If course content needs an update, there are three ways that can happen depending on exactly what needs to be changed and whether you want existing class activations to see those changes.
The options are:
Edit and republish for small fixes to content within the body of the course. These changes affect all class activations attached to this course content.
Edit the class activation for changes to course attributes (overview, study plan, trailer video etc.) rather than content within pages for specific class activations.
Duplicate the course for making significant changes to content e.g. adding/removing/changing entire pages, large changes to assessed tasks. Duplicate the course, edit, publish. Only future class activations from this duplicate course will see these changes.
We'll go into each of these options in a bit more detail below. But, if you already know about these options, but need more information to decide, check out Updating course content - to republish or duplicate and The effect on learners when editing and republishing course content.
For a reminder of the difference between course content and class activations check out our video: A guide to courses and classes in iQualify.
Edit and republish
As an author, you can make edits to a course with activations. If you republish, those changes will flow out to all current and scheduled activations based on that course. This includes courses in other environments if you've licensed that course.
This includes classes in other environments if that course is part of the Catalogue or has been licensed to another organisation.
You can easily make small changes and fixes to content. When you republish, those changes will flow out to all scheduled, current, and past class activations based on that content. This method is also useful for when you haven't completely finalised the content of the course and need to publish as you go.
Note: Remember any changes you make will immediately be visible to learners and could impact their learning experience. Therefore you should be careful and think through implications when making larger changes and whether you should let learners know about what changes have been made via the class Talk channels.
Be sure to check out Updating course content - to republish or duplicate? to help you decide if editing and republishing is right for your situation.
And read The effect on learners when editing and republishing course content for specifics on how learners are affected depending on which content is updated.
Edit the class activation
Certain course attributes are set up to give managers control over details that may change from activation to activation, though the body of the course may not change.
Course attributes can be edited in Create by an author, but will not be updated in any activations. These include:
Name
Trailer video
Cover photo
Overview
Study plan file
These sections are identified in Create when editing published content.
Changes to course attributes (overview, study plan, trailer video etc.) rather than content within pages, don't flow out to activations. This is because they can be changed when you set up an activation, and we don't want to override that.
A person with manager access can edit live class activations. For more on how to do this see How to update an activation.
Duplicate the course
If you’re wanting to recreate course content and don’t want the changes made to be passed on to existing learners or to environments who are using the course - duplicate the content.
When you duplicate a course, you create a completely new rootContentId, to iQualify, this means an entirely separate course. Your original and the copy are uncoupled. All activations still "point back" to the original course, so aren't affected by any changes to the copy. Those activations don't even know the copy exists.
So, if you’re wanting a new fresh copy of the course and don’t want changes made to be passed on to existing learners or to environments who are using this course - Duplicate.
Note: When you are finished making changes, you can add a version number or identifier to the course content name of your duplicate, and archive the old course content.
Summary
When you republish changes to course content, the changes flow out to all learners in scheduled, current, and past classes using that course content. If you edit a class activation (overview etc), only that particular class activation will be affected by the change. When course content is duplicated, no existing class activations will see the changes. You can update the duplicate and create new class activations are created from it.
If you are not sure whether to duplicate or republish your content, check out Updating course content - to republish or duplicate?
And for specifics on how learners are affected depending on which content is updated read The effect on learners when editing and republishing course content