Channels

The third section that you can find in the LMS Learning Manager is the Channels section. Channels are shared spaces, composed of a series of Sprints distributed in stages. Their function is to represent a thematic learning area for the student, in the list of the My Learning area.

Channels are very useful for grouping Sprints according to training needs. The operation of your Trainings is the same as the Sprints: you can register both users individually and by user groups, or using files in CSV format. The only difference is that in Channels, the Sprints previously completed by the registered user will appear as passed, while the rest will continue to be available in the channel menu.

Who can create a Channel?

Channels are part of the training content of your platform. Therefore, users with Author role are in charge of creating and editing them. However, the Channel Trainings belong to the administrative part, and therefore those in charge of summoning students are the users with Group Administrator role. In both cases, Channel management and Channel Trainings, the general Administrators have full access. You can check these accesses in more detail in the Access roles table for Learning manager.

Group Administrators, although they cannot create or edit the Channels, they can view their content, as a requirement to be able to create the Trainings. However, Authors do not have access to the Channel Trainings tool, and therefore cannot view them.

From the release of version 5.26 (February 8^th, 2023) it has been fixed that users with author role can view or edit Sprints and Channels created by other authors. From this release onwards, they will only be able to view in their workspace the contents created by themselves. However, it is still possible to access other Sprints or Channels if you have the direct link (URL).

In order for an author to be able to freely access the rest of the contents of other authors, it is necessary to give him the role of general administrator, although this implies giving him access to the rest of the functionalities for this type of role.

In the case of users with a group administrator role, they don’t have access to the contents of authors belonging to a group, even if they are designated as the administrator of the group itself. Trainings must be managed by general administrator roles

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These changes do not impact instances that have the multi-organization functionality enabled. Thanks to it, catalogs can be created and Sprints and Channels can be added to them, so that all authors and group administrators can have access to the contents.

Channels page

The interface of the Channels section is similar to that of the Learning (Sprints) section. The page shows a list of all existing Channels. At the top is the Search bar to filter the list and find the channel you are looking for. And on the left side you have an access to the Channel Trainings section.

Create a new Channel

To create a new Channel click on the + New Channel button located in the lower right corner. A side menu with all the editing options is displayed:

Cover image: mandatory, select the image that will serve as header and thumbnail of the Channel. As in the case of Sprints you can upload an image from your computer or choose one from the image bank.
Name: mandatory, to designate the title of the channel, visible to all users and used to locate it in the list.
Description: brief additional information to the channel name, which is also used to search for the channel.
Default language: mandatory, the language in which the contents are written.
Visible members: enable this flag to allow students to see the other users in their group who are subscribed to the same channel. By default this field is enabled.
Catalogs: If you have created Catalogs in your instance you can assign the Channel to any of them. This will facilitate not only their search, but also the subsequent management of the student Trainings.
Awards: Allows you to award badges for completing the Sprints of the Channel. To do this, click on + Select a badge, which displays a new menu with all the available badges.

When you have finished configuring all the fields, click on the CONTINUE button or press the ENTER key to create the Channel and go to the window and begin to edit its contents.

Learning, Sprints in a Channel

When you create a new Channel, or enter an existing Channel, you access the Learning section, where you can edit the content (Sprints) of the Channel. You can return to this section at any time by clicking on the menu access on the left side.

Click on the + ADD LEARNING CONTENT button in the central part to start selecting the Sprints.

A new side menu appears with the list of all the published Sprints. To find the ones you are looking for you can use the Tag filter, by clicking on the tags icon, or use the Search bar, by clicking on the magnifying glass icon. When you find the Sprints you want, activate the flags on the left side to select them (one or several) and click on the √ ADD button on the top right..

For a Sprint to be added to a Channel it must be published. If it is not, it will not appear in the list of selectable Sprints.

Once you have added the Sprints you will see a list of them, where you will be able to:

Set order, by clicking on the dotted column to the left of the Sprint you want to move, and holding down to move it up or down in the list.
Make it mandatory, by activating the flag in the Required column. This way it will be mandatory that the student completes the Sprint to be able to access the following ones. By default this flag is activated.
Remove it from the Channel by clicking on the three dots to the right of the Sprint and selecting the Delete option.
Use the two + buttons to Add learning content, new Sprints; or Add stage, a new training path within the channel.

Sprints Requeridos

The fact that a Sprint is Required within a Channel will serve to determine the accessibility of the following activities according to a series of principles:

To complete a Channel the user must have completed all Sprints that are marked as Required
The Student can decide whether to complete the Sprints that are marked as not required
The Administrator can modify the requirement or not of a Sprint in a Channel

In case a Sprint included in the Channel has been completed at some point by the Student, it will be taken as completed with respect to the blocks in the Channel according to the following:

If the Sprint has been completed, is marked as Required and is the next to be performed within the Channel, it will appear completed and the next Sprint will be unlocked.
If the Sprint has been completed, is marked as Required and is not the next Sprint to be performed, it will be locked. Once it is reached, it will appear as completed.
If the Sprint has been completed and is not marked as Required, it will appear as completed.

Stages in a Channel

Stages allows you to create training paths, setting blocks between Sprints to determine prerequisites between training content. Establishing stages allows you to divide the training content and establish more flexible learning paths:

Within each Stage at least one Sprint is required to be mandatory
Each Stage can have as many Sprints as you want
Stages establish blocks between each other. If you want to advance to the next stage it is necessary to have done, and completed, all the Sprints marked as required in the previous stage
Within each stage there is no mandatory order for the completion of the Sprints. They can be carried out in any order, except for the mandatory ones. The order in which the list is conformed is the one recommended by the author

Resources

The second access in the left menu gives you access to the Resources tool. You can use it to add external resources to the list, links to online sites outside the platform.

Clicking on the + New Resource button displays a new side menu where you must enter the URL address of the resource you want to add, and click NEXT or press the ENTER key. The platform searches for the link and takes you to a new menu where you can Modify the thumbnail image, the Title and Description, and choose if you want to Hide URL and show content inside fullscreen window. Fill in all the fields and click on the + ADD button to include the new resource in the Channel.

Trainings

The third and last section is used to create and manage the Channel Trainings, open a new training action and invite students to the Channel content. The Channel Trainings work in a similar way to the Sprints one, to learn how to create and manage them you can consult the article that explains how they work.

As in the Sprints, you cannot start creating a Training for a Channel until it has been published. Once published, it will not be possible to add, delete, change the order or assign mandatory nature of the Sprints that compose it. For any change it will be necessary to unpublish the Channel first.