Live Learning: create and edit sessions

Create sessions within a Live Learning event

Edit sessions and add new ones as you need them.

Availability: all customers

See Live Learning: overview and features for background about Live Learning.

Access permissions to create and edit sessions

• Admins: can create and edit events and sessions by default
• Instructors, with permissions turned on: can create and edit events and sessions
• Managers with instructor permissions: can create and edit events and sessions

See:

• Users: create an instructor, and assign them to a course
• Managers: set permissions to manage groups
• Courses: course owners and module owners explained

Prerequisites for creating Live Learning sessions

Before creating Live Learning sessions you need to:

• create an event from Live Learning: see Live Learning: create and edit a learning event
• for online sessions, add 3rd party webinar integrations: see Connect to Zoom and Connect to Microsoft Teams
• for in-person sessions, create locations (optional): see Live Learning: set locations for instructor-led training sessions
• for custom session data, create custom session data fields (optional): see Live learning: set up custom session data fields

Note: you can manually add connection URLs for other webinar providers like Google Meet. See Create a session with a webinar in this article.  

You can edit sessions to add custom session data if required but it’s easier to add as part of creating sessions.

Creating sessions: overview

Sessions within Live Learning events are flexible. You can create sessions:

• before and after adding the event to a course
• before and after publishing the course
• for future sessions
• for sessions that have already occurred, to “catch up” your training records
• for multiple-day programmes, where 1 session represents several days' attendance - for example, at a conference

Tip: You can continue adding sessions after publishing. New sessions added to a module do not require a new version of the course.

From Live Learning you can use an event's More (aka 3-dot) menu to reach event options. The following screenshot shows the options available: Overview, Edit event, Add session, Delete.

Session options: in detail

For organizations that use in-person sessions only, Schedule session shows only fields which apply to in-person sessions.

For organizations using webinars and in-person sessions, you select a Session type first: online or in-person. Selecting Online shows you the fields applicable to online sessions only. 

For your Session name: by default LearnUpon enters the module name. You can change this name: for example, add reference to a timezone or location, up to 255 characters.

The following screenshot shows an example of 2 sessions with names for regional sessions.

For your session Description: by default LearnUpon enters the event description. You can change this description to customize it for individual sessions.

The Description field uses a version of CKEditor as a rich text editor. You can format the description with text styles, colors and fonts to bring your brand to Live Learning. See Use the rich text editor for background.

The editor in Live Learning doesn't support images or raw HTML.

For in person sessions, the Location offers the locations you've created as venues for sessions. See Live Learning: set locations for instructor-led training sessions.

For Timezone, LearnUpon defaults to your portal's timezone. You can change the timezone as required.

For Start date and End date, LearnUpon defaults to today’s date for both fields. You can change these dates to run multi-day events. When you mark attendance, the single session represents several days of attendance at an event like a conference.

For Start time and End time, LearnUpon defaults to the hour closest to the current hour of the day, and the session length defaults to 1 hour. Change these times as required.

For your Instructors: select from the instructors and managers with instructor permissions available on the portal. By default the instructor list includes the person creating the session.

For your Primary instructor: when you have multiple instructors, this person's name appears in the calendar invite associated with your notification email address.

For future in-person sessions, Learner self-marking settings let you 

• generate a QR code, to print and display on site, or distribute to learners shortly before their session. Learners can scan the code with their mobile devices on arrival to show they attended the session 
• set the Valid time window of minutes Before session and After session when LearnUpon accepts attendance info
• require learners to enter their email address to receive a one-time passcode (OTP), to confirm their attendance. By default, scanning the code lets learners log in without an additional step

You can regenerate the QR code if required - for example, when you change the location, and want to make sure that attendees show up to the correct location to attend. This option is available when you edit an existing session. 

For online sessions the Webinar account offers the 3rd party webinar integrations you have set up. Optionally, select Add provider manually and enter a webinar URL in Other webinar service. Automated attendance tracking does not work with manually added providers.

For sessions set in the past, webinar details are turned off.

Note: for online sessions, you can't change an integrated webinar provider or type after saving the session. You can edit a URL that you entered manually in Other webinar service.  

