iLAP Management Guide for School (Remarks: Screenshots in English will be added soon.) The IDEALS system subscribed to by the school includes the school's own iLAP e-learning platform. This guide is intended to explain the settings that teachers need to pay special attention to when first using the system, including Course Management, Course Category Management, and Student Course Enrollment Management. 1. Course Management The iLAP platform organizes teaching and learning activities/resource around “Courses,” allowing teachers to freely create courses of different topics, levels, or subjects. Unlike some traditional teaching platforms that manage based on school, grade level, or class hierarchies, iLAP does not have a preset school structure. This enables teachers to arrange teaching content and groupings more flexibly. It is recommended that teachers name and design course structures themselves based on actual teaching needs when planning courses. This not only accommodates the school’s arrangements but also makes full use of the platform’s flexible advantages. This section is closely related to Section 2: Managing Course Categories, and the reading order can be switched. If you wish to organize course categories and levels first, you may refer to that section of the guide beforehand. 1.1 Create a course After logging into iLAP and entering the homepage, first select any course category to serve as the "parent category" for the new course. After entering the course category, click the "Create a course" button at the top left. On the "Add a new course" form, fill in the basic course information. Only three fields are required: Course full name : The detailed name of the course (e.g., S1 Robotics Design 2025-2026) Course short name : Used when interface space is limited, such as in page paths, and must be unique within the platform (e.g., Robotics_2526) Course category : (Already selected) All other settings are optional. The following explains some commonly used settings: Course visibility : If you want to hide the course from students initially, you can select "Hide". Course start/end date : If you want students to only access the course within a specific period, you can set a time range. Course summary : You can enter a brief course introduction to let students and teachers know the details of the course. Course image : This optional image will be displayed as decoration under "My Courses" and on the homepage. You can upload an image yourself, just drag and drop the image into the dashed box. You can also click the dashed box to open the "File Picker," then click "Course Images" on the left, where some default images are provided for users to use freely. Course format : The default "Custom sections" should be suitable for most situations. You may want to increase or decrease the "Number of sections" (default is 4). This number determines how many sections are available in the central area of the course layout for you to organize activities and resources. After completing the settings, please click the "Save and display" button at the bottom of the page to view the course page. You should now see the main page for the newly created course. You can click "Settings" at any time to make changes to the course settings. The next step you may want to take is to enroll students to the newly created course. Please refer to the Student Enrollment Management Guide. 2. Manage Course Categories If your school has its own dedicated iLAP platform, the organization and categorization of courses can be configured by the school as needed using the "Course Categories" feature. Please refer to the following pages for instructions on how to do this. 2.1 Preface What are Course Categories? Course categories are a structure used by iLAP to organize and categorize courses. You can think of course categories as "folders," with the courses being the files within those folders. By creating different course categories, schools can manage all their courses in a more organized way, allowing teachers and students to quickly find the courses they belong to. Why should course categories be well planned? A well-structured course category system can provide the following benefits: Improved search efficiency: Users can quickly find the courses they need, reducing confusion and duplicate course creation. Easier permission management: Different management permissions can be set based on course categories, so that relevant teachers or administrators only manage their own courses. Easier future expansion: As the number of courses increases, a well-organized structure makes it easier to add or adjust courses. Enhanced overall user experience: Both students and teachers can teach and learn within a clear structure, increasing satisfaction. 2.2 Course Category Planning Recommendations Common Categorization Methods When planning course categories, it is recommended to classify based on the actual situation and future development of your school. Below are some common categorization methods: By Academic Year For example: 2024-2025 academic year, 2025-2026 academic year, etc. This is suitable for schools where course content differs significantly each year. By Subject or Discipline For example: Chinese, English, Mathematics, General Studies, Music, Physical Education, etc. This is suitable when there are multiple courses of the same subject across different grades. By Grade or Class For example: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, or Class 1A, Class 1B, etc. This is suitable for schools where each class has its own separate courses. Mixed Categorization For example: Categorize by academic year first, then create subject subcategories under each year; or categorize by subject first, then create grade-level subcategories. Examples of Course Category Planning Example 1: Categorized by Grade + Subject Primary 1 Chinese English Mathematics Primary 2 Chinese English Mathematics Example 2: Categorized by Subject + Grade Chinese Primary 1 Primary 2 English Mathematics General Studies Example 3: Categorized by Academic Year + Grade Year 2024-2025 Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3 Year 2025-2026 Primary 1 Things to Consider Before Planning School Size and Number of Courses: Take into account the total number of courses in the school to avoid having too many or too few categories, which may make management inconvenient. Future Expandability: Reserve space for adding new courses or grades in the future to avoid needing to overhaul the structure later on. Clear and Concise Naming: Category names should be simple and clear, making it easy for all users to understand. Permission Management Requirements: Consider whether different administrators or teachers need to be assigned to specific categories. 