Introduction

Most E-Learning Platforms are developed to boost formal, structured learning, but Docebo Discover, Coach & Share allows you to implement the informal learning approach into your company’s holistic learning plan.

Channels are streams of topics that include courses and learning plans created by Superadmins. If you have activated Discover, Coach & Share, your custom channels can also include all of the assets uploaded by experts and users. Channels allow users to easily and quickly access content divided by categories. They can be shown as individual pages or as widgets on widget pages.

This article covers how to view, create and manage channels as a Superadmin. Please note that channels are not strictly related to Docebo Discover, Coach & Share, so even if you don’t have Discover, Coach & Share in your platform, you will still see some channels in your platform. Learn more about using channels if the Discover, Coach & Share module is not enabled.

Types of channels

In your platform, there are three types of channels:

• Built-in channels
• Custom channels
• AI-based channels.

Built-in channels are present by default in the platform and can be edited, but not duplicated or deleted. These are the built-in channels that you will find by default in your platform:

• Continue to watch and learn. This channel includes all of the courses or learning plans that a learner still needs to complete.
• New invitations and subscriptions. This channel includes all of the courses or learning plans in which a learner is enrolled.
• My learning activity history. This channel includes all of the courses or learning plans that a learner has already completed.

If you are using skills, you will also see the My skills channel. This is an AI-based built-in channel that will automatically be populated with content according to the skills selected by the learner, providing them with personalized, high-quality aggregated content with the help of artificial intelligence. Learn more on the My Skills channel. Moreover, you can create your own custom channels or AI-based channels. You can use custom channels to populate them with content of your choice, while AI-based channels will automatically be populated either based on all the skills available in your platform, or with a custom selection of skill sets. Learn more on creating and managing AI-based channels.

In the following chapters, you will find more information on how to create custom channels.

Please Note: All of the channels listed here are visible in every platform, regardless of whether Discover, Coach & Share is enabled or not. In these channels, only courses and learning plans in which the learner is enrolled will appear within the channels for a given learner unless the Show courses where users can self-enroll in channels setting in the Channels tab of the platform Advanced Settings menu is enabled (see the Self-Enrolling into Courses from Channels chapter of this article for more details).

Viewing and configuring channels

To create and manage channels, access your platform as the Superadmin, reach the Admin Menu, then select the Channels item from the E-Learning section. Remember that only Superadmins are in charge of creating and managing channels.

This is the main page of Channels Management, listing all of the channels available in your platform in the table of the Channels tab, all the info about the assets shared in your platform in the Assets tab, and all of the experts with the channels assigned to them in the Experts & Channels tab.

Let’s start by describing the Channels tab of the page.

Channels tab

In the Channels tab, you can filter the content of the table by clicking on the filter icon on the top left corner of the table to see the complete filter list and to make your selection. Filters are applied in real-time.

You can also customize the table layout in order to show only the columns that are relevant to you. Click on the Columns Management icon on the top left corner of the table to select the columns you would like to include in the table view. Use the cross icon to drag and drop the columns in the list, sorting them according to your needs.

When you need to look for a specific channel, use the free text search area on top of the table. 

All channels will be shown in the list of channels on this page. Every channel’s row shows the following columns: thumbnail, channel name and description, channel type, visibility, upload permissions, content, experts, and skill sets assigned to the channel, and the channel’s publication status.

