Access

Last modified by Carina Enke on 18.01.2024

In addition to visibility, access can also be restricted in the course navigation. Access here means whether the actual content of the respective course element is displayed to the learner in the content area of the course view.

Content may be visible in whole or in part, and individual functions of the course element may or may not be available, as illustrated by the following examples.

Open examples ...

General access to a course element's entire content can be restricted. If the course element is generally accessible to learners, they will be able to open the content area for this course element. However, if the course element is not generally accessible to learners, it will still be displayed in the left course navigation, but the course element’s content area will be completely hidden and an individual user note will be displayed.

Here is an example of a structure course element whose general access was restricted by a date that had not yet been reached at the time the screenshot was taken.

Kursrun - Datumsbeschränkung an einem Kursbaustein_de.png

Depending on the selected course element, individual functions can also be provided with a specific access restriction. In this case, individual user notes will reveal which functions are available under which conditions.

The following example shows a test course element that is only accessible to selected user groups within a specified period if there is already assessment data available from another course element.

Kursrun Kursbaustein mit Hinweis zu Zugangsbeschänkungen_de.png

General access restrictions

For all course elements, general configuration options are available in order to restrict the access to the entire content area.

Kurseditor - Zugang allgemein_en.png

The following options are available for this general restriction:

Open general configuration options ...

General configuration options

Description

 

Only blocked for guests

If this checkbox is activated, only registered learners, tutors and course administrators have access to the chosen function.

This checkbox is only necessary, if you want to block individual course elements or function sections for guests in a public course (Publication status Icon_BARG.png"public - visible to everyone" or BARG ) and make them accessible only to registered users.

If your course has the publication status Icon_BAR.png"public - for registered users" then non-registered users (=guests) will not have access to the course.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang Gäste gesperrt_en.png

Blocked for learners and guests

If you activate this checkbox, the area or section of functions is only visible to tutors and course administrators. Registered learners and non-registrated guests do not see the element.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang Lernende gesperrt_en.png

Depending on date

Activate this checkbox to set an access period. You can enter an individual date or a period of time by filling in the start and end seperately or both input fields. To create new dates or delete existing ones, use the + and - buttons.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang datumsabhängig_en.png

Depending on group

Activate this checkbox to make the course element only accessible to learning groups or learning areas. You can then select existing groups or learning areas or create new ones.

If you set restrictions with the depending on group configuration option, the corresponding course element will be restricted for all non-members of the group. For example, this also includes users who have not yet confirmed the group invitation or are on a group’s waiting list. Such users cannot yet see or access the restricted course element.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang gruppenabhängig_en.png

Depending on assessment

Here you can find all assessable course elements. These include the Test, Assessment, Task, and Structure elements, among others.

If you select the Check for "passed" option, you will be able to choose from the Course element input field which course element has to be passed as a prerequisite to accessing this course element.

If you activate the Check score option, you can enter a point value for the selected course element, from which this element should be accessible, in the Passing score input field.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang bewertungsabhängig_en.png

Depending on attribute

Whether or not this option is displayed is system-dependent. You can use it to set visibility or access privileges according to user attributes. Only users who meet the predefined conditions will see the course element or have access to its content. If you want to use several attributes, you need to link them with one of the operators (AND/OR) above the attribute list.

The following comparison operators can be used depending on the selected attribute:

  • "contains the value"
  • "does not contain value"
  • "has exactly the value"
  • "does not have value"
  • "starts with value"
  • "ends with value"
  • "greater than" (>)
  • "less than" (<)
  • "greater than/equals" (>=)
  • "less than/equals" (<=)

A list of attributes available for selected institutions can be found on the Overview of OPAL Shibboleth attributes page.

OPAL School authors can use the Main school attribute to restrict course access to their own school. An example can be found on the Publish course only for users of one/my school help page.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang attributsabhängig_en.png

Apply rules also for author, owner and tutor

This option does not become visible until one of the other options has been selected. If you activate the checkbox, the same access rules as for users will also be applied to tutors and course administrators.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang Besitzer_en.png

Password

This option is only possible for the entire course or a structure element in the course. Enter the desired password that users will need to access the course content in the text field.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang Passwort_en.png

Display expert mode

Click on the Display expert mode button to open an input field where you can perform a more complex configuration according to your needs. For detailed information on the expert mode, see the Publishing within courses (expert mode) help page.

Kurseditor-Tab Sichtbarkeit und Zugang Expertenmodus_en.png

If various restrictive single options are set, they will be linked with AND, i. e. all of the single options’ conditions must be met for the user to see and access the course element. The only exceptions are the Attributes single options. If several conditions are selected here, they can also optionally be linked with OR. The OR link only requires one condition to be met to enable visibility or access unless other restrictive single options prevent this.

All restrictions are also automatically applied to all subordinate course elements in the course structure.