Modules and Lessons

Modules and Lessons

Overview

Courses are broken into modules, which are the primary topics for the course. Users move through modules to access content and complete the course.

CYPHER for business defaults to the terms courses and modules. CYPHER for academia defaults to the terms classes and lessons. The terms courses and classes are interchangeable in this article. The terms modules and lessons are interchangeable in this article.

To view the modules for a course or class:

  1. Access a course or class.
  2. Click Modules (or Lessons) from the course/class navigation menu. 
  3. Click the List view icon if you would like to view the modules in list view.

Modules are made up of sections, which can be pages, assessments, tools, web resources, and more.

To see the sections of a module:
  1. Click a module tile.
  2. If you are in list view, click the show section arrow.


The sections for the module display. If you are an instructor or teacher for the course you will see additional information for each section:
  1. Given: Indicates if assessments have been given to learners.
  2. Submitted: Indicates the number of assessments submitted.
  3. To score: Indicates the number of assessments that need to be graded/scored.

To learn more about the basics of navigating modules or lessons, visit the Modules and lessons overview article.

Adding modules

To add a module to a course or a class:

  1. Access a course or class.
  2. Click Modules or Lessons from the course/class navigation menu.
  3. Click + Add. 


The Add module pop-up displays.

  1. Click New to add a new module.
  2. Click Library to to add a copy of one or more of your existing modules.

If you select New, the Add module pop-up displays. In the example below, the course is an Instructor led course.

  1. Enter a module title.
  2. Enter a module description (optional).
  3. Add an optional location, date, and time.
    1. If you uncheck the All day checkbox, a Duration option becomes available.
  4. Select a Position to determine the order of the module in relation to other modules.
  5. Click Save.

If you enter a date for the module, the module will appear in the course calendar.

  1. The calendar entry includes a direct link to the module.

If you enter a location and/or time for the module, the information displays on the module's tile.


Editing modules

You can update the name, description, time, and location of new and existing modules:
  1. First, select a module tile, or select a module from the course table of contents.
The Module overview displays.
  1. Click Edit.
  2. Make changes in the Edit module pop-up.
  3. Click Save.


The Module overview has multiple tabs. The default tab that opens is the Sections tab, which displays each section in the module. With the Section tab you have multiple options:
  1. To give an assessment, select the section and select Given.
  2. To require a section, select the section select Required.
  3. To hide a section, select the section and select Hide.
  4. To change the indentation of a section and create a subsection, select a section and click the right arrow.
    1. To change a subsection back to a section, select the section and click the left arrow.
  5. To delete a section, select a section and click Delete.


The Module overview has multiple tabs that allow you to customize or edit the module.
  1. Click the Skills tab to assign skills to the module.
  2. Click the Completion tab to add completion requirements and completion actions.
  3. Click the Visibility tab to adjust if the module is shown or hidden to users, and to add filters to determine who can view the module.
  4. Click Locking to adjust if the module defaults to locked or unlocked. You can also set up rules so that the module is locked for specific users.
  5. Click Tags to add tags to the module.
  6. Click Notes to add reference notes that can be viewed by instructors and teachers of the course.


To update the picture on a module tile:
  1. Hover over the module's tile and click the configure/gear icon.
  2. Click Change picture.
  3. Upload a new picture.
  4. Click Save.


To return to the primary Modules overview:

  1. Click the  Return to modules overview icon or click Modules from the course navigation menu.
On the Modules overview page, you can reorder modules and delete modules:
  1. To reorder modules:
    1. Hover on a module tile.
    2. Click the move icon and drag and drop the module to its new location.
  2. To delete a module:
    1. Select a module.
    2. Click Delete.


Configuring modules

As an instructor, there are multiple configuration options for modules. For example, you can adjust the way that modules display to learners:

  1. Access the course.
  2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
  3. Click Modules from the fly-out menu.
  4. In the Layout section:
    1. Enable grid view for learners (default): This setting allows learners to view modules as tiles.
    2. Enable row view for learners: This setting allows learners to view modules as a list.

If both views are enabled, learners can choose the view they prefer.