• In the Thumbnail column, you will see the channel’s thumbnail
• In the Name, Description and Type columns you will see the channel’s name and description and the type of channel: built-in, AI-based, or custom.
• In the Visibility column, you will see the channel’s association with groups and/or branches. In order to assign a channel to specific groups or branches, access the channel’s page by clicking on its name. Here, in the Properties tab, reach the Visibility section, where you can configure the channel’s visibility.
• In the Upload Permissions column, you will see which users can upload content within the channel (everyone/everyone, with expert peer review/experts only). In order to give users permission to upload content within a channel, access the channel’s page by clicking on its name. Here, in the Properties tab, reach the Upload Permissions subsection (in the Details section), where you can configure the channel’s upload permissions by defining who can upload and publish assets to the channel. Please note that the Upload Permissions column is shown only for platforms that have activated Discover, Coach & Share.
• In the Content column, you will see how many pieces of content are assigned to the channel. Press the content icon to access the content tab on the channel’s page, where you will see all the content that has been assigned to the channel, along with the details of each piece of content. This column will only be populated for custom channels.
• In the Experts column, you will see how many experts are assigned to the channel. Press the expert icon to access the Experts subsection (in the Details section in the Properties tab), where you can assign specific experts to the channel. To manage experts, assign them to channels, and other options related to expert management, you can use the Experts & Channels tab of the page. Read more info in the dedicated section at the end of this article.
• In the Skill Sets column, you will see the number of skill sets associated with the channel. Click on the skill sets icon to access the Details area in the channel’s page, where you can customize the skill sets based on which the channel will be populated. This column will only be populated for AI-based channels.
• In the Published column, you can choose whether you want to publish the related channel throughout your platform pages or not. Click on the checkmark icon in the channel’s Published column to make the channel available. The green icon means that the channel is already visible and published, while an empty checkbox means that the channel is hidden and unpublished. You can press the checkbox again to hide (unpublish)/show (publish) the channel.

Please note: when you or your users edit an asset assigned to a channel and then save the changes, even if only the published channels are shown in the Channels box on the asset's edit page (and the published channels the asset is assigned to are checked), remember that the asset will still be assigned also to the unpublished channels to which you previously assigned the content (even if the unpublished channels are not shown in the Channels box on the asset’s edit page). When you as a Superadmin publish the channel to make it available into the platform, the channel will include all of the assets assigned to it when the channel was not yet published. 

Creating custom channels

To create a new custom channel, select the Plus button in the top right corner of the channels management page, then select New Channel. In the right panel that opens, write a name for your channel and select Custom Channel in the Channel Type section. Finally, press the Create and Edit button at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations, you have created your new custom channel! Now you can proceed with its configuration in the two tabs of the channel’s page, Properties tab (where you can customize the channel by changing/adding its name, description, and thumbnail, and by defining the channel’s details and visibility), and Content tab (where you can add content to the channel).

Properties tab (on the channel page)

Start from the Properties tab, General section. In the Channel Info subsection, you can add a description for the channel (and change its name, if needed). You can translate the channel name and description text fields in multiple languages using the multi-language selector tool, which is accessible from the globe icon in the top right corner of the section. Learn more about using the multi-language tool to create multi-language content. Remember that the selected language does not determine the language of the content in the channel, but just the language of the channel details. In this section, you can also see the type of channel, but you cannot edit it.

In the Thumbnail Composer section, you can compose your channel thumbnail by selecting an icon and color. Press the Change Icon button to browse the icons catalog and select your preferred one. 

Please note that a new icons catalog is available for your platform. Don’t worry, if you are using an icon included in the old catalog, you can continue using it. Instead, if you choose and save a new icon from the new catalog, you cannot use your old icon anymore.

To customize the color of the icon and the background, press the pen icon in the corresponding box, then choose a color from the color wheel. Select the tone by clicking on the square. You can also write the color code in the related box if you already have a specific color in mind.

Scroll down to the Details section in the Properties tab. Here, in the Sorting field, choose how you want to sort the channel items, either by item name (A-Z or Z-A) or creation date of the content (newest to oldest or vice versa).

Then, in the Upload Permissions subsection, define who can upload and publish assets into the channel. You can choose between the following options: everyone can upload and publish assets to this channel, everyone can upload assets to this channel but experts' peer review is needed before publication, or only experts can upload and publish assets to this channel. Please note that the Upload Permissions subsection is shown only for platforms that have activated Discover, Coach & Share.

In the Experts field, you can assign one or more experts to the channel by typing their emails, usernames, or names into the corresponding field. Please note that the text you insert is then searched in different user fields (emails, usernames, names, and other fields) and that only the first 5 results are shown in the dropdown list that appears during your search. Experts will be able to review the content uploaded by the users and, through the peer-review process, publish or reject the content.

Finally, in the Visibility section, define who can view the channel, all users, or specific ones (selected groups or branches). Please note that you cannot associate a channel to a single user. If you want to choose specific groups or branches of users who will be able to view the channel, activate the Custom Selection toggle, then type or select groups and/or branches in the corresponding fields. Also, remember to configure the All Channels page or the page including a Channels widget into the user main menu to make it available to your users. Moreover, by enabling the Cohorts option, you can customize the visibility of your groups and the content you share with them.

