2023-11-15
Changes and New Features
Release Date: 11/15/2023
New Features: Bricks Create
Bricks Create now provides a method for customers to preview features that are in beta. The following section describes the beta features and how to toggle the beta preview on/off.
Toggle Beta Features On/Off
To toggle the beta features on/off, perform the following steps.
From Bricks Create, click the profile icon to display the menu options.
Toggle the ‘Beta Features’ option on or off.
Note: An application update is required when beta features are toggled on or off.
Beta Feature #1 - Create Brick Options
When the beta feature is toggled on, additional options display when the ‘Create Brick’ button is clicked.
Blank Canvas
When selecting the ‘Blank Canvas’ option, you may create your brick from a blank brick template.
To create your brick from a blank canvas, perform the following steps.
Click the Create Brick button and select the Blank Canvas option. A ‘Create Brick’ modal displays so you may select your desired brick language.
Select the brick language and click the Create Brick button. A blank brick template is displayed.
Complete the brick template & publish the brick.
Note: All required elements (i.e., Title, Learning Objectives, Summary points, and Review Questions) must be completed before the brick can be published.
Begin with FIle
When selecting the ‘Begin with File’ option, you may create your brick from an existing .docx or .txt file. If you’re working in Google Docs or a PDF, you can save them as a .docx file to use with Bricks Create.
To create your brick by beginning with a file, perform the following steps.
Click the Create Brick button and select the Begin with File option—the ‘Brick Converter’ modal displays.
Click the File Explorer button to browse and select the desired file. The ‘File Processed’ section displays the name of the selected file.
Click the Create Brick button. The file is turned into a brick. While we strive to convert the brick into the perfect format, the brick should be reviewed and formatted, as needed, before publishing.
The following brick vignettes will automatically be created:
Headers
Paragraphs
Lists
Images
Tables
Customers will need to add or format any other vignette types, including:
Videos
Image carousels
Equations
Active learning questions
Flashcards
Learning Objectives (minimum of one)
Summary points (minimum of one)
Review Questions (minimum of one)
Beta Feature #2 – Updated Authoring Design
The authoring experience in Bricks Create has been updated to be more streamlined. The following section describes the design updates outlined in the following screenshot.
Back button
The ‘back’ button provides a method to return to the ‘My Bricks’ page quickly.
Share & Publish
The Share & Publish buttons are now prominently displayed on the top right of the page.
Publish. The ‘Publish’ button is only enabled when the brick is in a draft state. Once the brick is published, the ‘Publish’ button is disabled.
Share. When clicked, the ‘Share’ button displays the following options.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
Copy Draft Link | The ‘Copy Draft Link’ provides a method to copy the URL to the draft brick so it can be shared. |
Copy Published Link | The ‘Copy Published Link’ provides a method to copy the URL to the published version of the brick so it can be shared. This option is only enabled once the brick is in a published state. |
Share Brick via… | The ‘Share Brick via…’ option provides a method to share the brick via an external method. This option is only enabled once the brick is in a published state. |
Version History
When clicked, the ‘Version History’ button provides a method to view the brick version history. A new version record is displayed on this page each time a brick is modified.
Brick Info
When the ‘Information’ icon clicks, information related to the brick is displayed.
Settings
The brick ‘Settings’ option is now displayed on the bottom right of the page. As you scroll through the brick, the ‘Settings’ button remains in view. This is called a “sticky footer”. The settings page details are displayed on the same page but in separate screenshots below, making each option easier to see.
The following table describes each section on the ‘Settings’ page.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
Privacy | Listed. When enabled, listed bricks appear on the school & author pages and will be returned in search results. Unlisted. When enabled, unlisted bricks will not appear on the school or author pages and will not be returned in search results. |
Featured Image | This option provides a method for the brick to display an image. |
Language | The brick language section determines the language in which the brick is displayed within Bricks Create and the Brick Exchange. This setting will not impact the logged-in user’s selected application language or other application content. |
Sharing | Published Link. The published link will only be activated when the brick is in a published state. Draft Link. The draft link will always redirect to the most recent draft version of the brick. |
Administration | Transfer Ownership. Transferring ownership of a brick will remove you as the owner and allows the new owner to edit the brick’s content. Delete Brick. When the ‘Permanently Delete’ button is clicked, the brick is deleted and cannot be recovered. |
Beta Feature #3 - Updated Toolbox Design
The toolbox has been updated to a new dropdown list design.
[ORIGINAL TOOLBOX]
[UPDATED TOOLBOX]
Click on the plus sign (+) or hit the ‘Enter’ button on your keyboard to access the toolbox when adding a new vignette (section) to a brick.