  1. If users are viewing modules in the grid/tile view, they can click the List view icon to switch to list/row view.

To configure additional module settings:

  1. Access the course.
  2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
  3. Click Modules from the fly-out menu.
    1. Module descriptions: This setting allows you to enable or disable module descriptions.
    2. Automatically number modules: If enabled, this setting will add numbers to all modules.
    3. Show activity indicator on modules to learners: This setting allows you to enable or disable the activity indicators on module tiles, which indicate the current level of user activity.
    4. Show all sections by default in row view: This setting displays all sections in row view by default.
    5. Show legend: This setting enables or disables the module legend.
    6. Display progress wheel: This setting enables or disables the module progress wheel.


Analytics

The platform tracks the first and last time a learner visits a particular module, as well as the total number of times they have visited the module on a particular day and the amount of time they have spent there. To view module analytics:

  1. Access the Modules overview page.
  2. Click Analytics. 


The chart shows the number of learners that have visited each module, as well as the amount of time they have spent there.


You can also see the total time spent on the course by learner.
  1. Click the Learners or Students tab from within the course.
  2. The Time column displays the total amount of time spent in the course by each learner.
  3. Click the Time link for a learner to see additional details.

A chart displays, which shows the learner's total time spent on each module.


To see a breakdown of a learner's activity:
  1. Click the Learners or Students tab from within the course.
  2. Click the More icon.
  3. Select Activity from the drop-down list.

A detailed timeline of a learner's activity displays, including a record of when they visited each module.


Current module

If a course is not self-paced, you can set a module to be the current module for learners.

  1. Select the checkbox on the module you want to make current.
  2. Click Current.

There are multiple settings you can configure related to the current module:

  1. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click Modules on the fly-out menu.
    1. Only show modules up to the current lesson to learners: This setting will lock all modules past the current module.
    2. Hide modules after the current one instead of showing them as locked: This setting will hide all modules past the current module.
    3. Hide (instead of showing) all modules if no current lesson is set: This setting will hide all modules if you do not set a current module.
    4. Automatically set current module by date: This setting will automatically set the current module based on the date of the module(s).

For more information on current modules, visit the Configure article. 

Sections

Module content is made up of sections, which can include pages, SCORM packages, HTML packages, document or video files, web resources, tools, and more.

Each section has its own page in the module. Sections in a module start with the module name followed by the section name. 
  1. Use the Previous and Continue buttons to navigate through modules and sections.
  2. You can also navigate between modules and sections by clicking their link in the table of contents. Sections in a module start with the module name followed by the section name. 


To add a section to a module:

  1. Access the module.
  2. Click + Add section. 
    1. You can also click + Add section directly from another section.


The Add section pop-up displays, which allows you to add multiple types of sections. 

Page sections

When the Add section pop-up displays:

  1. Click Page to add a new page. 


The Add page pop-up displays.
  1. Enter a page title.
  2. Click Save.


The page displays, defaulting to the Content tab. To add content:
  1. Click Edit.

The HTML editor displays.

  1. Add content using the HTML editor.
    1. For details about the editor, visit the Editor article.
  2. Click Save.

To add, edit, or delete resources from the section:

  1. Click the Resources tab.
  2. Click + Add to add a resource.
    1. For more information about resources, visit the Resources article. 

You can adjust the visibility of the page to only display to specific learners. To configure the visibility settings:

  1. Click the Visibility tab.
  2. Select the Shown or Hidden radio button to set the default state of the section.
  3. Click + Add in the Filter section to add a filter that will only show the page to users that meet the specific of the filter. 

The Filter pop-up displays.

  1. Select a field in the first pop-up.
  2. Then select a condition.
  3. Finally enter a value for the filter.
  4. Click Save.
    1. In this example, the page will only be shown to users whose country equals the United States.


You have added a visibility filter.
  1. Click Edit to edit the filter.
  2. Click Remove to delete the filter.

You can also hide the page from specific users. To hide the page to specific users:

  1. Click + Add in the Hidden section.


Use the people picker to select users who will not be able to view the page.
  1. Select users in the left column.
  2. Click the right arrow icon to add the users to the Selected column.
  3. Click Add. 

Assessments

To add an assessment section:

  1. Access a module.
  2. Click + Add section.


The Add section pop-up displays.
  1. Click the Assessments tab.
  2. Select an assessment type.
    1. In this example, an Essay assignment is selected. 

