Sections

Sections

Overview

This site includes special support for teaching multiple sections of the same course. To do this, you can add 'child' courses to a 'parent' course. Each course can be independently customized, and you can update the children with changes made to the parent. When a course is created, it has no child courses. To add child courses, click Admin, then "Add child course".

A pop-up will appear that allows you to set the name of the child course and make other basic modifications. Then click Save. 

You will receive a message when the child course is added with a link to its configuration area.

When the child course is created, it is an exact copy of the parent course. To configure it, visit the admin tab. Note that custom course fields are also copied from the parent course. 

In the Admin section on the child course home page, you will see a link back to its parent course.

The child course Admin pop-out also includes a link to the parent course.

The "Sections" tab appears in the parent class, and you can Sync/Remove courses from the parent.

To remove child courses, select them and click Remove. This doesn't delete the courses, it just removes the parent-child relationship.

Update child courses

To update child courses with changes made to the parent, click Admin/Sections in the parent course, select the child courses and click Sync.

This displays a list of all the differences between the parent and the selected children. By default, all the changes are selected. Deselect any changes that you don't want to be made, then click Submit. The selected changes are applied to the child courses. 

In the "Last synced at" column of the Sections pop-out, you can see the time of the last sync.

If an assessment that has already been given is added to a child course as the result of a sync, it is automatically given in the child course. Similarly, if an existing assessment is given/ungiven and then synced, the assessment is automatically given/ungiven in all the child courses. 

Sync options

To configure the sync options for a particular parent, go to Sections, then click "Configure sync".

Here is a description of each option:

Items to sync

This allows you to select which kinds of items are synced. By default, course configuration settings, resources, modules, sections, grading periods, categories, assignments, and events are synced.

Changes to sync

This allows you to select what kinds of changes are synced. By default, additions, edits, and deletions are synced.

Duration to sync

This allows you to choose the duration to sync. By default, only the changes that were made to the parent since the last sync are considered. You can also select "sync changes to the parent since it was created" if you want to sync all changes regardless of previous syncs.

List changes to each child separately

This allows you to specify whether the changes to each child are listed separately or combined when possible. Listing changes separately is useful if you sometimes want to apply changes to one child but not another.

Sync assignment state/due dates

This allows you to specify if you want assignment start/due dates to be synced. By default, this is disabled so that you can reschedule parent assignments without altering the start/due dates of the children.

Sync assignment 'given' status

This allows you to specify if you want assignments given status to be synced. By default, this is disabled so that you can give parent assignments without altering the 'given' status of the children.

Items that we currently sync

Here's a list of the items that we currently sync. If a change is not listed here, then it is not currently synced. For example, we do not currently sync changes such as:

  • adding/deleting/editing resources within the resources tab of a section within a module
  • editing a rubric
  • changing the timer option for a quiz assignment

Course configuration

We sync edits to the following course configuration fields:

  • description
  • picture
  • credits
  • syllabus
  • weights
  • weight_using_categories
  • style
  • hide_after_current
  • announce_modules
  • latest_assignment_first
  • notify_on_submission
  • send_reminders
  • cell_format_large
  • cell_format_small
  • summary_format_left
  • summary_format_right
  • round_points
  • round_percentages
  • hide_points
  • hide_percentages
  • hide_grades
  • hide_final_grade

Modules

We sync adds, deletes, ordering, and edits to the following fields:

  • name
  • description
  • picture
  • notes
  • start_at

Sections

We sync adds, deletes, and ordering. We also sync edits to the following fields:

  • Assignment sections: hide, indent
  • Pages: name, content, hide, and indent
  • SCORM sections: hide and indent

Assignments

We sync adds, deletes, location (standalone versus in a particular module), and edits to the following fields:

  • name
  • content
  • introduction
  • grading
  • weight
  • allow_comments
  • sample
  • correct_answer
  • gateway
  • gateway_threshold
  • disable_past_due
  • allow_late
  • maximum_submissions
  • max_time_allowed
  • use_results
  • reminders_sent
  • allow_comments
  • show_question
  • show_response
  • show_correct
  • show_feedback
  • show_score
  • points_on_time
  • points_late_excuse
  • points_late_no_excuse
  • points_absent_excuse
  • points_absent_no_excuse

Also, if enabled, we sync:

  • due date
  • start date
  • 'given' status

Finally, we sync the points if they are not auto-calculated (as they are with quizzes, for example).

Resources in the main resources tab

We sync adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields (when applicable)

  • show page in frame
  • width
  • height
  • border
  • autoplay

Calendar events

We sync adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields:

  • name
  • description
  • begin_at
  • end_at
  • all_day

Assignment categories

We sync adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields:

  • name
  • weight

Grading periods

We sync adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields:

  • name
  • percent
  • begin_at

Tab ordering

We sync tab ordering and enabled/disabled tabs for courses, groups, and paths.

Notes

Here are a few notes about sync:

  • Resources, categories, and grading periods are matched by name. Events are matched based on name and date. This means that if you have two parent and/or child items with the same name, the sync system cannot be sure how to match them. This limitation will be resolved shortly.
  • Because of the large number of data fields associated with each item, only the most common ones are currently synced. For example, we don't currently sync the options from a quiz assignment. We will add support for most fields over time.

Including child classes on the parent class catalog page

You can include the published child courses within the catalog page of their parent course and then allow the user to select which one to purchase/enroll in. You can use this feature to offer multiple sessions of a course, often in different locations, and allow the user to select which particular session to enroll in. Please note that you can also configure templates as parent courses by adding child courses to them.

To enable this for a parent course or a template, visit its Admin/Configure/Catalog area and then check "Include child courses?" Please note that this option is only available if the course has a child course.

Once enabled, the catalog tile for the parent course will include the text "Multiple dates are available", and the child courses will no longer show up separately in the catalog.

If you visit the course's catalog page, it lists the available sessions on the right.

Please note that to group courses by location first, you have to specify the location of each course under Admin/Configure/Basics.

If a course does not have a location, it will be displayed as "Other".

Each entry includes its start/end date and any schedule information entered via Admin/Configure/Schedule.

When you click Purchase/Enroll, the selected course is used. If e-commerce is enabled and the courses don't all have the same price, we include the price of each course in the right-hand listing.

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