Lessons

Introduction

A lesson is a focused learning segment within a course. It’s typically where learners engage with the core instructional content, such as videos, text, files, quizzes, or other embedded elements.

Lessons are considered a type of module in the LMS, alongside SCORMs, Quizzes, Surveys and Webinars.

Lessons often make up the bulk of a course and are designed to break down subjects into manageable, structured chunks, helping learners progress step by step.

Lesson content

A lesson can contain a combination of elements, depending on your configuration:

  • Video (e.g. Vimeo, YouTube, Brightcove, Mux)
  • Images
  • Text (using a WYSIWYG editor)
  • Files for download
  • External links
  • HTML embeds
  • Inline quizzes /Knowledge checks:

Not all of these elements need to be used. What’s available depends on how your LMS is configured.

Creating a lesson

  1. In the CMS, go to Content Manager > Lesson.
  2. Click + Create new entry
  3. Add the core lesson information required for your instance (e.g. title, optional subtitle, thumbnail, video link).
  4. Add and format the lesson content using the editor. You can include media, files, links, and HTML embeds.
  5. (Optional) Configure drip settings to control when the lesson becomes available to learners:
    • Drip by days: Unlock the lesson X days after enrollment. This is calculated from the learner’s enrollment date in the course.
    • Drip by date: Unlock the lesson at a specific date and time.
  6. Click Save to save the lesson as a draft.
  7. Publish the lesson when ready.

Note: A published lesson will not appear in the LMS until it has been added to a course curriculum.

You can also create a lesson as a module shell when building a course and return later to add content before publishing.

Progression behavior

Lessons, like other module types, contribute to course completion by default.

  • Whether learners must complete the lesson in sequence depends on the course’s linear progression setting.
  • You can toggle whether a lesson counts toward progression in the curriculum builder.
  • If progression is disabled for a lesson, it becomes optional and will not affect course completion.

This allows you to include optional or reference content without impacting course progress tracking.

Linked courses

When editing a lesson, you can view which courses it’s attached to in the Linked course(s) field. This is useful for managing content shared across multiple courses.

Key things to keep in mind

  • Lessons are always part of a course curriculum; your end users can’t access them independently.
  • Lessons can be reused across multiple courses.
  • Drip settings control when a lesson becomes available relative to course enrollment.
  • Publishing a lesson alone does not make it visible to learners; it must be linked to a course.
  • Progression settings determine whether a lesson counts toward course completion.