2.3 Basic Operations for Course Categories This chapter explains how to perform basic operations such as adding, editing, sorting, and deleting course categories on the "Manage Course Categories and Courses" page of the iLAP platform. 2.3.1 Accessing the Course Category Management Page After logging in to iLAP, go to the homepage and click "Site Administration" in the main menu at the top of the page. After entering "Site Administration" page, select the "Courses" tab, then click "Manage Courses and Categories." You will see a management interface as shown in the figure: on the left is the "Course Categories" tree structure, and on the right is the list of courses under the selected category. 2.3.2 Add a Course Category In the "Course Categories" section on the left, click the "Create New Category" button. When you first start using iLAP, there will only be one course category called "Default." You can edit or delete it as you wish. Fill in the Course Category Information: "Parent Category": Select the parent category for this category (the default is "Default," meaning it will be placed under Default, but you can also choose another existing category or "Top"). "Category Name": Enter the name of the new course category (e.g., "2024-2025 Academic Year" or "Mathematics"). Other optional fields can be filled in as needed. After completing the form, click the "Create Category" button. The newly added course category will be immediately displayed in the structure tree on the left. 2.4 Edit Course Category On the "Manage Course Categories and Courses" page (for instructions on how to access this page, please refer to 2.3.1), find the category you want to edit in the category list on the left. Click the "gear" icon (⚙️) next to it, then select "Edit" from the menu. After entering the edit page, you can change information such as the parent category and category name.  Once you have finished making changes, click "Save Changes" to update the information. 2.5 Sorting and Moving Course Categories If you have already manually sorted the course categories, using this function to change the order will prevent you from reverting to the original sequence. Please use with caution. For the number of course categories in a typical school, manual sorting is usually sufficient. On the "Manage Course Categories and Courses" page (for instructions on how to access this page, please refer to 2.3.1), you can use the sorting function at the bottom of the "Course Categories" section on the left. Select the categories you want to sort and sort them by category name, course name, or other criteria. To move a category, select the category you want to move, choose a new parent category from the "Move selected categories to" dropdown menu, and then click "Move." You can also adjust the order of categories at the same level by clicking the "arrow" icon under each course category.  To move courses, select the courses you want to move in the course list area on the right, choose a category from the "Move selected courses to" dropdown menu, and then click "Move." 2.6 Delete Course Category On the "Manage Course Categories and Courses" page (for instructions on how to access this page, please refer to 2.3.1), click the "gear" icon (⚙️) next to the category name on the left, then click the trash can icon (🗑️) labeled "Delete" in the menu. The system will display a delete confirmation screen, as shown in the image below. The screen will display: The category name A list of subcategories and courses contained in this category A "What to do" dropdown menu with two options: "Move contents to another category" (you can choose to move courses to another category to prevent data loss) "Delete all — cannot be undone" "Delete" and "Cancel" buttons The steps are as follows: Check the subcategories and courses contained in this category. If there are any courses that need to be kept, it is recommended to use the dropdown menu to move them to another category first. If you are sure you want to delete this category and all its contents, select "Delete all — cannot be undone," then click the "Delete" button. If you do not wish to delete, you can click "Cancel" to go back to the previous step. Note: Selecting "Delete all" will also delete all subcategories and courses under this category. Please proceed with caution. 2.7 Tips Course categories can be organized and structured according to the needs of the school, and can be single-level or multi-level, managed by the school itself. It is recommended that course category names be clear and concise, and avoid duplication. Before editing or deleting a course category, please check whether any courses under it need to be moved or preserved. You can use the sorting and moving functions to quickly organize a large number of courses or course categories, but if there are not many course categories, manual management is sufficient. If there are multiple administrators, it is advisable to coordinate with other colleagues/IT staff before making changes to avoid accidental deletions or mistakes. 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 enrollmentCohort 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 ".