The learning environment can automatically generate certificates of completion whenever a learning record is granted to a user for a course. When issued, a copy of the certificate is automatically emailed to the learner as a PDF attachment. They can also retrieve the certificate at any time via their Learning History report. That being said, there are circumstances when an instructor may prefer to use the "Simple Certificate" activity within a course. While this method is generally more labour-intensive because you need to add a "Simple Certificate" activity to each and every course, it may be necessary if you don't want to restrict the certificate of completion based on the receipt of a learning record.
Sample Certificates
Below are sample "Simple Certificates" created by Dual Code. You can download any certificate in an .mbz format and follow the "Step-by-step Guide" below to install it on your system. Once installed, you are free to modify the certificate (e.g. logo, background image, text, etc.) to meet your preferences.
Step-by-step Guide
NOTE: During the implementation phase, Dual Code may have implemented a certificate of completion for your organization. This certificate would have been given to you in an MBZ file. The step-by-step guide below will help you install this certificate in any of your courses. Alternatively, you can download the MBZ sample above if you don't have your own customized certificate of completion, or develop your own certificate from scratch using the steps and guidelines found later in this article.
To install a certificate of completion from an MBZ file:
- Go to the course in question
- Go to Course Administration > Restore
- Upload the certificate of completion (in .mbz format) to the "File" text area
- Click on the "Restore" button
- This will take you to a 7-page wizard. In the wizard:
Page 1. Click on the "Confirm" button
Page 2. Select the course in question and click on "Continue"
Page 3. Click on "Next
Page 4. Click on "Next
Page 5. Click on "Perform restore"
The certificate has now been added to your course.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You need to then edit the certificate of completion to set its restrictions. Without any restrictions, any learner will have access to the certificate, whether or not they completed it.
To develop a certificate of completion from scratch:
While we recommend that you use one of our templates above to develop your certificate, you can also develop one from scratch. To develop a certificate from scratch:
- Go to the course in question
- Turn editing on
- Click on "Add an activity or resource"
- Select "Simple Certificate" from the list of activities and click on the "Add" button
- Give your certificate a name (generally "Certificate of Completion")
- Develop your template by modifying each settings as per your preferences
- Click on the "Save and display" button at the bottom of the page.
Once the steps above are completed, you can click on the "Get your certificate" button to download your certificate in PDF format. If you want to modify your certificate, feel free to go back, edit the settings for the certificate in question and save it.
We recommend the following:
- If offering bilingual courses, we recommend you develop two (2) certificates: one in English and one in French. And then restrict those certificates based on the user's preferred language just like you would other activities. You can refer to Translating Courses articles for more guidelines on setting up a bilingual course.
- The "Certificate Image File" should be 1124px x 795px and include high resolution images.
- You may want to use basic CSS in the "Certificate Text" to format the text (e.g. color, font-size, font-style, text-align)
- Use tokens as much as possible. Try not to hardcode course titles on the certificate itself. By using tokens, you'll be able to re-use the certificate in other courses. (You can get a list of all the tokens available by clicking on the ? icon next to the "Certificate Text" when you're editing the certificate activity.)
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