Quick Start: Build a Course
Contents
Quick Start: Build a Course#
Steps
Follow the steps below to build your first course. By the end, you will have a fully functional, minimal course, which you can build on as you learn all of the Open edX options. Click the images below to enlarge them and see details.
1. Create a Course in Studio#
Note
The Organization, Course Number, and Course run values you enter when creating a course are part of the learner-visible course URL and cannot be changed. The base URL for the new course is in the format:
https://your-domain/courses/course-v1:ORGANIZATION+COURSE_NUMBER+COURSE_RUN/
So take care when entering values for the new course.
Open Studio at the URL provided by your administrator.
Click New Course. The Create a New Course screen opens.
Enter information for the new course:
Course Name: The public display name of the course. You can override the name later in the Advanced Settings.
Organization: Your school or organization. This value becomes part of the course URL and cannot be changed. You can override how the organization is displayed to learners in Advanced Settings.
Course Number: The unique number that identifies your course. Note: This value becomes part of the course URL and cannot be changed. No spaces or special characters are allowed.
Course Run: The term or unique run of the course. This value part of your course URL, so no spaces or special characters are allowed and it cannot be changed.
Click Create.
You are then taken to the empty Outline page in Studio.
2. Schedule a Course#
With the course open in Studio, from the Settings menu, select Schedule and Details.
For course pacing, select Instructor-Paced or Self-Paced.
Enter date and time information for the course:
Course Start Date and Course Start Time: The date and time that learners can access and begin the course.
Course End Date and Course End Time: The date and time that learners must end the course, and after which they no longer have access.
Enrollment Start Date and Enrollment Start Time: The date and time that learners can begin to enroll in the course. This must be before or the same as the date and time you set the course to start.
Enrollment End Date and Enrollment End Time: The date and time deadline for enrollment. This must be before or the same as the date and time you set the course to end.
At the bottom of the screen, click Save Changes.
3. Create a Section#
Open the course outline in Studio.
Click New Section.
A new section is created at the end of the course content, with the section name selected.
Enter the name for the new section.
Set the section release date.
Select the Configure icon in the section box.
The Settings dialog box opens.
Enter the release date and time for the section.
To hide the section from learners, click the Visiblity tab and check Hide from Learners.
Click Save.
You can then create Subsections within the section.
4. Create a Subsection#
In the course outline, within the section that you want to create the subsection, click New Subsection.
A new subsection is created at the end of the section, with the subsection name selected.
Enter the name for the new subsection.
If the subsection should release a a later time than the containing section, set the release date.
Select the Configure icon in the subsection box.
The Settings dialog box opens.
Enter the release date and time for the subsection in the Basics tab.
If the subsection is to be graded, in the Settings dialog box, set release a a later time than the containing section, set type of assignment and the due date in the Basics tab.
Click the Visibility tab to change the subsection visibility and assessment results visibility.
Click Save.
You can then create units within the subsection.
5. Create a Unit#
In the course outline, within the subsection that you want to create the unit, click New Unit.
A new unit is created at the end of the subsection and the blank unit editor opens.
Click the pencil icon (
) and enter the name for the new unit.You can now add components to the unit as needed.
Click the Visibility tab to change the subsection visibility and assessment results visibility.
You can then create units within the subsection.
See also
Add a Component (how-to)
Course Units (reference)
Components (reference)
Conditional Content (reference)
6. Add a Video to the Unit#
Note
These instructions assume you have uploaded the video to YouTube.
Copy the video URL from YouTube.
In the unit where you want to place the video, under Add New Component select Video.
A video with default settings is added to the unit.
In the video block, click Edit.
In the Component Display Name field, enter the name that you want learners to see for this video.
Note
This name appears as a heading above the video in the LMS, and it identifies the video for you in Insights. If you do not enter a display name, the platform specifies “video” for you.
Paste the video URL in the default Video URL field, and then enter the location of your video. This is the URL that was created when you uploaded the video to the hosting site.
Click Save to save the video in the unit.
See also
Preparing a video (task)
Add a video transcript (task)
Add a video with different encodings (task)
Use Amazon S3 to serve a video (task)
Video Guidelines (concept)
Advanced video options (reference)
Video troubleshooting (reference)
8. Add Written Content to the Unit#
In the unit where you want to place the text, select Text at the bottom of the page.
Select the Text template to add a blank component.
The componenet is added at the end of the unit.
In the component, select Edit.
The empty component opens in the visual editor.
Enter and format your content.
To enter a display name for the component, select Settings, and then enter text in the Display Name field.
Click Save to save the text in the unit.
See also
Add a Link in a Text Component (task)
Add an Image in a Text Component (task)
Import LaTeX Code into a Text Component (task)
Text Editor Options (reference)
7. Add a Multiple Choice Question to the Unit#
In the unit where you want to place the text, select Problem at the bottom of the page.
From the list of problem types, select Multiple Choice.
The problem componenet is added at the end of the unit.
In the component, select Edit.
The template multiple choice component opens in the Simple editor,
Edit the question as needed, keeping the following format.
>>Add the question text, or prompt, here. This text is required. ||You can add an optional tip or note related to the prompt like this. << ( ) an incorrect answer (x) the correct answer ( ) an incorrect answer
To enter a display name for the problem, select Settings, and then enter text in the Display Name field.
Click Save to save the problem in the unit.
See also
Problem Home (home)
Add Problem Feedback (task)
Add Problem Hints (task)
Award Partial Credit for a Problem (task)
Shuffle Answers in a Problem
Use Answer Pools in a Problem
Problem Simple Editor (reference)
Problem Advanced Editor (reference)
Pedagogical Considerations for Multiple Choice Questions (concept)
8. Publish the Course#
After you have added content, you must publish it to make it available to learners.
Go back to the course outline.
You see the unit you created, within the subsection and section, in an unpublished state.
For the section, click the Publish icon (
).Note
The Publish icon appears only when there is new or changed content within the section.
See also
Set Content Release Dates (task)
Hide Content from Learners (task)
Release Statuses of Sections (reference)
Content Visibility (reference)
9. View as a Learner#
After you have published content, you should view it in the LMS, as a learner will.
In the course outline, click View Live.
The course opens in the LMS, in a new tab.
Go through the content you created and check for accuracy. You can edit the content in Studio, then publish your changes, to fix any issues.
See also
Beta Test Your Course (task)
Hide Content from Learners (task)
Release Statuses of Sections (reference)
Content Visibility (reference)