Blog

How to Create Your Own Program On Gnowbe Web

Deborah
October 25, 2021

Tired of monotonous, long-running video meetings and classes? Fatigued from looking at Powerpoint decks? Try something more versatile, engaging, and designed to engage our minds in different ways.

At Gnowbe, we have reimagined the way courses are created and experienced online. Our platform easily integrates different types of actions such as:
– videos
– images
– quotes
– articles
– surveys
– quizzes
– polls and
– rewards
into a single program that can be tailored to different users, bringing impact to your users. Most importantly, your programs can be curated on your own, without the need for a single line of code.

New to Gnowbe? Want to revolutionize online courses and meetings?
Request for a demo and find out why so many people and companies around the world choose Gnowbe.

Are you ready to create your very first program but don’t know how and where to start? Fret not, we are here to help you at every step of the way. Gnowbe’s program curation tool is fuss-free, intuitive, and extremely easy.
Now, let’s jump right into it!

By the end of this article, you will learn:

Kicking It Off

  • How to create an account
  • How to create a new program
  • How to share your program
  • How to measure success and key performance indicators

Maximizing Impact

  • How to build your content
  • How to boost your engagement
  • How to grow a community of learners
  • How to communicate with your users and get feedback
  • Gnowbe Anatomy Tips & Tricks

How to create an account

Gnowbe, a creative, multi-media platform is FREE for anyone and everyone! Simply head over to our website or download Gnowbe on your mobile device and sign-up for an account with your email address.

Download on the app store | Download on google play store | Start creating on web.gnowbe.com

Your completed programs are FREE to share so spread the word! Want insights into how your users feel and measure actual behavioral impact? Browse through our plans or contact us today!


How to create a program

Creating a new course online used to be a daunting and lengthy process. Not anymore. Gnowbe is an extremely easy and user-friendly interface that allows you to make creations in minutes.

What is a Program?

A program refers to a course, module, set of sessions based on a broad topic. This is the backbone you will start with, upon which all additional content will be added. By clicking on the Programs icon you can switch between programs.

Structure of a Program

This is the structure of a typical Gnowbe program. Imagine the programs as the backbone of your content, and the sessions are its bones. Adding actions would therefore be to put flesh on the bones of your content.

Creating a program

  1. Select + Create New Program.
  2. Create a title for your program.
  3. Choose the Language of your choice from the dropdown menu.
  4. Select the Difficulty Level of your program.
  5. Select the Category your program belongs to.
  6. If your program does not fall into any of the categories, simply select ‘Custom’ and create your own category.
  7. Click on Next.

There you have it, you’ve completed the first step to having your own program! If you are still deciding on an eye-catching title for your program, don’t worry, you can always change those details later (in the Details window in your program cover).

After creating a blank program, you’re set to begin adding your own content and make your program come to life!


Introducing your program & yourself

  1. Click on the Image button to upload a cover photo or .gif file for your program.
  2. Input an eye-catching Tagline for your program.
  3. Include a Program Description for your users – watch the video for a tip!
  4. Provide your users with a basic background of yourself.
  5. Once you are happy with your program outline, it is time to build your program with Sessions.

Images are optimized for a 1:1 ratio to tailor to mobile phones. Therefore, you’ll need to crop it using the tool shown in the video above. However, users will be able to enlarge your images by tapping on it. You cannot upload more than one image, but you can add the Image Action to insert more images.


Creating a new Session

Sessions can be deemed as the individual ‘chapters’ to the broader topic or program at hand. They refer to a set of learning actions. At the end of each session, users would have achieved 1-3 learning objectives.

  1. Whenever a new program is created, the First Session is ready for you.
  2. Select New Session to create more sessions.
  3. Rename the session with a Title of your choice.
  4. Upload a cover photo or .gif file for your session by clicking on the Image button.
  5. Provide a basic overview of the current session.
  6. Select New Action to add as many actions as you like within each session from the list shown below.
  7. Actions can be rearranged by dragging-and-dropping them on the top left corner of each action.


