SiteGround Tutorials

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aTutor Tutorial

 

aTutor Features

This is the list with the most popular features for the ATutor users:

Learners

• Security: The passwords are encrypted and the forgotten ones must be reset.
• My Courses : Tutors and students are allowed to manage the courses they teach and/or are enrolled in.
• Inbox/Messaging : The system supports messaging between the users. They can send and receive private messages.
• Student Profile : Students can enter personal information like a name and a photo which will be displayed in their forum posts.
• Work Groups: The implemented collaboration solutions allow the users to work together on a defined problem.
• File Storage: All users can store and share their files through the system. A version control functionality is included.
• Group Blog: Each group can manage their own blog.     
• Communication Tools: ATutor offers different communication solutions like a private mail, discussion forums, chat rooms and a "User's Online" tool.
• Test Manager: Students can make tests, check and store the scores.
• Links Database: Web-based information can be added as links in the ATutor database.
• Course Search: The courses content can be searched with the corresponding tool.

Instructors

• Instructor ATutor Handbook: A link to the ATutor Instructor documentation is provided in every section.
• Guest Access to Courses: Guests can access private courses using a link, provided by an instructor. The course can be viewed, but it can not be modified by guests.
• Course Tool Preferences: Instructors can pick only the necessarily tools for defined courses.
• Content Usage: Individual statistics are provided in order to identify issues with the content coverage and the learning progress of each person.
• Work Groups Manager: Different work groups can be created and managed by the instructors.
• File Storage: File Storage functionality allows files to be uploaded, stored and shared with different groups of users.
• Content Editor: HTML content can be created and published in the courses.
• Visual Editor: A JavaScript based WYSIWYG editor is included in the application.
• Reading List: A Reading List with external resources like books can be included by the instructors.
• Backup Manager: The courses can be stored through the backup functionality.
• News & Announcements: Instructors can post news and announcements to inform the students for the courses content and modifications. An RSS feed can be started.    
• Polls: Polls can be used to gather students' opinions.
• Forums: Multiple forums can be set for each of the courses.
• Course Email: Bulk e-mails can be sent to different users.
• Privileges: Tutors can promote students allowing access to different instructors tools.
• Addon Modules: FAQ, Google Search, RSS Feeds, EWiki, ACollab, ATalker Text-to-Speech and SCORM Packages modules are included in the quick installer functionality.

Administrators

• Module Manager: Administrators can install, enable and disable modules. Some of them are included in the script's installation package. The others can be integrated additionally.
• Patcher Module: Administrators can easily install different patches and security updates released by the ATutor developers.
• Administrator ATutor Handbook: A link to the ATutor Administrator documentation is provided in every section.
• Administrator Privileges: Specific privileges can be set for each administrator.
• Pretty URLs: Pretty URLs can be enabled. This will ease the search engines in the indexing of the public ATutor courses.
• Themes Manager: Themes can be modified and customized.
• Automated Installer and Upgrade: An easy solution for the ATutor upgrade.
• General Statistics: Shows system usage statistics.
• Secure Course Content: Prevents unauthorized access to courses.
• User Manager: Modification and management of users' profiles.
• Enrollment Manager: Enrol students to courses.
• Course Manager: Manage courses, assign instructors.
• Backup Manager: Generate backups and download backups of courses.
• Course Categories: Set courses in corresponding categories.
• Language Manager: Import and manage language packs.

Developers

• Instructions for developers on how to write ATutor core features and how to use the corresponding API are included.

The full list with aTutor features can be found at:

http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/index.php#features

aTutor Installation

Server Requirements

All system requirements for ATutor are fully met on the SiteGround servers.

• HTTP Web Server is required. (Apache is recommended)
• PHP version 4.3.0+ or 5.0.2+ with Zlib, MySQL (and MBString for ATutor 1.6+) support enabled.
• MySQL - As of ATutor 1.6, MySQL 4.1.10+ is required. 

At the users' end ATutor requires only a web browser in order to work correctly. FireFox 1+, Opera 5+ and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+ operate well with ATutor.

