Internal User Guide

LearnDash's default terminology has been customized to match how Ci3T references content. Throughout the admin and on the site, you'll see:

• Modules (instead of Courses) — the top-level container for a body of learning content
• Sections (instead of Lessons) — major divisions within a module
• Chapters (instead of Topics) — sub-sections within a section

The hierarchy is Module → Section → Chapter. Quizzes can be attached at any level.

The renaming applies to the admin sidebar, the page URLs (permalinks), and how content is referred to throughout the site.

A note on user roles

Managing LearnDash content (creating modules, cloning, setting up quizzes, managing groups) currently requires the Administrator role. The default WordPress Editor role has limited LearnDash access — Editors can edit Sections and Chapters but can't see or manage Modules, Quizzes, or Groups. 

Where everything lives

• LearnDash LMS → Modules — the top-level container for each module
• LearnDash LMS → Sections — major divisions within modules
• LearnDash LMS → Chapters — sub-sections within sections
• LearnDash LMS → Quizzes — assessments
• LearnDash LMS → Groups — bundle users together with assigned Group Leaders
• LearnDash LMS → ProPanel — student progress and reporting (installed but not yet configured)

Editing existing content

1. Go to LearnDash LMS → Modules (or Sections, or Chapters)
2. Click the title of the item you want to edit
3. Edit the content using the editor
4. Click Update

Creating a new module (recommended workflow: clone an existing one)

We've imported all your existing rbook modules into LearnDash, and we've found that the easiest, most consistent way to create a new module going forward is to clone an existing one rather than building from scratch. Cloning copies the module's structure, sections, chapters, and settings in one step — you just rename and replace the content.

To clone a module:

1. Go to LearnDash LMS → Modules
2. Hover over the module you want to use as a starting point — pick one whose structure most closely matches what you're building
3. Click the Clone option that appears in the hover menu
4. A copy will appear in the module list, usually with "Copy" in the title
5. Click into the cloned module and rename it
6. Update the URL slug under the title to match the new module name
7. Work through each section and chapter inside the clone, updating titles and content as needed
8. Replace or remove any quizzes that don't apply to the new module
9. Set the cloned module to Published when it's ready to go live

Why we recommend this over building from scratch:

• Consistent structure across modules (sections and chapters follow the same pattern users already know)
• Settings like access mode, prerequisites, and display options carry over automatically
• Less chance of forgetting a piece of configuration
• Significantly faster than rebuilding from zero

A note on rbooks: Your existing rbook modules were imported using a custom importer we built. If you'd prefer to keep authoring new content as rbooks and importing them, that's still an option — but it's a process we will need to discuss. 

Adding a section or chapter to an existing module

1. Go to LearnDash LMS → Sections → Add New (or Chapters → Add New)
2. Enter the title and content
3. In the right sidebar, find the Module field (and Section field, if adding a chapter) and assign it to the correct parent
4. Set the order under Display & Content Options if needed
5. Click Publish

You can also add sections and chapters directly from inside a module — open the module, scroll to the Builder tab, and add new items there. This is often faster because everything stays in context.

Groups and Group Leaders

LearnDash supports Groups, which let you bundle users together (for example, by district, school, cohort, or training program) and assign one or more Group Leaders who can monitor and manage their group's progress.

The two roles in a group:

• Group Users — the learners enrolled in the group. They get automatic enrollment in any modules assigned to the group.
• Group Leaders — users who oversee the group. They get access to a back-end Group Administration area where they can view progress, run reports, email group members, and (depending on settings) add and remove users from their own groups.

What Group Leaders can do (with current settings): Group Leaders can manage their own groups fairly independently — adding users, removing users, viewing reports, and emailing members — without needing an admin. They can't create new top-level groups or modify modules; that's still admin territory.

What admins are still responsible for:

• Granting the Group Leader role to a user account in the first place (via Users → edit user → Role) — once they have the role, they can take it from there
• Initial group setup at the start — admins typically create the first wave of groups during onboarding, but ongoing group creation can be handled by Group Leaders themselves (see below)
• Adjusting global Group Leader capabilities if a leader needs broader or narrower permissions

The typical flow:

1. Admin grants a user the Group Leader role
2. Either the admin creates an initial group and assigns that user as leader, or the user creates their own group and adds themselves as leader (see workflow below)
3. From that point forward, the Group Leader manages their own group's membership, monitors progress, and creates additional groups as needed

To create a new group:

1. Go to LearnDash LMS → Groups → Add New
2. Enter the group name and description
3. In the Group Settings panel, select the modules this group has access to
4. Under Group Leader Users, select the user(s) who should lead the group
5. Optionally add initial Group Users — or leave this empty and let the Group Leader add their own members
6. Click Publish

To make someone a Group Leader, they first need the Group Leader role on their user account. Go to Users, edit the user, and set their role to Group Leader.

Where Group Leaders manage their groups: Once logged in, Group Leaders see a LearnDash LMS → Group Administration area where they can list users, view reports, email members, and export data. The exact menu options they see depend on which capabilities are enabled in the global group settings.

Group Leaders creating their own groups:

With "Manage Groups" enabled in the global Group settings (which it is on this site), Group Leaders can also create new groups themselves — useful if you'd rather not route every new cohort, district team, or training group through an admin.

To create a new group as a Group Leader:

1. Go to LearnDash LMS → Groups → Add New
2. Enter the group name and description
3. Assign the relevant modules under Group Courses
4. Click Publish
5. Important: Open the group you just created and add yourself under Group Leader Users, then click Update
6. From this point on, you can add Group Users, view reports, and manage the group like any other