Hwb playlists and assignments guidance

Overview

Hwb playlists let you to collate content from a range of sources into a single resource you can share with others. For example, you can collate web content with your own materials to create a quiz.

You can even turn a playlist into an assignment by adding a quiz. This allows you to collect the scores from any user who completes the assignment and display them in a markbook.

This page gives an overview on playlists and assignments. Our guidance on creating playlists and assignments explains how to do this in more detail.

You need to be logged into Hwb to use playlists.

Creating a Hwb playlist

Log in to Hwb.
Click on the Playlists tile.
Click + Add New (on the right-hand side): Add a new Playlist.
Give your Playlist a name: click Create.
Where you see a pencil icon, you can click the icon to edit the text.
On the right-hand side of the page you will see a number of content options:
- Hwb search (to find relevant Hwb resources).
- Google search (to find relevant web content – safe search is enabled here).
- YouTube search (to find relevant YouTube videos – safe search is enabled here).
- Britannica School search (to find relevant Britannica Digital Learning articles).
- Britannica ImageQuest search (to find safe royalty-free images for education use).
- Add URL (to add your own URL).
- People’s Collection Wales search (to find Welsh history resources).

Once you have found your content, drag and drop it into your playlist steps (to the left, under Steps).

To add a page where you can insert your own content and images, click on the Add page type button (to the right of the search options). Select a page type and drag and drop it into your playlist steps. Use the pencil icon (to the right of the relevant playlist step) to edit your pages.

Playlist steps can be reordered using the arrows that appear next to the step number when you hover over it.

What to consider when adding videos or links to playlists

Playlists provide website links, they don't make copies of the sites or videos used. That means if a website link changes or a video is removed from YouTube, anyone using the playlist would no longer be able to access it.

How to add mathematical content to playlists

Guidance on adding mathematical content to playlists using Mathquill. A list of Mathquill commands to enter mathematical and scientific symbols in playlists is also available.

Creating a quiz in a playlist

You can add a quiz to your playlist by selecting the Add page type icon to add a new page type and then selecting one of the quiz options. If you’re unsure which option to choose, hover over each option and click the i for more information about quiz types.

Once you have selected a quiz type, drag and drop it into your playlist steps. To edit your quiz do the following:

click on the pencil icon next to the quiz type in your playlist steps.
type your question, your answers and feedback (if required).
either click Save and close, Save and preview (to preview how your quiz will look for learners) or click on the green + button at the top of the page to add another quiz question

There is a Preview button in the top right-hand corner that you can use at any point to preview your playlist.

Sharing playlists

You have several options to share your playlist. All of these are available through the Share button (in the top right-hand corner) of your playlist.

Sharing the link will allow anyone logged in to Hwb to view your playlist.
Sharing to the Hwb Community will allow you to create a Hwb Community Resource from your playlist. The resource will then be available to all Hwb Community users (learners will not have access).
Sharing as an Assignment will take you to a page where you can turn your playlist into an assignment for your learners.

What to consider when sharing playlists with learners

Learners need to be logged-in to Hwb to view playlists. They also need the specific URL (web address) of the playlist, which can be found when you click Share from within your playlist.

How to use playlist share links

Accessing share links

To get to the share links feature, first click Playlists in the Hwb tools menu in the top right-hand corner. You’ll be taken to a list of your Playlists and folders.

Click the drop-down menu on the furthest right-hand side of the chosen playlist. You’ll be presented with the following options:

Rename allows you to change your playlist’s name.
Move to folder allows you to change its location.
Copy creates a duplicate of your playlist.
Manage Share Links is the feature we will be exploring in this help guide.
Reports is where you can view statistics about every individual quiz and question.
Manage Contributors allows you to manage your Playlist’s contributors and requests.
Delete is where you can delete your Playlist. You will be asked to confirm the deletion.

Click on Manage Share Links. Here you can create share links, as well as revoke or rename any links you’ve already created.

Creating a share link

Click the Create new share link button in the top right-hand corner of the page. This will open a pop-up box.

Here you can:

add a Name
adjust the Privacy Settings of your link to either Public or available only to Authenticated (logged-in) users
choose whether you want to Remember user progress. This means users’ scores will be remembered if they leave the playlist. This only saves progress on full activities that have been completed. It does not save a users’ position within the activity itself
choose whether you want to Allow users to edit survey answers. This means that users will be able to edit and resubmit their answers as many times as they like

Once you’ve finished editing the share link, click Save and your brand new share link will appear in your list of existing share links.

Editing share links

If, at any time, you want to Rename or Revoke your link, click the drop-down menu on the far right of your link and find the appropriate option.

Clicking on Rename will open a pop-up box where you can enter the link’s new name.

Clicking on Revoke link will open a pop-up box asking you to confirm that you want to revoke the link. There will be a reminder that revoking the link will mean anyone viewing the Playlist will no longer be able to view it.

To the left of the Share link button is a drop-down menu where you can change whether your Playlist is visible to the Public or only Authenticated (logged-in) users.

Sharing your link

You’ll see a button on each row labelled Share link.

Making a copy of a playlist

Make a copy of one of your own playlists

Log in to Hwb.
Click on the Playlists tile.
Click on the drop-down arrow to the right of the relevant Playlist: Click Copy.
The copy will then appear in your list of playlists with the name ‘Copy of original playlist name’.

Make a copy of someone else's playlist

Open the playlist.
Click on the cog icon (in the top right-hand corner).
Click Save a copy to My Playlists.
You will then find a fully editable copy in your playlist library.

Assignments

Setting a quiz as an assignment

To set a quiz as an Assignment, open the playlist, click Share: Assignments. You will then need to add the settings for your assignment.

Mark scheme: you can either use one of the options provided or add your own.
Assignment URL: this will be pre-filled for you but can be edited if required.
Schedule (optional): you can determine when the assignment is available to start and when it will become unavailable.
Time limit (optional): this enables you to restrict the amount of time that the learner has to complete the assignment.

Click either Save (if you’re not ready to share it yet) or Save and share Assignment. When you save and share your assignment, you will be given a link to share with your class and a QR code to display.

Learners will need to be logged-in to Hwb when they access the link. Their scores will be automatically collected into the markbook for that assignment.

You can find the markbooks for all assignments you have previously set from your user profile. Your user profile can be found by clicking on your name at the top right-hand corner of the page then selecting View Profile.

Read our full guide to creating assignments on Hwb.