Sessions Tips & Tricks

Learning Modes

While your users are going to learn anytime, anywhere, you are able to control the pace and sequence of their learning.

  • Daily Learning: Users will have the opportunity to complete one session each day (i.e.: Sessions will be LOCKED. Users need to complete 1 session before the next session becomes available).
  • Streak Learning: Streak Learning allows sequential learning, yet users are able to decide how quickly they want to progress in the program.
  • Unlocked: Users will have access to all sessions in a program. As such, they will have the opportunity to skip to later sessions without first completing earlier sessions.

Each option has its advantages. Daily Learning and Streak Learning options allow content to be delivered sequentially. On the other hand, the Unlocked option allows learners to be in charge of their own learning. It empowers advanced learners to skip the topics that they are already familiar with. You can consider using the Unlocked option for learners with different levels of skills and expertise. Here’s how you can edit the Learning Mode.

  1. Enter the editing mode of your program by clicking on the Edit button on the top left corner.
  2. At the program cover of your program, select Learning Mode on the right side of the screen.
  3. The window expands, and you can select one out of the three options.

Lock Session

You can now lock a session, which allows the session to be visible. However, learners will not be able to access it unless you unlock it again.

  1. Simply enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button.
  2. Open the sessions drawer with the button to the left of the Edit button.
  3. Select the session you wish to lock.
  4. Lock the session by clicking on the Lock Session button to toggle it on.
  5. Unlock the session whenever you want by switching off the function by clicking on the Lock session button again.

Reorder, copy & delete sessions

To reorder sessions

  1. Simply enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button.
  2. Open the sessions drawer with the button on the left of the Edit button.
  3. Click and drag the = button on the left of each session’s name to reorder the session.

To copy & paste sessions

  1. Simply enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button.
  2. Open the sessions drawer with the button on the left of the Edit button.
  3. Select the yellow down arrow button on the right of each session’s name.
  4. Select Copy.
  5. Select New Session at the bottom of the sessions drawer.
  6. Select Paste it.

To delete sessions

  1. Simply enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button.
  2. Open the sessions drawer with the button on the left of the Edit button.
  3. Select the yellow down arrow button on the right of each session’s name.
  4. Select Delete.
  5. Select Remove Session.

Uncover actions sequentially one by one

You may choose if the learner completes actions in a session sequentially or not. If this option is toggled on, subsequent actions within a session will be unavailable and the titles will be blurred. Users will, therefore, need to complete one action box before the next action box is available.
If this option is turned off, users can hop around the different actions used in that particular session, in any order they choose.
You can consider using this function as a curator if:

  • The learning involves a strictly step-by-step process.
  • The learning accumulates, where the participant needs knowledge from the previous steps before they can move on to the next step.
  1. Simply enter the editing mode of any program by selecting the Edit button.
  2. Open the sessions drawer with the button on the left of the Edit button.
  3. Select the session you want.
  4. Turn on this function by turning on the Uncover actions sequentially one by one toggle button found just beneath each session’s description


How to share your program

Once you are happy with your program, it is time to share your creation with the world! Invite other users to join by providing them with your invite URL.

Take note! Users who are not given your invite link will not be able to access and view your program in their Program Library.


Inviting other users of your program

  1. Enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button on the top left corner.
  2. Click on the Sessions icon on the left of the Edit button.
  3. You will see a box that says Invite People.
  4. Click on the chain link symbol 🔗 to the right of the URL, the URL will be copied to your clipboard.
  5. Invite people to test the program by sending them the link.


Inviting other curators

  1. Enter editing mode by selecting the Edit button on the top left corner.
  2. Select the Publish button on the top right corner. You will be redirected to Gnowbe Dashboard.
  3. Scroll down and you will see a section called “Curators of this program”.
  4. Insert your partner’s email address and click on INVITE.


