Topics – teacher's guide

1 Where to find topics

Topics structure the content of a course. They are created on the Topics tab of the course form. A course needs at least one topic before it can be saved.

Courses→ Course → Edit Course→ Topics tab→ ＋ Add Topic

This guide covers the topic’s own content: description, video links, material and additional links. Section 7 gives an overview of the topic’s task cards (quizzes, essay, peer review, video, mind map, Alaia tasks); the details of each task type are covered in their own guides.

2 Structure of a topic card

Each topic is a card of its own. The header row has the drag handle ☰, the topic number (e.g. #2), the title field and the action buttons ⧉ ▾ 🗑. Inside the card, Description comes first, below it Video links and Material side by side, then Additional links and, at the bottom, the topic’s task cards.

A complete topic card: header row, description, two video links, text material, two additional links and, at the bottom, the task cards (the Quizzes card summarises “1 quiz · 1 graded”; ✨ Alaia tasks on the second row).

3 Description

The description is a short introduction to the topic that the student sees with the topic. It is optional, but it helps the student get a picture of the topic. You can write it in two ways, chosen on the Text · HTML tabs:

Text – press “Edit text”, then write and format the text in the text editor; it appears as a preview in the card.
HTML – write or paste the description as HTML code. HTML with scripts, styles or embeds is shown to students in its own frame, as in the card’s preview.

Both tabs edit the same description. If the description contains scripts, styles or embeds and you press Edit text, the app warns that the text editor may remove them and offers the HTML tab (Open HTML tab).

4 Video links

You can attach one or more videos to a topic. Each video has an optional title and a URL. Supported video services (e.g. YouTube) are embedded for the student as a player they can play directly.

Two video links, each with its own title and URL. “×” removes a row, “Add video link” creates a new one.

Video title (optional) – if you add several videos, the titles are shown to the student as tabs.
URL – paste the video address (https://...). Embeddable services are shown as a player directly in the topic.
Add video link / × – add or remove video rows freely.

5 Material: link, text or HTML

The material is the main content of the topic, and you can give it in three forms. Choose the form from the Link · Text · HTML tabs. What gets saved is the form whose tab is selected when you save.

Link

Give the address of the material (e.g. a PDF, a web page or a shared file). The student is shown a material button.

Text

Write the material directly in the text editor (“Edit text”). Suits short theory sections and instructions that appear directly in the topic without a separate file. The preview shows headings, formatting and formulas.

HTML

Paste your own HTML code – for example embeds (iframe), interactive elements or your own markup. The field’s placeholder reads “Paste raw HTML here (iframes, embeds, custom markup).” The preview updates below the field in a frame of its own, where scripts also run.

HTML mode is powerful but calls for care: paste only trusted code. The preview helps you check that the embed displays correctly before saving.

6 Additional links

In addition to the material, you can attach several additional links to a topic – for example supplementary material, exercises or videos. The links are shown to the student with the topic.

Additional links are listed as chips with a × remove button. Give a title (optional) and a URL, and add with the Add Link button or Enter.

7 The topic’s task cards and quizzes

At the bottom of the topic card are six task cards: 📋 Quizzes, ✍️ Essay, 🤝 Peer review, 🎥 Video task, 🧠 Mind map and ✨ Alaia tasks. Click a card, and its editing view opens above the cards. The same click or ✕ Close closes it.

The bottom of each card shows a short summary, for example the number of quizzes (1 quiz · 1 graded) or the title of the essay assignment; an empty card shows a “not yet” note. So you can see at a glance what has already been added to the topic.

📋 Quizzes: automatic and graded in the same place NEW

Previously a topic had separate Quizzes and Hybrid quiz sections. Now both are found under the Quizzes card as two sections:

The Quizzes card view: an automatic practice quiz (deadline, Quiz, 🔒 Requirements, ✎, 🗑 and Lock after deadline) and a graded quiz (draft · 3 questions · 12 p., Edit) in their own sections, with the shared “+ Add quiz” button below. The card row also has ✨ Alaia tasks (None yet).