Content tab (on the channel page)

Switch now to the Content tab, where you will be able to assign content to the channel. Select the Plus (Assign Content) button in the top right corner. A right panel will open, where you can switch between two tabs (Courses and Learning Plans tab and Assets and Playlists tab) to select content to assign to the channel. Once you have selected the desired content, confirm your action by clicking the Assign button at the bottom of the panel. The content you selected is now assigned to the channel.

Please note that when assigning a playlist to the channel, each piece of content already included in the playlist will maintain its visibility settings. This means that if a user does not have viewing permissions on one of the assets or courses in the playlist, they will not be able to view the asset or access the course from the channel into which you added the playlist either.

You’ll find all of the content that is assigned to the channel listed in the Content tab, where you can also view the content details: thumbnail, name, type of content, its creation date, the contributor who uploaded the content, and finally its status (published or unpublished). By clicking on the content’s name, you will access its page to view its details and edit it.

If you need to edit or unassign a piece of content from the channel, click the ellipsis icon at the end of the content row in the table listing the content, then select the corresponding option.

You can filter the content of the table by clicking on the filter icon on top of the table to see the complete filter list and to make your selection. Filters are applied in real-time. If you need to look for specific content, use the free text search area near the filter icon.

To publish the channel and make it visible to users, use the publishing bar at the bottom of the Properties tab, or press the corresponding checkmark icon in the Published column on the channels management page. Once finished configuring your channel and assigning content to it in the Properties and Content tabs, save your changes by selecting the corresponding button at the bottom of the Properties tab.

My channel

The My Channel page allows your users to view all of the content that they have uploaded in the platform and any playlists that they have created. You can add this page to the user menu to allow users to access it.

Self-enrolling in courses from channels

If users can self-enroll in some courses, and those courses are published in channels, they will be able to see them even if they are not enrolled. In order to see those courses, enable the Show courses where users can self-enroll in channels setting in the Channels tab of the platform Advanced Settings menu. When this option is enabled, learners can filter the courses included in channels using the Show only courses in which I'm not enrolled filter in the Enrollment Status filter area. When this option is disabled, that filter is not visible. 

Learners can self-enroll into courses from channels only if:

• the course enrollment policy is set to free
• learners have visibility on at least one catalog the course is assigned to

Remember that

• the courses under maintenance are not shown in the channels
• learners cannot see learning plans available for self-enrollment in channels
• the courses imported from the Content Marketplace and made available in channels are not filtered by the Show only courses in which I'm not enrolled filter even if they're available for self-enrollment.

Managing channels

You can manage or modify any of the settings that you configured when originally creating a channel at any time by clicking on the name of the channel or selecting the ellipsis icon and then choosing the Edit option in the channel’s row on the channels management page. In both cases, you will access the channel’s page, where you can manage all of the settings related to the channel and edit them.

If you need to duplicate, delete or move your channel to the top to reorder the channel list, click the ellipsis icon at the end of the channel row in the table listing the channels, then select the corresponding option, Duplicate, Delete or Move to Top. Remember that you cannot duplicate AI-based channels and you can neither delete nor duplicate built-in channels.

When duplicating a channel, in the right panel that opens set if you want to assign to the new channel the same content and the same experts of the channel you are duplicating. Use the Assign the same visibility option to determine whether the new channel will be visible to all groups and branches or will inherit the same visibility settings of the source channel. Click Duplicate at the bottom of the panel to create a new channel starting from the one you chose to duplicate. Refer to the Creating custom channels chapter of this article for any further information about configuring channels.

When deleting a custom channel, if your channel contains one or more pieces of content that are assigned only to the channel that you are deleting, a right panel opens, where you are warned about this situation. In fact, if you delete your channel, the content that is assigned only to it will be lost. In the right panel, you will see a table listing all of the channels in which you can move your content before deleting the channel. In this way, you can delete the channel without losing the content assigned only to this channel.

Please note: when deleting a channel you can move its content to another channel, however the questions and answers related to it cannot be moved to another channel and will be lost.

Channel view

When the channel configuration is over, click the Channel View button on the channel page to see how learners will see the channel. You can share the channel URL with all of the users of your platform. They will be able to access the channel as long as they have visibility permissions for it.  

