Publish a Lesson
Publishing a Lesson publishes a specific version of it from the Lesson Builder, and the Changelog is where you see which version is live and choose a different one.
What does publishing a Lesson do?
It makes one version of the Lesson eligible for Learners.
Two things follow from that, and both matter.
Publishing alone gives nobody access. A Learner reaches a Lesson only when it is published and included in an active assignment. Publishing makes it eligible; the assignment decides who sees it and when. That means finished work can safely stay published, and rollout timing belongs to assignment dates rather than to holding a Lesson back.
Publishing is version-based. Every publish points at a specific numbered version, and the Lesson Builder always shows you which one is live.
How do you publish a Lesson?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Lesson in the Lesson Builder. |
| 2 | In the bottom bar, click Publish Version. |
Once a Lesson is published, the bottom bar shows Published Version with its number, the date and time it was published, and the number of Assignments using it. The button itself changes to Unpublish Version.
To take the Lesson down, click Unpublish Version. Access ends immediately, whatever the assignments say.
Note: A SCORM Lesson cannot be published until its estimated completion time is filled in. The field sits under the Description and takes a number of seconds; Skyllful IQ uses it to track progress.
Note: A Lesson's Actions menu on the Courses Overview also carries Publish and Unpublish. Use the Lesson Builder whenever the version matters, because it is the only place that shows you which version you are publishing.
Can you edit a Lesson while it is published?
Yes, and you do not need to unpublish it first. Editing a published Lesson creates a new version. The version that is live stays live until you publish the new one.
Note: What you cannot edit while a Lesson is published is a screen used in it. Screen editing controls stay unavailable until the Lesson comes down.
How do you read the Changelog?
The Changelog panel runs down the right side of the Lesson Builder, newest at the top.
What you see |
What it means |
|---|---|
| Latest | The most recent version of the Lesson. |
| Published, with a green dot | This is the version Learners get. |
| A version number, date, and time | When that version was created. |
| An edit count, such as "16 edits" | How much changed in that version. |
| Initials on the left of the row | Who made the changes. |
When Latest and Published sit on the same row, the newest version is the one that is live. When they do not, someone has edited the Lesson since it was published.
Can you publish an earlier version?
Yes. Select the version in the Changelog and the Lesson Builder shows it, with the title, description, and settings greyed out because you are looking at history rather than editing it. The bottom bar offers Publish Version for the version you are viewing, even while a newer one is currently published.
If you want to work on that earlier version rather than just look at it, click Unlock. It sits at the far right of the bottom bar, where Update appears when you are on the latest version.
Best practice: Before publishing an earlier version, check what the newer versions changed. The Changelog's edit counts tell you how much you would be rolling back.
Where do Courses and Modules get published?
Not here. Courses and Modules publish from their own panels on the Courses Overview, and publishing them cascades to what they contain. See Publish and Unpublish a Course or Module.
Frequently asked questions
Does publishing make a Lesson available to Learners?
It makes it eligible. A Learner sees it only when it is also in an active assignment.
Do you have to unpublish before editing?
No. Edit freely. Each round of edits becomes a new version, and the published version is unaffected until you publish the new one.
Why is the screen editing greyed out on a published Lesson?
A screen used in a published Lesson is locked while that Lesson is live. Unpublish the Lesson to edit the screen.
How do you know if the live version is out of date?
Look at the Changelog. If Published is not on the Latest row, the Lesson has been edited since it was published.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers, Local Administrators