Modules, the cover, contents and closing page
Modules on the right of the course builder lists everything a learner moves through, in order: the Cover, the Contents screen, your modules, and the Closing page. Modules hold the course itself. The other three are optional screens around them, and the tick beside each one decides whether learners see it. This article covers all four. For putting components into a module, see Adding and ordering content in a course.
Screenshot missingmodules-panel-overview
The Modules panel on the right of the course builder for a course with three modules. Cover, Contents and Closing page all ticked. The second module is open and lists its pages underneath (1 Introduction, 2 Page 2, 3 Summary). One module shows the warning triangle for No description added. The three-dot menu of the open module is showing Edit description, Rename, Duplicate and Delete, and the focused handle of another module showing its keyboard focus ring.
Expected at src/assets/screenshots/guides/modules-cover-contents-and-closing-page/modules-panel-overview.png
Adding a module to a course
Section titled “Adding a module to a course”Choose Add module, the + at the top of Modules. The new module goes to the bottom of the list and opens on the canvas empty. It is called Module and the lowest number not already in use, so after deleting Module 2 the next new module is Module 2 again.
Like any other change in the builder, a new module is kept only when you choose Save as draft or Publish. On a published course, learners do not see a new module until you publish it.
Reordering modules in a course
Section titled “Reordering modules in a course”Drag a module by the handle at its left to move it up or down the list. Learners go through the modules in the order shown.
To reorder from the keyboard, press Tab until the handle is focused (it is labelled Reorder and the module’s name), press Space to pick the module up, move it with the up and down arrow keys, and press Space again to drop it. Escape puts it back where it was. A screen reader announces each position as you go.
The new order is kept when you save. On a published course, learners keep the order they have until you publish it, and until it is approved if your account approves course changes first. See When module changes reach learners on a published course.
Opening a module and its pages
Section titled “Opening a module and its pages”Choose a module under Modules to open it on the canvas. It opens at its first page.
A module you have split with page breaks lists its pages underneath it while it is open. Each page is named after the name you typed on its page break, or failing that its first heading, or failing that Page 2, Page 3 and so on. Choose a page to scroll the canvas to it. See Splitting a module into pages.
Renaming a module
Section titled “Renaming a module”Choose the three-dot menu on the module, then Rename, or double-click the module’s name. Type the new name and press Enter, or click away. Esc cancels.
Two modules in the same course cannot share a name, whatever the capitals. If you try, here or in Edit description, you see A module with this name already exists - please choose a different name and nothing is saved until you change it.
Writing a module description
Section titled “Writing a module description”A module description is a short summary of what the module covers. Learners see it on the course’s own page, where each module in Course content on the About tab opens to show its description. It does not appear inside the course player.
- Choose the three-dot menu on the module, then Edit description.
- Module description opens with the Module title, which is required, and a Description box that takes basic formatting. Keep it to 50 to 200 words.
- Choose Save. You see Module saved.
For a module that has already been saved, Save here saves the description straight away. It does not wait for Save as draft.
A module with no description shows a warning triangle beside its name, labelled No description added. It does not stop you publishing. It is there because a course page where every module opens to nothing gives learners nothing to go on.
Duplicating a module
Section titled “Duplicating a module”Choose the three-dot menu on the module, then Duplicate, and choose Duplicate module to confirm. The copy goes to the bottom of the list with Copy added to its name, and it carries the module’s components, description and background. The module you were working on stays open.
Deleting a module
Section titled “Deleting a module”Delete appears in the three-dot menu only when the course has more than one module, because a course needs at least one. Delete module? asks you to confirm, and Delete module removes the module and everything in it.
The deletion is kept when you save. Until then, Undo at the top of the builder brings the module back.
Important: On a published course, a deleted module disappears for learners as soon as you save, without waiting for you to publish. That includes people part-way through the course, and any progress they had made in that module is removed with it.
When module changes reach learners on a published course
Section titled “When module changes reach learners on a published course”On a published course, the modules learners see, their order, and whether the cover page, contents screen and closing page are shown all change when you publish, not when you save. If your account approves course changes before learners see them, they change when the approval is given. Until then, learners carry on with the course as it was last published.
That covers adding a module, reordering modules, and ticking or unticking Show the cover page, Show the contents screen or Show the closing page. The builder and Preview show your saved changes straight away, so you can check them before you publish.
Anyone part-way through the course when you publish carries on with the modules, order and screens they started with until they finish it. The next time they take the course, they get the current version.
Deleting a module is the exception: it reaches learners as soon as you save. See Deleting a module.
Clearing everything out of a module
Section titled “Clearing everything out of a module”To empty a module without deleting it, use Reset module at the top of the builder. It removes every component on the canvas, the module’s background and its description, and Undo brings them back until you save. See Using the course builder’s canvas tools.
Setting a module’s background
Section titled “Setting a module’s background”Module background, the palette button above the canvas, sets the background of whichever module is open, and every page in it. A page can have a background of its own that overrides it, set from Page background on its page break. Both are described in Using the course builder’s canvas tools.
The course cover page
Section titled “The course cover page”The cover is a title screen learners see before the first module. It is a blank canvas that you design yourself, not a fixed template, so a title, a short introduction and an image are the usual contents.