The Add Essay assessment pop-up displays.

  1. Add an assessment title.
  2. Configure the assessment scores, category start and due dates, max attempts, and grading scales.
  3. Add instructions (optional).
  4. Click Save.

The assessment section will appear in the module, and will also be available in the course assessments list.


You can require the assessment and add a minimum score requirement. To configure the completion settings for the assessment section:

  1. Click the assessment section.
  2. Click the Completion tab. 
  3. Select or deselect the Require this section to be completed for module completion checkbox.
  4. Click + Add minimum score requirement to enter a  threshold percentage that is required to pass the assessment.
    1. A learner can only complete a module if they have passed all the assessments with a completion threshold in the module. An assessment with a completion threshold is indicated by a lock icon. 

To learn more about assessments, visit the Assessments article. 

SCORM

You can add SCORM packages both as content and assessment sections.

To add a SCORM section:
  1. Access a module.
  2. Click + Add section.
  3. To upload SCORM content: Click SCORM from the Content tab.
  4. To upload a SCORM assessment: Click SCROM from the Assessment tab.


The Add SCORM section pop-up displays.
  1. Click New to upload a new SCORM package.
  2. Click Library to use an existing SCORM package that is stored as a resource. 


If you select New, upload the SCORM package from your computer.
The Add SCORM package pop-up will display.
  1. Enter a name for the SCORM package.
  2. Add a description (optional).
  3. Select a library for the SCORM package.
  4. Click Save.
    1. You will receive a notification when the SCORM package has uploaded. 


If you select Library to use an existing SCORM pacakage, the Select SCORM package pop-up displays.
  1. Select a SCORM package from a library
  2. Click Submit.


The SCORM package displays as a section within the module. To edit the title of the SCORM section:
  1. Click Edit below the SCORM window.


To edit the SCORM package display properties:
  1. Click the Options tab. 
  2. Click Edit to modify the size of the frame, launch settings, navigation settings, autoplay, completion settings and to show a close button.
  3. Click + Add in the Preview image section to add a still preview image. 


The platform allows you to view learner progress in the SCORM module. To view learner progress:
  1. Access the SCORM section.
  2. Click the Progress tab.
  3. Individual progress for each learner displays.

Checkbox sections

Checkbox sections allow you to embed a list of actionable or compliance-related items at the beginning of a course that learners must select and acknowledge before proceeding. These dynamic checklists ensure learners actively engage with the material, acknowledging and complying with company or instructor requirements. Checkbox sections can be customized to match specific learning goals or compliance needs, making them ideal for scenarios where acknowledgment of policies, procedures, or safety standards is required. Additionally, they can be used by instructors during on-the-job training to assess knowledge retention and skill levels.

To add a checkbox section:

  1. Access a module.
  2. Click + Add section.
  3. Click the Other tab.
  4. Click Checkbox.

The Add checkboxes pop-up displays.

  1. Enter the title of the checkbox section.
  2. Use the HTML editor to enter instructions that will display for learners.
  3. Click Save.

The section is created. To add checkboxes:

  1. Click the Checkboxes tab.
  2. Click + Add.

The Add checkbox pop-up displays.

  1. Enter the description for the checkbox.
  2. Click Save.

 

The new checkbox item is listed.

  1. Click + Add if you wish to add more checkboxes.
    1. You can add as many checkboxes as needed.

If needed, you can reorder checkboxes.

  1. Click the  reorder icon and drag and drop the checkboxes into the new order. 

To edit the text for a checkbox:

  1. Click the checkbox description text. 


Checkbox section settings function similarly to other sections.
  1. Click the Completion tab to designate completion requirements and actions.
  2. Click the Visibility tab to add any filters or to hide the section from specific users.
  3. Click the Tags tab to add any tags to the section.


Section completion

By default, a module is considered completed when all its sections are completed. If you would like to make a section optional for module completion:

  1. Access the section.
  2. Click the Completion tab.
  3. Deselect the Require this section to be completed for module completion checkbox.  

Please note that if you mark a section as not required for module completion, it will not block access to other sections even if the "Require sections to be completed in order" option is enabled at a site level.