How to measure success and Key Performance Indicators

Gnowbe features a rich analytics system that helps you track user engagement, completion, study data, and more! This allows you to evaluate your employee’s skills and performance anytime by accessing real-time data, assessments, and analytics. Make your program much more impactful by targeting the right areas.

Access our back-end analytics with a purchased plan. Contact our friendly Gnowbeans and request for a demo today.


How to build your content

Actions are where most of the content lives. We learn the most when we participate actively in learning. To do this, you can create an amazing and interactive learning experience by using the Know-Think-Apply model.

Knowing is where you deliver your content. Here are the actions types that you may use to deliver your content.

  • Video
  • Text
  • Quote
  • Image & Audio
  • Weblink
  • External Weblink

Thinking and Applying are where your users contribute to their own learning. Here are the actions types that you may use to engage your users.

  • Question & Answer
  • Multiple Choice
  • Take Photo or Video
  • Assessment

Share is to enable your users to share their answers to the Groupboard. This encourages critical thinking and allows them to learn among their peers.


Inserting Actions

  1. In a selected session, select the New Action button at the bottom of the page.
  2. Select any action type you like.
  3. Select Add and Keep Adding to continuously select Actions to insert into your program.
  4. Or, select Add and Edit to insert only one Action at a time.


What are the different Action types?

Video

When a video file belongs to you / your company (i.e. no copyright issues), it can be directly embedded into the Gnowbe app. As a best practice, please try to keep a video duration between 1-3 minutes. When the video file clearly belongs to an external party, use the external weblink action instead. Points to note:

  • Videos of all formats can be embedded with a 600MB size limit.
  • Contact support@gnowbe.com if you require a higher limit.
Text

Here, bite-sized information can be provided with this action. Points to note:

  • Keep the sentences, paragraphs, and the entire text section as brief as possible.
  • Highlight keywords using bold, underline, or italic.
  • Images with a size limit of 200MB can be used as the cover photo.
Quote

Quotes can be used to engage your audience and get them thinking. Point to note: a suitable photo can also be used as the background, by clicking on the Trashcan at the bottom right corner.

Image and Audio

Images or audio can also be inserted into your program, and brief comments about them can be made with this action.

Question & Answer

This action is an open-ended question where the learner can write his/her answers in a free open-ended form. The user actions for this Q&A action are:

  • Do – ask learners to take action e.g., “Commit to one habit you will start today and list it below.”
  • Reflect – ask learners to ponder on key insights of an article, video or principle

Users should be prompted to share their thoughts to the group. Why? The sharing of answers encourages discussion and results in better learning!

Multiple Choice

This action has many uses, including but not limited to:

  • Knowledge checks
  • Pre & Post-learning assessments (confidence, knowledge, motivation)
  • Feedback on the learning program
  • Survey tools or polls

Users will not suffer any penalty for getting the question wrong, and they are free to keep tapping on all the options until they find the correct answer. An MCQ action is independent of all other MCQ actions.

Take Photo or Video

With this action, users are able to search the web for an image or take their own images to increase their engagement. These images are shareable to the group, encouraging interactions among your users as well.

Web Link

Gnowbe provides two different types of actions to embed links. The difference between Web Link and External Web Link is that when “Web Link” is used, the website will open up within Gnowbe.

On the other hand, when “External Web Link” is used, users will be taken out of Gnowbe. We do this because we want to curate the best available content to learners while honoring the intellectual property of the owner of the content.

Therefore, it is advisable to use “Web Link” when you own the content, and “External Web Link” when you don’t.

External Web Link

External Web Link action is used when you are including an external video or article. Points to note:

  • Please title your action as follows = “exact video/article title” (copyright owner),
  • “On Being Wrong” (Kathryn Schulz: TED)
  • “5 Reasons Mobile Learning Will Transform Your Workplace” (Rudy Spencer).
  • Always check visuals on your smartphone to ensure the link works.
  • For an article, ensure that the website is optimized for mobile where the content is automatically horizontally justified to any smartphone screen. In other words, you don’t need to scroll to the right to see the end of a sentence.

