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Release conditions

Summary

Manage whether content items are visible to or hidden from students based on certain conditions.

Relevant VLE site design principles

  • 5.1 Recommended: Ensure that students can see and access module materials and content.

Overview

Items in the Course Content area can be set to Visible to students or Hidden from students. By default, all new items are automatically hidden from students.

You can set items to be visible or hidden based on certain conditions:

  • for specifc students or groups
  • on a specific date/time
  • based on performance on a marked item

This was previous called conditional availability.

To show or hide items without conditions, see our Content visibility guide.

Release to specific ustudents users or groups

  1. Click the current visibility status (e.g. Visible to students) of the content item to open the drop-down options and select Release conditions.
    Release conditions is the third option in the drop down
  2. Under Select members, click Specific members or groups.
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  3. Specific student(s): click Individual members, type the name of the student, then click the student's name.
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  4. Specific Group(s): click Groups then and select the desired group(s) from the drop down menu.
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  5. Click Save.

For more information on setting up groups in Ultra, see our Course Groups guide guide.

Release based on date and time

  1. Click the current visibility status (e.g. Visible to students) of the content item to open the drop-down options and select Release conditions.
    Release conditions is the third option in the drop down
  2. Under Set additional conditions, click Date/Time.
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  3. Set the date and time to show the content. You can hide items at a certain date or time, but this is not recommended.
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  4. Under When will content appear, select whether to show (students can't open) or hide the item in the Course Content areas before the set date and time.
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  5. Click Save.

Release dates and accessibility

A key accessibility requirement is that students have sufficient time to use materials to prepare for a session, particularly if they use any assistive tools. For example, a dyslexic student may need to read lecture slides in advance to help them follow the session.

To support this, make sure that module materials are available in advance - we recommend at least one week before the session.

Release based on performance

Release content based on performance in another marked item. For example, lab worksheets are only released after a student passes a pre-lab safety check quiz.

  1. Click the current visibility status (e.g. Visible to students) of the content item to open the drop-down options and select Release conditions.
    Release conditions is the third option in the drop down
  2. Under Set additional conditions, click Performance, then select the relevant performance-based item from the Marked item list
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  3. Set the performance criteria from the Mark requirement list.
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  4. Click Save.

Video demonstration

You can watch a demonstration o setting the different release conditions:

Release conditions [YouTube]