Examples of webinar changes

• you set up the session using the Zoom integration, but now need to run the session through MS Teams. In this scenario you need to create a new session and delete the session that contains the wrong integrated provider
• a partner organization is providing your webinar services and sends you a link, and you enter it in Other webinar service. The org changes the link and sends a new one to you. You can edit the link you added manually before the session happens. If your event includes update notifications, these notifications go to the recipients

The following screenshot shows part of the Session details page with Webinar account > Add provider manually selected. This option opens Other webinar service for a webinar URL.

For optional Limit visibility to the following learner groups: only the groups you select can view and access the sessions, along with the relevant group managers and the assigned instructors. Learners outside the selected groups can't view or access the sessions, so they can't register for them.

For optional Custom session data, enter values in the defined fields. You can edit the values, but you can’t change the field types. See Live learning: set up custom session data fields.

For your session Capacity: if you leave these fields blank, LearnUpon allows unlimited registrations for the session. For sessions set in the past, these fields are turned off.

Currently, the minimum Capacity is advisory only and doesn't affect the session. For example: if you set a minimum of 5 attendees and only 3 are assigned to the session, LearnUpon doesn't cancel the session. The event owner can cancel the session if required.

For a Session waitlist: when you set a maximum capacity for a session, you can optionally turn on the session waitlist, to let learners request a specific session, in case of a cancellation.

Note: you must turn on Event overbook at the event level, to access the waitlist feature at the session level.

When you enable the session waitlist, the Waitlist closure time turns on. By default the minimum closing time is 1 hour before the session. After closing time, you can’t add anyone from the waitlist.

You set Session attendance as Required or Not required options in the learning event, rather than the session. See Live Learning: create and edit a learning event.

Multi-day sessions with minimum session attendance required

You can create single sessions that run for several days, to represent a professional conference or symposium. You enter the start time on the start day, and the end time on the end day.

LearnUpon includes all the hours within those times as part of the session.

When the associated event has Minimum session attendance required turned on and your session runs more than 24 hours, LearnUpon highlights this requirement. You can adjust the minimum session attendance, or turn it off for the multi-day event.

Example: the event has Minimum session attendance required set at 75%:

• For a 2 hour session, learners need to attend 1.5 hours
• For a 1 day session of 8 hours, learners need to attend 6 hours
• For a 2 day session, with 8-hour working days - 9am to 5pm,  Tuesday and Wednesday - you want learners to attend 75% of typical working hours, rather than 75% of the session's 32 hour period.

The following screenshot shows the initial setting of required attendance of 24 hours within a 32 hour period.

You can edit required attendance for this single session, without changing the event's minimum requirement.

In this example: set required attendance to 75% of typical working hours, rather than around the clock.  The following screenshot shows the same 32 hour session, with required attendance is set to 37%, to make required attendance close to 12 hours in 2 8-hour days.

Optionally: you can turn off Minimum session attendance required for this single session, without changing the event's settings.

Create a future session: in-person sessions only

1. From main navigation go to Live Learning > my Live Learning event.
2. From Overview select + Schedule to create a new session.
3. In Session name, the Live Learning event name appears by default. Edit if required.
4. Select options from the following fields:
   • Description: optional. The event description appears by default. Edit and format if required
   • Location: optional. Select a location from the dropdown. Selecting a location sets the timezone automatically
   • Timezone: select if required
   • Start date and End date: default selection is the same day
   • Start time:  default is the current time
   • End time: default is + 1 hour from the current time
   • Instructors: select instructors
   • Select primary instructor: when you have more than 1 instructor, this instructor's name appears in invites
   • Learner self-marking settings: optional. Set the number of minutes Before session and After session when learners can scan the QR code to enter their own attendance record. You can send learners a one-time passcode (OTP) to the address they provide for additional security
   • Limit visibility to the following learner groups
   • Custom session data (optional): enter values in the fields as required
   • Capacity: optional. Indicate the minimum and maximum number of attendees if required
   • Session waitlist: requires a value for Max capacity. Default is Disabled
   • Waitlist closure time: requires Session waitlist set to Enabled. Default is 1 hour
5. Schedule to finish.

The session appears in the list.

The following screenshot shows Schedule session for an in-person session.

Create a future session with a webinar 

For organizations using webinars, you select a session type first: online or in-person. LearnUpon displays the scheduling options you need. If you select In person, follow the preceding instructions.

Note: for online sessions, you can't change the webinar provider or type after saving the session.

If you need a different webinar provider, create a new session and delete the session that contains the wrong provider. 

Automated attendance tracking does not work with manually added providers.

