Customise a Learning Activity

Overview

Schoolbox allows school staff to customise a learning activity for one or more students for activity types such as Due Work, Tasks, Quiz, or third-party assessments. You can make customisations from the 'Student Participation' page for a learning activity in your class.

‘Customising a learning activity’ means adjusting it to better suit an individual student’s needs. You can change the content, instructions, visibility, due date, or other settings.

Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. Customising a learning activity helps you differentiate for your students with different learning styles, abilities, specialised learning needs, or circumstances.

You can customise a learning activity at any time before it’s assigned or even after it’s been published - if a student needs extra support, an extension, or different materials.

This guide helps you, as a school staff, to:

• Create a customised Learning Activity for a student
• Modify a Learning Activity for a student
• Exclude students from a Learning Activity
• Include a student in an Existing Customisation
• Create a copy of a Learning Activity for a student

See Set up Differentiation and use Differentiation Profiles to customise learning activities on the student participation page.

As a teacher, you can create customised learning activities for one or more students in your class. The custom version will only be visible to that student/s.

Note: This applies to activity types such as Due Work, Tasks, Quiz, or third-party assessments.

To do this:

1. Go to the Student Participation page for the learning activity you want to customise. You can access this page from several places across the platform, including:
   • Upon creation of a new learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconof the selected activity in the course outline,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen modifying the learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen viewing the learning activity,
   • By selecting the title of the learning activity in the class markbook.
      
2. Once you are on the Student Participation page, select one or more students from the list.
   Note: To customise a learning activity for just one student, select the 3-dot menunext to their name. To customise it for multiple students at once, use the bottom panel instead.
    
3. Next, use the options in the bottom panel.
   Note: You can select multiple students to create separate customised learning activities for each one at the same time. Each student will only see their own customised version. 
    
4. Select New Activity from the list.
   This opens the ‘Create Activity’ page for you.
    
5. Select an activity type and create a new activity.
   You can create a new activity - like a Due Work, Task, or Quiz - specifically for the student(s).
    
6. Fill the form and select Create.
   This creates a new learning activity for the student(s).
   The customised activity now appears in the ‘Customisation’ column for that student. 
   This action automatically excludes the student(s) from the original activity and assigns the new learning activity you created specifically for them.
   
   Note: If the Customisation column is blank, it means a customised activity hasn’t been created for that student.

You’ve successfully created a new customised learning activity for one or more students in your class.
 

Notes: 

• This new customised learning activity also appears in the Class Markbook for the student it was customised for.
• If you want to reuse this customised learning activity for a student next year, go to the activity in the ‘Course Outline and select the 3-dot menu iconand then select Save to Course….
• See Set up Differentiation and use Differentiation Profiles to customise learning activities on the student participation page.

You can, as a teacher, modify a learning activity for one or more students in your class.

To do this:

1. Go to the Student Participation page for the learning activity you want to customise. You can access this page from several places across the platform, including: 
   • Upon creation of a new learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconof the selected activity in the course outline, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen modifying the learning activity, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen viewing the learning activity, 
   • By selecting the title of the learning activity in the class markbook.
      
2. Once you are on the Student Participation page, select one or more students from the list.
   Note: To modify a learning activity for just one student, select the 3-dot menu iconnext to their name. To modify it for multiple students at once, use the bottom panel instead.
    
3. Next, use the options in the bottom panel.
   Note: You can select multiple students to modify customised learning activities for each one at the same time. Each student will only see their own modified version.
    
4. Select Modify from the list.
   This opens the ‘Modify Activity’ page for you.
    
5. Fill the form and select Update.
   This modifies the learning activity for the student(s).
   
   You’ve successfully modified a customised learning activity for one or more students in your class.
    Note: An indicator that the learning activity has been modified for a specific student is visible from the class and course markbook. 

You can, as a school staff, exclude one or more students in your class from a learning activity.

To do this:

1. You will need to go to the Student Participation page for the learning activity you are planning to customise.

   The Student Participation page is accessible via multiple points throughout the platform, these include: 

   • Upon creation of a new learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconof the selected activity in the course outline, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen modifying the learning activity, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen viewing the learning activity, 
   • By selecting the title of the learning activity in the class markbook.
      
2. Once you are on the Student Participation page, select one or more students from the list whom you want to exclude from the Learning Activity.
   Note: To exclude just one student, select the 3-dot menu iconnext to their name. To exclude multiple students at once, use the bottom panel instead.
    
3. Next, use the options in the bottom panel.
   Note: You can select multiple students to exclude from the customisation at the same time.
    
4. Select Exclude from the list.
   This excludes the student from the learning activity.
   Note: The word ‘Excluded’ will appear in the Customisation column for those student(s).
   
   You’ve successfully excluded a student(s) from a learning activity.
   Excluded students will appear as grey-shaded squares in the markbooks.

As a school staff, you can add one or more students to an existing customised learning activity in your class, but only if those students don’t already have a customisation.

Note: If you wish to customise the participation of a student, you will first need to remove any existing customisation that has been applied.

To do this:

1. You will need to navigate to the Student Participation page for the learning activity you are planning to customise. 
   The Student Participation page is accessible via multiple points throughout the platform, these include: 
   • Upon creation of a new learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconof the selected activity in the course outline, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen modifying the learning activity, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen viewing the learning activity,
   • By selecting the title of the learning activity in the class markbook.
      
2. Once you are on the Student Participation page, select one or more students from the list.
   Note: To include in the existing customisation for just one student, select the 3-dot menu iconnext to their name. To include it for multiple students at once, use the bottom panel instead.
    
3. Next, use the options in the bottom panel.
   Note: You can select multiple students to include in the existing customisation at the same time.
    
4. Select Include in Existing Customisation from the list.
   This opens the ‘Include in existing customisation’ pop-up window.
    
5. In Customisation, select the name of the customisation from the drop-down list.
    
6. When done, select Confirm. 
   This includes one or more students in the existing customisation for you.

You’ve successfully included a student in an existing customisation.

Notes: 

• The included learning activity will appear in the Customisation column for those student(s).
• This learning activity will also appear in the Class Markbook for the student(s) where it was applied.

This feature allows you to create a duplicate (or ‘child’) of an existing learning activity, such as a Due Work or Task. You cannot copy a Project, Lesson Plan, or Quiz. 

You can copy a learning activity when:

• A student requires a different grade scale (e.g., “Achieved/Not Achieved” instead of A–E).
• You want to use a different rubric for assessing a specific student.
• You need to provide a customised learning experience without changing the original activity for the rest of the class.

This is especially helpful in cases where adjustments are needed for students with learning support plans, modified curriculum needs, or alternative assessment criteria.

To create a copy of the learning activity in a class:

1. Go to the Student Participation page for the learning activity you want to customise. You can access this page from several places across the platform, including: 
   • Upon creation of a new learning activity,
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconof the selected activity in the course outline, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen modifying the learning activity, 
   • Via the 3-dot menu iconwhen viewing the learning activity, 
   • By selecting the title of the learning activity in the class markbook.
      
2. Once you are on the Student Participation page, select the student from the list to copy the learning activity for.
    
3. Select the 3-dot menunext to their name.
    
4. Then, select Copy Activity.
    
5. You will be taken to a pre-populated learning activity creation screen which will be a replica of the original activity. From here, you may make the required changes or modifications.
    
6. Save the form by selecting Create.
   This creates a copied learning activity for the student(s).
   
   The customised activity now appears in the ‘Customisation’ column for that student. 
   
   This action automatically excludes the student(s) from the original activity and assigns the copied learning activity you created specifically for them.
   
   You’ve successfully created a new customised learning activity for one or more students in your class.