Ability LMS - Interacting with Online Courses

This article contains information about and step-by-step instructions for interacting with online courses in Ability LMS.

Each course within Ability LMS has its own course homepage. On the course homepage, you can read the course description, review any prerequisite information, find information about taking and completing the course, and review and complete any post-course workflow steps.

  This document is divided into the following sections:

Reviewing the Course Homepage

It is important to always pay close attention to all information included on a course homepage.

  1. Carefully read the course description and any included directions for completing the course.
    image showing the standard course description with information about the course and pre- and post-course workflow steps
  2. Look for information about pre- and post-course workflow steps that are required for completing the course.
    Image showing the section of the course homepage that shows required pre-training and post-training activities
  3. Review the right column to see your status in the course and look for any related documents.
    image showing the status pane that displays a users current status in the course and links to associated documents

Launching an Online Course

When interacting with an online course in Ability LMS, there are often three separate windows for you to navigate.

  1. Start the course by clicking the Launch button. This will open the communication window.
    image of blue rectangular button with Launch in white font
  2. In the communication window, click the Lunch the Course to open the course in a separate window.
    NOTE: The communication window must remain open while you are in the course.
    image showing the communication window that contains the Launch the Course button as well as text telling the user to not close the window
  3. Begin taking the course in the course window.
    image showing the start screen of an example online course

There are now three active windows open in your browser related to the course you are taking: (1) your main browser window contains the course homepage, (2) the communication window sends your progress to Ability LMS, and (3) the course window contains the course you are taking.

Pay close attention to all on-screen directions while navigating through the course. Some courses may be composed of many lessons, each with interactive content. Other courses may be as simple as a PDF or web page that you will have to review. In either case, please make sure to closely read all content and directions within the course.


Clicking a Link in an Online Course

It is important to understand how to open a link from a course and then return to the course once you have finished reviewing the linked content. When you click a link inside a course, that link will open in your main browser window.

image showing text on a course slide that includes a hyperlink

Once you have reviewed the linked content and are ready to return to the course, click the browser icon in your task bar to see all the browser windows you have open. Locate the course window and click it to return to the course.

image showing the Microsoft Windows task bar after clicking the browser icon to display all open browser windows

NOTE: In the image above, the first window is the browser window, the second is the communication window, and the third is the course window.


Leaving and Resuming an Online Course

If you do not have time to complete a course in a single sitting, you can exit the course and it will save your progress.

  1. To exit a course, you must first close the course window.

  2. Next, you need to close the communication window.

  3. Your status on the course homepage will now show as In Progress.

To resume a course, follow the steps in Launching an Online Course. After clicking the Launch the Course button in the communication window, a dialog box will appear asking if you would like to resume where you left off. Click Yes and you will be taken back to the same spot in the course where you previously exited.

NOTE: do not leave a course open in Ability LMS that you are not actively working in. If you need to leave a course idle for more than 15 minutes, it is best to simply exit from the course and then resume at later time.


Completing an Online Course

Once you have completed the course by reaching the final slide, you may exit the course by closing the course window and the communication window.

Depending on the post-course workflow, your status will now show as Finished or In Progress on the course homepage. If your status is Finished, you are likely done but should still check for optional post-course workflow steps, like a course evaluation, for example. If your status is In Progress, there are likely required post-course workflow steps that you must complete.

For more information about post-course workflow, please see Interacting with Post-Course Workflow.



Keywordsability, ability lms, abilitylms, training, learning, learning management system   Doc ID110451
OwnerLearning Systems SupportGroupUI Training and Development Resources
Created2021-04-22 11:19:25Updated2024-02-02 10:59:37
SitesUniversity of Illinois System, University of Illinois Training and Development Resources
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