Assessment

This action evaluates how much your learner has learned. A set of questions can be scattered across the program (as much as you like). When users tap on the option(s), they will not know if it is the right or wrong answer. The participant’s final score will be tabulated when they have completed the last assessment action of the program. Participants will learn if they passed/failed after the tabulation of scores.

Note! ou can edit the passing grade in the Graduation tab at the program cover page.

  1. Go to your program page.
  2. Set the pass rate.
  3. Set the maximum number of attempts that your participants can retake the assessment.


Actions Tips & Tricks

Numbering actions allows users to know how many actions there are in a session at one glance. It also makes giving feedback much simpler. For example, I can refer to this action as “Session 4.4”.

Using sentence case for action titles. Sentence case means that only the first letter of the first sentence is capitalized.

Interaction minutes
In edit mode, you are able to change the interaction minutes for every individual action in the bottom right corner. How long each Action should take will be up to the discretion of the curator. For example, if you feel that a reflection question that you have asked requires learners to take 2-3 minutes to think and respond, you will then need to update the interaction time accordingly! These interaction minutes will be added up by Gnowbe to reflect the total course duration on the program cover page.

Learners will then be able to have a better estimation of how long it will take for them to complete your program!


How to boost your engagement

Compliments

A compliment is a message box that will pop up once an action is completed. You may attach a compliment to most action box(es) in your program.

  1. Be in editing mode.
  2. Click on the gift icon (upper right corner within an action).
  3. Include a title, short text and image for the compliment.


Ratings

Users can be assessed while they are learning to get a measure of your program. Ratings will be done at the end of a selected action. You can measure:

  • User’s confidence level
  • User’s knowledge level
  • User’s motivation level
  • User’s happiness level
  1. Insert / select an action.
  2. Click on the star button on the top right corner.
  3. Select a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Category.
  4. Input the question you would like to ask your users.
  5. Click Create.


Resources

You will be able to attach files that pertain to the learning such as reference documents, job aids, summaries, marketing materials or case studies, etc. Resources functions like Dropbox – your users will not have access to the materials in resources unless you give them the link.

Note: You can only find the “Resources” button when you are in the editing mode in a program in which you have curator access.

  1. Click the Edit button at the top left corner to be in editing mode.
  2. Click the Resources button at the top right corner.
  3. Click on Add Resource.
  4. Select the file you want to upload and select Upload.
  5. Select the Copy Resource Link button beside the file to copy the access link.
  6. You may paste the link anywhere in your program using any of the actions provided.
  7. You may also share the link and resource using the Daily Emails and users are able to access it through their emails.


Personalization

You will be able to refer to your users by their own names to increase personalization for your users.

Wherever you introduce “name” snuggled between 2 curly brackets, the learner’s name will appear in the app. Therefore, if your learner is called John Doe, “your name is {{name}}” will appear as “your name is John Doe”. Take note! This will only work with curly brackets and lowercase “name”, other formats do not work.


Copy User’s Answer

Users are able to be reminded of their previous answers used in previous actions through this function. As such, users can be reminded of their intentions and promises in the middle and at the end o the program. This can increase the customization of the programs to each user.


How to grow a community of learners

Group

Each program in Gnowbe will have its own Group. Anyone who has access to that program will have access to the Group. What is the significance of this group?

  • Group is where you view and interact with other users’ posts and insights.
  • If you have any questions or insights about a program, you can also click on “Group” to post them.
  1. The Group button is found on the top right of the screen (at the bottom of your screen if you are using a phone).
  2. You are able to click into any post your fellow users have shared and like or comment on them.
  3. You can ask questions, post photos or videos, and even provide feedback.
  4. Using the Filter function, you can filter the posts in the Group by Session or by their individual postings on the Group itself.


