Public vs. Teacher Views of Shared Resources on PMTNM

This guide explains how the Public view of PMTNM’s shared resources library differs from the Teacher (logged‑in) view, and documents features such as likes, mini‑feeds, tagging, and slugs. Understanding these differences is important when sharing lists with non‑members or navigating community activity as a teacher.

Teacher (Logged‑In) View

When logged in, you have full access to create and manage resource lists. On the Shared Music Resources page you’ll see:

Community feed: A right‑hand panel shows recent activity such as new lists, comments and likes. Each entry includes small icons representing categories (e.g., piano, theory) or reactions (heart, fire, light‑bulb). This feed is visible only to members pmtnm.org .

Category filters and sort options: You can filter lists by category or sort them by most recent, most liked or alphabetical order pmtnm.org .

List cards with management tools: Each list displays its title, category, author, creation date, and number of resources. Buttons let you:

Copy / share the public link (and post on Facebook or LinkedIn).

Create Slug – generate a friendly URL for the list.

Manage – open the edit view where you can change the title, category, description and tags pmtnm.org .

Export PDF – produce a printable PDF of the list.

Add Resource / Delete – modify the list contents (adding or removing links) pmtnm.org .

Heart icon – like a list; this increments its community likes count (ask for confirmation before clicking, as likes are a social action).

Building your own lists: On the My Lists page you can create new lists, import lists generated by ChatGPT, and manage existing ones. In manage view you can edit tags and description, add new resources, or remove existing ones pmtnm.org .

Tags field: In manage view there is a “Tags” text box. Enter comma‑ or space‑separated words (e.g., piano, beginner, technique) to tag your list pmtnm.org . Tags automatically normalise to lowercase. These tags improve searchability and help teachers discover related resources.

Slugs: Back on My Lists, each list has a public link with a slug, such as /core-music-theory-resources-for-educators-6. Clicking Create Slug generates or refreshes this slug. The slug becomes part of the URL and provides a memorable, shareable address for your list. You can copy this link to share with colleagues pmtnm.org .

Public View of Shared Resources

Non‑members and logged‑out visitors access lists via their slugged URLs or via the public lists index. In the public view:

No editing tools: Visitors see the list title, category, description and resources, but they can’t edit, add or remove items. The management buttons (Add Resource, Delete) are hidden pmtnm.org .

Like (heart) and share: A heart icon lets visitors like the list; the number next to it shows total likes. A “Share on Facebook” button is available pmtnm.org . Because liking is a social action, ask for confirmation before clicking.

Simplified layout: Only the list contents are shown. There is no community feed or category filters.

Community Activity & Mini‑Feeds

Two types of feeds exist:

Home page feed (teacher view): After logging in, the home page shows a Recent Community Activity section listing recent likes and list creations by other teachers. Each entry notes who liked what and links to the resource. This feed is not visible publicly.

Shared resources page feed: The right‑hand Community Activity panel displays icons representing reactions to newly created lists or comments pmtnm.org . The icons (heart ❤️, fire 🔥, music note 🎵, light‑bulb 💡, etc.) act as quick tags indicating the type of engagement or category.

These feeds help teachers discover trending lists and encourage community interaction. Public users do not see them.

Tags vs. Categories

Categories are predefined and required (e.g., Music Theory, Teaching Resources, Technology Tools). Each list belongs to one category, which determines its colour label and helps sorting.

Tags are optional, free‑form keywords you assign in manage view. They describe the list in more detail (instrument, level, topic) and improve search. Tags are displayed under the list title and can be used by the site’s search engine to return relevant lists.

Slugs Across the Platform

A slug is a short, URL‑friendly string that uniquely identifies a resource. Slugs appear in two places:

Shared lists: When you create or manage a list, a public URL with a slug is generated. Teachers can click Create Slug to refresh it or generate a new one. The slug makes the public link easy to remember and share pmtnm.org .

Recital Organizer: When building a recital program, you can specify an optional custom link slug under the recital title. This slug, combined with the checkbox “Make this recital public (shareable link)”, produces a public program URL pmtnm.org . Recital programs can be shared with students or audience members without giving edit access.

Recital Advanced Notes & Tagging

In the Recital Organizer, each entry includes fields for piece title, composer, composer details, performer names, instrument, city and teacher. You can add program notes (rich‑text) beneath each entry and supply an optional custom slug for the recital. The slug ensures a neat URL when sharing the program. Advanced notes allow you to add context about a piece or composer, and these notes appear in the printed program. pmtnm.org shows where the slug and note options sit below the recital header.

Summary

Teacher view offers full management: creating lists, editing details, tagging, generating slugs, exporting PDFs and monitoring community activity. Teachers can like lists and see mini‑feeds of community activity, none of which are visible publicly.

Public view is read‑only: visitors can like and share lists but cannot edit them or see management tools or community feeds.

Tags are custom keywords that improve search; categories are fixed labels. Assign tags on the Manage page to help others find your list.

Slugs create human‑readable URLs. Use the Create Slug button (for lists) or the optional custom link slug field (for recitals) to generate shareable links.

Recital Organizer also uses slugs and provides fields for advanced notes, enabling detailed programs and accessible public links.

By understanding these features you can effectively share your own resources and navigate others’ contributions in the PMTNM community.