December 21, 2023

Optional Activities Do Not Issue Learning Records (Bug Fix)

An issue was introduced in 4.1.6.3 where optional activities (e.g. activities within a course not required as per the "Course Completion" settings) do not issue a learning record. While the database correctly marks the user as having completed the activity, the "Learning Records" report does not. This only affects systems that were upgrade to 4.1.6.3. As part of this software fix, optional activities going forward will now issue learning records as expected. Note that this software fix will not retroactively issue learning records for optional activities. It is therefore recommended that systems that had upgrade to 4.1.6.3 upgrade to 4.1.7.2 as soon as possible to ensure that the Learning Records report accurately reflects a user's completion status.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/FIBiBw

_{Ref: HCE-7674
Fixed in: 4.1.7.2}

December 21, 2023

Availability of Additional Reports (Improvement)

Disparities were noticed between all systems powered by Dual Code in regards to the reports that were enabled and disabled. As part of this improvement, all reports are now enabled on all systems. As a general rule, most reports are only available to System Administrators or System Coordinators, but it is possible that instructors, supervisors, or even learners may now have access to additional reports.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/FYAX

_{Ref: HCE-3980
Fixed in: 4.1.7.2}

December 21, 2023

Support for Expiration Dates on Certificates of Completion (Improvement)

When designing certificates of completion, the administrator has access to numerous placeholders (a.k.a. special words) such as USERNAME and COURSENAME. When these placeholders are used, they are replaced by corresponding information for the user and course in question when the certificate is issued. As part of this improvement, the placeholder EXPIRATION_DATE can be used to display the expiration date of the learning record on a certificate of completion.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/CwBLBg

_{Ref: HCE-7673
Fixed in: 4.1.7.2}

December 21, 2023

Program Notifications Refer to Hidden Courses (Bug Fix)

When a program is configured to send notifications to users about upcoming (or past) due dates, hidden courses are referenced in the notification. While the recommendation is that administrators remove courses from programs if they are no longer available to learners, this software fix will ensure that program notifications no longer reference hidden courses.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/BoGGCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7621
Fixed in: 4.1.7.2}

December 19, 2023

Course Creators Can Manage Course Categories (New Feature)

Users with the Course Creator role can now manage (add, edit or delete) course categories within the context of their role. If the role is assigned at the system level, than the Course Creator can modify any course category in the system. If the role is assigned in the context of a course category, then the Course Creator can only manage that category (and sub-categories). As a result of this change, if a user is assigned the role of Course Creator at the system level, they will see an option to "Add a new course" directly under Site Administration > Courses and will no longer need to go to the "Manage courses and categories" area to add new courses.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/PQBLBg

_{Ref: HCE-7667
Fixed in: 4.1.7.2}

December 18, 2023

Ability to Modify the Location and Custom Face-to-face Fields  (New Feature)

The learning environment allows you to set valid values for the face-to-face "Location" field, and to define new custom fields. Once these fields are created, they will appear in the "Event Details General" section of the face-to-face session (usually just above the "Additional details" text area). These fields can be made visible to end users when they view the session details and incorporated in notification messages (e.g. emails).

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/GAD5AQ

_{Ref: HCE-7576
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Badges are Aggregated when a User Receives a Learning Record (Improvement)

A single activity can have multiple completion criteria. For example, in order to complete a SCORM, an instructor might specify that the learner must (a) view the activity, (b) receive a grade, (c) that the grade must exceed a required minimum score, (d) require a status of "passed" from the SCORM package itself, and (e) require all scos to return completion status. This would result in 5 badges on the course outline page for that single activity. While viewing those details is important when a learner is in progress of completing the activity to properly communicate what they need to do, after the learner receives a learning record, that information becomes less important. As part of this improvement, once a learner receives a learning record for an activity, the badges are aggregated into one (1) badge that simply says "Done: Complete". When the user is asked to get recertified, the 5 badges will once again appear.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/_IClBQ

_{Ref: HCE-7657
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Learners can Scan a QR Code To Mark Themselves as Having Attended a Face-to-face Session (New Feature)

Learners can now mark themselves as having attended a face-to-face session by scanning a QR code using their mobile device. This marks their attendance as "Fully attended". By allowing users to self-attest, the instructor no longer has to manually enter everyone's attendance.  The attendance however is not automatically "approved". The instructor must still approve the timesheet and in doing so, has the opportunity to change someone's attendance before their final approval. 

