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How to Create a New Collection & Basic Settings

How to Create a New Collections & Basic Settings...

Once you've learned how to access Destiny Discover's Collections tool you'll want to start on your own Collections. This blog post will review how to do the following:
  • Create a new Collection & Configure the Collection Details
  • Add Resources to your Collection using the BookMarklet or the Upload a Resource Method
  • Access Lesson 3 - Create a New Collection (prototype companion tool to Collections)
Collections is an incredible way to collaborate with your peers on curriculum development. Our district uses GSuite to build collaborative documents for our units of study. Collections fit seamlessly into the process and provide greater flexibility during the creation process. Educators can add and curate resources during the brainstorming process without having to decide where or whether or not the item fits into the unit plan. Before we can get to the rich collaboration tools we need to first learn how to add, edit and share Collections. Fortunately, Collections is an easy and intuitive tool.


Create a new Collection & Configure the Collection Details

The first thing you'll need to do is to create your new Collection. It's a simple three-step process outlined in the image below. First, add a title, a description, and the visibility settings for your Collection. Next, select the grade level and subject areas most connected to your collection. Lastly, choose a color theme and a picture that you want to visually represent your Collection.

Watch the "Creating a New Collection" Video

Take a minute to review the video below to learn how to set the basic settings for your new Collection. It really is as simple as 1, 2, 3!

Add Resources to Your Collection

The simplest way to add resources to your Collection is to use the Bookmarklet applet. It fits in extremely well with the natural workflow of an educator as they're culling resources for a lesson, a unit or a presentation. It becomes so natural while I'm searching for resources for a lesson or a unit, to simply click the Add to Collection Bookmarklet on my Chrome browser Bookmark Bar. If I'm searching for Open Educational Resources (OER) or working on a Google Doc it's become second nature to just add the resources to my Collection using the Bookmarklet. 

Once you begin to use the BookMarklet app you'll find yourself building Collection after Collection. Any student or educator will find the organizational structure a simple "go to" solution whenever they need to share and collaborate with others.

How to Add a Resource Using the Upload Method

The BookMarklet method (although my favorite) isn't the only method for adding resources to a Collection. You can also use the Upload method to add resources. You'll notice a +icon within your Collection. Simply click the +icon to directly add the URL for the resource or upload it from your Google Drive or Microsoft One Drive.

Watch the "Adding Resources via Upload & BookMarklet" Video

The two-minute video below shows you how to use the Upload a Resource method or the Bookmarklet app method. Simplify your life, use the BookMarklet app!

What's Up Next?

Once you've learned how to add resources to your Collection, you'll want to know how to edit the curated resources and use Collections like a pro! The next blog in this series will deal with how to edit resources, and ensure you've set the right permissions on Google Drive to get the visual appeal you're looking for.

You can also access the prototype companion tool, LessonMore, lesson: "Lesson 3 - Create a New Collection". This will bring you through a step-by-step lesson plan for all of the topics covered in this blog post.

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