Designing Your Course with Course Builder

The best use of Course Builder is to create the structure of a course before you have added content. By designing the course in advance, you maximize your chances of creating a complete and cohesive course. Once your structure is built, you can quickly add actual content to the placeholders.

To build your course structure, add modules to the course tree then put placeholders for your content into the modules. Placeholders are valuable during the initial stages of course creation, helping you plan your course before you create its content. 

For example, if you haven't yet created your midterms and tests but you know when they will be, you can drag quiz placeholders from the toolbox into the appropriate module to mark where you want to add them. You can also add notes to those placeholders about the material you want to place there.

You can also choose to add real content as you build your course by creating and adding objects to the course tree.

Building Course Structure with the Course Builder

  1. Go to the Course Management menu in the navbar, and then select Course Builder.
  2. Use the Build Outline pane in the left-hand column to add modules and placeholders to your course tree.
  3. Add a module by dragging the Create a Module icon from the left side of the Course Builder window and drop it on the name of your class at the top. You must have at least one module to add any placeholders.
    Indicates Create a Module icon in Course Builder
  4. When you drag a placeholder, the module you drop it in turns orange.
    Shows Drag and drop effect in Course Builder
  5. Drag the different icons to your course tree to place different types of placeholders.

    To insert a Link placeholder:Shows link icon
    To insert a File placeholder:Shows File icon
    To insert a Discussion placeholder:Shows Discussion icon
    To insert an Assignment placeholder:Shows Assignment icon
    To insert a Quiz placeholder:

  6. The name of the placeholder can be descriptive so you can easily add the right content later. All the placeholder information will disappear once you drop in the permanent content item.
    Shows Create Placeholder options in Course Builder
  7. Placeholders are distinguished from permanent content items by a dotted line around the placeholders.
    Indicates Link placeholder example in Course Builder
  8. When you select a placeholder, you can see any notes you have added to the right.
    Indicates Link placeholder notes in Course Builder
    NOTE: Placeholders do not appear on the Content page, so students will not see your behind-the-scenes work.

Adding Content with the Course Builder

You can also use the Course Builder to add content, rather than placeholders, to your course tree.

  1. To create new content, use the Add Content pane (the icons that look like the placeholders, but in color) to add material to your course tree.
    Shows Add Content section in Course Builder
  2. To add content that you have already created, you can use the Browse Tools pane to locate and add existing material to your course tree.
    Shows Browse Tools section in Course Builder
  3. For more information on Course Builder contact your on-campus Instructional Designer or Instructional Technologist. 
    See Meet Your LSC-Online Representative.