Cluster Activity Elements (CAE's)

How to Set Up a Cluster

There are three major steps to successfully creating a cluster within a course;

1. Create a Parent Unit
   Build a new unit which will contain all the learning and assessment content for the cluster
2. Add the activity type 'Clustered Activity Element' to the VET/Cluster units
   Adding this activity makes it possible for these units to be allocated to a cluster
3. Use the Clustering Roadmap Function
   This function lets you allocate the VET unit to a cluster

Create a Parent Unit

See help page on how to create a new unit. The Parent Unit will contain all the learning and assessment content for the cluster. See this help page about activities. 

• Always create a new Parent Unit for a cluster
• This Parent Unit is not counted towards the number of units needed to complete a course
• Parent Units should be set to non-VET. See this help page on unit configuration.
• At unit level in certificates tab, enable setting never show on transcripts and certificates. See help page on unit tabs.

Add the activity type 'Clustered Activity Element' to the VET units

1. Create the VET units
   If the units are not already in your course, you will need to create these and add them to the course. See help page on how to create a new unit. 
   
   
2. For each VET unit select the Activities tab
   
   
   
   
3. Click the button to add activity
   
   
   
   
4. In the TYPE tab, select Clustered Activity Element
   
   NOTE: For cluster activity element to function correctly, there can be no other learning activities in this unit. If you will offer this unit as both part of a cluster activity element AND as a discrete unit with its own learning activities, you will need two separate versions of the unit. One for use in clusters, and one for use as a stand alone unit.
   
   
   
   
5. In the SPECS tab, provide an activity title
   You may provide a unique title, otherwise we suggest providing title "Clustered Activity Element"
   
   
   
   
6. Save your changes
   
   
   

7. Add the parent unit and the cluster units to your course
   See this help page how to add units to a course.
   The cluster units will appear in cream colour which depicts that it is eligible to use in a cluster

   

Use the Clustering Roadmap Function

The final step to create a cluster is actioned from the Course Settings page.

Make sure you have the Units tab open. At the top of the page above the list of units is a button for the Clustering Roadmap. 

In the resulting on screen pop-up, you will see the units in the course are split into two categories. On the left are your content units, and on the right are your unallocated cluster units.

  Content unit? We haven't used that term yet. A content unit can be a single unit of competency or your Parent Units - essentially it refers to any unit that might contain learning and assessment content

To allocate a cluster unit to a Parent Unit, follow the steps outlined below.

1. On the right side of the page in the unallocated cluster units list, click a unit and hold down your left mouse button
2. Continue to hold down the left mouse button, and drag the cluster unit across the page to sit on top of the Parent Unit you want to allocate this unit to
3. Release the left mouse button to allocate the unit to the the desired Parent Unit

You can tell it has allocated successfully when you see the unit displayed below the Parent Unit.

Common Questions