3. Managing Student Enrolment
After logging in with their HKEdCity account via the IDEALS-Portal, students are only "authenticated users" on the iLAP learning platform and cannot access any course content. Teachers need to enrol students into courses using one of the available "enrolment methods".
Below are two commonly used enrollment methods:
- Manual enrollment
- Cohort sync
3.1 Manual Enrolment
This method is more suitable for enrolling individual students into a course, but you can still select more than one student at a time.
3.1.1 Go to the "Participants" page of the course
After logging in to the iLAP homepage, teachers can enter a target course either directly from the "My Courses" section on the homepage or by browsing the course categories list.
For example, in the image below, select this course:
In the course menu, click on "Participants" to enter the "Enrolled users" page.
Teachers can manually enrol students using either of the two methods described below.
3.1.2 Method 1: Quick Enrolment ("Enrol users" button)
On the "Enrolled users" page, click the "Enrol users" button.
In the "Enrolment options" window:
- Select users: In the "Select users" field, enter the student's name, username, or email address to search and select the user.
- Select cohort: This option is similar to using "Cohort sync," but it is not recommended to use this here.
- Assign role: In the "Assign roles" dropdown, choose "Student."
After confirming your selections, click the "Enrol selected users and cohorts" button to complete the process. The students will immediately become members of the course with the "Student" role.
3.1.3 Method 2: Detailed Manual Enrolment ("Enrolment methods" → "Manual enrolment")
On the "Enrolled users" page, select "Enrolment methods" from the menu on the left.
A list of available enrolment methods will be displayed (such as Manual enrolment, Guest access, Self-enrolment (Student), etc.). On the row for "Manual enrolment," click the "Manage" icon (the icon of a person with a plus sign 👤) on the right.
After entering the "Manage manual enrolments" screen, you can search for users on the right by entering their name, username, or email address to find the target student. Then, select the "Assign roles" option (default is "Student"), and click "Add" to move them to the "Enrolled users" list on the left.
Once completed, the enrolled student will be added to the course.
If you wish to remove a user's manual enrolment in the future, go to the "Manage manual enrolments" screen for that course. In the "Enrolled users" list on the left, select the target user, then click "Remove" to move them to the "Not enrolled users" list on the left.
3.2 Cohort Sync Enrolment
By using the "Cohort sync" enrolment method, teachers can automatically add all students from a school-defined cohort to a course.
The advantage is that whenever the membership of the cohort changes (students added or removed), the enrolment list in the course will be automatically updated. Teachers do not need to manually manage enrolments for each course, saving significant time and effort.
3.2.1 Creating a New Cohort
If your school provided the student list to the IDEALS team via HKEdCity’s EdData service before starting to use iLAP, we will have already uploaded the students and created cohorts, by classes, in iLAP for you. This allows teachers to assign cohorts to courses immediately, without needing to create them manually.
After logging in to iLAP, click "Site administration" → "Users", then under "Accounts", click "Cohorts".
On the "System cohorts" page, click "Add a new cohort" to create a new one.
In the future, you can return to this page to view, edit, or delete any "system" or "all" cohorts.
On the "Add a new cohort" page, fill in the required information:
- Name (required): Enter the name of the cohort.
- Context (required): Here you need to specify where this cohort will be available:
- System: Default setting; the highest level. The cohort can be used in any course (but this will increase the number of selectable cohorts in the list).
- A specific "Course category": The cohort can only be used in courses within this course category.
- ID number (optional): Assign a unique identifier to the cohort. This is useful when uploading users.
- Description: (Optional) Enter a description for the cohort.
After filling in the details, click "Save changes" to create the new cohort.
3.2.2 Using "Cohort sync" as the Enrolment Method
In the target course, click "Participants" in the course menu, then open the "Enrolled users" dropdown, and finally click on "Enrolment methods."
Switch to the "Enrolment methods" page, where you will see a list of existing enrolment methods (such as Manual enrolments, Guest access, Self enrolment, etc.).
At the bottom of the list, select "Cohort sync" from the "Add method" dropdown menu.
On the "Cohort sync" settings page, configure the following details:
- Enable: Default is "Yes".
- Cohort: Enter and search for the cohort you want to sync, then select the desired cohort from the results.
- Assign role: Default is "Student".
- Add to group: You may choose whether to add students to a specific course group, but it’s generally not recommended to manage this here.
After confirming the settings, click "Add method" to complete the setup.
After completion, students in the cohort will be automatically enrolled in the course. In the future, whenever the list of students in the cohort changes (members are added or removed), the course participants will be automatically synchronized.
3.2.3 Deleting a "Cohort sync" enrolment method
If you need to remove this enrolment method, return to the "Enrolment methods" page. Find the cohort sync method you wish to remove, and click the "trash can" icon on the right to delete it.
On the confirmation screen, click "Continue" to complete the deletion of this enrolment method.
3.3 Handling Withdrawn Students or Transfer Students
Currently, all students use the EdConnect "Single Sign-On" service via their HKEdCity account to log in to the IDEALS-Portal, and then access iLAP. In practice, the student account is created instantly at the moment of login, so administrators do not need to create accounts in the iLAP backend in advance.
If a student leaves the school, simply remove the student’s account from HKEdCity. The student will then be unable to log in again; you do not need to take any further action in IDEALS-Portal or iLAP.
If your school has a transfer student, simply create a new student account in HKEdCity. The student can then log in to the IDEALS-Portal and access iLAP. Please note that after logging in, the student will only be an "authenticated user" and will not be able to view any content before enrolling in courses. For details, please refer to the two enrolment methods described in section 3, "Managing Student Enrolment".