Learning Paths

Learning paths let you create structured sequences of learning activities. A learning path guides your learners through a specific order of documents, exercises, links, and other resources, with optional prerequisites and progress tracking.

This tool is arguably the most used course tool, because it acts as a composer for many other tools and can very much be the only tool facing learners.

Why Use Learning Paths?

Learning paths are useful when you want to:

• Control the order of content consumption — ensure learners complete foundational material before advancing

• Track progress — see exactly where each learner is in the sequence

• Set prerequisites — require learners to pass an exercise before accessing the next section

• Award completion — link learning path completion to the gradebook and certificates

• Package content — create self-contained learning modules that learners can work through at their own pace

Creating a Learning Path

1. Open the Learning paths tool from the course homepage

2. Click Create a learning path

3. Enter a title and optional description

4. Save — you will be taken to the learning path editor

The Learning Path Editor

The learning path editor with the item tree on the left and content preview on the right

The editor has two main areas:

• Left panel — The list of items (steps) in the learning path, shown as a tree structure

• Right panel — The content of the selected item

Adding Items

Click Add an item and choose what to add:

Item type	Description
Section	A heading that groups related items (like a chapter title). Sections do not contain content themselves.
Document	A file or web page from your course's Documents tool
Exercise	A quiz or test from the Exercises tool
Link	An external URL
Assignment	A student publication from the Assignments tool
Forum	A link to a course forum
Survey	A link to a survey
Certificate	A special page to trigger the generation of a completion certificate or the awarding of skills

Organizing Items

• Drag and drop items to reorder them

• Nest items under sections by dragging them to the right

• Delete items you no longer need

Setting Prerequisites

Prerequisites ensure learners complete certain steps before accessing others:

1. Select an item in the learning path

2. Open its prerequisites settings

3. Choose which preceding item(s) must be completed first

4. For exercises, you can require a minimum score (e.g., "Must score at least 70% on Quiz 1 before accessing Module 2")

Learner Experience

When a learner opens a learning path:

• They see the list of items in the left panel

• Completed items are marked with a checkmark

• Items with unmet prerequisites are locked

• Progress is tracked automatically — if a learner leaves and comes back, they resume where they left off

• A progress bar shows overall completion percentage

SCORM Content

Chamilo's learning path tool can import SCORM 1.2 packages — the most widely used e-learning standard. Upload a SCORM ZIP file and Chamilo will create a learning path from it, tracking progress and scores according to the SCORM specification.

To import a SCORM package:

1. In the Learning paths tool, open the actions menu and click Upload

2. Upload the ZIP file

3. Chamilo unpacks and creates the learning path automatically

CMI5 / xAPI packages

CMI5 packages (the modern xAPI-based successor to SCORM) are supported through the XApi plugin. Once the plugin is enabled by your administrator, you can import a CMI5 package and learners can launch it from the course; their statements are forwarded to the configured Learning Record Store.

Learning Path Settings

Configure how the learning path behaves:

Setting	Description
Visibility	Hide or show the learning path to learners
Prerequisites	Require completion of other learning paths before this one
Auto-launch	Automatically open this learning path when learners enter the course
Accumulated SCORM time	Whether to accumulate time across multiple sessions

Linking to the Gradebook

You can include learning path completion as a graded activity in the Gradebook. This allows learning path progress to contribute to the learner's overall course grade and certificate eligibility.

Using AI

If the administrator has enabled AI-assisted learning path generation, you will find an AI generator option in the drop-down actions menu. Give the AI as precise a context as you want your learning path, ask for a number of pages and an approximate number of words per page, then tell it if you want to populate it with tests and launch. A few minutes later, you are looking down at a complete, text-based learning path.

Edit the documents to generate illustrations with more AI and you only have some review to do before you can share it with your learners.

Tips

• Start with an outline — Plan your sections and items before building the path

• Use sections as chapters — Group related items under section headings for clarity

• Set prerequisites for assessments — Require learners to study the content before taking a quiz

• Mix content types — Combine reading materials, videos, interactive exercises, and external resources for an engaging learning experience

• Check the learner view — Use the Student View feature to experience the learning path as a learner would

• Use SCORM for interactivity — If you have access to SCORM authoring tools (like Articulate, iSpring, or similar), create rich interactive content and import it into Chamilo