Resources were added to VTA some time ago to support competency improvement. As part of a development plan, a competency assessor can assign resources to a student. In version 8.0 of Learner, we have added a Resource Search feature to help student’s find resources on their own.
What is a Resource?
First, let’s briefly review VTA Resources. In VTA, a “Resources” is a source of information (e.g., books, websites, mentor/subject-matter experts, internal company documents, etc.). Assessors can assign resources to a student’s Personal Development Plan as a means to build competence and/or to help close a proficiency gap.
Resources are somewhat unique in VTA in that YOU define the data you want to track for each Resource Type. Sample resource types could include:
- A book
- A Subject Matter Expert
- A web site
- A YouTube video
In the screenshot below, I’ve defined a “book” resource type.
For each “field” that you add to a resource type, you select among several field types:
- Character type
This is a short text field - Date type
A date field - Email Address type
An email address. You would use this in place of a Character field type when you want Learner to display an email address as a “mail to” link. - Student type
This field type will display a “Lookup” to a person in the VTA Student table. - Number type
A numeric value. For example, if I wanted to include the “price” for my book resource type, I would use used a Number field type. - Text type
This is for large text fields, like descriptions. - Url type
A web address. When Url is used for a resource, Learner will display the entered text as a link. - Vendor Contact type
This field type will display a “Lookup” to the Vendor Contact table.
Once you have defined your Resource Types, you can create Resources. In my example, I can add as many “books” to the Resource table in VTA as I wish.
Resource Search
With that background, let’s look at the new Resource Search feature in Learner.
In the example above, I entered “crane” in the Search Text box, then clicked the Search button. Learner found two results: a Subject Matter expert and a book. I can further filter my search by unchecking Resource Types on the left side of the results.
What is Searched?
Learner searches the following for resources:
- The resource “name”. This is a built-in field for each resource.
- The resource “description”.
Important Note: I should NOT have created a Description field for my “book” resource type. Each resource automatically includes a built-in description field, and it is the built-in field that is included in the search. - Resource Tags
Each resource should be assigned one or more Search Tags.
Next: Using YouTube Videos as Resources
