Forum Discussion
Confused about the stages that come after I have created my courses - such as hosting, and having a payment gateway
Hi folks
There is a lot of easily accessible info on using the Articulate tools to create content, but I am confused by some topics, particularly around hosting and providing user access to created courses.
My small company (which is completely new to E-Learning) is looking to put a few cosmetics theory courses online, and sell access to them.
But the things I don't understand are:
1) The hosting of the courses. Do folks generally create a course on the Articulate products, and then go and host these on a website in some way, against a URL? Or is pushing the courses to a platform the way to do it? If it's a platform, does that mean that the courses sit on there alongside other courses from other providers?
2) Adding a payment gateway for students to purchase courses. How do people usually manage this? Also, giving students access to a FAQ, or later perhaps a chat-bot would be great.
3) Tracking students through their learning progress. We need to be able to track student progress. Most particularly, we need to be able to issue them with some sort of certificate which is unique to them on completion of the courses.
4) After the students have done these online theory courses, they will be required to send us a video, taken on their phone, of them performing a couple of the procedures shown in the course. So it would be ideal if such files could be attached within the system. Does anyone have a recommendation as to how to provide this?
We have created a heap of videos (which we're now storing on Vimeo), and also some quizzes. Hopefully creating the courses themselves wont be overly hard. But I'd certainly like to understand the above before I put too much effort in and find I am on the wrong track!
Huge amounts of thanks to any responders to this post.
Neil
(Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum, this one looked to be the most general one)
1. Hosting Options
There are two main options for hosting courses created with Articulate products:
Self-Hosting: You can export the course as a package (e.g., HTML, SCORM) and host it on your own web server or a third-party hosting service. This gives you more control but requires technical setup and maintenance.
Learning Management System (LMS): You can host your courses on an LMS platform. Popular options include Articulate 360 Reach, Moodle, Canvas, Docebo, etc. An LMS handles user management, course delivery, progress tracking, and more. Courses from multiple providers can exist on the same LMS.
2. Payment Gateway Integration
To sell course access, you'll need to integrate a payment gateway. Options include:
LMS Built-in E-commerce: Some LMS platforms have built-in e-commerce features for selling courses. Check if your chosen LMS supports this.
Third-Party E-commerce: You can use a third-party e-commerce platform (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce) and link it to your LMS. Users purchase access on the e-commerce site and are then granted access in the LMS.
Custom Integration: For more control, you can custom develop a payment gateway integration using APIs from payment providers like Stripe, PayPal, etc.
3. Student Progress Tracking & Certification
Most LMS platforms provide built-in features for tracking student progress, including:
- Course completion status
- Quiz scores and attempts
- Time spent on lessons
- Custom progress milestonesUpon completing a course, the LMS can automatically issue a certificate to the student. Certificates are usually customizable, allowing you to include the student's name, course details, date, unique ID number, etc.
4. Student Video Submission
To allow students to submit videos after completing the online portion:
- LMS Assignment Submission: Many LMS platforms support assignment submissions where students can upload files, including videos. You can specify this as a required step after the course.- Third-Party Video Platform: If your LMS doesn't support video submissions, you can use a third-party video platform like Vimeo and have students submit video links. You'd provide instructions on this process at the end of the course.
- Custom Development: For a more integrated experience, custom development could allow students to submit videos directly through your course interface. The videos could be stored and managed within your system.
That's incredibly helpful Christin. Many thanks.
Let me know if you have more questions! It sounds like an LMS is the way to go for you, but there are many of them.
Thanks so much,
