For Faculty
When creating assignments for composition or creative projects, be sure to allow the submission of web links (URLs) as the deliverable of the assignment. Then, for the assignment descriptions, include details like this:
- Please create a Single-Track project in Opusonix for your project.
- Drop in audio (or video) files into the Media Tracks section
- Use the built-in Notes area for reflection or the writing element (if any) of the assignment
- For any additional files and/or folders involved, drop them into the Files section.
- When you're ready to submit, click on the "Invite" button, then switch to the "Invite via Link" tab. Set "Link Expiration" to 30 days, and copy the link.
- Go to your assignment on the learning management system, and submit the link as your deliverable.
Grading
When you grade a submission, you'll click on the link to enter the student's project workspace. You can listen to one or more versions of the audio or video files in the Media Tracks section, and you can leave remarks anywhere. Remember to use the "M" key keyboard shortcut to quickly drop markers or create regions, like this:
Seeing More Components
When you first joining a student's workspace, you may be looking at the ultra-simplified screen layout that only shows the media tracks. If you wish to see more sections (such as the notes section, or the video preview pod, etc), switch to the other screen layouts first by using the screen layout selection near the center top.
With the notes section revealed - you can use the Notes area to write down overall comments. The text you added here will be labeled with your name, so the students can easily see what your remarks are.
Notifying the Student
When you are done adding comments or updating the notes, you can safely close the tab. Opusonix will automatically notify the author of the project (the student in this case) via email about your actions. Alternatively, if you wish to supply a custom message in this notification, you can click on the "Notify Team" button near the top right corner of the window, then supply your own message.
Grading Lots of Submissions
It's likely that you'll have submissions from multiple students. There are two ways to access their submissions:
- Go to the assignment on your learning management system, and click on their submitted links.
- Go to your Opusonix -> Projects tab, then filter by "Projects Shared with You". This lets you see all the projects that you've joined as an editor thus far. The projects are also listed by months, so you can browse the listing easily and access the project workspaces as needed.
For Students
For most of the composition or creative projects, you'll just need a Single-Track project, which is a project workspace that allows you to work with multiple versions of audio or video files, along with notes and supporting files.
To create a new track project, from your Opusonix dashboard, use the "+" button near the top left corner, and choose New Single-Track Project. If you are working on an album, or a set of tracks, you can of course choose the Album option, which lets you define a custom set of individual track projects.
Handling Media Tracks
To import audio or video tracks, simply drag and drop them into the Media Tracks section.
Managing Multiple Revisions
When you import multiple revisions, be sure to mark the latest track with the Star icon to signify that it's the primary track for your peers and your instructor. Also, it's a good practice to put the latest revision on top, so your peers and instructor can identify it with ease.
Each track has a number of controls on the left, and this diagram explains their corresponding functionalities:
Pointing Things Out
To point out important moments, use the Comment feature at the desired spots. Remember - comments can be responded to. So you can respond to comments made by your peers and your instructors, and they can do the same to comments you created.
Notifying Your Instructor
After making new changes, such as importing new revisions of your compositions, you want to notify your instructor about the changes you just made. To do this, click on the "Notify Team" button near the top right corner, and write your custom message. Your instructor will be notified via email instantly.
Getting Notified By Your Instructor (or Peers)
When someone used your share link to join your track workspace, you'll get notified via email. When someone left a note or updated some feedback, you'll also get notified via email.
Things to Watch Out For
- Uploading large files. The size limit on a single file is 5GB.
- Opusonix supports a wide range of file formats, including compressed and uncompressed audio files such as 24bit/96kHz PCM. But large files will take longer for your peers and instructors to download and view. So unless it's absolutely necessary, upload high quality but compressed files such as mp3 will make things drastically easier for everyone.
- The project Share Links have an expiration date for security purposes. The default validity is 7 days. That means the link you submitted will only be valid until the link expires. So if you're submitting homework to your instructor, be sure to set a longer validity time. But once your instructor has joined your track workspace, he/she will remain in your project as an editor and you do not need to generate new share links for them (or repeatedly invite them).