Assignments & More!

By: Justin Ferriman • July 9, 2013
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LearnDash Updates latestWell, it’s that time again – the time where we officially release a new and improved version of the LearnDash WordPress LMS based on user feedback captured in the forums, help desk, and through phone conversations 🙂 !

Since our last major update, we have been jotting down all of our users’ suggestions and working them into our development plan. Besides, this is YOUR product, and as long as you are using LearnDash, then you can rest-assured knowing that we are committed to continuous improvement.

A Quick Word

Before we jump into the updates, make sure you check out some of the recent additions and enhancement we have made in the LearnDash Library, specifically the Achievement Badges.  If you want to easily add a layer of gamification to your LMS, now you can!  Simply follow the instructions on the support site and you’ll have everything going in minutes!

And now, onto the latest updates…

Enhanced Certificate Functionality

[frame align=”right” type=”simple”]cert[/frame]One of the great things about LearnDash is the ability to instantly award a certificate to your users after they successfully pass a quiz.  Many LearnDashers have asked for this feature to be made a bit more user-friendly, including the ability to use some pre-made templates – well, now you can!  Simply create a new certificate, upload a Featured Image, and click Update.

Now, all you have to do is insert text, or use the shortcodes we have available to customize the certificate for each user, into the text editor. Anything placed in this field will appear on-top of the Featured Image.  Oh, and because we know that you might like some examples, we have even uploaded a few pre-made certificates to the support site.  You can use these to get started quickly, or create your own from scratch.

Assignment Uploads

Sometimes a lesson calls for an assignment, and now you can manage this process with the new assignment upload feature.  When creating a lesson, simply check the box to indicate whether there is an assignment associated with the lesson.  When a user comes to the lesson, they will be prompted to upload their assignment on the lesson page (i.e. written document, image, etc.).  If lesson progression is enabled, they will not be able to continue onto the next lesson until their assignment has been manually approved.

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As the admin, you can then see a list of all the assignments being uploaded, and if it meets your criteria, you can click the “Mark Complete” button so that the lesson is flagged as “completed” for the user.

Course Pre-Requisites

Prior to this update, LearnDash allowed you to specify a lesson order for your courses so that you could control a learner’s experience.  This still exists, but now you can take it one step further and specify a pre-requisite for the entire course! Going forward, if you have multiple courses, but want to ensure that courses are taken in a specific order, all you have to do is select that course from the drop-down menu.

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If a user tries to access the course before completing the pre-requisite, they will be given a special message  and a link to the course that they must complete first.

Self-Enrollment of Free Courses

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If you have some free courses on your LMS, now your users can self-enroll by clicking the “Join” button that appears on the course description page.  After clicking “Join”, they will be mapped to the course and it will appear as one of their assigned courses. Now the user will have access to the course materials, lessons, and quizzes.

Bug Fixes

A huge thank-you to all of you who have pointed out any pesky bugs. We have cleaned them up in this release.

Big Plans Ahead

We hope you enjoy the flexibility that these new features give you with your learning management system.  Our commitment to you and to the consistent improvement of LearnDash is our #1 priority. The learning industry is our specialty, and we have gained valuable insights through consulting Fortune 500 companies with their international learning programs – our experience is your benefit.

Leveraging this experience, we have identified some exciting enhancements in the not-too-distant future.  So as you get your feet wet with some of these new features, keep one eye on your inbox for more news from us!

NOTE: You can automatically update to the latest version of LearnDash by using the one-click update feature in your Admin panel.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter