2. Introduction

Welcome to online learning! Whether you have finished several courses or are embarking on your first course, this guide can help you navigate areas that are unique to the edX platform. The guide answers common questions about topics like getting started, participating in course discussions, and completing some of the exercises you may see in your course.

For more information, see the following topics.

  • Exploring Your Dashboard, Settings, and Profile - Provides an overview of the learner dashboard and includes information about how to change account settings and create a profile.
  • Course and Video Licenses - Explains the different kinds of licenses that may apply to your course.
  • Searching the Course - Describes how to search content inside your course.
  • The edX Video Player - Contains an illustration of the edX video player and its features.
  • Notes - Introduces the Notes tool, which allows learners to create bookmarks and write notes directly in the courseware.
  • Embedded Files and Calendars - Describes the use of Google Drive files and calendars in a course.
  • Certificates - Covers the different types of certificates edX offers, how to change your certificate type, and when you receive your certificate.
  • The edX Mobile App - Includes frequently asked questions about the edX mobile app for Android and iPhone.
  • Course Prerequisites - Describes possible prerequisites for a course, including other courses that must be completed before the course and entrance exams.
  • Entering Mathematical and Scientific Expressions - Offers detailed information about how to enter mathematical and scientific formulas when you work through exercises in your course.
  • Open Response Assessments - Contains a detailed description of open response assessment problems, including how to submit a response, perform each step of a self or peer assessment, and access your score.
  • Course Discussions - Provides information about how to participate in the discussions for your course, including how to add a post, respond to a post, and comment on another learner’s response.
  • The Course Wiki - Covers information about an edX course wiki.

This guide is still under development, and we encourage you to submit feedback to docs@edx.org.

2.1. A Note about Time Zones

As you work through your course, you will see dates and times when new materials are released and when homework assignments and exams are due. It is important to remember that edX lists all times in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you see a time in your course, we recommend that you use a time zone converter to convert the UTC time to your local time. You can use any converter that you want, including one of the following time zone converters.

Time and Date Time Zone Converter

Time Zone Converter