear, choose, and select Create a QuizPopper. Then choose Multiple Choice.

2. Type in a question. At the bottom, enter 40 for the points.

1. Click the Answers tab. Enter your answers and individual feedback (optional). To add another answer, click Add Answer. In the correct column at the left, select the correct answer.

1. Click the Display tab at the top. Notice you have three options for how the question will be viewed by the student. The default is Embed in lesson page. Click OK to save your quiz question into your lesson.

2. Back in the main editing window, you will see a 'placeholder' image that represents the location of the quizpopper in your lesson page. If you need to make changes to the activity, you can right-click on the placeholder image and choose the edit option. The quizpopper editor will reopen for editing.

3. To view the quiz in your lesson the way a student will see it, click the Save button on the toolbar to save your lesson and then click the Preview button on the toolbar.

4. In the main editing window, hit your Enter or Return key to create a new paragraph after the activity and continue adding additional content to your lesson.

Embed a YouTube Video

You can add videos into your lesson from any source. Videos can be linked or embedded into the lesson page. Below is an example for embedding a YouTube video.

1. On the toolbar, click the "Insert Media" icon

   .

1. To insert a YouTube video, paste any YouTube video weblink into the 'URL' field. Make sure the Link Source is URL. You may also add a description of your video as shown below. Click the OK button to save the video into your lesson page.

2. In your main editing window, you will see the embedded (or linked) video appear in the lesson content. To edit the video you just created, move your cursor to the top/left corner of the video. You will see a selection icon appear (see image below). Double click the selection icon to open the editing dialog for the video.

1. To view the video in your lesson the way a student will see it, click the Save button on the toolbar to save your lesson and then click the Preview button on the toolbar.

2. In the main editing window, hit your Enter or Return key to create a new paragraph after the video and continue adding additional content to your lesson.

Student Score Summary and Certificate of Completion

You can enable students to print both a Score Summary and a Certificate of Completion. You can also enable an option that allows your students to send a score summary to you via email. To select these options, from the toolbar, choose the Properties icon, then choose either the Score Summary option or the Certificate of Completion option. Additional information for each of these options is below.

Student Score Summary

The Student Score Summary option allows the student to view and print a report that includes the name of the lesson, the date, the student's name, the student's lesson score, and time spent on the lesson.
To enable this option in your lesson, from the Create Online toolbar, choose the Properties icon, then choose Score Summary. Check the box to include the Score Summary and enter a Lesson Title (subtitle is optional). Click the OK button. Save and Preview the lesson.

While previewing the lesson, go to the last page of the lesson. At the bottom of the lesson page you will see an option for the student to enter their name and click a button to print their score summary.

Student Score Summary

To have your students email a copy of their Score Summary to your teacher email address, from the Create Online toolbar, choose the Properties icon, then choose Score Summary. On the Score Summary dialog, check the option to Email Completion Results. Enter your teacher email address in the dialog.

Save your lesson and preview it. You will see the Email option
This will add another button to the last page of your lesson. This enables the student to send their score summary report to you. You will receive the score summary at the email address you entered in the form.

Certificate of Completion

When enabled, this option allows the student to print a certificate of completion at the end of the lesson. To enable this option, from the Create Online toolbar, click the Properties icon and then choose Certificate of Completion. Click the checkbox to enable this option, complete the form fields, and then click Ok.
Please note that you can set a score percentage that the student must meet before they can print the certificate of completion. If you want every student to print a certificate, regardless of their score, set this percentage to 0.
Enabling the Certificate of Completion in your lesson has the effect that a 'Print Certificate' button is added at the bottom of the last page of your lesson. The student can then click this button to generate their certificate, after completing the lesson.

Exit Create Online

When you have finished editing your lesson, you can exit Create Online by clicking on either the Home link or the Folder link, or the Lesson Name link at the top of the Create Online window.

• Click the Home link to exit and return to the SoftChalk INSPIRE Home page.

• Click the Folder Name (e.g. Nursing) to exit and return to the lesson list page

• Click the Lesson Name (e.g. Microbiology and You: An Introduction) to exit and return to the lesson detail page.

Step 3 – Edit and Share a SoftChalk Lesson

Once you've saved and exited your lesson editing session, you can perform several actions on your lesson – preview the lesson, edit the lesson, and access the lesson link information to put into your learning management system. These actions are described below.

1. Select My Content / Lessons. This will display the lesson list page. This view shows your Lessons folder and the lesson(s) you have created in that folder. Note: If you have created multiple folders of lessons, navigate the folders to find the lesson you wish to access.

