The olx-example course.xml File

The olx-example course.xml File#

Tags: educator reference

The olx-example course is a sample course that was originally developed for edX.org.

The courseware for olx-example is defined in the course.xml file and follows the organization described in The OLX Courseware Structure.

olx-example Course Hierarchy#

The olx-example courseware is organized into chapters, sequentials, and verticals.

For example, the following XML defines the first chapter, sequential, and vertical in the course.

<chapter display_name="Pedagogical Foundations: Constructive Learning"
    url_name="Week_2_Technology_enabled_constructive_learning">
    <sequential format="Learning Sequence" graded="true"
        display_name="Overview (go here first)"
        url_name="Overview_go_here_first">
        <vertical display_name="Week's overview" url_name="Week_s_overview">
            <html display_name="Week overview" filename="Week_overview"
                url_name="Week_overview"/>
                <done display_name="Read week overview"
                    url_name="Read_week_overview" align="right"/>

The vertical Week's Overview contains an HTML component that references the file Week_overview in the HTML directory.

Learners see this content in the Learning Management System as follows.

The HTML component as a learner sees it.

Sequentials that Contain XBlocks#

One advantage of OLX (open learning XML) is the flexibility it allows in how you organize your course. For example, olx-example demonstrates that you can nest XBlocks and problems directly in a sequential, without the need for a vertical. This streamlines the course creation process while maintaining consistency in how students interact with courseware.

The following example XML defines a sequential that has, as children, an HTML XBlock, a reference to a vertical that is defined in another file, and a reference to a problem defined in another file.

<sequential display_name="In-class exercise" url_name="in_class">
    <html display_name="Overview" url_name="overview">
            <p>In the on-line portion, . . . </p>
            <table border="0">
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">3pm-3:10pm</td><td>Welcome!</td>
                </tr>
                . . .
            </table>
    </html>
    <vertical url_name="in_class_ora"></vertical>
    <problem url_name="res_survey" filename="res_survey"
        display_name="Survey: What next?">
    </problem>
</sequential>

The learner sees this sequential as follows.

The sequential as a learner sees it.

See also

What is Open Learning XML? (concept)

Course Components (XBlocks) (reference)

Exercises, Tools, and Problem Types (reference)

Example of an OLX Course (reference)

Getting Started with OLX (quickstart)

What is the OLX Course Structure? (reference)

Example of OLX for a Studio Course (reference)

The OLX Courseware Structure (reference)

Maintenance chart

Review Date

Reviewer

Release

Test situation

2025-04-11

Sarina Canelake

Sumac

Fail
Contents