Automatic Installation

One of the features you get with a SiteGround hosting account is the SiteSoftware tool in cPanel. It allows you to have automatic installations with just a few clicks for popular scripts that are not included in the Fantastico auto installer.

It is really easy to have aTutor installed. Just login to cPanel for your account and access SiteSoftware

You can find aTutor under the LMS (Learning Management Systems) section.

Just enter the desired administrator login details and specify the desired directory where you would like the script installed. Then click the Install button.

That is all. A new page will load notifying you about the successful installation. Also you will be provided with the administrative login details and URL to the admin backend for the new aTutor installation.

Manual Installation instructions

In order to begin the installation you should download the latest ATutor installation package from their official web site. Extract the archive on your computer. Then you should upload the extracted folder using cPanel -> FileManager for your hosting account or through an FTP Client.

Place the ATutor installation files at the exact location where you would like your site to be accessible. If you want to open it directly through your domain name you should place the content of the extracted directory straight under the public_html folder for your account.

You need to create a new database and assign a database username to it with full privileges. You can follow our detailed tutorial on Creating MySQL database and user.

In order to initiate the ATutor installation, open the folder where you have uploaded it via your web browser. A detailed video tutorial on how to accomplish the ATutor installation is published below. The installation instructions are self-explanatory and easy to follow. You will be prompted for the MySQL database details and the admin login credentials.

Once the installation is completed, you can navigate to your main page and start using your LCMS.

aTutor Administration

In this tutorial section we will describe the aTutor administrative features.

• Home



All the administrator features are listed under the Home section.

* My Account - You can directly modify your account's name and the e-mail address.

* Change Password - Here you can change the administrator password.

• Modules - This section allows you to list all the installed modules, enable, disable and filter them, delete or check their details.



* Install Modules - Through this functionality the administrator can install each of the listed modules or upload additional ones.



More details on how to install additional modules can be found here.

• Enrollment - In this section you can check all the students enrolled for a defined course. The users' privileges can be altered.

• Users - In this section you can see the list of the users along with their status and contact details. The users can be edited and enrolled for defined courses. Their status can be altered.

 

* Create User Account - Here you can create a new user and enter the personal details like the login data, the name, the e-mail address, the physical address, the web site and define the account status.



* Instructor Requests - If the System Preferences->Allow Instructor Requests option is turned on and Auto Approve Instructor Requests is disabled, the pending instructors accounts will be listed.

* Master Student List -  The list is disabled by default. If enabled, the new registrations that are validated through the master list will be successful. The feature can be used for the students authentication through the previously assigned Student ID & Birth Date combination. Two more fields will appear on the Registration screen.

* Email Users - This option allows the administrators to send e-mails to the users (students, instructors) of the script. The reply-to address for the email can be specified in the System Preferences section.



* Administrators - Here you can edit the administrator details, add more administrators and check the activity logs.

Detailed instructions on the Courses administration can be found here.

aTutor Courses Administration

• Courses - In this section the administrators can create, manage and delete courses, forums and course categories. They can generate course backups.



* Forums - New forums can be created or existing ones can be managed.

NB: The default ATutor 1.6.2 installation comes with the several "Warning: Illegal offset type in ...menu_pages.php on line..." warnings. They can be fixed by applying the patch 0003 from the ATutor admin area->Patcher.



* Create Course - New courses can be created. The administrator can set the title, the instructor, the language, the description, the course size, the maximum upload file size and several more options.



* Default Student Tools - The administrators can set the default students tools which will appear in the main navigation of the new courses.  



* Default Side Menu - From here you can set the drop-down items which will appear on the side menu of the new courses.



* Backups - Courses backups can be created, downloaded and restored.



* Categories - You can set categories in which the courses can be grouped.

* Learner Support Tools - The URLs of different learner tools can be included.

• Patcher - It allows the administrators to patch their script installations when fixes or security upgrades are released.



* My Own Patches - Here you can find a list with your own patches created through the Create Patch functionality. You can edit or remove them.

