The Unit Workflow#
When you have set up the section and subsection in the course outline, you then work with units.
The typical workflow includes these steps.
You publish the unit after you add all of its components. If you make additional modifications, you must publish the unit again for the changes to be visible to learners.
As you work through these steps, the publishing status of the unit changes. The publishing status controls the content available to learners, along with release dates (in an instructor-paced course). See the next section for more information.
Note
Release dates apply only to instructor-paced courses. For more information about instructor-paced and self-paced courses, see Course Pacing.
Unit Publishing Status and Visibility to Learners#
The following information summarizes whether or not learners can see a unit.
Learners never see a unit with the publishing status Draft (Never Published).
Learners never see a unit with the publishing status Visible to Staff Only. For more information, see Hide a Unit from Learners.
Learners do not see a unit with the publishing status Published Not Yet Released until the release date (in an instructor-paced course). On the release date, the status changes to Published and Live.
If the publishing status is Published and Live, learners see the current version of the unit.
If the publishing status is Draft Unpublished Changes, learners see the last published version of the unit if the release dates for the containing section and subsection have passed.
If you used access settings to specify that a unit is available only to specific groups of learners (such as content groups associated with particular cohorts, or enrollment track groups), only those learners who are in groups to which you have given access can see the unit after it is published and live.
For more information, see Guide to Controlling Content Visibility and Access. For information about testing content, see Guide to Testing Your Course Content.
Unit Publishing Statuses#
As a course author, you work with units that have the following statuses.
Draft (Never Published)#
When you create a new unit and add components to it, the unit’s publishing status is Draft (Never Published), as shown in the status panel.
Note
The Release section applies only to instructor-paced courses. It does not appear for units in self-paced courses. For more information about instructor-paced and self-paced courses, see Course Pacing.
In Studio, you see the draft content as you develop the unit. Though you do not see the unit in the LMS, you can preview the unit.
Learners never see a unit with this status, even after the release date (in an instructor-paced course). You must publish the unit for it to be included in the LMS.
Published and Live#
You published the unit and have not modified it. The release dates for the section and subsection have passed (in an instructor-paced course). You, and enrolled learners, see the current version of the unit.
The Release section applies only to instructor-paced courses. It does not appear for units in self-paced courses. For more information, see Course Pacing.
Published (not yet released)#
You published the unit, but the release date is still in the future. Learners cannot see this unit until the release date passes.
This status applies only to instructor-paced courses. It does not apply to self-paced courses.
Draft (Unpublished changes)#
When you edit a published unit, whether or not it is released, the unit’s publishing status changes to Draft (Unpublished Changes), as shown in the status panel.
The Release section applies only to instructor-paced courses. It does not appear for units in self-paced courses.
In Studio, you see the draft content as you develop the unit. You can preview the changes to a unit to test how your changes will appear to learners after you publish the unit.
If the release date has passed in an instructor-paced course, learners see the last published version of the unit. If the release date is in the future, learners cannot see your content. You must publish the unit for learners to see your changes.
Visible to Staff Only#
When you hide a unit from learners, the unit’s publishing status changes to Visible to Staff Only.
The publishing status of a unit also changes to Visible to Staff Only if you hide the parent section or subsection from learners.
Learners never see a unit with this status, even if it has been published and the release date has passed (in an instructor-paced course).
The Release section applies only to instructor-paced courses. It does not appear for units in self-paced courses.
See also
About Course Units (concept)
Manage Course Units (how-to)
Set Access Restrictions For a Unit (how-to)
Copy and Paste Course Units (how-to)
Hide a Unit from Learners (how-to)
Copy and Paste Course Components (how-to)
Manage Course Units (how-to)
Maintenance chart
Review Date |
Working Group Reviewer |
Release |
Test situation |