- Choose Cover under Modules. It opens on the canvas.
- Drag components onto it as you would into a module, or click one in the list to add it. The palette button above the canvas is named Page background while the cover is open, and sets the cover’s background.
- Leave Show the cover page ticked for learners to see it.
Page breaks and questions cannot go on the cover. They are greyed out in the component list, with Page breaks belong inside a module — this page cannot be split. and Questions belong inside a module, where the answer can be marked.
AI and Animation mode are not offered on the cover. Reset page at the top of the builder clears it, and cannot be undone. Courses you generate with AI or import from PowerPoint usually arrive with a cover already written, and a PowerPoint’s title slide becomes the cover.
When learners see the cover
Section titled “When learners see the cover”Learners see the cover the first time they open the course, with Start to begin. When they come back to carry on, the cover is skipped.
A cover with nothing on it is never shown, even with its box ticked. The empty cover in the builder says so: Nothing here yet. Learners skip an empty cover, so add something or untick Show the cover page.
The course contents screen
Section titled “The course contents screen”The contents screen is a numbered list of the course’s modules, shown after the cover. Learners use it to see what the course holds, and to go back to a module they have already finished.
There is nothing on it to edit, because Learnient builds it from your modules. Contents under Modules has only its tick box, Show the contents screen.
What learners see on it:
- Each module by name, with the number of pages under a module that has more than one, and a list of those pages to open
- A tick beside each module they have finished
- A clock beside modules they cannot open yet
Learners can open any module they have finished and the first one they have not. Modules after that are listed so they can see what is coming, but cannot be opened until they get there, so nobody can skip ahead.
The button at the bottom reads Start until the learner has made any progress in the course, and Continue after that. The same list is available on every page of the course from Open course contents.
When learners see the contents screen
Section titled “When learners see the contents screen”Only when Show the contents screen is ticked and there is somewhere to go: more than one module, or one module with more than one page. A course of one single-page module has no contents screen, ticked or not.
Preview in the builder shows the contents screen only after you have saved.
The course closing page
Section titled “The course closing page”The closing page is the last screen of the course, after the final module. Use it for a summary, a reminder of what to do next, or a link to further reading. Like the cover, it is a blank canvas you design, with the same limits: no page breaks and no questions.
- Choose Closing page under Modules.
- Drag components onto it, and set its background with Page background while it is open. Reset page clears it, and cannot be undone.
- Leave Show the closing page ticked for learners to see it.
On the last page of the last module, learners choose Next to reach the closing page, then Complete to finish the course. Next there checks the module’s questions first, as it does between modules, so learners cannot reach the closing page with a question unanswered. Without a closing page, Complete is on the last page of the last module instead.
A closing page with nothing on it is never shown, and the empty page in the builder says so.
The closing page is not the results screen
Section titled “The closing page is not the results screen”The closing page does not show a score, a pass or fail, or a certificate. Those are on the completion screen learners reach after choosing Complete, which tells them whether they passed, shows their score against the pass mark, and offers Leave a review and their certificate where the course has one. You do not design that screen; it follows from the course’s settings.
How learners move through modules and pages
Section titled “How learners move through modules and pages”Every screen has Previous and a main button at the bottom, with a line showing Module 2 of 5 and, on a module with several pages, Page 1 of 3. The main button reads Start on the cover, Start or Continue on the contents screen, Next in a module and Complete on the last screen. The left and right arrow keys turn pages too.
Next on a page that is not the last one simply turns the page. A module counts as finished when learners choose Next on its last page, and they cannot do that until every question in the module has been answered.
A learner who leaves part-way through comes back to the page they were on.
Common questions
Section titled “Common questions”Why is the cover not showing for my learners?
Section titled “Why is the cover not showing for my learners?”Either Show the cover page is unticked, or the cover has nothing on it. An empty cover is skipped. Learners also see the cover only on their first visit; returning learners go straight back to where they were.
Why is there no contents screen in my course?
Section titled “Why is there no contents screen in my course?”The course has only one module with one page, so there is nothing to choose between. Add a second module or split the module with a page break, and make sure Show the contents screen is ticked.
Why can I not delete the only module?
Section titled “Why can I not delete the only module?”A course needs at least one module, so Delete appears only when there are two or more. To empty the one you have, use Reset module.
Why do learners still see the old order of modules after I saved a new one?
Section titled “Why do learners still see the old order of modules after I saved a new one?”On a published course, a new order reaches learners when you publish it, and when it is approved if your account approves course changes first. People part-way through keep the order they started with until they finish. See When module changes reach learners on a published course.
Can I reorder modules without a mouse?
Section titled “Can I reorder modules without a mouse?”Yes. Focus the module’s handle with Tab, press Space, move it with the arrow keys and press Space again. See Reordering modules in a course.
Can learners skip to a later module?
Section titled “Can learners skip to a later module?”No. They can go back to any module they have finished and open the first one they have not, but later modules stay locked until they reach them.
Where do learners see a module’s description?
Section titled “Where do learners see a module’s description?”On the course’s own page, under Course content on the About tab. It is not shown inside the course player.