* Create Patch - Here you can create your own patches.



NB: You need to have some programming knowledge to create your own patches.

• System Preferences  - You can change some important ATutor settings like the site name, the home URL, the default language, the time zone offset, enable Pretty URLs and many more. Most of the options are self-explanatory.



* Default Preferences - They are applied to new accounts after their creation. These settings are also valid for guests when they are accessing public courses.



* Languages -  You can manage the included languages, import new ones or take a part in the translation of the script in your language. The translation can be exported and shared with the ATutor community.



* Themes - You can import new themes and change the default one for your ATutor installation. There are also additional themes included in the script installation package.



* Syndicated Feeds - Syndicate feeds can be displayed in the side menu of a course.



* Google Key - The Google search module can be included in ATutor as an external embedded resource. It can be used by the students. The administrators need to obtain a license key from http://google.com/apis before enabling the module.

* Error Logging - This tool will allow you to check the errors generated by your script or by the used patches and modules. It can be useful for troubleshooting an ATutor web site.

* Cron Set-up - You can set an automated event scheduler which will support the best functionality of the script. The Cron Job can be set through your cPanel->Cron Jobs. The Cron Job code should be: lynx -dump http://your-server.com/atutor/admin/cron.php?k=SECRET-KEY > /dev/null. The SECRET-KEY will be listed in the ATutor Cron Set-up area.

* Auto Enrolment At Registration  - A unique URL can be created by the administrators. It will appear once the students register and through it they will be able to enrol to a defined number of courses.

Creating and managing content with ATutor

In the following section we will show how to create a new course, associate a forum with it and manage the provided default student tools.

Create courses

Please follow our comprehensive video tutorial in order to create an ATutor course.

Now your ATutor course is created.

Create forum

It is time to assign a forum to your course. Please follow our comprehensive video tutorial in order to create a forum.

The forum thread has been successfully created and associated with the ATutor course.

Managing default student tools

In this section we will review the most popular default student tools which can be used for your courses.

Once you log out from the administrator account and log in as an instructor, you can view the tools under your course page:

They are listed as follows:

• Forums - you can add a forum to your course and discuss related topics in it.     
• Glossary - related terms can be included.      
• File Storage - you can upload,download and store files on the server.
• Chat - you can use the integrated chat script to communicate with your students or with other instructors.  
• TILE Repository Search -   allows searches in the The Inclusive Learning Exchange repository.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  - the script can support FAQ sections for your courses.         
• Links - links to different resources can be included.          
• Tests & Surveys - tests and surveys can be added. They will be available for the enrolled students.
• Site-map - generates a site map.   
• Export Content - the content can be exported as an IMS 1.1.3/IMS 1.1.4/SCORM 1.2 content package. 
• My Tracker - monitors the learners progress.
• Polls - different pools can be created in order to gather the learners' opinion.          
• Directory - this section contains information for the instructors associated with the courses.      
• Groups - different groups which will use same tools (Blogs, File Storage, Forums, Links) can be created.
• Reading List  - the instructor can include details of recommended resources like books, files and URLs.
• Blogs - blogs can be created where the students can share their experience. There is an option for comments.    
• Gradebook - tests and assignments can be added, marks can be entered and grade scales can be visualized. 

Users management with aTutor

In this section we will learn how to create, edit and delete different ATutor user types.

The ATutor script supports 3 types of user groups:

Administrator
Instructor
Student

Manage users

New users can register to your ATutor web site. 

Alternatively, you can create them from the admin area. 

Please check the following video tutorial for more details. 

Enrollment for courses

Once the new user is created you can set the courses for which he/she will be enrolled. In this way the new user will have an access to the chosen courses. Check the above video tutorial for more instructions.

Changing the look of your website – ATutor themes

How to install a new theme

In this section we will learn how to install a new ATutor theme and set it as the default for our web site.

First pick the theme which you plan to install. There is a great variety of themes on the official site: http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/themes/index.php. Always pick a theme which is compatible with the script version.

