XtLearn.net
Collect from anywhere,
share with anyone.
Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 2
Getting started with XtLearn.net in two easy steps ......................................................................... 2
Getting your bearings – the Dashboard ............................................................................................ 2
First things first! .................................................................................................................................... 2
Getting resources from the web ......................................................................................................... 2
Creating resources from your own files ............................................................................................ 2
Crafting .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Sharing ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Collaborating ......................................................................................................................................... 2
The Collaboration Kitchen................................................................................................................... 2
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Introduction
XtLearn is a website that enables educational practitioners to build collections of resources and
present them to learners in ways that are visually compelling.
You can gather resources from anywhere on the web or create resources from your own files organising them to form collections that can be edited and shared with anyone via a simple link. You
can share collections with colleagues and friends, publish them on Facebook and other sites, and
easily deliver them to learners in a VLE like Moodle.
XtLearn has all the features of sites like Delicious™ and Pinterest but is designed just for teachers
and tutors. It’s very flexible and easy to use and has a host of educationally specific features.
There are four main elements to XtLearn:

Gathering – collecting the resources you want to use;

Crafting – organising the resources you have gathered or created into cohesive collections,
editing them and selecting from one of several display themes and layouts;

Sharing – sharing your collections with learners and colleagues;

Collaborating – with others in the XtLearn community.
All of these functions are free!
Additional functionality is available on subscription, including:

Ability to build unlimited collections;

File space to upload and mix in own resources;

Special and own-brand templates for the presentation layer used for students;

“Project” pages to tag and organise collections for easy access in your organisation;

Copy the collections of other users;
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Getting started with XtLearn.net in two easy steps
1. Click on the link on NCFE Collaboration Kitchen webpage
http://www.xtlearn.net/kitchen/
In the top right hand corner click on the tab “Sign In”
Then click on "New User”
2. Register as a new user
Complete the simple form and click on ‘Register’.
Follow the help on
choosing a
username and
password, and
click on Register.
That’s it!
Ok you are ready to start gathering resources and making your first collection!
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Getting your bearings – the Dashboard
Once you’ve registered and signed in you’ll be directed to the Dashboard. You can find all the
collections you’ve made (and the ones you follow) here and all the resources you’ve gathered from
the web or created from your own files. You can find and access the people you want to follow and
see a list of all the projects you are a member of. You can also make new collections from here,
create resources from files you upload to your personal file-space, and edit your profile.
If you’re ever lost, just head for the Dashboard!
Search for friends,
collections and
resources.
Create a new
collection from
here.
Select your workplace
and edit your profile from
here.
Cut and paste the address of any web-link you want
to collect from here (if for any reason you can’t use
XtAdd button.)
Upload your own files from here (and then
convert them to resources which you can mix in
with your web-links.)
Next Steps – see below for help-sheets on Gathering resources in XtLearn, Crafting and Sharing your
XtLearn collections and Collaborating with others in your own or in the wider XtLearn community.
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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First things first!
3. Get the XtAdd button and add it to your bookmarks bar
The XtAdd button is used for adding resources to your collections. To get it visit
www.xtlearn.net/welcome and drag the XtAdd button to your browser bookmarks bar. If you get
stuck, check out the video tutorials on how to open your bookmarks bar and how to drag the XtAdd
button onto it.
Drag the XtAdd
button from the
Welcome page to
your browser’s
bookmarks bar
Don’t worry if for any reason you can’t get your bookmarks bar open or use the XtAdd button. An alternative is
to cut and paste the address of any web-page you want to collect into a box on your Dashboard (see next
page).
Getting resources from the web
Gathering resources from the web is easy, and takes just two clicks using the "XtAdd" button which
you have just added to the bookmark bar of your web browser in Getting Started above.
When you have identified a website you would like to add to a collection, all you do is click on the
XtAdd button on your bookmarks bar to open the XtAdd panel.
1. The XtAdd panel displays your collections, and offers you options to:

