TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Overview
itslearning offers two plan types for courses: deadline-driven and self-paced. By default, courses use deadline-driven plans. Teachers can switch to self-paced plans to allow students to progress through course content at their own pace.
Self-paced plans have no time constraints and activities have no deadlines by default, although deadlines can still be set for individual activities if needed. When a course is set to self-paced, task updates are not shown on the course card for students on the itslearning start page.
Two workflows are available for self-paced courses: One plan at a time (linear progression) and All plans at once (non-linear access to all plans).
2 Plan types
The table below summarises the two plan types available in itslearning.
| Plan type | Description | Tabs displayed |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline-driven | The default plan type. Plans have set deadlines that students must complete within a specific time. | Current, Past, Without date, Topics |
| Self-paced | Plans have no time constraints. Students progress at their own pace. Deadlines for individual activities can still be set optionally. | All plans, Topics |
Switching to self-paced plans
- Open the course.
- Go to the Plan Settings page.
- Under Plan type, select Self-paced.
- Choose a workflow: One plan at a time or All plans at once.
Plan Settings page — default setting (deadline-driven)
Plan Settings page — self-paced plan type selected
3 Workflows
When self-paced is selected as the plan type, two workflows are available. These control how students access plans within the course.
| Workflow | Approach | Description |
|---|---|---|
| One plan at a time | Linear | Students access one plan at a time and must complete all elements before the next plan unlocks. |
| All plans at once | Non-linear | Students can access all plans simultaneously. Completing one plan is not required to access the next. |
3.1 One plan at a time
The One plan at a time workflow uses a linear approach where students must complete all elements within a plan before the next plan is unlocked. Plans are organised in the same sequence as displayed in the All plans tab.
Student experience
| Behaviour | Description |
|---|---|
| Course overview | Students always see their current plan in the course overview. On the first visit, the first plan listed under the All plans tab is displayed. |
| Plans page | Two tabs are visible: All plans and Topics. All plans and topics are visible, but only the current plan can be opened. Locked plans display the number of resources but cannot be clicked. |
| Plan completion | Once all resources and activities in a plan are completed, the student can complete the plan. The next plan then unlocks automatically and becomes the current plan in the course overview. |
| Completed plans | Completed plans remain accessible to the student and are marked as completed. |
| Resources in course menu | Not visible to students. |
| Latest changes | The "Latest changes" section in the course overview is hidden from students. |
| Updates section | Content directly linked to a resource or activity is hidden from students in the "Recent updates" area. |
| Table view | Students do not have access to the table view for plans. |
| Task list | Students can only view tasks from plans they are permitted to access. |
"One plan at a time" — Plans page (student view)
3.2 All plans at once
The All plans at once workflow uses a non-linear approach where students can access all plans within the course. Completing all elements in a plan is not required to access the next one.
Student experience
| Behaviour | Description |
|---|---|
| Course overview | Students see the last plan they worked on. On the first visit, the first plan listed under the All Plans tab is displayed. |
| Plans page | Two tabs are visible: All Plans and Topics. All topics and plans are accessible. |
| Resources in course menu | Visible to students. |
"All plans at once" — Plans page (student view)
Workflow comparison
| Feature | One plan at a time | All plans at once |
|---|---|---|
| Student access to plans | Current plan only; others locked | All plans simultaneously |
| Completion required to progress | ✓ | ✗ |
| Resources in course menu visible | ✗ | ✓ |
| "Latest changes" visible to students | ✗ | ✓ |
| Table view for plans | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pinning a plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| Task list scope | Accessible plans only | All plans |
Note: The "Latest changes" and "Recent updates" visibility restrictions for the "One plan at a time" workflow are not explicitly documented for the "All plans at once" workflow. The comparison table above assumes standard course behaviour applies when these restrictions are not mentioned.
4 Pinning a plan
In a self-paced course, pinning a plan is only available when using the All plans at once workflow. Teachers can pin any plan of their choice within this workflow. Pinning a plan is not possible when using the One plan at a time workflow.
More Help Resources
Have more questions? Please start with asking your school administrator.
Product Release notes
Stay updated with itslearning latest releases: https://itslearning.com/product-updates
Service Status
Check the current status of itslearning services: https://status.itslearning.com/
Ideas Portal
Share your ideas and help shape the future of itslearning: https://ideas.itslearning.com/
Roadmap
Check out our roadmap: https://itslearning.com/global/roadmap/