Estimated time
Each lesson can state how long it takes. The value appears beside the lesson in the course outline.
Where
Lesson settings → Configuration → Estimated time for the lesson (in minutes), with the editor noting the format mm:ss.
What students do with it
They plan. A student with twenty minutes before a meeting looks at the outline and picks a lesson that fits.
That is the whole value of the field, and it is why consistency matters more than precision.
Pick one format and hold to it
The field is free text, so nothing enforces a convention. Decide once:
| Convention | Example |
|---|---|
| Minutes and seconds | 12:30 |
| Minutes only | 12 min |
| Rounded | ~15 min |
A course mixing 12:30, about 15 minutes and 1h reads as unfinished, and a student cannot compare lessons at a glance.
If you follow the field's own hint, use mm:ss.
What the time should describe
Decide, and apply consistently:
- The video length only — precise, easy to fill in, and misleading when the lesson has an exercise.
- The total time including reading and practice — more useful, and an estimate.
Total time is more honest for the student. Say which you are using in the course description, so nobody is surprised.
Be realistic
Students plan sessions around these numbers. A course that consistently takes twice as long as stated loses people in the middle, and they blame themselves rather than the estimate.
For a lesson with an exercise, state the whole thing:
25 minfor a ten-minute video and a fifteen-minute practice, rather than 10:00.
Leaving it empty
Perfectly acceptable. An empty field simply shows nothing beside that lesson.
What is not acceptable is filling it in for half the course. A partially timed outline looks broken, and students assume the untimed lessons are unfinished.
Either time every lesson, or none.
Where it does not appear
The estimate is shown in the outline. It is not:
- added up into a course total;
- shown in the account area;
- used to calculate progress;
- enforced in any way.
If you want to advertise a total course length, write it in the course description yourself.
Verify
- Set the time and update the lesson.
- Open the course and read the outline.
- Confirm the value appears beside the lesson.
- Confirm every lesson in the course uses the same format.
- Confirm no lesson is left empty if the others are filled.
- Check the outline on a phone, where the time column is narrowest.