Content visibility rules

Every channel created in the platform as described in the section Creating Custom Channels can hold different types of content. Both formal learning content (courses and learning plans) and informal learning content (assets and playlists) can be assigned to one or multiple channels, however, the system will display different content types according to a different logic.

While being granted visibility over a channel is sufficient for a user to see any informal learning content published in it, the same does not apply to formal content (courses and learning plans).

To be able to see a learning plan published in a channel they have visibility on, users have to be enrolled in the learning plan.

Users will only be able to see a course published in a channel they have visibility on if you have configured the Catalog Options section of course’s advanced options as follows:

• You have selected the Self-enrollment option in the Course Enrollment Policy section
• You have not selected the Show the course only to enrolled learners option in the Course Visibility in Catalogs section
• You have not selected the Self-enrollments are not available option in the Course Self-Enrollment section.

Assets tab

In order to manage the assets uploaded by users and experts, you need to reach the Assets tab on the Channels Management page. Here, you’ll see a table listing all the assets uploaded in your platform. Each asset row displays the following information:

• Asset thumbnail
• Asset name
• Asset type (image, video, PDF, link…)
• Creation date
• Name and surname of the person who uploaded the asset (the contributor)
• How many channels the asset has been shared with
• How many users the asset has been shared with
• If the asset has been published or not.

By clicking an asset’s name, you will be redirected to the edit page for that asset.

In the General tab of the edit page, you will be able to edit the asset’s details defined by the contributor when sharing the content. You will also find two additional settings (not available to users but only to Superadmins) to configure in order to allow users to add questions, answers and comments related to the asset (this setting is also available to experts) and to allow users to download the asset file.

In the Shared with People and Shared with Channels tabs of the edit page, you will find the list of users and channels the current and old contributors shared their asset with. If you want to share the content with new people or channels, press the Share button in the top right corner of the section. More about the Shared with People and Shared with Channels tabs. Let’s come back to the Assets tab on the Channels Management page. If you click on the icon in the Channels or the People column, showing how many channels and people the asset has been shared with, you will be redirected to the Shared with People and Shared with Channels tabs on the asset’s edit page.

If you want to edit, assign to or unassign from channels, delete an asset or change its contributor click the ellipsis icon on the right side of the asset row in the table, then select the corresponding option. You can also select multiple assets with a single action, by selecting the checkboxes next to the assets’ names or flagging the checkbox in the top row to select all of the assets on the page currently shown, and then clicking Choose Action in the bottom right corner to perform the same action on all of the selected assets.

Please Note: When changing the contributor of an asset, the new contributor will be able to edit the asset while the old one no longer has these permissions.

You can also filter the content of the table by clicking on the filter icon on top of the table to see the complete filter list and to make your selection. Filters are applied in real-time. If you need to look for specific content, use the free text search area near the filter icon.

Experts & channels tab

In order to manage the experts assigned to your channels, you need to reach the Experts & Channels tab on the Channels Management page. Here, you’ll see a table listing all the experts in your platform, and each expert row displays their username, full name, email address, and the channels assigned to them.

In the Assigned Channels column, you see how many channels are assigned to the expert. Press the channel icon to open a right panel where you will see the list of channels that have been assigned to the expert, along with the details of each channel. By clicking on the ellipsis icon on the right side of each row, you can jump to the channel to browse it or you can unassign the channel currently assigned to the expert.

If you need to assign one or more experts to one or more channels, select the expert from the table of the Experts & Channels tab, click the ellipsis icon at the end of its row and choose the Assign to Channels option (or select more than one expert using the corresponding checkboxes, then choose the same option from the Choose Action button at the bottom of the page). In the right panel that opens, select the channels you want to assign to the expert or experts you selected, then confirm your choice with the Assign button.

If you want a user to no longer be an expert, you can press the ellipsis icon at the end of the expert’s row and choose the Unselect Expert option (or you can also select more than one expert using the corresponding checkboxes, then choose the same option from the Choose Action button at the bottom of the page).

On the contrary, to make one or more user experts, select the add button (New Channel/Experts) in the top right corner of the channels management page, then press the Select Experts button. From the list in the right panel that opens, select the user or users that you want to make experts, then confirm your action with the Select button. The users you selected are now experts, and they are added to the table listing all of the experts.