Course Setup - Leadership Academy

This article outlines the main aspects of the Publish page, where admins can publish a course when it is complete.

To begin, navigate to the course setup Publish page.

Draft vs. Published

On the Publish page, there are two options: Draft and Published. By default, courses are in draft until they are published.

It’s very important to make all necessary changes to your course while it is still in draft, as once you publish the course, several design functions that were previously available to you will now be disabled. 

Warning: There is no way to “unpublish” a course version so make sure you are fully ready to publish before doing so.

The chart below shows what is available and unavailable after a course is published. Generally, after a course is published an admin can still make cosmetic changes such as renaming titles, revising durations, and revising text and attachments for activities. However, major changes such as adding, moving, or deleting modules, lessons, and activities, changing pacing, and changing activity type are no longer available.

How to publish a course version

1. Navigate to the Publish page.

2. Click Published.

3. Click Save.

4. Click OK in the dialog box that appears. 

5. The course version is now published.

What to do if you publish a course and then need to make edits

In general, the recommended path is to copy the course version, make the necessary updates in the new course version, and label both course versions so you know which is the “gold standard” course.

If there is a cohort currently taking the course, unfortunately the cohort will need to complete the current version of the course.

On the Measure page, admins can enable and disable measurements that support our analytics measurements, notably NPS and the High Impact Learning Dashboard. 

To begin, navigate to the course setup Menu page.

There are two measurement options in this page, turned on by default: Net Promoter Score (NPS) and High-Impact Learning Outcomes.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple and proven methodology, used in a variety of industries, for understanding participant happiness through first-hand feedback. NPS is comprised of a carefully crafted single question survey followed by a freeform follow-up question. Learners are prompted to answer the NPS questions when they complete at least 70% of course activities.
• High-Impact Learning Outcomes, which feed our High Impact Learning Dashboard, is a proven methodology for understanding who in your organization ‘gets it’ and believes in it, and therefore is likely to drive and champion new ideas and approaches over time. Enabling the High-Impact Learning Outcome measurements allows you to connect the dots and analyze how people changed how they think and act over time.

Learn more about each measurement on the course version Measure page.

This article outlines the main aspects of the Custom Pacing page, where admins can create pacing options that can be chosen for each cohort that takes the course via the cohort Configure page.

• What is pacing?
• What types of pacing are available?
• How to create custom pacing for a course that is Not Paced
• How to create custom Module pacing
• How to create custom Asset pacing

To begin, navigate to the course setup Custom Pacing page.

What is pacing?

Pacing refers to how the course unfolds over a length of time. While the default for any paced course is “auto-paced”, which is an Asset Paced option (explained in more detail below) and equates to one lesson per day, you can create other pacing options as well. For example, if in the course you’re building you have certain days where you’d like two lessons instead of the default one lesson, you can create a custom pacing for that layout to accommodate specific course days with two lessons.

The custom pacing options you create, in addition to the auto-paced option, become available as an admin configures each individual cohort. They’ll be able to choose which pacing option they’d like for that particular cohort, or they can create a new custom pacing option as well if necessary. 

Custom pacing is also different from creating blackout dates and from choosing a pacing option for a cohort. Learn more about the differences between custom pacing, cohort pacing, and blackout dates.

What types of pacing are available?

There are three types of course pacing available. Each course version can only have one type of pacing. Within that type, you can create as many pacing options as you’d like.

• Not Paced: A course that is not paced is fully self-paced and learners can complete course activities whenever they would like, over an indeterminate length of time. There is no beginning, middle, or end to an unpaced course. As such, these courses will never have analytics in the Completed Courses Dashboard; instead, the data will be in the Current Courses Dashboard.
• Module Pacing: Module Pacing means that you’ve assigned a set number of days for each module but lessons and activities are not connected to specific dates. Learners can complete as much or as little of the activities as they’d like on any given day, as long as they complete each module by the module end date. Learn more about the definitions and hierarchy of modules, lessons, and activities.
• Asset Pacing: Asset Pacing is the most common type of pacing, and the auto-paced option is an example of asset pacing. As an admin, you decide how many days to include per module and connect each activity with a specific course day (e.g. all activities in the first lesson should happen on day one of the course; all activities in lesson two happen on day two, etc). This is recommended because it helps break a course into smaller, more manageable chunks and allows learners to more easily manage their course load by day.

