LearnDash Version 1.3.0 Includes Major Updates!

By: Justin Ferriman May 15, 2013
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LearnDash-Version-1.3.0Today I am extremely pleased to announce the latest version of LearnDash, Version 1.3.0! Without a doubt, this is the biggest update we have done since our original release back in January.

Admittedly, we have been a bit quiet lately, but only because our heads have been down enhancing the LearnDash offering based on all our customer’s suggestions. First, I want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who writes us with suggestions on how to improve LearnDash. We are 100% committed to continuous improvement. And now, without further ado: the new features!

Integrated Advanced Quizzing

This is hands-down the biggest update not only to LearnDash, but in the entire WordPress LMS plugin market. We have integrated a new Advanced Quiz for those of you who want more than just multiple choice. It would be impossible for me to list all the features as this quiz is so flexible, you are only limited by your imagination. That said, some of the main features of this new quiz include:

  • Insert Videos for question or answer choices
  • Insert Images for question or answer choices
  • Single choice, multiple choice, free text, and sorting question types (to name a few!)
  • Set quiz time-limits
  • Question review feature so users can see exactly what they missed
  • Option to assign points for each question
  • Leader Board so users can compare how they did to everyone else
  • Option for email notifications to the admin when a quiz has been completed
  • Give hints for more difficult questions
  • Option to show one question at a time, or all at once
  • Question-by-question statistics
  • Create a “Question Bank” (i.e. display only 10 out of 20 questions)
  • And much, MUCH more!

CLICK HERE to read more and to view Quiz Examples

Just like before, you can set a passing score for your quiz and require users to meet this score before they are allowed to move on – and as always you can administer a certificate to those who meet the certificate threshold.

We are extremely excited about the possibilities you have with the advanced quiz. Oh, and we should mention that the original quiz is not going away. If you just need to create a few quick multiple choice options questions, you can still go with the standard quiz functionality. We are all about giving you options 🙂 … In the weeks to come, we will be discussing various ways you can leverage the new quiz functionality, so check the blog each week for new tips and tricks!

Timed Lessons

We think this one is pretty cool and is a direct result of some comments we received on this blog. When you create a lesson for a course, you now have the option to set a timer which blocks the ability to mark the lesson complete until time is up. This way your users can’t just keep clicking “Mark Complete” to progress through the course, and it gives you some more control over the entire learning experience. Simply enter the number of minutes and seconds you want users to stay in the lesson and LearnDash takes care of the rest. Once the timer gets to zero, the Mark Complete button becomes active!

User Profile Shortcodes

We want LearnDash to be easy to use, and that’s why we are implementing more and more shortcodes based on your suggestions. It has never been easier to create a user profile page for your LMS. Simply create a page and paste the My Courses shortcode and the user will be able to see all the courses that they have access to, along with the link to the course. You can also include the Course Progress shortcode to display their progress and quiz results. Everything they need is on one page – no need to go into their WordPress profile!

List Courses, Lessons, and Quizzes by Tag

We have enhanced the shortcodes to allow you to list your courses, lessons, and quizzes by a specific Tag. Now, for example, if you only want to display a specific group of courses, you can do so by indicating the course Tag to display. This gives you added flexibility on how you want to display your course list to your users.

Mark Complete Functionality for Non-Linear Courses

Now you have the option to turn off the forced lesson progression but still utilize the Mark Complete buttons to capture course progress. The users’ profiles will still be updated.

Dynamic Lesson & Quiz Titles

Don’t have any lessons or quizzes assigned to your course – well you will be pleased to know that the “Lessons” and “Quizzes” titles will vanish if you don’t have any, resulting in a cleaner user experience.

Minor Bug Fixes and Tweaks

The never ending battle of software development. We continued to refine the code to squash those pesky bugs!

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Our experience consulting in the learning industry has taught us that learning is not stagnant, a philosophy we apply directly to LearnDash. Since our launch in January, we have had three major updates, released a variety of free add-ons, and continue to take your suggestions into consideration for future releases. We are thankful for those of you who have chosen LearnDash as your LMS provider – and we will continue to serve you by enhancing LearnDash based on your feedback.

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