NEW Dripping Course Content Accessible in Courses

Aug 30, 2024

Reader Disclosure

In the last few weeks, we've been rolling out some amazing new features to make your online courses more efficient and manageable.

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From creative Assignments and a well-organized Grading Book, we've been creating the necessary tools to have a memorable learning experience.

Now that first-day jitters are behind you and your students have begun to get settled and settle in, you can now focus on the core of your course work. We've just the feature to help keep things going smoothly and according to plan.

This is the most recent update for Courses: built-in content dripping!

Like a well-planned program, our brand new course content dripping feature ensures your students get their education in just the right doses precisely when they require the lessons.

Don't overwhelm your students by imposing too much on them at once or letting them sprint ahead. With dripping, you can deliver your course information in small chunks that are manageable and keep your students interested and eager to see what's coming up next.

The new feature will continue to grow with your requirements which makes it more simple than ever to structure and control the content of your online courses.

What is Course Content Dripping?

We've all had those moments... in which you've watched the entire TV series over one weekend, staying up all night turning page after page of a novel, or waking up to realize that you've ate through a complete sleeve of chocolate chip cookies... all by yourself ().

Although a treat can be satisfying initially, it often leaves us not feeling satisfied afterward.

Learning can be the same method. When students take in too much information too quickly this can result in:

  • Anxiety: Worrying they missed an important thing or have made mistakes.
  • Remorse: Wishing they had taken more time to fully understand the material.
  • Doubt: Questioning if they truly grasped the content.
  • The Overwhelm You feel overwhelmed by all the information you need at one time.

These aren't feelings you want your students to have after completing your course.

 That's where course content dripping comes in!

Instead of distributing all the information to students at once, course content dripping lets you release content at a timed, well-timed pace. This helps students learn more slowly with each lesson, keep them engaged and learn more effectively.

What Difference Will Content Dripping Create for Your Course?

1. Build Knowledge A Step at a Time

Instead of providing students with access to the entire material at once, Dripping releases each lesson or module in a specific sequence, allowing students to learn more slowly.

The step-by-step approach helps students to feel a sense progress and achievement when they progress through the program.

Also, think of your class as a sort of stairwell, where each step represents the beginning of a new learning experience. Students need to master the first step before they move on to the next. They must are able to grasp fundamental concepts before they can tackle the more complex concepts.

2. Keep Students Interested and Engaged

If students are aware that new content is coming frequently, they are able to build enthusiasm and curiosity. The anticipation helps keep them interested and they're waiting for the next lesson or course.

They get used to putting aside time each lesson. This will increase the chance of them staying engaged and focused on the course from start to finish.

3. Deliver Content at Just the Right Time

Dripping of course content gives you full control over when and how your lessons are released, aligning them perfectly to your class timetable.

It doesn't matter if you're explaining a complex idea that requires a bit additional attention or getting ready to tackle a major assignment that requires more time, content dripping allows you to adjust the delivery of your material to meet the needs of both your students as well as the class goal.

4. Aid Everyone to Learn at the Same Time

Course content dripping is an effective method of keeping the students moving in a consistent manner, ensuring no one advances too quickly or is left behind.

In releasing information at scheduled intervals, you can create an environment of learning that is cohesive and where everyone progresses in a coordinated manner.

Welcome student discussions 
 in  Courses

Additionally, with everyone working together, you will be able to quickly identify the areas in which students may need extra support, ensuring nobody falls through the cracks.

5. Let Learning be Relevant and Managable

Learning should be something students are able to enjoy and not an overwhelming learning experience. When all course material is presented simultaneously the students can experience an unnecessary amount of stress and anxiety.

Dripping of course content provides an easier learning experience for students through the use of smaller and manageable chunks.

Instead of being pressured to learn everything all at once learners can process the information in a relaxed rate, thereby making the process more individual and attainable.

When you break up the material it also provides moments of achievement to your students after they master each step. This steady progression helps maintain the students' enthusiasm, and keep them motivated to continue the learning process.