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/CYDXAg

_{Ref: HCE-7551
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

System Administrators' Limit for File Size Increased to 5GB (Improvement)

Instructors can upload files (e.g. SCORM packages) that are up to 1GB in size. As part of this improvement, System Administrators can now upload files as large as 5GB in size. This implies that if an Instructor needs to upload a file >1GB but <5GB, they must ask a System Administrator to do it on their behalf. If the file is >5GB, the team should consider breaking the file into multiple files or compressing it.

_{Ref: HCE-7600
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

All Badges Show "Done" but Activity is Not Marked as Complete (Bug Fix)

When using the "Supporting Documentation" activity, it's possible to end up in a scenario where all the activity completion badges show "Done", but the activity itself is not marked as complete. This is caused by the fact that the supported documentation uploaded by the user has been rejected by the instructor and therefore, the activity is (accurately) not marked complete. As part of this software fix, a red badge now visually indicates to the learner that the activity is in fact not complete and that they must submit another file..

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/uQDyBw

_{Ref: HCE-7634
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Completion Status Report is Ignoring Pagination when Applying Filters (Bug Fix)

The Completion Status report, which is currently in Beta, supports pagination. When first / last name filters are applied to the page, the pagination is ignored, thereby presenting a large number of users on the page. If a course contains thousands of users, trying to display them all at once may cause memory issues either on the server or in the browser and the report may not load properly. As part of this software fix, pagination is now respected even when filters are applied. 

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/HQFeCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7649
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Notifying Users when their Enrolment is About to Expire with the Self Enrolment (Advanced) Method (New Feature)

The "Self-enrolment (Advanced)" method is now able to send a notification to learners, instructors, or both learners and instructors when their enrolment is about to expire. Following the upgrade of your learning environment, courses that already use the "Self-enrolment (Advanced)" enrolment method will not automatically start sending notifications, but if the enrolment method is added to a new course or an existing course, the enrolment instance will be configured to notify learners by default 7 days before their enrolment expires. The notification will be sent via email as well as using the system's built-in web notifications. 

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/WQC3CQ

_{Ref: HCE-5885
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Uploading Users to Programs using a CSV File Will Add Them to All Matching Programs (Improvement)

A System Administrator can register users in programs using a CSV file. They can simply enter the program ID in the CSV file as explained in this article. While the article is clear that the program ID to be included in the CSV file should reference the primary key of the program (i.e. the auto-incremented ID generated by the database, not the "ID Number" field that you manually enter in the web form), the system does have the ability to look up programs by its "ID Number" if the value is non-numeric. (This fall back approach is not documented and not officially supported and we do not recommend that you use it.) Because the program "ID Number" is not guaranteed to be unique, one of the caveats is that this method could result in more than 1 program being found. If multiple programs match the "ID Number" in the CSV file, the system would only assign the user to the 1st program it found (e.g. randomly). As part of this improvement, the system will now register users in ALL programs that match the "ID Number" in the CSV file.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/WQC3CQx

_{Ref: HCE-7125
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Automatic Tracking of Attendance and Participation in BigBlueButton (New Feature)

The BigBlueButton server is now sends details back to the learning environment related to the attendance and participation of learners in BigBlueButton sessions. This makes it possible for an instructor to specify how long the user must attend a session in order to receive a learning record, and whether or not they need to participate in the chats, the talks and the polls to name a few examples. When a participant meets the requirements as defined by the instructor, the learning environment will grant them a learning record for the BigBlueButton activity in question, which can then be used by the course itself to issue a learning record and a certificate of completion.  Please note that this feature has been gradually introduced to BigBlueButton servers hosted by Dual Code since July 2023 but it is only now generally available to all Dual Code clients.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/G4GqAg

_{Ref: HCE-7610
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Built-in Technical Support Page for Users (New Feature)

The learning environment now includes a web form that makes it easier for learners to contact your technical support team. The form allows them to enter their name and email address, both of which are automatically captured if the users are logged in. The users can also specify a subject line and a detailed message. When linking to the web page (e.g. using a "Help", "Technical Support" or "Contact Us" link in the top navigational bar), the page will present the form to the learner, or redirect them to an external technical support page if one is configured via the "Support page" setting.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/FQC3CQ

_{Ref: HCE-7456
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Ability to Track Courses Accredited by the Canadian Nurses Association (Improvement)

The Accreditation feature allows you to specify the accrediting body, the type of credit, and the number of credits / hours for a course. This information can then be included in a certificate of completion, thereby giving a learner the proof they need to register their credit with their College or other association. As part of this enhancement, the "Canadian Nurses Association" now appears in the list of accreditation bodies, allowing you to track courses accredited by the CNA.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/WwAgC

_{Ref: HCE-7609
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

New Report in the Performance Appraisal System (New Feature)

The Performance Appraisal System now features a new report called "Completion Rates". The new report provides you statistics, organized by Appraiser, on the appraisal forms such as the total number of forms assigned to the Appraiser, the total number of forms completed, in reviews and locked, and so on.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/K4AVCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7601
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Renaming of the "Manager" column in the Performance Appraisal Report (Improvement)

The "Completion Details" report that is part of the Performance Appraisal System had a column titled "Manager". The title of the column is ambiguous because "Manager" could represent the user's Supervisors or the person who evaluated the user (e.g. the "Appraiser"). To clarify the meaning of the information inside column, the title of that column is now "Appraiser".