1. From main navigation go to Live Learning > my Live Learning event.
2. From Overview select + Schedule to create a new session.
3. From Session type, select Online.
4. In Session name, the event name appears by default. Edit and format if required.
5. Select options from the following fields:
   • Description: optional. The event description appears by default. Edit and format if required
   • Timezone: required
   • Start date and End date: default selection is the same day
   • Start time:  default is the current time
   • End time: default is + 1 hour from the current time
   • Instructors: select instructors
   • Select primary instructor: when you have more than 1 instructor, this instructor's name appears in invites
   • Webinar account: required. Select from a dropdown of accounts available:
     • for Zoom, select an additional choice of Meeting or Webinar format
     • for Add provider manually, in Other webinar service, enter your webinar URL
   • Limit visibility to the following learner groups
   • Custom session data (optional): enter values in the fields as required
   • Capacity: indicate the minimum and maximum number of attendees
   • Session waitlist: requires a value for Max capacity. Default is Disabled
   • Waitlist closure time: requires Session waitlist set to Enabled. Default is 1 hour 
6. Schedule to finish.

The session appears in the list.

The following screenshot shows Schedule session with sample options, using Zoom.

Create a session with a date in the past

Sometimes you need to record training that has already happened, like a short-notice event. You create sessions in the past the same way as for future sessions, and can mark attendance or upload a roster for these events, to keep all your records in one place.

For sessions in the past, the following fields are turned off:

• Capacity: Min and Max
• Webinar account

Note: choose whether learners get notifications for sessions set in the past, when you set up Live Learning on the portal. See Live Learning: set up Live Learning.

Use an existing session as a template

After you set up a session with the options you use most often, you can use the session as a template. Copy your existing session's settings to save time when creating multiple sessions at once. 

The copy contains all the settings of the template session, set to the current date and time. You can edit the new session further as required.

Note: for smaller screens, use the horizontal scroll bar to access the 3-dot menu.

1. From main navigation go to Live Learning > your event > Sessions.
2. Go to More (aka 3-dot menu) > + Create from this template to create a new event.
3. Give the session a new name.
4. Review and edit the settings as required.
5. Select Create to finish.

The following screenshot shows the More > + Create from this template step for a selected session.

Edit a session

Before the session

You can edit some session details before the session starts. For in-person session, you can optionally regenerate a QR code through Edit session. 

Note: if you edit a session to update it, these fields appear empty the next time you open the session.

For Online sessions with Zoom, you can't edit the Zoom format of Meeting or Webinar.

During the session

You can edit the session Name and Description during the session if required.

Warning: for online sessions, do not edit session details other than name and description, while the session is running. 

Changing the session details breaks the connection, and LearnUpon can't record the learners' attendance correctly.

After the session

After the session runs, you can’t change webinar details, instructors or session capacity.

You can edit the session Name and Description during the session if required.

How to edit a session

1. From main navigation select Live Learning > my Live Learning event.
2. Select Sessions to view the sessions available.
3. Select the individual session to view its time and date details, and any registered learners.
4. Select Edit session.
5. Change the details as required.
6. Save changes to finish.

Cancel a session

Sometimes planned sessions don’t happen. LearnUpon lets you cancel:

• a future session with registered learners
• a past session with registered learners, but with no attendance marked

You can’t cancel a session when someone has marked attendance. Cancelling it would affect your learners' training history.

When you cancel a session, the learners return to the event's Unregistered learners: they have not yet attended the session.

If your event uses automatic registration, and you have capacity in other sessions, the learners go straight from Unregistered learners to a new session.

1. From main navigation select Live Learning > my Live Learning event.
2. Select Sessions to view the sessions available.
3. Select the individual session.
4. From the session overview, select Cancel.
5. In the confirmation dialog that opens, select Yes.

Delete a session

You can delete a past or a future session, if no learners are assigned to the session.

Deleting empty sessions doesn't affect the module or the course.

1. From main navigation select Live Learning > my Live Learning event.
2. Select Sessions to view the sessions available.
3. Select the individual session.
4. From the session overview, select Delete.
5. In the confirmation dialog that opens, select Delete.

See:

• Live Learning: overview and features
• Live Learning: create and edit a learning event
• Live Learning: add an event to a course
• Live Learning: register learners for sessions
• Live Learning: cancel session registrations
• Live Learning: changes to API parameter module id