An automatic quiz row has the deadline, Quiz (opens the quiz builder), 🔒 Requirements (unlock conditions), ✎ (rename), 🗑 (remove) and the 🔒 Lock after deadline option.
A graded quiz row shows its status (draft / published), the number of questions and the points; Edit (Open when published) opens the quiz editor.

The “+ Add quiz” button first asks what kind of quiz you want to add:

What kind of quiz? In a saved topic you can choose an automatic practice quiz or a graded quiz.

In a new topic that has not been saved yet, the graded quiz is greyed out with the note “Save the course first, then you can add a graded quiz.”

⚡ Automatic practice quizzes – the student app checks the answers immediately. Tasks are chosen from the quiz task bank (Task banks → Quiz tasks) or drawn at random from a category; you can set a pass threshold and retakes for the quiz. See Practice quiz.
🧪 Graded quizzes (formerly hybrid quiz) – the student submits the quiz once and the teacher grades it. See Hybrid quiz / graded quiz.

You can add a graded quiz only to a topic that has been saved. When you add a new topic, save the course first – otherwise the Graded quizzes option in the dialog is greyed out.

Other task cards

✍️ Essay – + Add essay assignment; title, instructions, grading method, maximum points, type (essay, summary or learning journal), deadline and the 🔒 lock. See Grading essays.
🤝 Peer review – peer review assignments (+ Add peer review); requires the course to have been saved; the grading method is chosen in the peer review form. See Peer review.
🎥 Video task – title, instructions, maximum duration, the 🎙️ Audio only option, grading method, points, deadline and the 🔒 lock; 📥 View submissions opens the submissions. See Video task.
🧠 Mind map – a mind map assignment: title, instructions, grading method, points, deadline, an optional time limit and 🔒 Unlock conditions. See Mind map.
✨ Alaia tasks NEW – interactive practice tasks made by Alaia: + Add from my tasks or the bank or ✨ Create a new one with Alaia for this topic; each row has a mode (Scored / Practice), 📌 Required (shown in the student’s study calendar and counted in progress), Alaia help, answer display, an optional deadline and the 🔒 lock. The card is shown if the school’s AI assistant is turned on. See Alaia tasks.

Grading method: points or approved / rejected NEW

The essay, video task and mind map cards have the choice Grading: Points / Approved / rejected (for a peer review, the same choice is in the peer review form).

Points (default) – you give the work points out of the task's maximum points.
Approved / rejected – the max points field is hidden. You mark the work Approved, Needs revision (the student edits the work and submits it again) or Rejected (the student cannot submit a new version). Needs revision and Rejected require feedback, and you can change the result later. The work adds no course points, but once approved it counts towards the course progress.

You can move an essay, video or mind map assignment to another topic with ↔ Move to another topic. The students’ submissions stay with the assignment.

8 Course tasks inside a topic NEW

A course task can also be shown inside a topic. You choose this on the Tasks tab of the course form, in the task card's Show: Task list / In topic: [topic name] choice.

The student sees a task placed in a topic on the topic page in the Tasks section, after the description, material and quizzes. The card shows the title, deadline and status, and Open task opens the task prompt and the answer field inside the topic.
The task is not listed in the course's Course tasks panel; otherwise it works like any other course task (submission, grading, revision and completion).

The topic card has no task card of its own for course tasks. See Tasks and AI checking (section A task inside a topic).

9 Ordering and actions

The buttons and drag handle on the topic card’s header row help you manage the structure:

☰ Drag to reorder ⧉ Duplicate ▾ Collapse 🗑 Remove Topic

☰ Drag to reorder – drag the card to the position you want; the order of the topics determines the order in which the student sees them.
⧉ Duplicate – copies the topic with its content (handy for similar topics).
▾ Collapse – closes the card’s content so a long course stays manageable.
🗑 Remove Topic – deletes the topic. Remember that a course must have at least one topic.

You add a new topic below the list with ＋ Add Topic.

📘 See also: Creating a new course →