Modern WordPress-based learning management systems like LearnDash have definitely helped redefine the role of a traditional teacher. No longer confined to just imparting knowledge, teachers are course creators, managers, and sometimes, even entrepreneurs.
Even though, with LearnDash, anyone with some technical knowledge can easily start an online course, creating course content is still a task.
And if you plan to onboard multiple external instructors, trainers, or SMEs to build courses on your platform and expand your eLearning business then providing access to everyone could be a challenge.
Not only is the WordPress interface complex to navigate, it could also put your website at risk.
This is why we updated our Instructor Role plugin with a Frontend LearnDash Course Creator. A user-friendly, simple-to-use course builder on the front end.
This easy-to-understand guide will walk you through how you can leverage this tool to create and manage LearnDash courses with ease.
It’s a wonderful solution for educators of all levels, offering versatile and accessible tools that make online course creation and management a breeze. More about it later in the article.
Take a virtual tour! Check out this walkthrough video of ‘Instructor Role with a Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
The problems without the Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Without frontend course creation in LearnDash, making an online course is a tough job, especially for instructors who didn’t know much about technology.
The process involves:-
- Navigating via the backend and exposing instructors to all settings in the backend. This gave me a hard time to site admins. Instructors were exposed to all the backend settings.
- Showing teachers how to make a course in the backend. This took a lot of time and was often hard, as many teachers didn’t know much about the technical parts of the platform.
- Teachers also had their own problems. The backend had many settings and options that were hard to understand and use. This made it hard to make a course, as many teachers didn’t want to deal with the technical parts of the platform.
- Also, the lack of a simple interface made it hard for teachers to focus on what they do best – making interesting and helpful content for their students. Instead, they had to deal with technical problems, which made their courses less good and effective.
The New ‘Instructor’ Role in LearnDash by WisdmLabs
WisdmLabs has changed online learning by introducing a new user role—the “Instructor” for LearnDash. This role gives instructors the tools they need to create and manage courses, without any unnecessary features.
This means — instructors can use a simpler version of the WordPress Dashboard UI and Course Editor Interface, making the platform easier to use.
But that’s not all.
Instructor Role also offers extra tools such as course sharing, revenue sharing, email notifications, course progress reports, and student communication. These features help instructors manage their courses better and connect with their students in a more meaningful way.
Read More: New in Instructor Role for LearnDash: Frontend LearnDash Course Creator to Build Courses Easily
Making the User Interface Easier to Use
One of our main goals was to provide users with an interface using which anyone can create and manage courses easily.
However, some users have said that despite WordPress’ many features, the interface is not as easy to use as it could be. There are many settings, which can be confusing, especially for instructors who are not very tech-savvy.
To solve this problem, we added a frontend interface that is separate from the traditional WordPress dashboard.
This interface is designed to be easier to use, providing a comfortable space for instructors to create and manage their courses.
Using the Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Create a Course using Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
- You can create a new course by clicking the Add new via Frontend LearnDash Course Creator Button
- This will make a draft course and take you to the frontend LearnDash course creator to add all the content and configure the settings to create the course.
- Frontend LearnDash Course Creator is now Elementor Compatible, that allows administrators and instructors to access the Elementor editor directly from the frontend of your course creation platform. This feature provides a seamless and user-friendly way to create, edit, and manage course content while limiting backend access and still providing full Elementor support.
Edit a Course using Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
To edit a course using the Frontend LearnDash Course Creator you can click the Edit via Frontend LearnDash Course Creator Link by hovering over the course title on the course listing page.
The Frontend Builder
The Frontend Builder allows
- Organizing the course structure
- Adding new lessons and topics or using existing lessons and topics to create a course
- Adding existing quizzes to the course.
- Note: Currently, new quizzes cannot be created directly from the frontend LearnDash course creator. You will have to create a course using LearnDash’s backend Quiz builder and add those later in the course from here
Organizing the course structure using Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Adding and Editing Lessons/Topics using Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Editing existing lessons and topics using Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Course Settings
All the LearnDash course settings for configuring a course are available in the Frontend LearnDash Course Creator. To know more about the setting refer here
Concerns of Site Owners without Frontend LearnDash Course Creator
Site owners using the WisdmLabs product can offer their courses for free or charge a fee. Some instructors use the platform to hold live classes via Zoom, creating a virtual classroom. Others use it to create digital classrooms where students and teachers can talk to each other, creating a sense of community.
However, some site owners are worried about the visibility of the platform’s use of LearnDash and WordPress. Some site owners are afraid that this visibility might lead others to realize how easy it is to copy their site. To solve this problem, Instructor Role allows instructors only to have front-end access, hiding the backend setup.
The Future of Creating Courses: Where to go from here?
We are planning to improve even more the frontend the dashboard in Instructor Role. The aim is to create a simple-to-use and catchy modern-look interface.
Besides, WisdmLabs also intends to integrate third-party plugins into the instructor’s dashboard. It will be more open for creativity regarding the interface design and layout therefore the instructors will be able to tailor the dashboard to their preferences.
In addition, we will bring in new functionality and tools like course templates and a chatbot-assistant for course configuration and student management. Such characteristics are targeted to simplify the course creation process and give more support for instructors.
To sum up, the role of instructor in the process of development and management of online courses is never static.
Products such as the Instructor Role for LearnDash, offer instructors the capabilities to design, manage, and market their courses, which transforms the paradigm of e-learning. Looking ahead, it will be fun to see these platforms what they come up with and how they change our learning.
Also Read: Instructor Role vs LearnDash Dashboard: Which has a better Frontend Course Builder?
