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Open edX Studio Guide

Create, Organize, and Manage Course Content in Open edX Studio

Overview

Open edX Studio is the web-based course authoring platform where educators, instructional designers, and course administrators build and manage online courses. Studio provides a visual workspace to outline course structures, develop learning assets, configure grading rules, and publish finished modules directly to the Learning Management System (LMS).

Core Structural Layout

Studio coordinates content using a strict structural hierarchy, managed directly within the Course Outline view.

  1. Sections (Chapters): The highest level of organization (e.g., Week 1 or Module 1).
  2. Subsections (Sequential): Located inside Sections, these typically represent individual lessons or topics (e.g., Lesson 1.1). This is where assignment types and release grading parameters are assigned.
  3. Units (Vertical): Located inside Subsections, these represent a single page as seen by the learner in the LMS.
  4. Components: The interactive building blocks placed inside a Unit (e.g., HTML text blocks, Videos, Problems, or Advanced components).

Primary Procedures in Studio

1. Navigating the Course Outline Workspace

  • Log in to Studio and click on your target course card from the main dashboard.
  • The system opens the Course Outline page by default.
  • Use the Expand All or Collapse All buttons at the top right to manage your view of the sections and subsections.
  • Drag-and-drop handles are available on the left side of every section, subsection, and unit row to easily reorder your curriculum.

3. Setting Course Rules and Parameters

Technical adjustments to how the course run operates are handled through the top navigation menus:

  • Schedule & Details (Settings > Schedule & Details): Configure course start/end dates, enrollment limits, certificate behavior, and define your course pacing model. 
  • Advanced Settings (Settings > Advanced Settings): Control advanced technical properties, feature flags, and add custom XBlock integrations, including advanced XBlocks.
  • Grading (Settings > Grading): Set passing scores, grade tracking weights, and manage assignment types (e.g., Homework, Midterm, Final).

4. Publishing Content to the LMS

Changes made in Studio are saved automatically as a draft until you publish them.

  • Preview: Click the Preview button at the top right of the unit page to see how your draft looks without showing it to enrolled learners.
  • Publish: Click the Publish button in the right-hand status panel to push your finalized content live to the LMS.
  • View Live Version: Click this button to transition immediately into the student-facing LMS player to interact with the published page.

Key Operational Best Practices

  • Component Reusability: When building modular text or exercises, utilize the Content Libraries system to house source content that can be easily pushed across multiple course runs simultaneously.
  • Staff Testing: Always utilize the View Live Version action to check your problem sets and ensure grading behaviors respond accurately prior to your course start date.