Introduction 

Learners access Courses by navigating to the Shopping Cart, signing-in to an existing Account (or creating a new Account), and purchasing a Product that has a Course Assigned to it. The Purchase Confirmation screen displays to them a link to their Courses List, and by clicking on the link they can access the Course and its Content. Learners can also access this Course List page via the Account Menu.

Assigning a Course to a Product

To assign a Course to Product navigate to Products, select the desired Product, and click on the Assignments tab. Select Courses from the menu, and drag the desired Course from the Unassigned column to the Assigned column. Multiple Courses can be assigned to the same Product, and a Course can be assigned to multiple Products. This is useful for selling offering Courses either singularly or in Packages. Ensure that the assigned Courses are set to APPLY. Click to learn more about creating Products.Note on Credit Limits.

Academic Terms

The Learning Management System can limit how many Courses a Student is enrolled in simultaneously, to guard against overloading Learners. Courses can be associated with Organizations, and Organizations can have Terms. Terms have Start Date and End Dates, as do Courses. If the Course’s Start Date falls between an Organization Term’s Start and End Dates, then the Course is in that Term. If there is no Start Date for the Course, then the Learner’s Purchase Date is used to determine which Term the Course is in. If an Organization has overlapping Terms, and that Course’s Start Date falls within multiple Terms the Term with the narrowest date range is chosen as the Course’s term. 

Courses can be given a Credits value, and Terms can be given a Maximum Number of Credits value. If a Learner attempts to purchase a Course that would put them over the Maximum Number of Credits, the system will disallow the purchase.

The Course List Page

Once the Course has been created, assigned, and purchased, and after the Learner has navigated to the Course List page, they can see a link to the Course. Next to the Course is its Purchase Date, and Due Date. The Due Date is either the Course’s End Date, or it is calculated via the Purchase Date plus Days to Complete, whichever comes first. If the Course is due soon, there will be a notification next to the Due Date.

The Course’s Status is also displayed. A description of each Status is here.

Not Started: The Course has been purchased, but the Learner hasn’t clicked into the Course to begin it.

Started: The Course has been clicked into by the Learner. Note, if the Course’s Start Date has not yet occurred, the Learner will be unable to start it.

Admin Review: The Learner has reached a hard break point in the Course, by completing a Course Item that is flagged Admin Review. The Learner cannot continue the Course until a Course Administrator reviews the Course and clicks to unlock the Course so that they can continue.

Continued: The Course was in a status of Admin Review, and the Administrator has clicked to allow them to continue.

Taking Exam: The Learner is on the Exam type of Course Item, and is actively engaged in an examination.

Failed: Either the Learner has failed an Exam or Essay type of Course Item, putting the entire Course into a Failed state, or the Course Administrator has graded the Course with a percentage that is lower than the Passing Percentage.

Submitted: The Learner has completed all Course Items, there is nothing left for them to do, and the Course Administrator needs to Grade the Course.

Expired: The Learner never finished all of the Course Items, and the either the Course’s End Date has passed, or the Purchase Date plus Days to Complete has passed.

Starting a Course

Once a Learner has purchase a Course and navigated to the list of Courses, and if the Course’s Start Date has passed, then they can click into the Course and begin learning. Once they click into the Course, they will see the Course Player. 

The Table of Contents (TOC)

The Course Player has two main areas. On the left is the Table of Contents (TOC). The TOC displays all Course Containers, Course Items, and Course Summaries. Containers can expand and collapse via a carrot icon. Item and Container states are indicated via colors. These colors are configurable, but in the example in the screenshot, the colors are orange, red, and green. Orange means that the Learner is currently on the Item. This is the Active state. Green means that the Item is gradable, and the Learner has passed the item. This is the Passed state. Red means that the Item is gradable, and the Learner has failed the item. This is the Failed state. Learners can use the TOC to navigate to different sections of the Course.

The Course Player                         

To the right of the TOC is the Course Player. This is where Course Content is displayed to the Learner. A CONTINUE button is displayed above and below the content. An elegantly designed Course will allow the Learner to use the CONTINUE button to navigate from the first Item in the Course all the way to the last Item in the Course. This allows them to access all Course Content in a linear manner, without ever having to use the TOC. Click for more information about best practices when creating courses, including Course Layout.

Exam

The Exam type of Course Item allow for multiple choice questions to be automatically graded. Below is a description of the Learner’s experience while taking an Exam. See here for instructions to create an Auto Graded Exam. Essays are grouped separately in the grader and summaries, Essays can be emailed for review.)

The Exam Preview Screen

When the Learner navigates to Course Item that is an Auto Graded Exam, they will see the Exam Preview screen. This screen displays information about the exam, such as: the percentage correct of answers required to pass the Exam; the number of attempts that they will have to pass the Exam; the length of time that they will have to take the Exam; warnings regarding interrupting the Exam (such as logging out or closing the browser window); and any Optional HTML Content composed by the Administrator on the Course Item (such as instructions specific to this Exam). The screen has a START button – once the Learner clicks the button, they begin their Exam Attempt.

The Exam Taker Screen

After the Learner clicks the START button from the Preview Screen, the Exam Attempt begins, and the first question is displayed. Auto Graded Exam questions are displayed one at a time. Learners read the question, choose their answer, and then use either the NEXT button (or the pagination buttons) to navigate between questions.

When a Learner is attempting an Exam, the LMS goes into Concentration Mode. Notification icons, and some navigational elements, are hidden, to help ensure that the Learner is not distracted during the Exam. If the Exam has a time limit, the system displays the minutes remaining before the exam times out. If the Exam times out, any unanswered questions are graded as Incorrect.

