Why would I want to create multiple instances of a course or learning program?

[Kodiak100]

We are working through a trial of Captivate Prime and having a little trouble with understanding the system. If I create a course (which we have done) why would we want to make instances of a course or learning program? The help file doesn't explain why we would want to do so, it only tells us how.

[Paul_Vineyard · Accepted solution]

Hi Kodiak100.

I can offer a response as it relates to my own experience. For me the use of instances mainly helps separate learner activity and course activity; as it relates to reporting as well as organizational analytics.

If you run reports on a single instance, of a single course, you will have to filter that course reporting, using the fields available in the custom report creation. However, a separate instance of that course allows you to enroll a selected demographic of learners. This may or may not be a filter available in the custom report creation.

Perhaps the most useful part of a new instance is that you can use an existing course, that may have been around a while, to assign a "new" learning event for other users,and set new expiration dates, reminders, etc. For example, if you assign a course to a group of learners in March, and then the same course to a group in October, using a new instance avoids duplicating the same course, yet allows separate timelines, notifications, and reporting on the same, re purposed content.

Additionally, a separate instance allows you to establish different learner groups, badges, and alerts.

It all depends on how your organization will be using Prime.

[Kodiak100]

Thanks NovEx. That is helpful.

In our case, we are likely to have many users who must complete a certification but will do so at different times which may correspond to nothing more than when they started in that position. So annually, they may have a requirement to re-certify. In that case, if I have 10 users, on different annual re-cert schedules, it sounds like I'd need 10 instances of that certification program. Is that correct or am I missing something?

If we have an instance, with one assigned learner, and the learner's certification expires, do they re-cert using the same instance or must a new instance be created?

In another LMS I used, we could have anyone on any schedule we needed but using just one instance of the course. In that case, the certification period and status was tied to the user. In Cap Prime, it sounds like the certification is tied to the life of the course.

Still trying to adjust my mental model of how all of this works. 🙂

[Paul_Vineyard]

Good question. Certification in Prime appears to be the same as you mentioned. "relative to the user's activity".

Certificates are separate from instances, in that they house their own tracking, associated to the user, which is relative to course completion. What I mean is, you set the re-cert, expiration, reminder, and other warnings relatively. (i.e, 1 year cert, 90 day completion requirement, reminders 14 days before deadline) The fact that you aren't selecting a specific date, (the timelines automatically associate to the learner's specific activity) allows the cert to be independent of instances.

Once again, how your organization chooses to use those tools, will dictate whether instances are useful to you specifically. There are of course, many organizations that would find a tool like instances, very useful.

[Kodiak100]

Thanks again NovEx.

Knowing how others are using this system helps me understand how we might be able to use it most effectively.

[Paul_Vineyard]

Happy to help. By the way, if you find someone's response to be the answer you're looking for, (mine might not be it) you should indicate that in the forum's user interface, so others searching these forums can quickly identify the solution.

[kimberlyg79550485]

@Paul_Vineyard and @Kodiak100, we are currently in training for the new system and haven't started configuring our own system. We've primarily been working in Sandbox. Would either of you be willing to chat about your processes and or workflows? We typically have multiple offerings of both classroom and virtual courses. We've got some questions and haven't had the best luck getting answers from our onboarding trainer. I guess I'm looking to talk to someone who is actually using the system.