Test your course like a client

Walk through your course the way a client will, using Preview, Classroom and a test login, so you catch problems before launch.

Before you invite anyone, walk through your course from the client's side. Twenty minutes now saves awkward emails later.

Before you start

• Time: 20 to 30 minutes.
• Your course has lessons and is published. See Build a course.
• A second email address you can check, for the portal test.

Step 1: Preview the course

1. Go to Learning > Courses and click the course.
2. Click Preview at the top. You'll see the course the way it looks in your portal.
3. Check the cover image, title, description and instructor bio.

Step 2: Walk through it in Classroom

Classroom shows your courses as a learner works through them, without leaving your workspace.

1. Go to Learning > Classroom.
2. In the Courses list on the left, click your course. Each card shows lesson progress, such as 0/3 lessons.
3. On the right, you'll see the description, Resume course and the numbered lessons. Click Open next to the first lesson. It opens lower on the same page, so scroll down.
4. For each lesson, check:
   • The video plays and the sound is clear.
   • The text reads well and links work.
   • Attachments download.
5. Use Next lesson to move through the course.

Under each lesson you'll also see Private notes, Save note, Bookmark and Mark complete. These are what clients use to take notes and track progress. Mark complete may record progress against your own account, so use it only if you want to see how progress looks.

At the bottom, Student Progress with Show students lists who's taking the course and how far they've got.

Step 3: Test the real portal

Classroom is your view. Your clients use the portal. Test that too:

1. Invite yourself with your second email address and tick the course. See Invite clients and give them course access.
2. Accept the invite from that inbox and set a password.
3. Open the course from the portal Courses page and go through one lesson on your phone as well as your computer.
4. Sign out and sign back in with Use email link instead. See How your clients sign in.

Before launch checklist

• Every lesson has a title, and lessons are in the right order.
• Quiz and assignment lessons say clearly what to do.
• The first lesson welcomes people and tells them how the course works.
• Any Free Preview lessons are the ones you meant to share.
• The course works on a phone.

Check it worked

• Your test login sees the course on the portal Courses page.
• After you complete a lesson as your test client, the progress on the course card goes up.

If something's off

• The course isn't in the portal: it's still a draft, or it wasn't ticked on the invite. Publish it and send a new invite with the course ticked.
• A video won't play: if you pasted a link, check the video's privacy setting on YouTube or Vimeo allows embedding.
• A lesson didn't seem to open in Classroom: scroll down. It appears under the lesson list.
• "You're all caught up" with no course listed: click Refresh in Classroom, then check the course exists on the Courses tab.