Taking a course

A course in Lurno is made of modules, and each module holds lessons and sometimes assessments. You work through them in order, one lesson at a time, and Lurno remembers which lesson you were on so you can come back to it.

This page covers opening a course, reading the course content list, what a lesson actually looks like, and why something might be locked when you get to it.

What this does

Opening a course gives you three things on one page: what the course is and who teaches it, the full list of modules and lessons with your state on each, and a Continue learning button that jumps straight to the right place. You never have to remember which lesson you were on.

Before you start

You need to be enrolled in the course. If you can see it in My Programs, you’re in.
Some courses only open on a date, or after you finish something else. The course page tells you which, and when.
Nothing needs downloading. Lessons run in your browser and save as you go.

Open a course

Select the course from Home or from My Programs.
The top of the page shows the course title, its subject and language, how many modules and lessons it has, roughly how long it takes, and its instructors.
On the right, Your progress shows a percentage and “X of Y lessons”, with the primary button underneath: Start learning the first time, Continue learning after that. The button also names the lesson it will open.

A lesson you have started but not finished counts for the part you got through, so the percentage moves as you work. A paused lesson’s row shows how far you got — “5 of 10” — beside its type and length. Half a lesson counts as half a lesson.
This course includes lists what’s inside — how many lessons, how many assessments. At a glance underneath it repeats the format, language, module count and duration.

If the course hasn’t opened for you yet, you’ll get a plain explanation instead of the content: what needs finishing first, or the date it opens. Nothing is hidden without a reason.

Where the course allows it, a Leave program button appears near the title. Leaving gives up your progress and can’t be undone, so it asks you to confirm. If the course doesn’t allow it, it says so and points you at your administrator.

Work through the modules

Under Course content is a vertical timeline. Each module is a numbered step:

A tick means you finished it.
A ring means you’re partway through — this one opens automatically.
A padlock means it isn’t available yet.

Select a module to expand it and see its lessons. Each lesson row shows its type (reading, video, assessment…), roughly how many minutes it takes, and its state. The one you should do next is tagged Up next, and its module is already open when you arrive.

Locked rows say what to do rather than just showing a padlock: “Finish an earlier step to unlock”, “Score ≥ 70% on an earlier step to unlock”, “2 requirements left to unlock”, and where a date is known, Unlocks 14 March. Open rows with a deadline show Due in 3 days.

Two things cause locks, and both are set up by your organization: release dates, where content appears on a schedule as the course runs (see Drip content), and prerequisites, where content opens only once you’ve completed or scored enough on something earlier (see Prerequisites).

Younger learners may see the same course as a colourful path of steps rather than a timeline. Same content, same order.

Inside a lesson

Selecting a lesson opens focus mode — a full-screen player with one thing on screen at a time. The rest of the app steps out of the way.

A progress rail across the top shows how many pieces the lesson has and where you are.
The back arrow at the top starts to leave the lesson — it opens the Pause screen described below. The list icon next to it opens Lesson contents, where you can jump to anything you’ve already reached; pieces you haven’t got to yet stay locked.
One button, always in the same bottom corner, moves you on: Continue, Got it, Submit, Next, or Finish lesson. It stays visible but disabled until the piece is done, so you always know what’s expected.
Keyboard: Enter or the forward arrow key advances, the back arrow key steps back, and Esc closes the contents drawer.

Lessons mix content and questions — readings, images, audio, video, documents, embeds, and many question types (single choice, true/false, select-all, fill in the blank, ordering, matching, sorting into groups, hotspot, numeric, short answer, essay, open response, upload your work, record your answer, flashcards and more). Each question says what it wants in one line, like “Select every answer that applies.”

Your answers save as you go, to Lurno’s servers rather than just your browser — so if you open the lesson again on another device, the questions you already answered come back with your answers on them. A small indicator in the header appears if a save is in flight or fails, so you’re never guessing whether your work landed.

Come back to a lesson you partly answered and those questions return marked Read only — your earlier answer is shown, but can’t be changed by accident. Files you added to an answer come back too, and selecting a file’s name opens it.

Written answers, files and recordings

Essay and Open response questions are marked by a person rather than automatically. Whoever wrote the lesson decides how you can answer: by writing, by adding files, or both. The line under the question tells you which — “Write your answer.”, “Write your answer. You can add files too.” or “Answer by adding your files below.”

Writing. You get a text box, sometimes with a hint inside it. Where the question has limits, a live count sits under the box — for example Words: 12 (15–60) · Characters: 80 / 400. Your answer has to fit before it’s kept:

Below the minimum number of words, you’re told how many to write: “Write at least 15 words.”
Over the maximum number of words or characters, you’re told what to keep it to: “Keep it to 60 words — your answer is saved once it fits.”

Until it fits, the answer isn’t saved and the lesson won’t move past the question. A question with no limits is a plain text box.

Files. There’s one area for each kind of file the question accepts, each saying how many files you can add and how big each one can be:

Area	What it accepts
Photos	PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF
Audio	MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG or WebM — or select Record to record straight from your browser
Video	MP4, WebM or MOV
Documents	PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, text or CSV

Drop a file on the area or click it to choose one. A file of the wrong kind, or one that’s too big, is refused before it uploads, and the message says why. You can remove a file you added until you hand the answer in.

What counts as an answer. Where the question sets a minimum number of words, you have to write, even if it also takes files. Otherwise some writing or one file is enough. Until then, the line under the question tells you what’s missing — “Write your answer to continue.”, “Add your file to continue.” or “Write your answer or add a file to continue.”

