Self-Study courses allow LMS users to train at their own pace, exploring resources such as books, videos, PowerPoint, and coaching sessions, just to name a few options. Depending on the nature of training materials, Portal Administrators can use this flexible course delivery method to accomplish multiple business goals:
- Upload a resource to the LMS, then use it to create launchable content in the course.
- Integrate content hosted on a third-party site, such as Vimeo.com or YouTube.com, to create video-based courses
- Attach multiple training resources to a single course
It is important to note that because Self-Study courses are not designed for use with eLearning (SCORM) content, a student's course progress, completion, and scoring is not automatically recorded in LMS training history. Instead, these courses can be configured to allow "Self-Certified Completion", in which the user verifies their own completion
Otherwise, portal administrators must manually update the status of enrolled students' transcripts to grant credit for the course. For more information on that topic, see related document: Manage Student Training History - Review, Add, or Edit Transcripts.
This document assumes a basic knowledge of the common elements of adding a new course and will touch on elements that are particular to the Self Study delivery method. For details on adding a new course, see the linked document New Course Configuration.
ADD RESOURCES AS COURSE CONTENT
Portal Administrators can build a resource catalog customized to their training needs by uploading content (PDFs, Word, Excel, MP4, or WAV files, etc.) to the LMS and/or providing links to objects such as websites, videos, and more. Resource content can vary from a general LMS user guide to study material associated with a particular training topic. For a list of Quick Facts and step-by-step instructions on creating LMS resources, see the linked document: Create Resources to Support Learners and Enhance Training Programs. If you are using Resources as content, you can create them before adding the Self Study course or add them later, then modify the course to associate the resources.
ADD A SELF-STUDY COURSE
To add a Self Study Course, you must choose Delivery Method = Self Study. This will dynamically change the fields on the page to allow you to associate content with the course. The key fields used in creating various types of Self Study content are described below. Depending on the type of training you provide in the course, entries in some of these fields may not be necessary.
- Description: Use this field for describing the course, including any instructions for the user, or for describing study tasks that may not be associated with launchable content. Some possible uses:
- Track on-the-job training training activities as a list of tasks (possibly supported by a checklist in the Resources list.
- Instruct the user to refer to downloadable resources in the Resources list.
- Provide instructions on actions to take after completing the content.
- Content Type: If you are using launchable content, from the drop-down list, select either Resource or Link. Content provided in this manner will provide the user a Launch button.
- If you select Resource, you must use the Resource Content drop-down list to select the relevant resource. Launch behavior will vary between online (Open) and offline (Download) depending on the file type selected.
- If you select Link, you must provide a complete and valid URL to the online content.
- Self-Certified Completion: Select Yes to allow the user to verify their own completion or No to require a manager or portal administrator to do so.
- Resources: Use Choose Resources(s) to attach one or more Resources to the course. Resources added in this manner do not launch and users must navigate to the Course Details to open and/or download the resource.
You can modify Resource assignments, as described above, by using the Administration menu > Search Courses option, opening the Course Details page, and editing the course record on the “General” tab.
ENROLLING IN AND LAUNCHING the Course
A student can enroll in the new course as they would any other type of course. Once enrolled, viewing the content depends upon the type of content provided. For courses with Resources or Links specified as Content Types, enrolled students can click Launch to view or download the training material (based on file type).
From the Classic User Interface
From the Navigation page Courses to Complete
Self Study courses that employ content solely in the Description or attachments in the Resources list do not allow "Launch". Users must review any instructions provided in the Description and click to download listed Resources in order to view the coursework.
STUDENT SELF-CERTIFIED COMPLETION
If Self-Certified Completion is enabled, as it is by default, the student can click Self-Certified Completion from the Course Details page or Complete from the Courses to Complete Page. This forces the user to confirm their completion by submitting their username and password. Upon submission, it creates a timestamp with the logged-in user's account information, to indicate they agree the coursework is completed.
