Viewing Course Content Based on Roles#

When you select View Live or Preview from the course outline in Studio, you can see how it would appear to members of different groups by selecting one of the View this course as options in the LMS.

The "View this course as" drop down list, with a group selected.

The following table summarizes the content that is available in either View Live mode or Preview mode when you choose a role for viewing the content.

“View this course as” Role

In “View Live” Mode

In “Preview” Mode

Staff

You see content that has any of the publishing statuses Published and Live, Published (not yet released), or Draft (Unpublished changes). In Staff view, you also see content that is Visible to Staff Only.

In addition to the content you would see in “View Live” mode, you also see content that is in Draft (Never Published) status. In Staff view, you also see content that is Visible to Staff Only.

Learner

You see content that has a status of Published and Live, and that is intended for all learners. For example, you see content that is not intended for a specific cohort group. In Student view, you do not see content that is Visible to Staff Only.

In addition to the content that you would see in “View Live” mode, you also see content that has a status of Draft (Never Published) or Draft (Unpublished changes). In Student view, you do not see content that is Visible to Staff Only.

Specific Learner

You see content that has a status of Published and Live, and is intended for the specific learner whose email or username you enter.

Specific student view is not available for unpublished content or if the course has not started.

Learner in a Specific Content Group

You see content that has a status of Published and Live that would be available to learners who belong to the specified content group.

In addition to the content you would see in “View Live” mode, you also see content that has a status of Draft (Never Published) or Draft (Unpublished changes) that would be available to learners who belong to the specified content group.

Learner in an Enrollment Track

You see content that has a status of Published and Live that would be available to learners who are in the specified enrollment track.

In addition to the content you would see in “View Live” mode, you also see content that has a status of Draft (Never Published) or Draft (Unpublished changes) that would be available to learners who are in the specified enrollment track.

Note

When a unit’s state is Published and Live, the preview and the live versions of the course are exactly the same. In this case, selecting either View Live or Preview gives you the same view of that unit.

Staff View#

Staff view displays content in your course as any member of the course team would experience it.

When you view your course content using Staff view, you can execute tests to make sure that your course works the way you intend. For example, before the release date of a subsection, members of the course team can work through the problems to verify that the correct answer receives a green check for correct, and that any answer other than the correct one receives a red X for incorrect.

When you use Staff view in the LMS, you can go back to Studio to edit course content in the following ways.

  • On a unit page, select View Unit in Studio to open the unit within the course outline in Studio.

  • From the instructor dashboard, select View Course in Studio to open the course outline in Studio.

  • On the Progress page, select View Grading in Studio to open the Grading page in Studio.

Learner View#

Learner view displays content in your course as an enrolled learner in your course would experience it.

Note

If your course uses randomized content blocks, or if your course is designed so that learners in different enrollment track groups or content groups are shown different content, you can select an option from the View Course As dropdown list to see the content that a specific learner sees, or that a learner in a specific group sees. For more information, see Specific Learner View or Viewing Cohort-Specific Course Content.

Specific Learner View#

Note

This view is available only if your course has started, and only for content that has a status of Published and Live.

Specific learner view displays published content in your live course as the learner that you specify experiences it. When you view the Progress page, the page displays grades and progress for the learner that you have specified.

When you view your course content as Specific student, be aware of the following limitations.

  • You cannot view open response assessment problems as a specific learner.

  • In courses with randomized content blocks, you see the actual problem that was assigned to a specific learner. This view allows you to evaluate a request to adjust a grade or reset the number of attempts for a problem. For details about adjusting grades or resetting attempts, see Adjust Grades for One or All Learners.

Learner in a Content Group View#

This view displays content as a learner who belongs to the specified content group would experience it. You can use this view to verify that content designed for learners in a specific content group is displaying as intended.

For details about content groups, and about creating and previewing cohort-specific content, see Content Groups, Creating Cohort-Specific Course Content, and Viewing Cohort-Specific Course Content.

Learner in an Enrollment Track Group View#

This view displays content as a learner who is in a specific enrollment track would experience it. You can use this view to verify that content designed for learners in a specific enrollment track is displaying as intended.

For more information about enrollment track groups, and about creating and previewing enrollment track based content, see Enrollment Track Groups and Create Course Content for Specific Enrollment Tracks.