Also, it is important to establish an FTP connection to your hosting account, since you will need to correct the theme folder permissions. It will be located in your atutor_directory/themes/ folder.

Once you have the theme on the local computer follow the insructions from our detailed video tutorial:

Now you can open the web site and check the new theme.

Expanding web site functionality - ATutor modules

The ATutor modules will allow you to expand your web site functionality by integrating additional features.

In this section we will learn how to install and configure an ATutor module.

How to install ATutor modules

In the following video tutorial we will show you how to install the PhotoAlbum module. It can be downloaded from the official site: http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/modules/index.php. The module installer accepts only zip files. The module will be downloaded in the tar.gz format. Extract it and create an archive of the photo_album folder in the zip format.

How to manage aTutor modules 

We have the Photo Album module installed under the web site module section. It is time to configure it.

Instructors can enable the Photo Album tool from the Manage->Student Tools section. This will allow the students to manage photos under the defined course. 

aTutor Backups

Before making any major modifications or performing upgrades to your live ATutor web site, we advise you to create a full web site backup.

In order to backup your ATutor application you have to:

1.  Backup all of your files and folders inside your ATutor installation folder. You can do that by downloading them via your favourite FTP client. You can find our comprehensive FTP tutorial here.
2.  Backup/Export your database. This task can be performed by using PHPMyAdmin. Check our tutorial on how to backup/restore MySQL database in order to create a backup of your ATutor database. 

NB: Make sure that you choose the correct database which your ATutor application uses. 

If you are unsure about the ATutor database name you will be able to find it in the atutor_folder/include/config.inc.php file. You can view this file through cPanel -> File manager.

aTutor Upgrade

Before proceeding with the ATutor upgrade, we will recommend you to create a full backup of your ATutor installation. In this way you will be able to restore it in a case of a failed upgrade.

Define the folder of the aTutor application which you want to upgrade. The new and the old folders should be on the same directory level.

The versions after aTutor 1.6 are using the UTF-8 charset for the database. If the database is not converted, this means that your installation is older than aTutor 1.6. The conversion option will be provided during the upgrade procedure.

In order to complete the upgrade you should download the latest aTutor installation package from their official web site. Extract the archive under your computer. Then you should upload the extracted folder using cPanel -> FileManager for your hosting account or through an FTP Client. The uploaded folder should be placed under the public_html directory.

Please follow the detailed steps from our ATutor upgrade video tutorial:

The ATutor upgrade is completed.

You can use your favourite FTP Client to remove the install folder and to make the include/config.inc.php file read-only. Also, through it you can copy the content folder under the new ATutor directory and remove the old one.

Edit include/config.inc.php using cPanel -> FileManager and define the content folder path in the following line:

define('AT_CONTENT_DIR', '/home/user/public_html/atutor_directory/content/');

Replace the above path with the correct one for your installation.

Then you can rename the new ATutor directory per your preference.

ATutor tips and tricks

In this section we will teach you how to create your own ATutor theme.

How to create your own ATutor theme

We will show you the most preferred way to create a new theme. In order to complete the task, we will use the files of the default ATutor theme. We will export the theme from the ATutor admin area->System Preferences->Themes.

Once you have the theme files on your computer, you can edit their code. 

We will call the new theme "my_theme". 

The necessary files for a new theme are: 

1. styles.css
2. theme.cfg.php
3. theme_info.xml
4. screenshot.jpg
5. include/header.tmpl.php
6. include/footer.tmpl.php 

The theme name should be entered in the theme_info.xml file. The line where the modification should be completed is:

<title>my_theme</title>

If templates are not found under the new theme, they will be inherited from the default one. 

In order to modify the theme files you will need some basic HTML, CSS and PHP knowledge. 

Once you are ready with the modifications, put the above files in a folder called "my_theme". Create an archive of it. 

Then follow the steps for the installation of a new theme. Once the theme is installed, you can set it as the default and check the result. 

If you need to perform further modifications on the theme files, look for them in atutor_directory/themes/my_theme. The files can be opened and edited through cPanel -> FileManager.