Manage Content Experiments

Manage Content Experiments#

This how-to provides instructions for configuring your course to enable content experiments.

Enable Content Experiments #

To enable content experiments in your course, you must add split_test to the Advanced Module List in Advanced Settings. To do it, follow the next steps:

Note

split_test is the internal name for a content experiment.

From the Settings menu, select Advanced Settings.
On the Advanced Settings page, locate Advanced Module List.
In the Advanced Module List field, add "split_test". Be sure that you include the double quotation marks.

If you have multiple values, ensure that they are separated by commas (,).

For example, the text in the Advanced Module List field may resemble the following:
```
[
  "lti_consumer",
  "word_cloud",
  "split_test"
]
```
Select Save Changes.

#. To set up group configurations, on the Settings menu, select Group Configurations. The Group Configurations page opens.

#. From this page you can create, edit, and delete group configurations. You can also view content experiments that use a group configuration.

Create a Group Configuration #

You can create a group configuration at any time and used to creat :ref: content experiments in your courses <Manage Content Experiments>

On the Group Configurations page, under Experiment Groups, select New Experiment Group. The following page opens:
Enter a name in the Group Configuration Name field. Use a meaningful name, because you will select from group configuration names when you create content experiments. Learners do not see the group configuration name.
Optionally, enter a description for the new group configuration.
By default, a new configuration already contains two groups. Modify the groups or add and delete groups as needed. A group configuration must have at least one group.
- Modify group names as needed. You see group names in the unit page in Studio, but group names are not visible to learners.
- Select Add another group to include another group as part of the configuration.
- Select the X to the right of an existing group to remove it from the configuration. A group configuration must have at least one group.
Select Create to save the new group configuration.

The group configuration is then listed in the page. You can see the number of groups that the configuration contains, as well as whether the configuration is in use in the course:

The Group Configurations page with one group configuration listed.

Create a Content Experiment #

Before you add content experiments to your course, ensure that you have completed the following tasks.

Enable Content Experiments

On the unit page, under Add New Component, select Advanced.
Select Content Experiment.

A new content experiment is added to the unit.

The content experiment includes a container for each group that is defined in the group configuration you selected. You create content for each experiment group as you do any other component. For more information, see Add a Component.
Select either Select a Group Configuration or Edit to open the content experiment component.
For Group Configuration, select a group configuration.
In the Display Name field, enter the name of the component. The display name is only used in Studio; learners do not see this value.
Select Save.

The content experiment is displayed as a component that contains other components. For more information, see Components that Contain Other Components.

You can now create content for the groups in the experiment.

Warning

Do not create new content experiments by duplicating configured content experiments. Duplicating content experiments after you have configured them is not supported.

Create Content for Groups in the Content Experiment #

Before you add content experiments to your course, ensure that you have completed the following tasks.

Enable Content Experiments

#. After you select a group configuration in the content experiment component, select View.

#. The content experiment page that opens automatically includes a container for each group that is defined in the group configuration you selected. For example, if you select a group configuration that defines two groups, Group A and Group B, you see the following page.

An image of the content experiment page in Studio, with two groups.

#. You add content for both groups as needed, just as you would add content to any container page. For more information, see Components that Contain Other Components.

For example, you can add a Text component and a video to Group A.

An image of an expanded content experiment component with an HTML and video component.

Note

It is valid, and can be useful, to have no content for a group in a content experiment. For example, if one group has a video and another group has no content, you can analyze the effect of the video on learner performance.

Change the Group Configuration for a Content Experiment #

You can change the group configuration for a content experiment. When you change the group configuration, you edit the content for any additional groups in the group configuration. You can use the components from the previous groups, as well as create new components.

Warning

Changing the group configuration of a learner-visible content experiment will affect the experiment data.

Open the unit that contains the content experiment.
In the content experiment component, select Edit.
Select a different group configuration.
Select Save.
You must now add components to the new groups in the experiment. Select View to open the content experiment.

You see that groups for the new configuration are empty, and any components that you had added to groups in the previous configuration are now moved to a section called Inactive Groups.
Drag and drop components from the Inactive Groups section into the new groups. You can also create new components in the new groups.

Edit a Group Configuration #

Important

You can change the name of a group configuration at any time. However, before you modify any other characteristics of a group configuration that is currently used in a running course, review Guidelines for Modifying Group Configurations.

On the Group Configurations page, hover over the group configuration and select Edit.

The following page opens:
On the Edit a Group Configuration page, modify the name and description as needed.
Modify groups in the configuration as needed. See Create a Group Configuration for details.
Select Save to save your changes.

View Experiments that Use a Group Configuration #

You can view the content experiments that use each of your group configurations.

On the Group Configurations page, select the name of a group to see its details. You see links to the content experiments that use this group configuration.

An image of a group configuration with the content experiments using the configuration circled.

Select a link to go to the unit that contains the content experiment.

View a Group Configuration from an Experiment #

When working with a content experiment, you can view details about the group configuration used by that experiment in two ways.

In a unit that contains a content experiment, the content experiment block, select the name of the group configuration.
At the top of the content experiment page, select the name of the group configuration.

In both cases, the group configuration opens.

An image of the Group Configuration page with the experiments using it circled.

You can use the link in the group configuration to return to the unit that contains the content experiment.

Delete a Group Configuration #

Note

You can only delete a group configuration not currently used in a content experiment. You cannot delete a group configuration used in a content experiment.

On the Group Configurations page, hover over the group configuration and select the Delete icon.
When prompted to confirm the deletion, select Delete.

Review Date	Working Group Reviewer	Release	Test situation
2024/12	Documentation WG - Ana Gomez	Redwood	Pass.

Manage Content Experiments

Contents

Manage Content Experiments#