Building a learning journey
Guides for creating learning journeys, choosing activities, writing content, and preparing the experience before launch.
66 articles
Getting started
Admin guides for getting started with learning journey design, journey types, personalization, comments, translations, and terminology.
- Building a learning journeyUnderstand what a learning journey is made of and how to start building one in Knowly.
- Individual learning journey vs. cohort learning journeyChoose whether participants should move through a journey together or on their own schedule.
- Internal comments in a learning journeyDiscuss a learning journey with other admins using internal Comments — on the journey, an activity, a slide, or a notification — and choose how often Knowly emails you about…
- Personalization using text variablesInsert a participant or manager's name, the learning journey name, and other details with the Personalize button, so one message reads personally for everyone who receives it.
- Setting your own terminology in a learning journeyAdjust role words such as manager, coach, or mentor so the journey matches your organization.
- Translating a learning journeyUnderstand how translated learning journeys work, what language settings do not change, and how to find and fix the gaps a translation pass leaves behind.
- Reordering activities in a learning journeyDrag to reorder activities in a learning journey, and understand the difference between journey order (what participants see) and scheduling order (when activities arrive).
- Fixing a save error in a learning journeyWhy you might get an error when saving a change in a learning journey — almost always an unsupported character or an over-long field carried in by a default, duplication,…
- Deleting an activity from a learning journeyWhat happens when you delete an activity — a micro-training, assignment, or survey — from a learning journey: it's removed for everyone and its results are lost, and the less…
- Insert from…: reuse an activity from another learning journeyReuse a single micro-training, survey, or other activity you've already built — copy it from another learning journey into the one you're working on with Insert from…, instead of rebuilding…
- What languages does Knowly support?How Knowly handles language: the interface languages Knowly provides, the content you write yourself in any language, and the add-on that translates an existing learning journey.
Activity types — what to add to a journey
Guides for choosing and configuring the activity types you can add to a learning journey.
- Assignment vs Micro trainingUse a Micro training to teach with slides; use an Assignment when participants must submit work. Only an Assignment can hold a required submission or manager approval.
- Assignments: asking participants to submit workUse Assignments to have participants submit work in Knowly. Covers starting from a saved template or a copy, submission-to-completion, and manager approval.
- Direct messages: an activity that just sends informationUse a Direct message activity to send participants or managers information at a specific point in a learning journey without asking them to complete anything.
- Editing assignment settings after activities have been sentOnce an assignment is sent, its submission type, manager approval, and audience lock. Name, description, and instructions stay editable — duplicate it to change a locked option.
- Knowledge tests: retake rules and pass levelsSet a knowledge test's Pass level (a percentage, default 70%) and Retake policy (no retakes, 1–10, or no limit) under Test settings. A retake shows the latest score, but a…
- Manager registration formThe activity that asks participants to register their manager — and how to make it mandatory with the Require manager registration setting.
- Micro trainings: building a multi-slide lessonHow to build a Micro training: add and arrange slides, add elements from the + menu (Content and layout, Questions, Advanced), what participants see, and previewing before launch.
- What activity types can I add?The activity types you can add to a learning journey: Micro training, Knowledge test, Assignment, Evaluation, Group meeting, Direct message, and Manager registration — and what each is for.
- What are knowledge tests?Knowledge tests are the activity type where Knowly grades the answers. Learn how they differ from micro-trainings and evaluations, and how participants take and submit one.
Inside a Micro training
Guides for building Micro trainings with slides, media, questions, coach tracks, and completion settings.
- Automated coach tracks: give every participant individual follow-up that builds on what they wroteBuild coach-style follow-up sequences at scale by chaining Micro trainings with the Previous answer element. Every participant gets individual follow-up that builds on what they wrote earlier.
- End-screen and completion behaviourWhat happens when a participant finishes a Micro training: automatic completion, the default end screen and its next-step prompt, and how to design a custom end screen.
- Slide elements in a Micro trainingReference of every slide element in a Micro training: text, media, questions, ratings, files, knowledge tests, threads, and the Previous answer (Visa svar) element for cross-journey reflection.
- What can I add to a Micro training?How a Micro training is built — sequences of slides made of elements like text, questions, media, and the Previous answer element for cross-journey reflection. Links to the full element…
- Previous answer: show a participant their own answer from earlier in the journeyThe Previous answer element shows each participant their own answer from an earlier Micro training in the same learning journey. Covers where to add it, picking the source question, and…
Threads in a learning journey
Guides for setting up thread categories and permissions inside a learning journey.
Evaluations
Guides for creating evaluations, improving evaluation questions, and planning follow-up.
- Creating an evaluationHow to create an Evaluation in Knowly: add Rating, NPS, Multiple choice, Open-ended, and Text block questions, mark them Required, set the name and interface language, and preview before launch.
- Using Kirkpatrick Level 3 to evaluate behavioral transformationsMeasure behaviour change (Kirkpatrick Level 3), not just satisfaction: schedule a follow-up Evaluation weeks later, ask Open-ended and Rating questions about real practice, and compare the two points.
- Tips for creating effective evaluationsTips for writing effective Evaluation questions: ask only what you'll act on, match Rating and Open-ended to the goal, keep one idea per question, use anonymity, and ask while it's…
- What are evaluations?What an Evaluation is in Knowly: an anonymous activity for feedback, built from Rating, NPS, Multiple choice, Open-ended, and Text block questions — and how it differs from a Knowledge…
Notifications
Guides for designing and editing notifications that learning journey activities send.
