TRIAL SOFTWARE GUIDE Thank you for trying the WIDS software! We appreciate your interest and look forward to hearing from you. Please contact us at (800) 677-9437 if you have any questions about your trial and/or if you d like to schedule a private Web demo. 1. PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE This guide is designed to help you get started using the WIDS software. WIDS helps you with the design of: Courses or other learning experiences Programs, majors, or discipline threads DACUMs (occupational analyses) Learning outcome matrix reports Think of the software as a large filing cabinet, where you store learning outcomes, related assessments, occupational analyses and program design information. You no longer have to search through multiple filing cabinets or folders. WIDS organizes the learning elements for you. Better yet, any changes you make to your WIDSdeveloped curriculum, such as revising a competency, are automatically made throughout your curriculum. All of your work is stored in the WIDS database; reports are generated in Web-friendly "HTML" or Microsoft Word. 2. DOWNLOAD THE TRIALSOFTWARE 1. If you haven t done so already, navigate to www.wids.org. 2. Click on the Download Free 60-day Trial Software. 3. Choose Run or Open when prompted. 3. START WIDS You start WIDS the same way you start other Windows applications. Double click the WIDS 7 icon on your desktop or click the Start button on the Windows task bar and point at All Programs from the Start menu. The All Programs menu appears. Point at the WIDS 7.5 program in the All Programs menu. The WIDS 7.5 menu appears. Click on WIDS 7.5 in the menu. 4. OPEN A SAMPLE COURSE, PROGRAM OR DACUM Sample projects are available for you to open, examine, and manipulate. When you start the WIDS program, the Main Menu greets you. To open a sample project follow these steps. 1. Select the module that represents the file type you want to open: Learning Design (course), Program, or DACUM. WIDS opens the Open Project dialog box. Choose project type (Learning Design, Program, DACUM) 1
2. In the Folder list box, select the Samples folder. WIDS lists the sample files in this folder. Note: you can select a different type of project by clicking the dropdown arrow under Project Type. 3. In the File list box, select a file name. Double-click the sample project tile OR select the name and click on Open Project. WIDS opens the project and displays the project flowchart. 5. CREATE A NEW COURSE (LEARNING DESIGN), PROGRAM, OR DACUM To create a new course (learning design), program or DACUM, from the main WIDS menu: 1. Select the module that represents the file type you want to create (Learning Design, Program, or DACUM). WIDS opens the Open Project dialog box. 2. Select New Project. Note: you can create a different project type by clicking the drop-down arrow under Project Types. 3. Key in a title for the project. 4. Click OK. 6. NAVIGATE IN LEARNING DESIGN (COURSE) The WIDS flowchart automatically opens after you open or create a course (learning design). To navigate through this module, begin by clicking Wizards. Use the wizard navigation menu to choose the item on which you want to work. 7. NAVIGATE IN PROGRAM DESIGN OR DACUM The WIDS flowchart automatically opens after you open or create a program or DACUM. To navigate through these modules, click the flowchart button on which you want to work. Once inside an area of the flowchart, click the large design bar button on which you want to work. Locate the Import Option under Tools 8. IMPORT DATA FROM A TEXT OR WORD FILE The Import Tool allows you to import text from a Word file or a text file into your WIDS database. 1. Navigate to the screen where you would like to import the text. 2. From the Tools menu, click Import Items from a Text File. The import list opens. 3. Click Browse for File from the bottom of the screen. 4. Navigate to the file containing the information you want to import. Note that by default the tool browses for.txt files. If you want to browse for a Word document (.doc file), change the file type in the Open File dialog box. 5. Click on the file name and then click Open. The import list dialog box populates with the text available for importing. 2
6. Highlight the text you want to import. If there is more than one place to populate on the screen, the Import screen will present the destination options. Choose the appropriate field or grid row by clicking on it. Click Insert Selected Text. 9. SAVE YOUR WORK 1. Open the File menu and choose Save WIDS File As. 2. Key in a file name. WIDS adds the appropriate extension for you. 3. By default WIDS saves your file in My WIDS Documents. To save to another location use standards Windows navigation to select a folder on your computer. 4. Click OK. LEARNING DESIGN (COURSE) WIZARDS 1. OPEN A LEARNING DESIGN (COURSE) Open WIDS. From the main WIDS menu, select Learning Design (Course). Open a new or existing course. 2. NAVIGATE IN LEARNING DESIGN Though you may use the flowchart to navigate the Learning Design Module, most WIDS users prefer using the Wizards (now in version 7.5). To begin working with Learning Design Wizards, simply click the Wizards icon from the flowchart. The Wizards menu includes five tabs: Syllabus, COS, LPlan, PAT and Info. The first four tabs represent different types of documents (reports) you can create in WIDS. The Info tab provides onscreen help and information. Choose the tab that represents the document on which you would like to work. Once you have accessed the Wizard, use the wizard navigation menu on the left to access different screens. Common features used in WIDS are represented as icons on the toolbar for quicker, easier access. Start Here Use this menu to navigate 3
3. NOTE PRE-POPULATED DATA If you have already worked in a WIDS file, or you are viewing a sample course, existing information populates the wizard. Items containing data are designated with a solid bullet. You can add or change information any place in the software and it will add or change the information everywhere! Navigation Menu Solid bullets indicate the field is populated 4. PRINT PREVIEW YOUR WORK 1. As you input data into WIDS, simply click Print Preview from the wizard menu to see your work. 2. To return to the wizard menu click Close Print Preview on the design bar. 5. PRINT YOUR WORK There are three options for printing your report. You can print directly from the screen, or save the file as HTML or Word and then print it from another application. 1. To print your document from the Print Preview click on Print Preview and then click Print on the design bar. 2. To save the document as a Word document, click Save Report As MS Word on the design bar. Enter a file name and choose a file location. Click Save. 3. To save the document as an HTML document, click Save Report As HTML on the design bar. Enter a file name and choose a file location. Click Save. You can now open the report in Word or an HTML editor for additional formatting or dissemination. 6. CUSTOMIZE YOUR REPORT WIDS allows you to customize the print preview to include or exclude components. While in the Print Preview, a menu appears on the left side of the screen. To customize the Selection Tree: 1. Expand report components as necessary to see all data fields available in the report. Expand components by clicking the + symbol to the left of individual Selection Tree components. 2. Select or de-select data fields as necessary. Checkboxes with checkmarks indicate items will appear in your report. You may uncheck boxes to de-select data fields. 4
3. Refresh the report data by clicking the Refresh Report button located on the design bar. Selection Tree Refresh Report 7. PRINTING TIPS Keep these tips in mind when printing: 1. Any changes you have made to the selection tree will be maintained until you change the tree again. This holds true even if you open another course. 2. If you do not see an item in your print preview that you know you created, check to make sure the item is selected to print in the selection tree. 3. Only edit the report format in HTML or MS Word files. Do not edit content as it will not be reflected back in your WIDS file. 4. HTML does not recognize page breaks. To take advantage of the page break selection, you need to save your report as a MS Word document and print from Word. 5