Share to Group

In every program, you will be able to save and share notes, pictures, and videos. Knowledge is amplified as you share it.

  1. After completing an action, users should be encouraged to click on Share to Group before advancing to subsequent actions.
  2. Users can always go back to their answers in the previous actions and share or unshare it.


How to communicate with your users and get feedback

Completion email

These are emails that users will receive after completing certain actions. They aim to inform users that they have completed that particular action.

  1. In an action box, select the Email icon on the top right corner.
  2. Complete the Email Subject and Message.
  3. Select when the email will be sent out to users in the dropdown list under Send the Email.


Daily email and push notifications

Daily email and push notifications are related to the session that a user is currently completing. If you choose to customize daily email and push notification, users are able to receive daily emails at 7 am local time and daily push notification at 12 pm local time. Points to note:

  • Notifications will begin after the first session is complete – daily messaging is unavailable in the first session.
  • Notifications will NOT go out on weekends, but the learner can still go into the learning and make progress.
  • These can be activated in any learning mode.
  1. Click the Edit button at the top left corner to be in editing mode of any Session
  2. Under Messaging, you can fill in
  3. Daily push notification
  4. Daily email subject
  5. Daily email message


Ratings

You can assess your users early in the learning to get a baseline measure of how they are doing in your program. Subsequent ratings can also be conducted to see how your users feel about your program while they go through the content. We provide different types of ratings for you, the curator, to measure different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as:

  • Confidence level
  • Knowledge level
  • Motivation level
  • Happiness


Gnowbe Anatomy Tips & Tricks

Clear Study Data

After you have created your own program, you will be able to experience the program once as a user. Hence, if you want to experience your program as a first-time user again, study data can be cleared. This will reset all of your own answers and shares in all sessions across the program.

In programs in which you are a curator, you will see a trash bin icon at the top left corner of every session. If selected, you will get the following message: “This will reset all of your answers, photos and shares in ALL SESSIONS in this program!!!”

Session

This function allows you to open the active session – the session you last viewed.

Workbook

  • This function allows you to open the Program Overview with all your answers.
  • You are also able to Print or save the overview as PDF.
  1. This can be assessed by clicking on the Workbook button on the top right-hand corner.
  2. To Print or save as PDF, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the Print (or save as PDF) button.


Cool Program Titles

One of the hardest things to do in life is to name things. One trick that always captures attention to your program is to include a verb in your Program Title. For example,

  • Speak Japanese!
  • Powering with Analytics

It doesn’t hurt to throw in some emojis. For example,

  • Winning in Life 🏆
  • Speak Japanese! 🌸

To help you think through this process, here are some factors you may wish to consider:

  • Clarity – does the title “say it all”?
  • Curiosity – does it make me want to “discover more”?
  • Utilitarian – does it solve a “need”?


Toggle between two programs

Sometimes, you might need to work on two programs at the same time. How can you do so?

  1. With one program open in one tab of your web browser, open a new tab.
  2. Go to web.gnowbe.com.
  3. You will be brought to the last session you opened.
  4. Simply open the Programs Library on the top left corner.
  5. Select the Program of your choice.


Progress

With the progress button, you are able to view how many actions you have completed, and how many actions are left uncompleted. You are also shown the exact action you have done or left undone per session.

Notes

With the Notes function, feel free to jot down any thoughts or notes you might have while going through the program!
Your notes will also be printed or saved as a PDF file along with the entire program’s material using the Workbook function above.


Ready? It’s your turn!

There you have it! Everything you need to know to create and navigate around Gnowbe on the web is here. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and empower others with your content today!

Download on the app store | Download on google play store | Start creating on web.gnowbe.com

Related Posts

Join our Community Newletter
Stay in the "Gnow" with upcoming events, feature updates, best practices and tips and tricks from experts in the industry.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.