Completion time estimate

Completion time estimates can be added for sections. This can be useful if you want to indicate to learners how long a section should take to complete. To add a completion time estimate:
  1. Access a section.
  2. Click the Completion tab.
  3. Click + Add in the Completion time estimate section.


The Estimate of time to complete section pop-up displays.
  1. Enter the estimated time to complete the section.
  2. Click Save.

The Completion time estimate has been added.

  1. Click Edit to edit the time.
  2. Click Clear to delete the time estimate.

Completion time estimates are shown for instructors and teachers in the module's sections tab.


Time estimates are shown in the modules row/list view for instructors and learners. The section time estimate totals are shown when the module is expanded.


Subsections

A subsection is a division of a section. You can divide a course into modules, sections, and sub-sections to help organize content. To create sub-sections:

  1. Access a module.
  2. Select the sections that will become subsections.
  3. Click the right arrow icon. 
  4. The subsections are indented and become subsections.

Skills

If the course has skills, you can tag a module with the specific skills it teaches. To assign skills to a module:

  1. Access the module.
  2. Click the Skills tab.
  3. The skills assigned to the module display.
  4. Click Edit.

The Set skills page displays all of the skills in the course.
  1. Select the skills that are taught within the module.
  2. Click Save. 


Modules that are associated with skills are indicated with a graph mastery icon on their tiles.

Module visibility

Manual personalization 

Just like sections, there are multiple ways to determine which users can view modules.
To manually adjust module visibility settings:
  1. Access a module.
  2. Click the Visibility tab.
  3. Determine if you want the module to be Shown or Hidden by default. 
  4. To display the module to selected users only, click + Add in the Filter section.
    1. Define the filter.
    2. Click Save.
    3. To learn more about how to define filters, please visit the Filters topic.
  5. To hide the module from selected users, click + Add in the Hidden section.
    1. Use the people picker to select learners.

Dynamic personalization

Dynamic personalization of modules allows you to use automation to personalize messages and filters for modules that are shown/hidden from specific learners. 

InfoNote - To use automation to dynamically personalize modules, Adaptive learning must be installed on your site. To learn more, visit the Adaptive learning article.
  1. Access the module or lesson.
  2. Click Automation from the secondary navigation menu.
  3. Click the Module tab.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Click + Add below the module you want to show or hide to users.
  6. Click Hide module or Show module.


  1. Select the module from the dropdown.
  2. Choose to add a canned or custom message.
    1. You can also choose not to send a message.
  3. Click the + icon to add a filter.
    1. Filters allow you to add the show or hide action based on account type, location, organization, language and more.
  4. Click Save to add the action.


To verify which learners can view the module:
  1. Access the module.
  2. Click the Visibility tab.
  3. In the Shown section, you can verify if the learner was added manually or via automation in the Added column.

Info
Note that if you delete a Show/Hide action, it automatically removes the Show/Hide entry from the associated module. If you delete a module, when it's cleared out of the trash, its associated Show/Hide actions are also deleted.

Lock/Unlock modules

To customize module access, you also have the ability to lock and unlock modules for users.

To manually adjust module locking settings:
  1. Access a module.
  2. Click the Locking tab.
  3. Determine if you want the module to be Locked or Unlocked by default. 
  4. If the module is Unlocked by default, you can lock the module for specific users.
    1. To lock the module for selected users only, click + Add in the Locked section.
    2. Use the people picker to select learners.
  5. If the module is Locked by default, you can unlock the module for specific users.
    1. To unlock the module for selected users only, click + Add in the Unlocked section.
    2. Use the people picker to select learners.

You can also use automation to determine when modules are locked/unlocked in a course. To automate module locking settings:

  1. Access the module or lesson.
  2. Click Automation from the secondary navigation menu.
  3. Click the Module tab.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Click + Add below the module you want to lock or unlock for users.
  6. Click Lock module or Unlock module.

  1. Select a module from the dropdown.
  2. Select when you would like the module to lock or unlock.
    1. The default is to lock or unlock the module immediately, but you can also designate a specific date and time.
  3. Click Save to add the action.


To verify which learners are impacted by the locked module:
  1. Access the module.
  2. Click the Locking tab.
  3. In the Locked section, you can verify if the learner was added manually or via automation in the Added column.

