OpenLab Connections
OpenLab Connections allows you to link related Courses, Projects, or Clubs and share selected information between them. For instance, members of one course section can follow activity from a connected section without needing to become members of that section (private content will not be shared). When connecting, each group can decide exactly which categories will be shared and which will not, allowing them to keep part of the content restricted to its original context.
Inviting Groups to start a connection
1. In the right sidebar menu, click Connection Settings. Then click Make a Connection.
2. Start typing the name of the group (Course, Project, or Club) in the search box. As you type, a list of relevant options will appear in the dropdown. Select the correct one. You can also paste the profile or site URL. Repeat this step to add other groups, as needed.
3. The group(s) you selected will appear under Send Invitations. If any of them aren’t correct, click Remove Invite to delete it before sending the invitations.
4. Once all the correct groups are listed, click Send Invites.
5. The selected groups will appear under Pending Invites. The request must be accepted before any activity is pulled from each group you want to connect.
6. Once the invites are accepted, the connected groups will show up in Connected Groups and in the Connections widget in the right sidebar menu.
Accepting connections
1. In Connection Settings, click Invitations.
2. Your invitations will be listed in the Invitations box. Click Accept.
Managing the shared content between connections
1. In Connection Settings > Connected Groups, click Manage the content you are sharing with this connection, under the desired group.
2. By default, you will share posts and comments from all categories. If you want to restrict to one or more categories, click the search box and select the desired category.
3. If you want to remove a category from the list, click x in the category button.
4. If you don’t want to share comments made on the shared posts, check the Do not include comments box below.
5. If you don’t want to share any content, check the Do not share any content with this connection box. Notice that if you check this box, all categories above will be automatically removed. If you want to add them back, you will need to manually add each one again.
Viewing activity from Connections
The posts (and comments, if enabled) that your connected groups have shared with you will appear in your Course, Project, or Club’s Profile > Activity > Connections.
You can also add the OpenLab Activity block or widget to your Site, which you can show activity from connected groups.
