Open edX Studio: How to set the course to Instructor Paced or Self-Paced
When you have created a new course in Studio, one of the first things you want to do is to edit the course schedule and course details, this includes choosing the course pacing, which is done on the Schedule & Details page of the course in Studio.
Note: Course pacing cannot be changed once a course has started so choose wisely.
The two choices for the course pacing are (1) Instructor Paced or (2) Self-Paced. Let’s first understand the difference between these two course pacing options.
- courses progress at the pace that the course author sets. You can configure release dates for course content and due dates for assignments.
- ourses do not have release dates for course content or due dates for assignments. Learners can complete course material at any time before the course end date.
Let’s go ahead and choose our course pace now that we understand the difference between the two.Note: If you already know how to navigate to the Schedule & Details page of the course, you can go directly to Step 4 below.
Step 1: Navigate to the course Outline from inside Studio.
In order to access the Schedule & Details page, you first need to sign into Studio. From the Studio Home where all your courses are listed, click the course name of the course you want to enter. In the below image the course name is indicated as “Demonstration Course”, just click that to go inside the course to the course Outline.
Image: A screenshot of the Open edX Studio Home page.
When you click the course name, you will immediately be taken to the course Outline, as shown in the below image.
Image: A screenshot of the course Outline in Studio.
Step 2: From the course Outline, open the Settings dropdown menu.
In order to access the Schedule & Details page from the course Outline, first click Settings to display the settings menu, as shown in the below image.
Image: A screenshot of the Settings menu in Studio, with the Schedule & Details page link highlighted in blue.
Step 3: Navigate to the Schedule & Details page from the Settings menu.
Click the first menu option under Settings as per the above image. You will be taken to the Schedule & Details page as depicted in the below image.
Step 4: Scroll down to the section named Course Pacing and click the radio button next to the Course Pacing option you have chosen.
On the Schedule & Details page, scroll down the page just a little bit until you reach the area named Course Pacing, as shown in the below image, where you can see the Instructor-Paced radio button is currently selected. You can click the little round radio buttons to select your chosen pacing. It’s that easy!
Image: A screenshot of the Course Pacing area on the Schedule & Details page in Studio.
Step 6: Click the Save Changes button.
When you are done choosing your Course Pacing, click anywhere on the screen and an orange coloured Save Changes button will pop up on the screen asking you if you would like to save the progress, as shown in the below image. Don’t forget to click the Save Changes button to save the changes.
Image: A screenshot of the Save Changes button in Open edX Studio.
When you click Save Changes, the page will automatically scroll up to the top of the page and displays a green check mark next to the message Your Changes Have Been Saved, as per the below image.
Image: A screenshot of the green tick and the message Your Changes Have Been Saved.
If you see the message Your Changes Have Been Saved, you are done setting the Course Pacing.