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/K4AVCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7578
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Uploading User Information to a Field of Type Date/Time is Ignored Under some Specific Conditions (Bug Fix)

If you have defined an 'optional' (i.e. not required) custom user profile field of type date/time, and you have one or more pre-existing users in the system that do not have values for this newly created custom profile field, you cannot set/update that value for those users through a CSV user upload.  The value you specify in the CSV file for that field will be ignored. As part of this software fix, the user upload will not process and store the date/time as expected. 

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/zgAG

_{Ref: HCE-7472
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Changing a Program from "Do not assign roles" to Assigning a Role such as Student Uses the Wrong Enrolment Method (Bug Fix)

If a program is set to not assign any roles (where "Assign the role of" is set to "Do not assign roles") and it is later changed to assign the role of student, the user is enrolled in the course using the "Manual" enrollment method. This makes it difficult to track which program assigned the user to the course and may also prevent the user from being tracked in the compliance reports. As part of this software fix, if a program changes from "Do not assign roles" to "Assign the role of: Student", the system will enrol the user in the course using the program enrolment method.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/BIAM

_{Ref: HCE-7582
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Encrypting CSV Files for User Uploads (New Feature)

The system now supports GPG decryption for CSV files used for user uploads. If enabled, a public key will appear on the "Encryption" page in the system. This key must be used to GPG encrypt your CSV files before uploading them to the system. Please note that even if you choose not to GPG encrypt the CSV file, the file is still protected using TLS 1.2 or greater and high-grade encryption (256 bit) while being uploaded to the server (i.e. in transit) and encrypted with a data key using an industry-standard AES-256 algorithm while on the server (i.e. at rest).

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/0IGGCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7599
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Sorting the Learning Records Report by Certain Columns Generates an Error (Bug Fix)

When sorting the Learning Records by columns that contain user information that are not available in the report by default (e.g. username, department) , the report generates an error. As part of this software fix, any standard user field that is added to the report can now be used for sorting purposes. Please note that sorting by custom user profile fields however is not yet supported (but doesn't generate an error).

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/jgA5

_{Ref: HCE-6239
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

User Profile Field of Type "Static Text" is Conditionally Visible (Improvement)

The "Static Text" custom user profile field allows you to display read-only information on the self-registration page and/or edit profile page such as a welcome message or special instructions. As part of this improvement, the "Static Text" field can now be made conditionally visible. This means that the message or instructions that you display on the web page can vary depending on the option a user selected in a dropdown menu elsewhere on the page.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/oAAG

_{Ref: HCE-7562
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Improvements to the Attendance Sheet (Improvement)

When instructors print the list of attendees for a face-to-face session, the page being printed included unnecessary elements from the web page. As part of this improvement, these elements have been removed resulting in a nice printed page.

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/b4CGCQ

_{Ref: HCE-7496
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Search Function Redirects to Another Tab (Bug Fix)

When searching for cohorts, a search on the "All cohorts" tab would redirect the administrator to the "System cohorts" tab. If the cohort in question was not a "System" cohort, it would not appear in the list of results. As part of this bug fix, the search results are now displayed on the "All Cohorts" tab if they are performed from that tab as expected. 

Learn more here: https://docs.dualcode.com/x/YQCj

_{Ref: HCE-1358
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Moodle Plugin Updates (Moodle Update)

As part of our general development cycle, numerous 3rd party plugins available from the Moodle marketplace were updated. These include: availability_language, availability_role, atto_fullscreen, block_course_modulenavigation, enrol_coursecompleted, format_grid, mod_publication, and mod_zoom.

Learn more here: https://moodle.org/plugins/

_{Ref: Miscellaneous
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}

December 18, 2023

Moodle 4.1.7 Update (Moodle Update)

As part of our general development cycle, the HCE, which is based on Moodle, the world's most popular open-source LMS, has been upgraded to Moodle 4.1.7. 

Learn more here: https://moodledev.io/general/releases/4.1/4.1.7

_{Ref: HCE-7390
Fixed in: 4.1.7.1}