Courses FAQ
The Courses in the Course Library have been carefully designed to help you make progress in a structured way.
Here are some commonly asked questions that have come up during the testing phase of this feature.
Q: How does the progress bar work?
A: The spotty line shows you what percent of a course you've completed. This is calculated based on how much effort is involved for each step. For example, more dots will turn green after you've marked a 4-hour painting complete, than when you mark a 5-minute video as watched. Below are some examples:
All grey dots: No elements of the Course have been marked as complete:
Some green dots: The percent of dots that are green indicates the percentage of a Course you've marked complete. In the below example, about two-thirds of the steps in the Course are marked as complete:
All green dots: All elements of the Course marked as complete:
Note that you need to have marked all the tutorials you've taken as Complete for this feature to work accurately for you.
Q: Will there be more Courses added?
A: Yes! We see Courses as being core to the learning experience here. We're going to be adding new Courses to the Course Library on a regular basis, and often these will include new tutorials.
We're creating Courses aimed at members at every stage of their learning journey, from beginner to Pro. These include Courses in other media and taught by guest tutors.
Q: Are the Courses all the same length?
A: No. The Courses are as long as they need to be in order to teach the key learning objectives for the Course. For subjects that are more complicated, this may mean a Course is longer than subjects that can be covered thoroughly in fewer tutorials.
Q: How is the Course duration calculated?
A: We've recommended spending 4 hours per week on a Course, and the duration estimate is based on this time. If you're able to spend more time per week on your learning, you may complete the Course more quickly. Likewise, if you have less time available, it might take you longer to complete the Course.
Please note that the time given is an estimation to help with your planning. It's not a target, and it doesn't matter if it takes you more or less time to complete it.
Q: Can I be enrolled onto more than one Course at a time?
A: Yes! You can be enrolled onto as many Courses at a time as you wish. We do advise that you'll get the best out of your experience if you focus on completing one Course at a time. But the Courses are there for you to use in the way that feels best for you.
Q: Do I need to be a member to access Courses I'm enrolled on?
A: Yes. As a member, you have full access to all the Courses, Tutorials and content on the site. You need to be a member to have access to anything on the site, including Courses you're enrolled on.
Q: Why do some tutorials appear in more than one Course?
A: Certain tutorials cover two or more key teaching points. For example, the Strawberry tutorial features in both 'Fruits in Realistic Watercolour 2' and 'Mastering Shine', because it's a complex fruit, and it's shiny.
If you've already completed a tutorial, it will count towards your progress in every course it features in.
Q: Do the prompts count towards my progress?
A: At the end of the modules, you'll often find a prompt. These might, for example, suggest you pause to reflect, or take an action to build on what you've just done.
These prompts are optional, and whilst they've been designed to help you to deepen your learning experience, they don't count towards your overall progress on the Course.
Q: Where can I find my bookmarked Courses?
A: If you find a Course you'd like to bookmark for later, you'll find the option to bookmark it at the bottom of the Overview page. Alternatively, you can enroll on the Course.
You can then find Courses you've bookmarked, and Courses you're enrolled on, on your Profile page.
Q: What other new features will be added to Courses?
A: This Course Library is a new feature, and our web team's still working on a few developments, including:
- The ability to search a tutorial on the Course Library page and see all the Courses it features in
- To show on a Tutorial page which Courses that tutorial features in
- The ability to see the exact percentage
Q: What happened to the old Tutorial Courses?
A: The previous Courses were simply a recommended order in which to take the tutorials if you wanted to focus on developing your skills in a particular subject. The old Tutorial Courses didn't link the tutorials to other helpful content in the site to help you further develop your skills, and there wasn't a way to track your progress. If you were following the old format Tutorial Courses, and want to see the order the information was in, you can find it here.
Q: Where can I share feedback about Courses?
A: We'd love to hear your feedback about Courses!
Whether you love this new feature, you have suggestions for further developments, or if anything isn't clear to you or isn't working the way it should, please hop over to this forum thread and let us know.