Creating a CLIO Activity
Overview
Activities are created through easily customizable activity templates, called Activity Types. You can make your own, or utilize the ones that are provided. The CLIO web application suite comes pre-installed with seventeen Activity Types that are designed specifically for use in an informal education or exhibit context. These activities are coded and stored as JSON files for use within CLIO, but we provide word processor templates to assist with collaboration during the development and drafting process.
Define the Activity
All CLIO activities, regardless of their Activity Type, contain many of the same configuration settings. These are used to configure the screen and load the correct content. By defining this information, we can begin to draft more specific activity content.
| Property | Description | Expected Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Name of the activity. This is displayed in the header bar on the Activity page.
Note: On smaller screens, titles over twelve characters long may be cut off. |
Plain Text |
| Description | Description of the activity. | Rich Text |
| Preview | Preview image shown while CLIO is in Exhibit Mode. | Image File |
| Theme | CSS theme to be used while this activity is active. | Name of CSS file in 'themes' folder, with "theme_" omitted. |
| Attributions | List of attributions for included copyrighted works. | Plain Text |
| Acknowledgements | List of acknowledgements for content creators. | Plain Text |
Choose an Activity Type
Activity Types range in complexity and customization options. There are simple interactive activities with very little customization, as well as more complex activities that can be extensively customized to assist in the creation of a narrative. Simple interactive games like quizzes, flashcards, and tile matching are included for younger audiences, while other activities like timelines and annotated images enable older audiences to have a more in-depth informational experience.
Annotated Image
The Annotated Image activity type can provide additional context to an image through the inclusion of ‘Look Closer’ buttons. Each ‘Look Closer’ button can display open to display rich text, an image gallery, or a video.
Binary Quiz
The Binary Quiz activity type can be customized to prompt users to select from a binary set of choices with correct and incorrect responses.
Card Match
The Card Match activity type is designed to draw connections between two sets of objects, images, or ideas by trying to match cards.
Collection Gallery
The Collection Gallery activity type displays a list of objects, such as collections artifacts, that opens a full-screen gallery of images of that object with captions. This activity is designed to draw connections between a museum’s “home” collections and the objects on display in outreach programming.
Flash Cards
The Flash Cards activity type displays topic cards that can be flipped to view a brief description, or opened to look at a longer rich text description.
Image Comparison
The Image Comparison activity type can be used to compare, contrast or overlay one image over another, allowing a user to interactively decide how much of each image they would like to see. You can also add ‘Look Closer’ buttons to highlight specific areas of the image.
Image Gallery
The Image Gallery activity type is a collection of images combined into a gallery that users can look through, with brief descriptions for each image.
Media Dichotomous Key
The Media Dichotomous Key activity type presents a gallery of images to the user and a series of questions. Using the images, they answer to the best of their ability and, when there have been enough questions asked to reach a conclusion, they will be presented with their answer versus the correct answer based on their responses.
Meta
The Meta activity type will display the included Activities as scrollable list.
Path Finder
The Path Finder activity type is a visual activity that uses a series of multiple choice questions to chart a path from an origin to a destination. Each question’s options can have additional information that is used to provide context to the choice and help shape their answer. As the user progresses, they can view the correct answer from the previous questions to help build connections.
Render Object
The Render Object activity type allows the user to interact with a digital three-dimensional object.
Rich Text with Narration
The Rich Text with Narration activity type displays rich text with an optional voiceover.
Slideshow
The Slideshow activity type allows users to navigate through a slideshow, with optional “basement” slides that exist below the primary slide.
Tile Match
The Tile Match activity type is designed to draw connections between two sets of objects, images, or ideas. Each set contains four cards that users can try to match, with configurable correct and incorrect responses.
Timeline
The Timeline activity type creates an ordered timeline that users can navigate through, date by date.
Video Playback
The Video Playback activity type plays an MP4 video. It can be configured to disable the audio or the control bar.
Visual Thinking
The Visual Thinking activity type is an inquiry-based learning activity can be used to highlight a collection of images and provide prompts for users to learn more about what they find most interesting.
