Introducing ProPanel Version 2.0!

By: Justin Ferriman • November 15, 2016
Filed Under:

It is with great pleasure that I get to inform you that ProPanel Version 2.0 has now been released and is available for immediate use!

This release has been in the making nearly all year and we are exited to finally get it into your hands.

We have a lot to cover in this announcement, but before jumping into the details I want to sincerely thank all of you who have helped shape the new direction of ProPanel by sharing your ideas with us.

You will find that ProPanel v2.0 includes new (and quicker) reporting functionality. We tested it on sites with upwards of 40,000 learners and the performance improvements were significant!

So without further ado, let’s get into it!

Drag-and-Drop Dashboard

Many of you expressed the desire to have more flexibility over where and how the user reports were displayed in your WordPress dashboard. With this in mind, you will be pleased to see that ProPanel provides you with four dashboard data widgets.

They are as follows:

  1. Overview
  2. Progress Chart
  3. Reports
  4. Activity

The position of the reporting widgets is completely up to you. Simply drag-and-drop them to where you want and you’re all set. If you don’t want a certain widget then you can easily remove it using the Screen Options tab in the upper right corner of the screen.

This new layout structure of ProPanel means that  you can arrange your course data in a way that makes the most sense for your learning program.

Visible to Admins & Group Leaders

When you have ProPanel installed it is visible to both Admins and any user who is assigned as a Group Leader.

Admins can see all information while Group Leaders will only see data of any group they manage.

Speaking of “data”, let’s discuss the reporting metrics you have available…

Overview Widget

[frame type=”paper-stack”]

overview-widget

[/frame]

As you would expect, the overview widget provides you with quick stats relating to your learning management system. The top-level metrics displayed are:

  • Total Students
  • Number of Courses
  • Assignments Pending
  • Essays Pending

Selecting any one of these items will take you to the management page.

So, if you click Total Students then you will be brought to the Users administration dashboard, while selecting Courses will bring you to your LearnDash Courses.

Clicking on either the Assignments Pending or Essays Pending items will take you to their respective management pages so that you can quickly review and score the submissions.

Reporting Widget

[frame type=”paper-stack”]

reporting-widget

[/frame]

This is where the magic happens.

With this widget you use filters to dig into your course and user data. Choose to view users and progress by course or even look up a specific user’s activities in a matter of seconds!

This section also allows you to email a selected group of users. For example, you could email anyone who has not yet finished a course, or you could choose to email one specific user.

As you choose your filters you will be presented with the relevant data, and the other two widgets (Progress Chart and Activity) will adjust according to the filters selected.

Once you have the data you want, the Download button gathers that information and exports it to a CSV file.

Want a little more room to dig into the data? No problem – just click the FULL PAGE button. This will take you to a dedicated ProPanel dashboard page that includes more space for the reports that you generate.

Progress Chart

[frame type=”paper-stack”]

progress-widget

[/frame]

The progress chart dynamically shows the break-down for user progress based on the course you select in the Reporting widget.

The first chart is the course Progress Distribution.

This graphically displays Not Started, In Progress, and Completed statuses. Hovering your mouse over the sections of the graph will give you the exact number.

The second chart is the In Progress Breakdown.

This provides a granular look at those users who are listed as having an “In Progress” status.

This is incredibly useful because you now have the ability to see exactly how far along your users are in the course.

For example, if the majority of your users are less than 20% through the course, then you can be proactive and send them a reminder email to nudge them along!

Real-Time Activity

[frame type=”paper-stack”]

activity-widget

[/frame]

The Activity widget will show you real time data relating to your LearnDash courses as users enroll, complete lessons & topics, and finish quizzes.

As you select a specific course from the Reports widget, the Activity stream will update accordingly to display the most recent activity for that particular course!

Want to see what a specific user has been up to? Easy – just select that user and the Activity stream will display only their activity!

Also located on this widget is the ability to quickly export all LearnDash course and quiz data.

You can put this activity stream on the front-end by using the [ld_propanel_activity] shortcode on any page and any user with an Admin or Group Leader role can view the activity. Group Leaders will only see activity of users who are in their group(s).

Easily Modify Reports

For the developers out there, you will be pleased to see that the recent updates we have made to both LearnDash and ProPanel make it possible for you to modify the default reports.

In fact, it has never been easier to modify course and quiz reports with LearnDash!

Download & Upgrade Data

ProPanel v2.0 requires LearnDash v2.3.0.4 (or higher).

Once you have this version of LearnDash installed it is very important that you go to LEARNDASH LMS > SETTINGS > UPGRADE DATA and perform an upgrade for both your course and quiz data by selecting the upgrade buttons.

If you already own ProPanel then this update is available today. If you don’t see a notice to update from your admin dashboard, please reference this support article for some guidance on updating.

Full ProPanel documentation is available on the support site.

If you do not have ProPanel, you can purchase it from your account page.

Thank You!

Again we want to express how grateful we are to all of you that have participated in submitting ProPanel ideas, helped with beta testing, and to all of you who use LearnDash to power your online courses.

As always, our sole intention is to serve you.

To do this our focus is now on planning the coming year’s developments. You can continue to expect a steady stream of relevant updates to the LearnDash and ProPanel. We will also supplement LearnDash by continuing to make relevant free & premium add-ons available.

But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg for what we have planned. 😉

Until next time!

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