Shortly, course drips are a highly effective method which helps to keep your students focused, motivated, and on track. It's a simple yet effective way to transform the way you deliver your courses, making learning an enjoyable experience to everyone who participates.

NEW Course Content Dripping Built-in Simple The Rules of Courses

Making sure that course content drips was an arduous task, involving numerous steps and configurations. The process was effective and was effective, but let's be real - it wasn't the most efficient method to do the task.

We recognized the need for a more simplified solution. That's why we've incorporated our Rules feature into the Courses extension. Now, setting your drip calendars is much more simple and simple.

Thanks to the built-in drip feature, you can create drip schedules without having to quit the builder for curriculum. It not only helps save time but also makes sure that your course materials are protected and released as planned.

You can also modify drip notifications within the settings. It's easy to communicate with your students on what time the next version of the content is due to become available. This will help to keep everyone on the same page.

With our attention to the technical details, we've freed you up to focus on what is important: creating the best courses.

How to Configure the Course Content Dripping feature in Courses

Before your students start hurrying ahead, consider organizing the content of your class to keep your students in the right track and engaged with the lesson in front of them.

We mentioned it a while ago, Courses utilizes Rules for powering content drip.

 This means that any drip options that you apply through Rules will conflict with the built-in dripping options in your course's configurations.

So...

  • To provide a simplified, hassle-free experience: If you would like your course to automatically drip content according to the set timeframe (like the release of new lessons each week) the built-in drip feature is the best and most practical choice. This makes the process easier and provides a reliable delivery without any extra setup.
  • For more personalized control: If you need the freedom to make content available in irregular or extremely customized times, using Rules allows you to control that. However, this approach requires some time and effort to set up the additional Rules.

Keep It Simple: Let's get your Drip Content flowing smoothly!

To set up course content drip, you must first switching off the "Enable Dripping" option in your course's setting.

Below that, you'll need specify the method by which content is distributed - either by section or by individual item. You can also set the frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly) and choose the start day and time zone of each release of content:

Enable Course Content Dripping in  Courses curriculum

Do you want to create course content dripping? Take a look at the video below for an in-depth walkthrough on how to get going.

What's next for courses? Or Should We Say, What's Still New...

Course Dripping may be the most recent and best feature we've released for Courses, however it's far from the only update we've made recently.

Before diving into the dripping water, we'll be sure to look over some other exciting changes you might have noticed in the plugin.

We continue to develop the tools you can use for your online courses, we discovered that the ever-growing list of options - including Lessons, Quizzes, Assignments and even the Gradebook - deserved an entire space.

That's why we've given Courses their own menu item on the WordPress dashboard.

 Courses WordPress dashboard view

Everything that is related to your course - be it creating a new course and constructing your own curriculum, or tweaking course settings - can be managed directly from the menu for Courses on the dashboard.

Separating Courses into its own menu item makes it easier to ensure that your course development and management of membership tasks separate, which is especially handy for businesses that rely on both.

If you're a user and have seen this minor change. We hope that you're finding the new interface much more efficient and cleaner!

If you're brand new to and eager to start building your courses You may be asking how to access these amazing features.

Just hop into the plugin, go into the Add-Ons section, do a simple search for "course" to narrow your options, and there are all the learning tools that are now beyond the basic plugin's own:

 Courses add-on

Stay tuned to see more exciting features and updates in the coming months. However, for the moment, take advantage of the new course content dripping feature, and explore the new enhancements we've added to help make your creation of courses more enjoyable than ever!

Katelyn Gillis       Meet Katelyn: Running an online membership website or courses can be challenging, but that's the point where Katelyn comes in. She has a degree in education and her role as a  Content Manager', she's got an eye for breaking down the complexity and providing suggestions that feel like a conversation with a colleague who understands. In case you're seeking fresh concepts or simply some encouragement her blog posts here to help.