Course versions: people mid-way finish on their version
Change a published course without breaking it for the people half-way through. New Version makes a draft copy. Once it is published, new people get it and everyone already learning finishes the one they started.
PLANSEvery plan
Built and checked in code; not yet installed on a test system or used by a customer.
Why it matters
A compliance, product or process course changes every year, but people are half-way through it. Editing it in place moves lessons under their feet. It also leaves no record of what the finished ones actually studied. In SmartMy Learn you press New Version: a draft copy is made, you change it and publish it after review. People already learning finish the version they started, and finished people keep their certificates. New people, rules and join codes go to the new version only.
The problem it solves
- You update a course in the middle of a batch, and learners find lessons moved, renamed or gone.
- An auditor asks which content a person studied for their certificate, and the course has changed three times since.
- Two copies of a course end up running side by side, and the enrolment rules put people on both.
- The old join code keeps bringing people into last year's content.
How it works
- On a published course, press New Version. A draft copy is made with the next version number: sections, lessons, the about text, editors and enrolment rules.
- Change the draft and note What Changed. Learners see nothing yet.
- Send it for review. A Learn Manager, or your Course publishing approval chain, publishes it.
- The old version shows Replaced By, closes to self-join and requests, and its join code moves to the new version.
- People learning the old version carry on there to the end. Finished people keep their results and certificates.
- From now on the rules enrol new people in the new version only. Anyone joining the old course is taken to the newest one.
Everything it does
Making a version
- New Version: only on a published course; by its author, an editor or a Learn Manager
- One draft at a time: pressing New Version again opens the draft already made
- Copied: sections, lessons and their order rules, about text, editors, enrolment rules and course settings; not learners or results
- Version (1, 2, 3...), Previous Version, Replaced By and What Changed show on the course
- A course already replaced cannot get another new version; make it from the newest
When the new version is published
- The old version: Replaced By set, Open to Join and Join on Request switched off, join code cleared
- The join code moves to the new version unless it has its own
- A note is posted on the old version: Replaced by version 2
- The old version stays published for the people on it
Who goes where
- Learning on the old version: finish there, with their progress, due date and certificate
- Finished on the old version: keep their results; the new version's rules leave them out
- New people matched by a rule: enrolled in the new version only
- Someone joining the old course: taken to the newest version
- The replaced version's rules neither enrol nor drop anyone
- You can still move someone by hand: Enrol People on the new version and Drop on the old
Record
- Each version is its own course with its own enrolments, results and certificates
- The course history keeps every change to the course's fields, with who and when
- Reports group by course, so each version's learners and results stay apart
Who uses it
Learn AuthorMakes the new version, changes it and sends it for review.
Learn ManagerPublishes the new version, or decides at a level of the approval chain.
LearnerFinishes the version they started; new learners get the new one.
Auditor or HRSees which version each person studied and certified on.
Where you use it
- Web: New Version on the published course; the version fields on the course form
- Web: Learn > Manage Courses > Courses > Courses, with each version as its own course
- Learners see only the course they are on, in the player and the SmartMy Learn app
What you control
Settings
- No settings: versions are made with New Version when you need one
- What Changed: a note per version for authors
Approvals
- Course publishing: the new version is published like any course, by Learn Managers or your chain's levels
Notifications
- Course Assigned: to people the new version's rules enrol, by email and in the app
- Approvers get a to-do for the new version waiting to be published
- Every Learn event is a work message, so nobody can switch it off for themselves
Questions
Do people who finished have to do the course again?
No. They keep their results and certificates on the version they finished, and the new version's rules leave them out.What happens to someone half-way through?
They carry on with the version they started, with their progress and due date. They are not moved unless you move them.Can I move a learner to the new version anyway?
Yes. Press Enrol People on the new version and choose them, then drop them from the old one. Their earlier progress does not carry over, as the lessons may differ.Can I see what changed between versions?
Each version has a What Changed note, and its own sections and lessons. The course history records every field change with who made it and when.Do we need approval for a new version?
It goes through review like any course. A Learn Manager or your Course publishing approval chain publishes it.Related features
COURSES AND ENROLMENTCourses, sections and lessons from YouTube, Vimeo, PDF, slides, articles and filesBuild a course from sections and lessons: YouTube or Vimeo videos, PDFs, slides, articles, links and files to download. Authors build it, a Learn Manager publishes it, and learners follow it in order or in any order.COURSES AND ENROLMENTEnrolment by hand or by rules, kept current every nightPut people on a course by hand, or write a rule once: a role, a department, new joiners or a class. Every night the course enrols whoever the rule matches and drops people who no longer match.QUIZZES AND CERTIFICATESCertificates with a QR check page, expiry and renewalGive a certificate when a course is finished, with a QR code anyone can scan to check it. Set how long it is valid, warn people 30 days before it expires, and put them back on the course when it does.COURSES AND ENROLMENTSelf-join, join codes and join requestsLet people join a course themselves, with a code you share in class, or by asking and waiting for the author's yes. Requests can go through your approval chain.ACROSS SMARTMY LEARNApproval chainsPublishing a course and accepting a join request go through approval chains. With no set-up, Learn Managers publish and the course's authors decide join requests. You add levels, such as a head of department or the principal, without code.
See your first course on it.
Tell us who learns (students, staff or both), how many people and what you teach today. We will set up one course with you and enrol a class or a department.