1. Click on the name of your lesson to display the lesson detail page.

From the lesson detail page, you can perform several actions – preview the lesson (the link is near the top of the page) edit the lesson, and locate the lesson link information for sharing your lesson and to use with your learning management system. These actions are described below.

Edit Your Lesson

To edit your lesson, from the lesson detail page:

1. Scroll down to the Lesson Actions area on the right and select Edit Lesson. This will launch Create Online and open your lesson for editing

Share Your Lesson Link

Each lesson you create in SoftChalk INSPIRE has its own unique web link (URL), which you can find on the lesson detail page.

Provide this web link if you wish students or colleagues to view your lesson.

1. Click within the Hyperlink field to select the URL text, then right-click and choose Copy to grab a copy of the lesson link.

2. Lesson links can be put into other web pages, into your Learning Management System (LMS) course, into an email, into a Google Doc or PDF file.

3. A major advantage of using SoftChalk INSPIRE is that you can put your lesson links into multiple places (multiple web pages, emails, etc.) and when you need to update the lesson information, you can update it one time in SoftChalk INSPIRE, and every place you have linked to the lesson will be immediately and simultaneously linked to the updated lesson.

Advanced Topics

After you have mastered the basics for creating lessons in SoftChalk INSPIRE, the following sections describe how to save files and manage content in your account.

Save content to the Files area

You can upload files directly into your SoftChalk INSPIRE account. You can upload individual files (images, pdfs, videos) or you can upload complex files (i.e. a .zip package of files) that you created in a program like Camtasia or Articulate.
Once you upload a file or .zip package,

• you can easily reference these files from within a lesson you create with SoftChalk INSPIRE. For example, you might save an image file in your SoftChalk INSPIRE files area. Then, you can use that image in a lesson you're creating.

• Each file you save into your Files area has its own unique URL reference. You can put this URL anywhere – in a SoftChalk lesson, in your school's learning management system, in a google doc, or anywhere you can place a web link.

A big advantage to saving files into your SoftChalk INSPIRE account is that you can use each file in multiple SoftChalk lessons. Then, if you need to update the file, you can replace it in SoftChalk INSPIRE, and every lesson where that file is used is simultaneously, automatically updated with the new file.
To save a file into your SoftChalk INSPIRE account,

1. Select My Content/Files.

1. At the right under Actions, click Upload Files.

1. Under Cloud Folder, select the folder into which you want to upload your files. (Initially you will have only one folder named 'Files'. Later, you can create additional folders to organize your files if desired.)

1. Once you've selected a destination folder, you can either:

   1. Click Browse to select your file(s) from your local computer. Select your file(s) and click Open. OR

   2. Drag your file(s) into the Drag & Drop Files Here area. IMPORTANT: If you choose to drag your files, be sure to drag them into the Drag & Drop Files Here area and NOT outside this area.

1. Notice you can select one Cloud folder, select files for that folder and then select another Cloud folder and select files for that folder. Once your files have been selected, click Upload. Once your files are uploaded, click OK to exit the Upload Files window. (If you upload a .zip file, see the next step.)

1. If you are uploading a .zip file, then be sure to select an entry file for your packaged file. For instance, if you were uploading a .zip file created with Articulate Presenter, you would select the presentation_html5.html file. Then click OK

Replace a File

1. Click My Content/Files.

1. Open up the folder that contains the item you want to replace.

2. Click the replace icon.

1. You have two ways to select a file. You can either:

   1. Click Browse to select your file from your local computer. Select your file and click Open.OR

   2. Drag your file into the Drag & Drop Files Here area. IMPORTANT: If you choose to drag your file, be sure to drag it into the Drag & Drop Files Here area and NOT outside this area.

1. IMPORTANT: Be sure to select a file with the same filename that you want to replace. Once your file has been selected, be sure to click Upload. Then click OK to exit the Replace File window.

Organize Your Content with Folders

You can create folders for your lessons and files to help organize your content in SoftChalk INSPIRE. When you first begin working, you will have one folder named Lessons and one folder named Files in each of the related content areas. You can create as many folders as desired in your content areas.
To create a folder, choose My Content, and then choose either Lessons or Files from the sub-menu.

From either the Lessons list page, or the Files list page, choose the Create Folder action from the Actions menu on the right side of the page:

In the dialog that appears, type a name for your folder and click Create Folder. You can then add lessons to a lesson folder, or upload files to a file folder. You may also drag lessons and files from other folders into the newly created folder.

Other Resources and Guides

Help

Please visit our SoftChalk INSPIRE Support webpage. For purchase information, please contact help@softchalk.com.

Copyright Information

SoftChalk INSPIRE Quick Start Guide
Copyright 2020 SoftChalk LLC
All Rights Reserved