- Choosing email or SMS for a notificationSend a notification as email, SMS, or both — how to set the channel per notification, and why SMS needs organization SMS enabled plus a mobile number (or it falls…
- Which Knowly emails can I edit, and what can I change inside them?Whether you can edit a Knowly email depends on where it came from: a notification you write on a learning journey activity, or one Knowly sends automatically.
- Enhance participants' experience in learning journeysUse thoughtful messages and timing to make a learning journey easier to follow.
- Make the most out of notifications in KnowlyBest practices for learning journey notifications — clear purpose, steady rhythm, the right channel, and reminders — so you support progress without overwhelming participants.
- When Knowly notifications send — and why one might notWhen activity notifications go out, what they're tied to, and why an expected one might not have been sent.
- What notifications does each activity type send?What each activity type sends — the Invitation, deadline reminders, the assignment submission email to managers, and group-meeting notifications — plus how many emails a manager gets.
- Show managers which employee a notification is aboutShow each manager which of their employees a notification is about, using the Employees box, employee-name variables, and Send test.
- What's inside a notification: every element and what you can changeA reference to every part of a notification — subject, message body and its blocks, sender name, button, channel, SMS, and personalization variables — and what you can change in…
Media and files in a learning journey
Guides for adding video, images, audio, files, links, external content, accessibility details, and brand elements.
- Adding alt text and making media accessibleAdd alt text and a caption to images, use clear file names, and don't rely on colour or sound alone, so more participants can follow your media.
- Adding audio to a learning journeyAdd an Audio element to a micro training slide and upload an mp3 or m4a file. The audio element is available on selected plans.
- Adding GIFs to a Micro trainingAdd a GIF to a Micro training through the Image element — no separate GIF element or search. Covers supported formats, the 10 MB limit, and using motion sparingly.
- Adding images to a learning journeyAdd an Image element to a micro training slide: upload jpg, png, gif, svg, or webp up to 10 MB, crop it, and add alt text and a caption.
- Adding video to a learning journeyAdd a Video element to a micro training slide: paste a YouTube, Vimeo, or embed link, or upload your own mp4 or mov. Uploading your own file needs a plan.
- Collecting file uploads from participantsKnowly has no participant file-upload answer — assignment answers are text or a checkbox. Collect files via an external service and have participants paste the link.
- Adding links to a learning journeyAdd a link in a text block or on an end-screen button (external pages), or a direct-message button that can also point to the journey home, file library, a file,…
- File limits and accepted formatsWhich file types and sizes Knowly accepts: video (mp4, mov), audio (mp3, m4a), images up to 10 MB, documents up to 150 MB, and why a file won't upload.
- Knowly and SCORMSCORM is not a feature in Knowly. Host SCORM content externally and link to it from any Knowly activity, with the tracking trade-offs that come with that.
- Troubleshooting Microsoft Stream videos in KnowlyCheck Microsoft Stream permissions when a video works for admins but not participants.
- Troubleshooting video playback in KnowlyWhen a video won't play for participants: sharing permissions, network or firewall, an unsupported embed, or browser settings. Preview as a participant first.
- Sharing files with participants, and where they collect in ResourcesWhere the files you share live in Knowly: add a PDF or Word file inside a Micro training or on a Direct message button, and Resources collects them. You can't…
Designing for managers
Guides for designing activities and experiences that involve managers in a learning journey.
- Activities to design for managersAim an activity at managers by setting its Audience to Managers. Which activity types you can build for managers, which ones you can't (group meetings and sessions), and how manager…
- The manager's experience in KnowlyWhat managers see and do when they're included in a learning journey, plus how email cadence differs between cohort and individual journeys.
Duplicating
Guides for copying and scheduling a new learning journey from an existing one.
- Duplicate a learning journeyLearn when to use basic or advanced duplication for a learning journey.
- Magic duplication: every step explainedWalk through each step of the Magic duplication flow — Activities, Sessions, Schedule, Threads, and Settings — and what each one asks of you.
- Magic duplication: a ready-made schedule for your new learning journeyPick session dates when you duplicate a learning journey with Magic duplication, and Knowly generates a ready-to-use schedule for the activities around them.
Group meetings
Guides and examples for planning, creating, and following up on group meetings in Knowly.
- Create group designations for group meetingsCreate group designations, assign participants, and connect them to a group meeting.
- Peer sprints: run group meetings when participants start on different datesPeer sprint is a learning journey type that pairs peer group meetings with rolling starts, so participants who begin on different dates can still meet and work in small groups.…
- Tips before you create group meetingsDesign group meetings that are clear, useful, and realistic for participants.
- Examples of group meetingsUse four ready-made example formats when you want ideas for your next group meeting.
- How to create group meetingsSet up a group meeting, choose how booking works, and prepare the participant flow.
- Group leaderUnderstand what the group leader does before and after a group meeting.
Individual learning journeys
Guides for planning, creating, and running individual learning journeys in Knowly.
- What are individual learning journeys?Learn what individual learning journeys are, how anchor dates work, and when to use them.
- How to use individual learning journeysPlan individual learning journeys around anchor dates, reusable schedules, and repeated enrollment.
- How to create individual learning journeysCreate an individual learning journey, set the anchor date, and add participants on their own timeline.
- Individual learning journeys for onboardingUse individual learning journeys to give every new hire a consistent onboarding experience on their own schedule.
- Individual learning journeys for pre-boardingUse individual learning journeys to stay in touch with new hires between contract signing and day one.