The Activity Bank lets you create and manage a library of reusable activities—like quiz questions—that can be pulled into different course pages. Activities are searchable, taggable, and aligned with learning objectives, making it easy to find what you need.
When building a course, you can select a subset of activities from the bank using filters or rules (e.g., random selection, tag-based criteria). This makes it easier to add variety, discourage memorization, and support student engagement.
Why use it?
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Reuse questions across multiple pages without duplicating content
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Randomly select questions to reduce memorization or cheating
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Let students skip questions they don’t connect with
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Centralize activity updates in one place
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- Watch the demo (starts at 36:55)
AI Activation Points let authors trigger the DOT AI assistant at specific places in a course—such as activities, paragraphs, groups, or full pages. When a student reaches an Activation Point, DOT AI responds based on the custom prompt provided by the author.
⚠️ Requires DOT AI to be enabled in the course section by a system administrator.
Why use it?
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Add context-aware AI responses tied to course content
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Trigger interactions based on student actions or page visits
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Use custom prompts to guide DOT AI’s response
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Certificates in Torus let authors set achievement requirements for a course, such as minimum scores or discussion activity. When students meet the conditions, they’re awarded a certificate—either automatically or after instructor approval. Authors can customize the certificate’s design, thresholds, and delivery settings.
⚠️ Certificate requirements must be finalized before creating a course section. They cannot be edited afterward.
Why use it?
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Recognize student achievement through a formal certificate
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Customize design and thresholds for completion or distinction
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Track and manage certificates in the instructor dashboard
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The Dataset feature allows authors to generate and download student data from course sections for analysis. Authors can select the type of dataset they want (e.g., page views, video interactions, attempt performance, survey results) and export it in .csv or .xml format.
Data can be anonymized, and authors can choose which course sections to include in each dataset job. This feature is useful for internal evaluations or external research needs.
Why use it?
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Export structured learning data for research or reporting
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Choose from multiple dataset types including performance, interaction, and survey data
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Anonymize student identifiers for privacy compliance
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The Instructor Dashboard gives instructors a centralized view of how students are progressing through a course section. It highlights patterns in student activity, such as overall engagement, completion rates, and scores—making it easier to identify who might need support.
Instructors can view progress by page or by student, compare class averages, and drill into individual responses to assess learning trends and difficulties.
Why use it?
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Monitor overall course engagement and student completion
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Spot struggling students or content areas needing attention
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View scores and attempt history across pages and assessments
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Torus provides three Page Types to support different learning goals:
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Foundation Pages – for delivering core instructional content
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Deliberate Practice Pages – for practicing with feedback (often ungraded)
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Exploration Pages – for open-ended thinking, creative work, or discussion
Each page type gives authors a way to structure the learning experience with clarity and purpose. These types also help students know what to expect on a page—whether they’re learning something new, practicing it, or exploring deeper.
Why use it?
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Clarify the purpose of each learning page
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Structure your course for better student understanding
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Support varied learning goals—from instruction to reflection
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Practice Pages allow students to engage with course content in a low-stakes environment. Activities on these pages are designed for practice and feedback, and can be optionally scored. The setup supports formative learning before students reach graded assessments.
Instructors and authors can preview how the page appears to students to ensure clarity and alignment with learning goals.
Why use it?
- Provide students with structured practice opportunities
- Deliver immediate feedback without affecting final grades (unless configured otherwise)
- Build confidence before high-stakes assessments
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In Torus:
- A Project is where authors build and edit course content.
- A Product is a published version of a Project, used to create live course Sections.
- A Section is the live, enrollable version of the course where students interact with content and instructors manage delivery.
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Branching Questions allow authors to create multiple-choice questions that lead students to different follow-up content based on their answers. Instead of giving feedback immediately, each answer choice can direct the student to a different block of content on the same page.
This allows for conditional learning paths, where students explore tailored explanations, examples, or next steps based on their choices.
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