Editing Checklist

Editing checklist for SMILE records

Note: These are NOT instructions on how to catalog, but on how to edit what another person has already cataloged.

Before you begin

Take a look at the SMILE Cataloging Guidelines for detailed information about what should be in each field. This checklist assumes that you'll be consulting the guidelines often.

Check for duplication of records: Note key words in the title and description of each record, then search by those terms at howtosmile.org to see if there's already an activity in the catalog identical (or very similar) to the one you're editing. If you find a duplicate (or near-duplicate), write "possible duplication with X" (X being the name of the other record) in the Status Note field. In this case you would not edit the record, but email the Coordinating Editor, alerting her or him to the possible duplication.

Basic instructions for editing a SMILE record
1. Enter the NCS (http://howtosmile.org/ncs); click on the collection you've been directed to (e.g. SMILE Holding Pen)

2. Search by the last editor--the person you'll be editing. You should now have a short list of activities.

3. Open a record in "edit" view.

4. As you review and make changes to the record, save often, especially before you move to the next tab. In particular, it's easy to lose changes you make to the Keyword and Materials List fields because both require you to hit a Done button along with the usual Save button.

5. Check every field, even if not mentioned below--fields below are highlighted because they need further explanation, but all fields need to be reviewed.
In general, you'll be checking for
* accuracy
* completeness
* spelling, grammar, and clarity

6. Make sure the activity works as a stand-alone activity and doesn't rely on something like a museum visit or a larger curriculum to work.

7. When you finish editing, saving, and validating a record, go back to the search view (where you see a list of records), and change the status of that record (what you're changing the status flag from and to will depend on what stage of the editing process you're in). To change the status of a record, hit the "edit" link to the right of where it says Status Note. And be sure to hit "submit' after you make the change.

8. Note for search purposes that the record is now saved under your name (the most recent editor), not the original submitter.

Tips for some of the thornier fields

ACTIVITY BASICS tab

  1. Does url work? Is it the best landing page for an educator?
  2. Go to the actual record, read through it, and keep it open as you edit the record in the NCS
  3. Check relatedUrls: Urls ok? Titles ok?
  4. Note that 'kind' field under relatedUrl has Foreign Language version option. Use it if appropriate.
  5. description: Check against actual activity--does it capture the activity and give educators a good idea of what they will find? Check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity. Consult Guidelines for more information.
  6. subject: Check for accuracy. Make sure cataloger isn't overstretching--that is, reaching too far to find a connection between the activity and the subject.
  7. informalCategories: same as above.
  8. images: add one if none exist. (If there are no images readily available for upload, get creative--maybe do a screen capture of a part of a PDF, or go to the web site where the activity originally appears and see what you can find.
  9. ageRanges: accurate? If we check all age ranges for all activities, we make the activities less 'findable," because that means all of them come up whenever anyone searches for a specified age group.
  10. Metadata submitter-leave this alone. You are the editor, not the submitter.
  11. moreInfo field--ignore this field for now.
  12. aaasStrandMaps--ignore this field for now.

AUTHORSHIP/RIGHTS tab

  1. resourceAuthors: add url whenever possible if author is an organization
    o copyright: if 'all rights reserved' is checked, we need a copyright holder and a copyright year

COST, TIME, MATERIALS tab

  1. preparationTime and learningTime: review activity, see if you agree with times given
  2. materials list: check for completeness and consistency (i.e., if you give both gallons and liters in one line, do it for all liquids in that list). Make sure there are no bullets or asterisks; when the record is pulled into the user interface (SMILE web site), bullets are automatically generated.
  3. individual or group materials designation -- check
  4. estimatedMaterialsCost: Do you agree with estimate?

DIVERSITY tab

  1. accessibility: catalogers and editors can make the call here--review the activity and see what sort of senses and skills it requires.
  2. targeted StudentPopulations: should be checked only if the activity explicitly states that it is developed for a particular group.
  3. learningStyles: cataloger and editor can make the call here--review activity to assess which learning styles the activity encourages and supports.
  4. cultureEthnicityGender: drop down menu specifies group; the check boxes ask for more information on how the activity relates to the group. First option (explicitly developed...) requires that something in the activity tells you that it was explicitly developed for that group. The other 5 check boxes allow the cataloger or editor to make his or her own call based on what they observe in the activity. Give filling in these fields a try, even if the cataloger didn't.

PLACE AND TIME tab
Please read the Guidelines for all the fields under this tab, then

  1. review for accuracy any choices made by the cataloger, and
  2. see if you can add any pertinent info into these fields, based on what you observe from the activity.