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Managing Course Assets: Files, Updates, and Handouts

Share Announcements and Downloadable Resources with Learners

Overview

In Open edX Studio, keeping your learners informed and providing supplemental materials requires managing three distinct but connected components: Files & Uploads, Course Updates, and Course Handouts.

By hosting files directly within your course shell, you can reference them seamlessly within public student dashboards as structural handouts or link them inside specific learning units.

Tip: Ensure you possess course creation or staff administrative privileges and are logged into Open edX Studio before proceeding.

Phase 1: Uploading Files to Your Course

Before you can link to textbooks, syllabi, or supplemental spreadsheets anywhere inside your course (including Handouts), you must first host the assets on the platform server.

  1. Log in to Open edX Studio and open your target course run.
  2. From the top navigation menu, click the Content dropdown and select Files.

  3. Click the Add Files button. Select your file (such as a PDF, image, or spreadsheet) from your local computer, or click Choose a File to navigate your directory.

  4. Once the upload finishes, locate your file row within the registry list:
    • Studio URL: (Used primarily for embedding assets inside course units/components).
    • Web URL: (Used for cross-linking, external references, or Course Handouts). Click the Web button row to copy this direct path to your clipboard.

Phase 2: Add a Course Handout

Course handouts appear in a dedicated panel on the main Course tab dashboard in the learner's LMS view. This space is ideal for high-level documentation like grading policies, reading schedules, or software installation guides.

  1. In Studio, navigate to the Content menu and select Updates.
  2. On the right-hand side of the page workspace canvas, locate the Course Handouts panel block and click Edit.
  3. A code editor will open. Use basic HTML formatting rules to add your handout title text and pair it with the Web URL you copied during Phase 1.
    • If no handouts exist yet, an empty <ol></ol> container will display by default. You can use paragraph tags instead for a simpler look. For example:
      <p><a href="/static/Syllabus_Fall2026.pdf" target="_blank">Course Syllabus</a></p>
<p><a href="/static/Glossary_v3.pdf" target="_blank">Course Glossary</a></p>

    <p><a href="/static/Syllabus_Fall2026.pdf" target="_blank">Syllabus</a></p> <p><a href="/static/Glossary_v3.pdf" target="_blank">Course Glossary</a></p>
  4. Click Save. The handout list updates immediately and displays on the student dashboard.

Phase 3: Add a Course Update (Announcements)

Course updates are chronological announcements that learners see first when they open the course in the LMS. To add one, go to Content > Updates in Studio and click New Update. If you post multiple updates, only the most recent one appears on the course home dashboard; earlier updates are accessible on the learner's Updates tab.

  1. On the same Content > Updates page in Studio, locate the primary Course Updates column and click the New Update button.
  2. An HTML text editor will open. Type your announcement details directly into the editor.

    Note: The editor uses raw HTML rather than a visual (WYSIWYG) text editor. You can add basic HTML tags for formatting if needed.
  3. Accessibility Rule: If you leverage headings inside your announcement text row, use strictly level 6 headings (<h6>). The surrounding student LMS framework relies natively on heading levels 1–5, so utilizing level 6 maintains a clean accessibility outline for screen readers.
  4. Typography Rule: Proofread or paste your strings cleanly. Ensure quotation marks and apostrophes are left as standard "straight" values rather than stylized "smart" or "curly" formats to avoid rendering errors inside the browser parser.
  5. Assign the Timestamp: Pick your activation date using the calendar tool picker. Note: The LMS sorts announcements chronologically. If you post multiple updates, only the absolute latest chronological date entry populates directly on the home dashboard; earlier announcements shift gracefully onto the student's historical "Updates" sub-tab.
  6. Click Post.

Operational Verification and Testing

  • Verify the Student View: Log into the LMS platform using a separate student test profile or click View Live Version in Studio.
  • Check the course home page: Navigate to the course home tab. Confirm that your course update appears at the top of the page and that clicking each handout link opens the uploaded file in a new tab without a 404 error or missing-file indicator.