A course is a sequence of modules for teaching subject topics in a specific order. A different course author may use the same modules in another course, presenting them in a different order. This allows each module to be reused by many people in different ways. A course is conceptually an outline of the sequence of modules. Courses can contain:

Module pointers

Note: A course does not actually contain modules -- it merely refers to them via module pointers. When selecting modules for the course outline, course authors may choose to lock a pointer to a specific version of the module or allow the it to track the latest version (See version control).

Groups

These are containers under a course and may be used to group modules into chapters, sub-chapters and so on. Each group has a title field, and may contain other groups or module pointers.

Courses also have associated properties:

Metadata

In addition to the common metadata fields, courses may provide the following fields if the course is being offered at an educational institution:

institution

The name of institution offering the course

code

The code used to refer to this course at the institution

instructor

The name of the instructor teaching the course

homepage

The URL of a website with general information about the course: syllabus, course handouts, homework, etc.

Customizations

To promote broader reuse and sharing of modules, Connexions allows course authors a degree of customization of the modules in the course. These customizations are viewed within the context of the course (see modules in context) and are considered to be part of the course, not part of the module

Replacement links

Course authors can override the module authors' links and provide their own list of "see also" links that display when the module is viewed within the context of the course

Annotations

Course authors can provide notes to the reader at specific points in a module, similar to margin notes or annotations in a printed document.

Display parameters

Connexions allows course authors to customize the way a module looks when presented as part of the course. This includes choices in mathematical notation.