In this example, the beta testers cannot access all of the courseware when the beta test starts on 26 August: they can access section 1 but not section 2. You may want to provide a schedule of section availability to your testers so that they can plan their time appropriately. Future release dates do not display to the beta testers in the courseware.
In this example, the beta testers cannot access all of the courseware when the beta test starts on 26 August: they can access section 1 but not section 2. You may want to provide a schedule of section availability to your testers so that they can plan their time appropriately. Future release dates do not display to the beta testers in the courseware.
.. _Add_Testers:
.. _Add_Testers:
*********************************
*********************************
Add Individual Beta Testers
Add Beta Testers
*********************************
*********************************
Before you can add beta testers:
Before you can add beta testers:
* You need the email address or username of each beta tester.
* You need the email address or username of each beta tester.
* Each beta tester must register and activate a user account for that email address and username.
* Each beta tester must register and activate a user account for that email
address/username.
To add a single beta tester:
When you add beta testers, note the following.
#. View the live version of your course.
#. Click **Instructor** then **Try New Beta Dashboard**.
#. Click **Membership**.
#. In the **Administration List Management** section, use the drop-down list to select **Beta Testers**.
* If the beta test starts before the course **Enrollment Start Date**, testers
cannot enroll themselves in your course. However, you can enroll the beta
#. Under the list of users who currently have that role, enter an email address or username and click **Add Beta Tester**.
testers prior to the **Enrollment Start Date**.
* If the beta test starts before the course **Enrollment Start Date**, testers cannot enroll themselves in your course. You can enroll the beta testers prior to the **Enrollment Start Date**. See :ref:`Enrollment`.
* If you add the beta testers after the defined start of the beta test, and they are enrolled in the course, they see your course on their dashboards when they log in.
* If you add beta testers before the test starts, or if they are not enrolled, they do not see your course on their dashboards. You may need to enroll them or send an email message to remind them when the test begins.
* If you add the beta testers after the defined start of the beta test, and
they are enrolled in the course, they see your course on their dashboards when they log in.
To remove the Beta Tester role from users individually, find the user in the list of beta testers, and then click **Revoke access** to the right of that user's email address.
* If you add beta testers before the test starts, or if they are not enrolled,
they do not see your course on their dashboards. You can enroll the beta
testers in the course yourself, and you may want to send an email message to
remind them when the test begins.
.. _Add_Testers_Bulk:
.. _Add_Testers_Bulk:
*********************************
--------------------------
Add Multiple Beta Testers
Add Multiple Beta Testers
*********************************
--------------------------
If you have a number of beta testers that you want to add, you can use a "batch add" option to add them all at once, rather than individually. With this feature, you can also send an email message to notify the beta testers that they have been added.
To use this feature:
If you have a number of beta testers that you want to add, you can use the "batch
add" option to add them all at once, rather than individually. With this
* You need the email address of each beta tester.
feature, you have options to enroll the beta testers in the course (before
or after the **Enrollment Start Date**) and send an email message to notify the
* Each beta tester must register and activate a user account for that email address.
beta testers that they have been added.
To add multiple beta testers:
To add multiple beta testers:
...
@@ -219,22 +212,46 @@ To add multiple beta testers:
...
@@ -219,22 +212,46 @@ To add multiple beta testers:
#. Click **Membership**.
#. Click **Membership**.
#. In the **Batch Beta Testers** section of the page, enter one or more addresses separated by commas or line feeds (the Enter key). You can also copy data from a CSV file of email addresses and paste it here.
#. In the **Batch Beta Tester Addition** section of the page, enter one or more addresses or usernames separated by commas or line feeds (the Enter key). You can also copy data from a CSV file of email addresses and paste it here.
#. To enroll the beta testers in your course, leave **Auto Enroll** selected. If the beta test starts before the course **Enrollment Start Date**, testers cannot enroll themselves in your course.
#. Optionally, check the **Notify users by email** checkbox to send an email message to the beta testers. The text of the message is:
#. To send an email message to the beta testers, leave **Notify users by email** selected. An example of the message that is sent to a beta tester who is not enrolled (or auto enrolled) in the course follows.
.. image:: ../Images/Beta_tester_email.png
.. image:: ../Images/Beta_tester_email.png
:alt: "You have been invited to be a beta tester for <course name> at <URL>. Visit <link> to join the course and begin the beta test."
:alt: "You have been invited to be a beta tester for <course name> at <URL>. Visit <link> to join the course and begin the beta test."
6. Click **Add beta testers**.
6. Click **Add beta testers**.
* If the beta test starts before the course **Enrollment Start Date**, testers cannot enroll themselves in your course. You can enroll the beta testers prior to the **Enrollment Start Date**. See :ref:`Enrollment`.
To remove the Beta Tester role from one or more users, enter their email
addresses in the **Batch Add Beta Testers** field and then click **Remove beta
testers**.
.. note:: The **Auto Enroll** option has no effect when you click **Remove beta testers**. The user's role as a beta tester is removed; course enrollment is not affected.
-----------------------------
Add Beta Testers Individually
-----------------------------
To add a single beta tester:
#. View the live version of your course.
#. Click **Instructor** then **Try New Beta Dashboard**.
#. Click **Membership**.
#. In the **Administration List Management** section, use the drop-down list to select **Beta Testers**.
* If you add the beta testers after the defined start of the beta test, and they are enrolled in the course, they see your course on their dashboards when they log in.
#. Under the list of users who currently have that role, enter an email address
or username and click **Add Beta Tester**.
* If you add beta testers before the test starts, or if they are not enrolled, they do not see your course on their dashboards. You may need to enroll them or send an email message to remind them when the test begins.
If the beta test starts before the **Enrollment Start Date** of your course,
you can also enroll the beta tester. See :ref:`Enrollment`.
To remove the Beta Tester role from one or more users, enter their email addresses in the **Batch Add Beta Testers** field and then click **Remove beta testers**.
To remove the Beta Tester role from users individually, find the user in the
list of beta testers, and then click **Revoke access** to the right of that
user's email address.
.. _Issue_Reporting_During_Course:
.. _Issue_Reporting_During_Course:
...
@@ -246,7 +263,7 @@ Despite the efforts of the course team and the beta testers, additional problems
...
@@ -246,7 +263,7 @@ Despite the efforts of the course team and the beta testers, additional problems
* Often, students report issues by asking questions in a discussion. Your discussion administration team can watch for posts that indicate problems.
* Often, students report issues by asking questions in a discussion. Your discussion administration team can watch for posts that indicate problems.
* To let students know the best way to report problems, you can post information on the Course Info page or post it in a discussion.
* To let students know the best way to report problems, you can post information on the **Course Info** page or post it in a discussion.
.. per Mark 19 Feb 14: eventually we want to provide more guidance for students: course issues > use discussions, platform issues > submit issue to edx.
.. per Mark 19 Feb 14: eventually we want to provide more guidance for students: course issues > use discussions, platform issues > submit issue to edx.