How to create custom pacing for a course that is Not Paced

To make a course unpaced, click the Pacing Mode dropdown at the top of the page, select Not Paced, and click Update. No other action is needed and admins will now be unable to select pacing options in the cohort Configure page. Learners will see a course map that looks like the image below. Note that there are no dates listed for the course. 

How to create custom Module Pacing

1. Click Pacing Mode at the top of the page, select Module Pacing, and click Update. 

2. Click Create A New Pacing.

3. Next, enter a name for the pacing option. Remember, the pacing options will be displayed in the cohort Configure page for admins to choose from so think carefully about how you’d like to name different pacing options. 

4. Choose the default number of days in each module.

5. On the right side of each module’s listing on the custom pacing page, select the number of days you’d like for each specific module. In the example below, the first module is set for 10 days in length and the second is set for 5 days.

6. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

7. To make sure the course displays how you’d like before you move off of the Custom Pacing page, in a second tab, navigate to the cohort Configure page for a cohort nested under this course version and set the pacing for the cohort to the new pacing you just created. Once the cohort is set to the Module Pacing option you created, click View Course on the top right of the cohort Configure page. If the course looks the way you’d like, you are all set and have created your desired Module Pacing option.

8. Repeat this process for additional Module Pacing options you’d like to create.

How to create custom Asset Pacing

1. Click Pacing Mode at the top of the page, select Asset Pacing, and click Update. 

2. Click Create A New Pacing.

3. Next, enter a name for the pacing option. Remember, the pacing options will be displayed in the cohort Configure page for admins to choose from so think carefully about how you’d like to name different pacing options. 

4. Choose the default number of days in each module.

5. On the right side of each module’s listing on the custom pacing page, select the number of days you’d like for each specific module.

6. Select the appropriate radio button for each activity in the course.
 
Please note: Under each module on the page are the lessons and associated activities contained in that module alongside a row of radio buttons for each activity. The number of buttons in each row corresponds to the number of days you selected for the respective module, and the buttons represent the course days in the module. For example, if you select five days for a particular module, the left-most radio button represents day one of the module, the button second from the left represents day two of the module, and so on through all five buttons. To have an entire lesson paced for an individual day, which is the default setting in the auto-paced option, you will select the same radio button placement for each activity in that lesson.

  Tip: If you can’t find an activity, go to the Build page to make sure it’s properly nested under the corresponding lesson.

7. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

8. To make sure the course displays how you’d like before you move off of the Custom Pacing page, in a second tab, navigate to the cohort Configure page for a cohort nested under this course version and set the pacing for the cohort to the new pacing you just created. Once the cohort is set to the Module Pacing option you created, click View Course on the top right of the cohort Configure page. If the course looks the way you’d like, you are all set and have created your desired Asset Pacing option.

9. Repeat this process for additional Asset Pacing options you’d like to create.

Whether you create a new course or copy an existing course, you can configure your course several ways using the Configure page in the course version setup menu. This article outlines each of the configurations, including the course version name, prework module, cohort welcome message, and “where to start” text.

To begin, navigate to the course version setup menu.

Version Name

When creating a new course the version name is Original by default, but you can change the course version name at any time. Updating the course version names allows admins to easily distinguish between versions of a course as you iterate on the course.

Prework Module

Using the dropdown menu, indicate here whether any of the course modules are prework modules (also referred to as welcome modules). Learn more about prework modules.

Note: Only your first course module will be able to be labeled a prework module. If you want a different module labeled a prework module, move the module to the top of the course in the Build page. If you do not want a prework module, choose the “---------” option under Prework Module, which is the default setting.

Cohort Welcome Message and Welcome Video

In this section, you can create text that appears in the welcome modal that appears before learners begin a course. You can also add a video using the Delivery Type option. Learn how to upload a video to the platform.

The welcome text is typically a short 3-5 sentence paragraph that greets participants and lays the groundwork for what to expect in the course. It may give learners an idea of how long the course will be and what they will learn. The welcome text will pop up in a modal, along with the welcome video, the first time someone opens the course page. 

