Improve a course with us
All ICoBC Academy courses are open on GitHub in LiaScript, a Markdown format for courses. If you find an error, an outdated source or have a better example, suggest a change with a branch and a pull request.
One folder per course
The repository uses the same folder structure as the Academy website. Each course has a folder named after its course ID in lower case. The LiaScript source is README.md; the web module that learners open is index.html.
The Academy shows a course as soon as its index.html is online. Courses without a web module stay hidden from the catalogue and appear in the pathways as “in preparation”.
Suggest a change in six steps
You need a free GitHub account. GitHub calls a change request a pull request; GitLab and other platforms call it a merge request. The idea is the same.
Find the course
Open README.md in the repository, for example courses/icb-f01/README.md.
Create a branch
Fork the repository or, if you are a member of the course team, create a branch with a short name such as f01-fix-source-link. Never edit main directly.
Edit the LiaScript file
Change the Markdown. Quizzes use LiaScript syntax: [(X)] marks the correct single choice, [[X]] correct multiple choice answers, and text between **** lines is the feedback.
Preview your change
Open your file in the LiaScript player: https://liascript.github.io/course/? followed by the raw URL of your README.md. Check headings, quizzes and graphics.
Open a pull request
Describe what you changed and why. Link sources for factual changes. One topic per pull request makes the review quicker.
Review and publication
The ICoBC course team reviews the change against the checklist below, discusses it with you if needed and merges it. With the next release, the web module on academy.icobc.net is updated.
Review checklist
- Plain English at about level B2, British spelling, short sentences
- No hype words and no invented statistics, cases or sources
- Vendor-neutral: no product is recommended over another
- Examples from both corporate and education settings
- Every module has a graphic in SVG with a title and description
- Quiz questions have feedback; the final check covers every learning outcome
- Claims match the stage: a course confirms Knowledge or Ability, never Competency
- Facts that change carry a date: “Status as of …; check before publishing”
- Version number in the header raised (for example 1.0.0 to 1.0.1 for corrections)
Publishing a web module
The course team exports the LiaScript file with the LiaScript exporter and uploads the result to the course folder on the web server:
npm install -g @liascript/exporter liaex --format web -i courses/icb-f02/README.md -o build/icb-f02 # upload the contents of build/icb-f02 to # academy.icobc.net/courses/icb-f02/
To give learners the free certificate, end every LiaScript course with a link to the Academy certificate page:
<!-- at the end of the LiaScript course, after the final quiz -->
## Your certificate
You have finished the course. Download your free certificate of completion:
[Get your certificate](https://academy.icobc.net/certificate/?course=ICB-F02)
The certificate page reads the course title, level and skills from the catalogue. Add &score=85 to show a score on the certificate.
Want to write a whole course?
The catalogue lists more than 60 planned courses, each with outcomes, modules and assessment. Write to us if you would like to author or review one.