Saving. Once your answer meets the question’s rules it saves by itself: “Your answer is saved. Submit it for grading when it’s ready.” Leave and come back, and it’s there — read-only, with its files openable. If you left without handing it in, you can still hand it in.

Recording. If you move to another part of the lesson while recording, the recording stops by itself and keeps what you’d recorded. If you leave the lesson mid-recording, that unfinished recording is thrown away — record it again when you’re back.

Hand in your answer

Saving an answer isn’t the same as handing it in. Submit for grading hands it to whoever marks it. After that:

The answer is locked, and the question shows Handed in — “Handed in for grading. It stays as it is unless your teacher asks for changes.”
Once it’s been marked and the mark released to you, the question shows Marked, with your score where there is one — Marked · 7 / 10.
If whoever marks it asks for changes, the question shows “Your teacher asked for changes”, with their note about what to change. Your answer opens up again: change it, then select Submit for grading again. Your new hand-in replaces the one that was sent back.

Each question is handed in once. It only opens up again if you’re asked for changes.

Upload your work and Record your answer questions work the same way: add your file or make your recording, then Submit for grading. They show the same handed-in, marked and changes-requested states, and each is handed in once.

Once it’s marked and released, the result appears in My results with your other marked work. See Handing in work.

Getting help inside a lesson

On question pieces an AI help panel appears. It offers three things: I don’t understand (asks it another way), I need a hint, and Show me the answer — which turns into Explain the answer once used. It answers in the language the course is written in, even if the app is in another language.

Two things can switch it off. If your organization hasn’t turned AI on, the panel says it isn’t available. If you’ve withdrawn AI-processing consent in your account privacy settings, it tells you it’s off and points you at those settings. You also have to be enrolled in the course — nobody can use it to reveal answers for a course they’re not in. Replies are AI-generated and can be imperfect; the panel says as much.

Pause and pick up where you left off

Leaving mid-lesson opens a Pause screen with three choices: Resume lesson, Restart, or Save & exit. Your progress is already saved either way — pausing exists so you don’t lose your place by accident.

Coming back is automatic. The hero card on Home, the Continue learning row, and the Continue learning button on the course page all take you straight to the right lesson. The exact piece you’d reached is remembered on the device you were using, and kept for 30 days; after that, or on a different device, the lesson opens from the top with your earlier answers still filled in.

When you reach the end you get a completion screen showing how many questions you got right and the percentage. From there: Back to program to return to the course, Review answers to walk back through with the correct answers shown, or Review again for a clean pass through the lesson. Your course progress and module states update straight away, so returning to the course page shows the new percentage without refreshing.

Live sessions

If your course has scheduled live sessions, they appear in Upcoming sessions on Home and in your schedule alongside due dates and unlocks, each with its date and time. Anything happening today shows a Join button, which opens the course the session belongs to. How the session itself runs depends on your organization — see Meetings.

Reference

Term	What it is
Module	A section of a course, containing lessons and assessments
Lesson	One unit of content you work through in focus mode
Focus mode	The full-screen player showing one piece at a time
Up next	The lesson Lurno suggests you do now
Locked	Not available yet — because of a date or a prerequisite
Unlocks / Due	The date something opens, or the date it’s due
Read only	An answer restored from an earlier session, shown but not editable
Submit for grading	Hands a written answer, file or recording to whoever marks it. Once per question, unless you’re asked for changes
Handed in	The answer has gone to be marked and is locked

Troubleshooting

A lesson is locked and I don’t know why. The row itself says: either a date (“Unlocks 14 March”) or a requirement (“Score ≥ 70% on an earlier step to unlock”). Finish the earlier step and it opens on its own.

The course page says my progress didn’t change. Progress updates as you move through a lesson and again when you leave it, so give it a moment after exiting. If a save failed, the lesson header shows a warning icon — reconnect and reopen the lesson.

My percentage went up but the lesson still says “in progress”. That’s the point: partly-done lessons count for the part you did. The lesson is only marked complete when you’ve been through all of it, and only complete lessons count toward a certificate.

I can’t change an answer I gave before. Answers restored from an earlier session are read-only on purpose. Use Review again from the lesson’s completion screen for a clean pass through it. A written answer, file or recording you’ve handed in stays locked unless whoever marks it asks for changes.

My written answer isn’t saving, and I can’t move on. It doesn’t fit the question’s rules yet. The message under the box says what to change — write more, or cut it down to the maximum words or characters. If the question also takes files, check whether it sets a minimum number of words; if it does, a file alone isn’t enough.

My file was refused. It’s the wrong kind for that area, it’s bigger than the size shown, or you’ve already added as many files as that area allows. Remove one, or pick a file that matches.

My recording stopped on its own. You moved to another part of the lesson, so it stopped and kept what you’d recorded. If you left the lesson mid-recording, the unfinished recording was discarded — record it again.

Submit for grading has gone. You’ve already handed that question in. It only comes back if whoever marks it asks for changes.

A video, document or embed won’t play. Some embedded content is restricted to approved sources. Where that happens the player offers Open original so you can view it directly.

AI help isn’t working. It only shows on question pieces, and it needs AI turned on for your organization — otherwise it says it isn’t available. If you turned off AI processing in your privacy settings, it stays off until you turn it back on, and the panel tells you so.