Example:

Next, you may choose to upload a welcome video for your course, which is not required but which can be a good way to engage learners. Tip: Upload a great thumbnail for optimal user experience. The thumbnail and video will accompany the welcome text in the modal on the course landing page. Learn more about uploading videos to the platform.

Where to Start Text 

While the cohort welcome message is located in the welcome modal, the “where to start” text is located near the top of the course page so it is one of the first things learners notice. This text often provides more detailed insight about what learners can expect to learn in the course compared to the welcome text. It may also instruct learners to complete the prework module or direct them to where the course begins. 

Example:

Note: When the Course Introduction button is clicked, the modal containing the cohort message is displayed, along with an option to Take the Tour of the platform.

Example: 

Note: Once a learner marks their first course activity complete, the “where to start” text and the cohort welcome message are no longer available from their view of the course page.

This article explains the Cohorts page, where admins can navigate to specific cohorts using a specific course version.

To begin, navigate to the Cohorts page.

What is the Cohorts page?

The Cohorts page is where admins can find the cohorts that correspond to the particular course version. While it is very similar to the Course Admin page, the Cohorts page only shows the cohorts that use the selected course version.

The course version whose cohorts are displayed is listed on the left of the screen above the course setup menu. Use the arrow icon to view a dropdown list of other versions to select.

What can you do on the Cohorts page?

You can use the Cohorts page to configure a particular cohort, view a particular cohort’s course page from the learner’s perspective, and view details about cohorts using this course version. Learn more about how to create a cohort.

This article outlines the main aspects of the Build page, where course builders typically spend the majority of their time building a course.

• Recommendations while building a course
• How to add a module
• How to add a lesson to a module
• How to add an activity to a lesson
• How to move an activity, lesson, or module

To begin, navigate to the course setup Build page.

Recommendations when building a course

• A cohort is automatically created when a new course or course version is created. Best practice is to use this cohort to preview the learner view as you’re building the course. You can do this by clicking View Course on the top right of the Build page, hovering over the lone cohort listed, right clicking and selecting Open Link in New Tab.

• Review the definitions and hierarchy of course module, lesson, and activity.
• It is important to note that when adding modules, lessons, and activities, new course assets are added last by default. In other words, if you have three lessons inside a module and add a fourth, it will automatically be placed fourth in the module. Learn more about how to move assets in the section below titled “How to move an activity, lesson, or module”.

How to add a module

• If you created a new course from scratch, an untitled module will be the only course component by default. 

• To add a module, click Add Module at the top of the page and enter the module name. 

• To edit a module name, including for the module added by default, click Edit Module on the right side of the module. Then, enter the name you’d like to give the module and click Update.

How to add a lesson to a module

1. Select Lesson from the dropdown menu within the associated module. Lessons are built within modules, so when you add a lesson, you should first make sure you select the correct module to add the lesson to.

2. Enter a lesson name and click Create.

3. To edit a lesson name, click Edit Lesson on the right side of the lesson. Then, enter the name you’d like to give the lesson and click Update.

How to add an activity to a lesson

1. From the lesson dropdown, select the type of activity you want to create. Learn more about the different types of course activities.

2. Enter the activity content and details and click Create. Learn how to build a course activity.

After completing the steps above, you now have a course that contains a module, lesson, and activity. Repeat the steps to create additional modules, lessons, and activities as needed.

How to move an activity, lesson, or module

All course objects can be moved as preferred using drag and drop functionality.

1. Click and hold the object you’d like to move (i.e. the activity, lesson, or module).

2. While holding, drag the object to the location you’d like to make its new location. The object itself will move with your mouse. 

3. Drop the object when it’s in the preferred position.

There are a few items to note when moving course objects:

• When you move a “parent” object, all “children” objects move as well. For example, if you move a lesson, all activities within that lesson move along with it. If you’d just like to move the parent object, first move the children objects out.
• It’s important to check that your moved objects nest correctly. For example, if you move an activity to a new lesson, make sure it is indented further than the lesson. If objects are not nested properly, it can cause issues with the course pacing and/or visibility of some course activities. Tip: If you are building a course and see an activity or lesson that will not display in the course map the way you’d like, check to make sure it’s nested properly in the Build page.