Module Completion

By default, a course is considered complete when all its modules are completed. If you would like to make a module optional for course completion:

  1. Access a module.
  2. Click the Completion tab.
  3. Deselect the Require this module to be completed for course completion checkbox.  
Info
Please note that if you mark a module as not required for course completion, it will not block access to other modules even if the "Require modules to be completed in order" option is enabled at a site level.


If a module is optional, "Not required" will display on the module tile for instructors and learners. 


The Completions tab allows you to add Completion actions, which occur when the user has completed the module. For example, you can add actions that award game points and badges to leaners when they complete the module. To begin adding a completion action:

  1. Access a module.
  2. Click the Completion tab.
  3. Click + Add in the Completion actions section.

The Add action pop-up displays. Note that there are multiple tabs of actions.

  1. Click an action to add it to the module. Available actions include:
    1. Add to group: Add the learner as a member of a specific group.
    2. Award badge: Award a badge to the learner.
    3. Award certificate: Award a certificate to the learner.
    4. Award coupon: Award a coupon to the user.
    5. Award points: Award points to the learner.
    6. Enroll in a course: Enroll the learner into a specific course.
    7. Enroll in a path: Enroll the learner into a specific path.
    8. Lock module: Lock a module. Click here for more details regarding drip content. 
    9. Send custom notification: Send a custom notification to the learner.
    10. Remove from group: Remove the user as a member of a specific group
    11. Unlock module: Unlock a module.
    12. Webhook: Invoke an API.
    13. xAPI: Invoke an xAPI.
    14. And more! 

Additional completion requirements

Like courses, you can also add specific completion requirements to a module.

For example, you can configure a module to require a certain number of optional sections to be completed in order for the module to be completed. 

To add a completion requirement to the module:

  1. Access the module.
  2. Click the Completion tab.
  3. Click + Add requirement in the Completion requirements section.

The Add completion requirement pop-up displays.

  1. Select the number of optional sections a learner must complete to complete the module.
  2. To designate which optional sections qualify for the requirement, you can use tags. If you want to use tags to designate specific sections:
    1. Type in a tag name.
    2. You can add multiple tags by using a comma between tags.
      1. Please note if you use multiple tags, all of the tags must be present on the module.
  3. Click Save.
In this example, learners must complete at least 2 optional sections tagged with "leadership" to complete the module.

You can add multiple completion requirements.

  1. Click Edit to edit a requirement.
  2. Click Remove to remove a requirement.
Info
Note that if you add more than one completion requirement, they all have to be satisfied for the module to be considered complete.

Tagging a section

To add tags to a section:
  1. Access a section.
  2. Click the Tags tab.
  3. Click add.

  1. Type a tag name into the text box.
    1. Use a comma to create additional tags.
  2. If you want to remove a tag, click the X icon on the tag.
  3. Click save when you are finished adding tags.
Info
Please note that when copying modules, tags are also copied.



Instructor notes

Instructor notes can be added to modules to share anecdotes, analogies, and other aids between instructors.

Instructor notes cannot be seen by learners.

To add Instructor notes:
  1. Access a module.
  2. Click the Notes tab.
  3. Click + Add.
  4. Use the HTML editor to add a note.
  5. Click Save.


      • Related Articles

      • Co-instructors and Co-Teachers

        Overview CYPHER for business defaults to the term instructor. CYPHER for academia defaults to the term teacher. The terms instructor and teacher are interchangeable in this article and customizable in the platform. CYPHER for business defaults to the ...

      • Configure courses and classes

        Overview The Configure menu gives you the ability to customize and modify courses to meet the learning needs of your organization. This article will walk you through the configuration features in the platform. CYPHER for business defaults to the term ...

      • Courses and classes

        Overview A course or class is a structured set of learning content, activities, and assessments used to instruct learners and students. The platform provides a comprehensive set of course features including a news feed, modules, resources, learner ...

      • Import courses

        Overview The platform allows you to import courses and classes from a variety of sources. This article will cover: Importing content from an existing course on the platform. Importing courses using Common Cartridge Format (CCF). Importing courses ...

      • Drip content

        Overview Drip content allows you to schedule learner and student access to modules and lessons, rather than making them available all at once. CYPHER for business users utilize courses, while CYPHER for academia users utilize classes. The terms ...