The Exam Review Screen

Before submitting an Exam attempt, the Learner has an opportunity to review their question and answer values on a single screen. They can use pagination icons to navigate to questions to change their answers. All questions must be answered. Unanswered questions are highlighted in red. The Learner must return to the question and choose an answer before submitting the Exam. Once the Exam is ready, a SUBMIT button appears. Once the Learner clicks SUBMIT, they are not able to change any answers.

The Exam Results Screen

After the Learner clicks the SUBMIT button, the Exam attempt is graded, and the results are displayed. The Exam Results Screen will always displays the number of correct answers, and the percentage of correct answers, for the entire Exam attempt. For the display of individual questions and answers, there are a number of configuration options available to the Administrator. See here for an explanation of the options.

Passing an Exam

If the Exam attempt’s percentage correct is greater than or equal to the Exam’s Minimum Passing Percentage, the Student has passed the Exam and can click to CONTINUE the Course. If there are Attachment Course Items that have the Exam as a Prerequisite, the Learner can click the Attachment Icon to access the Attachments. This is a convenient way to lock content from Learner’s until they have passed an Exam. In the Grader, the Administrator will be able to see that the Learner passed the Exam, their passing percentage, their question and answer information, and they will be able to input a grade, such as a letter grade.

Failing an Exam

If the Exam attempt’s percentage is less than the Exam’s Required Passing Percentage, then the Learner fails attempt. The Grader displays “Failed” as the Exam Item Status. If there are more attempts available to the Learner for the Exam, the count of remaining attempts is displayed, and the RETAKE button appears. Attempts are defined in by the Administrator in the Course Creator. Administrators can also override this via the Grader.

If the Learner has exhausted their Exam attempts without passing, the Course Status changes to “Failed”. The Learner is locked-out of all of the Course’s Content, and a message is displayed to contact the Course Administrator. To change the Course’s Status and allow the Learner to continue, the Administrator will have to either override the Exam attempts to give the Learner another chance, or they will have to override the Exam attempt’s percentage correct to be higher than the Exam’s Required Passing Percentage.

Essays

The Essay type of Course Item allows for a variety of types of questions. After a Learner completes an Essay, the Administrator views their answers and scores them via the Grader. Below is a description of the Learner’s experience while taking an Essay. See here for instructions on how to create an Essay.

The Essay Taker Screen                                                                                           

After the Learner clicks into an Essay, all of the Essay’s questions are listed on a single page. The Learner can input their answers, and click to SAVE answer values as they progress. They can leave the Essay and return. They can also email copies (for example to the Professor) for review prior to submitting them. The number of email attempts is configured in the Course Creator, and it can be between zero and unlimited. Once the Learner is satisfied with their answers, they can click the CONTINUE button to see the Review Screen.

The Essay Review Screen

Before submitting an Essay, the Learner has an opportunity to review their question and answer values on a single screen. You can configure minimum and maximum word counts for Essay answers. If the answer’s word count isn’t between these limits, they will be instructed to return and update their answer. Essay questions do not have to be required [TK1] – you can offer the Learner a selection of questions from which to choose from, or you can offer extra credit. Once the Learner is satisfied with their answer(s), they can click the SUBMIT button. This will send their answer(s) to the Grader, and allow them to continue to the next part of the Course.

Surveys and Forms

Surveys and Forms provide opportunities for the Learner to submit information regarding the Course.  In the Grader, Surveys are separated from the rest of the Course Items, as they are more intended to be used for Course feedback, and not necessarily for assessment.  See here for instructions on how to create a Survey or a Form.  

The Form / Survey Taker Screen

Just like for Essays, after the Learner clicks into a Survey or a Form (Form), all of the questions are listed on a single page.   The Learner can input their answers, and click to SAVE answer values as they progress. They can leave the Form and return. Once the Learner is satisfied with their answers, they can click the CONTINUE button to see the Review Screen.

The Form / Survey Review Screen

Just like for Essays, before submitting a Survey or a Form, (Form), the Learner has an opportunity to review their question and answer values on a single screen. You can configure minimum and maximum word counts for Essay answers. If the answer’s word count isn’t between these limits, they will be instructed to return and update their answer.  Form questions do not have to be required. Once the Learner is satisfied with their answer(s), they can click the SUBMIT button. This will send their answer(s) to the Grader, and allow them to continue to the next part of the Course.

The Course Summary / Review Screen

The Course Summary / Review Screen (Summary) displays a list of all Course Items and their statuses. The number of attempts will display with Exams, and the Grade will display next to Exams and Essays . The Learner can toggle between seeing all of the Course Items, and seeing just those are incomplete. They can click to finish incomplete items, and when all items are complete , they can click to SUBMIT COURSE.

The Course Submitted Screen

After a Course is Submitted, the Summary screen displays with a message that the Course has indeed been submitted, and to await a final grade. They still have access to Course Content, but they cannot make any changes to assessment answers. If there is Course Certificate of Completion assigned to the Course, they can download the Certificate.

The Course Graded Screen

After a Learner’s attempt at the Course is graded, and if their percentage is higher than the Course’s Minimum Passing Percentage, the Learner can click the Course and view the Course Graded Screen . There, they receive messaging that they have passed the Course, and if there is a Course Certificate When Graded   assigned to the Course, they can download the Certificate.

The Course Failed Screen

After a Learner’s attempt at the Course is graded, and if their percentage is lower than the Course’s Minimum Passing Percentage, the Learner can click the Course and view the Course Failed Screen. There, they receive messaging that they have failed the Course.