Note: When a vignette type that is only allowed to be used once in a brick is already used, it will still display in the list, but it will be disabled (i.e., Case Connection in the screenshot above).
Beta Feature #4 – Power Functions
There are now power functions to aid power users during the brick authoring process. When adding new brick vignettes (sections), these power functions allow power users to keep their hands on the keyboard instead of using a mouse to click.
To utilize these power functions, type a slash ‘/’ to display the power function menu, or type the power function as displayed below in the table.
The following table provides the vignette types, description, and the associated power function.
| Vignette Types | Description | Power Function |
|---|---|---|
Text | Start authoring with plain text. | /text |
Header 1 | Add a primary section heading. | /header1 |
Header 2 | Add a secondary section heading. | /header2 |
Bulleted List | Organize items into a bulleted list. | /bulletedlist |
Numbered List | Organize items into a sequentially numbered list. | /numberedlist |
Table | Add a table to display data in a tabular format. | /table |
Equation | Add an equation using LaTeX format. | /equation |
Image | Insert a single image. | /image |
Image Carousel | Insert multiple images to create a sliding viewer. | /imagecarousel |
Video | Embed a video clip. | /video |
Embed | Embed a PowerPoint presentation or Google slides. | /embed |
Question | Add a question. | /question |
Flashcard | Add a flashcard. | /flashcard |
Case Connection | Add a case. This feature adds an intro. section to the beginning of the brick and a conclusion section at the end of the brick. | /caseconnection |
Clinical Correlation | Add clinical information. | /clinicalcorrelation |
Beta Feature #5 – AI Assistant
Want to create brick questions and flashcards to test students’ knowledge as they are reading but struggling with what to write? Let the embedded AI assistant help.
To quickly create a question or flashcard, type /ai and select one of the following options:
Question. When selected, the AI Assistant inserts a single, active-learning question based on the text preceding the insertion point.
Flash Card. When selected, the AI Assistant embeds a single flash card based on the text preceding the insertion point.
[FRONT OF CARD]
[BACK OF CARD]
Brick Voiceovers
Brick Voiceovers provide customers with a method to listen to the content of a brick. A transcript is created from our brick data, with additional cues & transitions, and then we use Azure text-to-speech services to generate an audio file. The following vignette types are skipped:
Images
Image carousels
Videos
Embeds
Equations
On the web, customers have a method to:
Play
Pause
Skip ahead
Increase playback speed
Note: This feature will be available on both mobile platforms in a subsequent release.
Bricks Create – Link Brick
Bricks Create now provides a method to link to another brick within a ScholarRx collection. Any user who can create (author) a brick may use this feature.
To link to another ScholarRx brick, highlight the desired text in the brick and select the ‘Link Brick’ option from the toolbar.
Note: You may link to a brick even when you do not have a subscription to the brick collection; however, only a brick preview is displayed when a user does not have a subscription to a linked brick.
When the brick is published and the link is clicked in the Exchange, the brick will open in a new tab.
Enhancements/Updates
Institutional Onboarding Flow
The Institutional Onboarding flow has been enhanced to clarify the onboarding process.
Every user will see the welcome page after a valid magic link is clicked, even if they already have an existing B2C (personal) subscription. By clicking the ‘Accept’ button, users are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
When the magic link is invalid (i.e., the link is inactive or there is a typo in the URL), this page displays instead.
After clicking the ‘Accept’ button on the welcome page, users are prompted to log in through Edlink with their school account.
When the login is successful (i.e., a successful login may only be achieved when the email address is on the whitelist domain that was created when the magic link was created), the introduction page displays. To continue, the user must click the ‘Accept’ button to signify that they agree to the conditions displayed on this page.
If the user already has B2C (personal) subscriptions that overlap with the subscription(s) the institution is providing; they are still onboarded & given any applicable roles; however, a page displays to inform them to contact Customer Service to request that their B2C subscription(s) be paused.
Note: Pausing a B2C subscription is optional and up to the user to initiate.
Should a user sign in with an Email that is not included on the institution’s whitelist, the following page is displayed.
Search – Remove First Aid Copy & Share Options
Due to ScholarRx’s licensing agreement with the publisher of the First Aid USMLE-Rx book, the options to copy and share a First Aid fact have been removed.
[Before]
[After]
Search Upgrade – Brick Exchange
Faculty & students may now search for Bricks on the Brick Exchange by:
Author. Bricks published by the author are returned in the search. The supported author types include primary author, author, & senior author.
Organization. Bricks published by the organization are returned in the search results.
Last updated