add your chosen resource to a pre-existing collection

create a new collection and add the resource to it or

simply gather the resource for later use.
2. Click anywhere on the collection that you want to add the resource to
(a marble representing the resource will drop into the collection you
select.)
3. Close the XtAdd panel and continue browsing for more resources
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Creating resources from your own files
3. Follow the steps to give your created
resource a description, a thumbnail and
add it to a collection.
Give your resource a description
1. To create a resource from
a file on your desktop, simply
upload the file to your
personal file-space…
2. Select the file and then
click on “Create a resource
from this file”
Choose a thumbnail
Add to a collection (can also be done
later)
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Crafting
4. Organising the collection contents
Edit and craft your collections at any time. Change titles of resources, add your own text and
mix in your own files.
Choose your own title
and description.
Change the order of
your resources using
simple drag and drop.
Add annotations and
instructions.
Look for context-sensitive help to aid you with
all tasks.
Click on a resource from the
collection contents list to open it,
edit title & description, choose a
thumbnail etc.
You can remove a link to a
resource from a collection
from here.
Remember that all collections and all resources (whether gathered from the web or created from
your own files) are kept by the system and can be added to other collections later.
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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5. Choosing the look and feel
Peer view
Set a thumbnail, and choose a theme and layout for the learner view.
Click to
choose a
thumbnail
for your
collection.
Click “change” to choose
from a range of themes or
specify your own.
Learner view
The resulting presentation layer for students will look something like the one below. It is known as
the “Learner View” and there’s lots of flexibility to shape the way it looks.
Click on “learner
view” to see what
the resulting
collection will look
like for learners.
A collection Learner View - http://www.xtlearn.net/L/1212/11/J
This one is arranged in tiles with a branded theme and there are many other themes and layout
options. Premium service users can use their own brand schemes. Resources made from uploaded
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Office documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint together with PDFs can be read online from a
window presented within the browser. They can also be downloaded.
Sharing
Share with learners and peers, using any social site (Facebook, Twitter etc.)
Click the “share”
button to share
your collection via
e-mail or on a
range of social
media sites.
Share widely on any platform
...and embed seamlessly in any VLE (Moodle, Blackboard etc.)
Embed collections in
Moodle by simply
copying the embed
code into a Moodle
label.
Once you’ve shared or embedded the collection, any edits you make within XtLearn will be
dynamically updated wherever you have published your collection.
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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Collaborating
Find, follow and use other user's collections and resources. Share within an organisation…
Follow other
users.
Clare Killen’s public profile page:
http://www.xtlearn.net/U/ClareK/
A user’s public profile page looks like this. You can see and follow
Clare’s collections from this page. You can search for friends and
access all those you are following from the Dashboard.
…and participate in special projects.
A project page - http://www.xtlearn.net/p/kl1
Tag and organise your resources
and collections by subject area,
qualification etc.
Anyone can be invited to
join a project, share
collections, contribute
resources or just follow
the action.
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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The Collaboration Kitchen
Collaboration Kitchen is an area of the XtLearn site that contains lists of NCFE and other resources
designed to support the delivery of NCFE qualifications. Click on any of the themes on the left of this
index page at www.xtlearn.net/kitchen and then look for the qualifications in bold as these are the
ones which currently have resources/collections for you to use.
Look for the
qualifications in bold
as these are the
ones with resources
and collections for
you to use.
The resources are tagged and organised into special XtLearn projects by unit with a separate tab for
each unit. There’s also a tab for collections of resources.
You can follow a
Collaboration
Kitchen qualification
in the same way as
you can follow a
regular XtLearn
project
Resources are
organised and tagged
to appear under a tab
for each unit.
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
There’s also a tab
for collections
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Collaboration Kitchen allows you to build collections from these resources which you can share with
colleagues and deliver to your learners in visually compelling ways.
Any resources or collections of your own that you gather or create within XtLearn can be added to
the tabs for you and others to use.
To contribute your own resources or
collections just click on the “Add a resource”
or “Add a collection” buttons…it’s that easy!
You can share collections with your learners via e-mail, on an intranet, via Facebook or embed them
into a VLE like Moodle, Blackboard or Fronter (see section on Sharing, on page 9.)
Start exploring the site today, build your collections and find out what opportunities are at your
fingertips!
For help and support visit www.xtlearn.net and/or e-mail help@xtlearn.net
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