---
title: "Course activity types"
slug: "course-activity-types"
tags: ["Totara Learn", "Content Creator", "Reference"]
updated: 2025-07-22T10:52:18Z
published: 2025-07-22T11:18:31Z
canonical: "totara.help/course-activity-types"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Course activity types

## Activities

Activities are interactive items of content that you can [add to a course](/19/docs/add-a-course-activity-or-resource). Unlike resources (which tend to be passive content items) activities encourage participation from learners and other course users - whether that be making a post, submitting an assignment, casting a vote, or another interaction. There is a wide range of different activity types available in Totara Learn, from interactive SCORM e-learning modules through to glossaries, forums, seminars, quizzes and more.

| Activity type | Description | Related pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Assignment | Tasks for learners to complete, either directly into the text editor or by uploading a file (e.g. a Word document). | [Assignment activity settings](/19/docs/assignment-activity-settings) [Using assignment marking workflow](/19/docs/using-assignment-marking-workflow) |
| Blog | Spaces for learners to note their reflections and notes for others to read. | [Enable the blog activity](/19/docs/enable-the-blog-activity) [Blog settings](/19/docs/blog-settings) [Add a blog entry](/19/docs/add-a-blog-entry) [Edit a blog entry](/19/docs/edit-a-blog-entry) [Delete a blog entry](/19/docs/delete-a-blog-entry) [Share a blog entry](/19/docs/share-a-blog-entry) [Comment on a blog post](/19/docs/comment-on-a-blog-post) [Configure blog preferences](/19/docs/configure-blog-preferences) [Blog blocks](/19/docs/blog-blocks) [Set up an RSS feed for a blog](/19/docs/set-up-an-rss-feed-for-a-blog) [Add an external blog](/19/docs/add-an-external-blog) |
| Certificate | Provides a certificate (e.g. a PDF document) to prove that the learner has completed the course. | [Certificate activity settings](/19/docs/certificate-activity-settings) [View issued certificates](/19/docs/view-issued-certificates) [Customise certificates](/19/docs/customise-certificates) |
| Chat room | Live group discussions in a chat room. | [Using the chat activity](/19/docs/using-the-chat-activity) [Chat activity settings](/19/docs/chat-activity-settings) |
| Choice | A poll consisting of a single question used to take a vote of enrolled users. | [Choice activity settings](/19/docs/choice-activity-settings) [Choice activity results](/19/docs/choice-activity-results) |
| Database | A space for users to collaboratively create with text and files. | [Set up a database activity](/19/docs/set-up-a-database-activity) [Create database fields](/19/docs/create-database-fields) [What are database templates?](/19/docs/what-are-database-templates) [Edit a database template](/19/docs/edit-a-database-template) [Set up a database preset](/19/docs/set-up-database-presets) [Add a database entry](/19/docs/add-a-database-entry) [Grade database entries](/19/docs/grade-database-entries) [Database capabilities](/19/docs/database-capabilities) |
| External tool | This activity allows you to incorporate content from external providers. | [External tool activity settings](/19/docs/external-tool-activity-settings) [Manage external tools](/19/docs/manage-external-tools) [Add an external tool to a course](/19/docs/add-an-external-tool-to-a-course) [Add an external tool at the site level](/19/docs/add-an-external-tool-at-site-level) |
| Feedback | A series of questions and text input fields allowing learners to provide feedback about the course. | [Feedback activity settings](/19/docs/feedback-activity-settings) [Feedback activity question types](/19/docs/feedback-activity-question-types) [Set up a feedback activity](/19/docs/set-up-a-feedback-activity) [Configure feedback question dependencies](/19/docs/configure-feedback-question-dependencies) [Edit a feedback activity question](/19/docs/edit-a-feedback-activity-question) [Map feedback activities](/19/docs/map-feedback-activities) [Create a feedback template](/19/docs/create-a-feedback-template) [Use a feedback template](/19/docs/use-a-feedback-template) [Delete a feedback template](/19/docs/delete-a-feedback-template) [Import and export feedback template questions](/19/docs/import-and-export-feedback-template-questions) [Analysing feedback activity responses](/19/docs/analysing-feedback-activity-responses) |
| Forum | A space for users to post comments and discuss topics relevant to the course. This is asynchronous communication, as opposed to the live discussions in the **Chat room** activity. | [Create a forum activity](/19/docs/create-a-forum-activity) [Forum activity settings](/19/docs/forum-activity-settings) [Configure forum preferences](/19/docs/configure-forum-preferences) [Using the forum activity](/19/docs/using-the-forum-activity) [Add and edit forum subscribers](/19/docs/add-and-edit-forum-subscribers) [Archive a forum thread](/19/docs/archive-a-forum-thread) |
| Glossary | A collection of searchable and browsable definitions of terms relevant to the learning. | [Glossary resource settings](/19/docs/glossary-resource-settings) [Add glossary entries](/19/docs/add-glossary-entries) [Create glossary categories](/19/docs/create-glossary-categories) [Import and export glossary entries](/19/docs/import-and-export-glossary-entries) |
| H5P | Author and edit content using H5P libraries, selecting from a range of different activities and interactions. | [What is H5P?](/19/docs/what-is-h5p) [Install H5P content types](/19/docs/install-h5p-content-types) [Manage H5P libraries](/19/docs/manage-h5p-libraries) [Create an H5P activity](/19/docs/create-an-h5p-activity) [H5P activity settings](/19/docs/h5p-activity-settings) |
| Lesson | A series of pages (or a single scrolling interface) presenting learning content and questions. | [Lesson activity settings](/19/docs/lesson-activity-settings) [Designing lesson activities](/19/docs/designing-lesson-activities) [Create a lesson activity](/19/docs/create-a-lesson-activity) [Import questions into a lesson activity](/19/docs/import-questions-into-a-lesson-activity) [Add content pages to a lesson activity](/19/docs/add-content-pages-to-a-lesson-activity) [Add a question to a lesson activity](/19/docs/add-a-question-to-a-lesson-activity) [Add a question cluster to a lesson activity](/19/docs/add-a-question-cluster-to-a-lesson-activity) [Manage lesson activity pages](/19/docs/manage-lesson-activity-pages) [Grade essay questions in a lesson](/19/docs/grade-essay-questions-in-a-lesson) |
| Quiz | A series of questions intended to test learners' knowledge of the course content. This can optionally be graded. | [Quiz activity settings](/19/docs/quiz-activity-settings) [Quiz capabilities](/19/docs/quiz-capabilities) [Set up a quiz activity](/19/docs/set-up-a-quiz-activity) [Configure quiz feedback](/19/docs/configure-quiz-feedback) [Using quizzes](/19/docs/using-quizzes) [Adding quiz questions](/19/docs/adding-quiz-questions) [Import and export quiz questions](/19/docs/import-and-export-quiz-questions) [Quiz import and export settings](/19/docs/quiz-import-and-export-settings) [Quiz activity results](/19/docs/quiz-activity-results) [Setting up question banks](/19/docs/setting-up-question-banks) [Configuring quiz question behaviours](/19/docs/configuring-quiz-question-behaviours) See the [Quiz activity questions](/19/docs/quiz-activity-questions) section for more information on using the different question types. |
| SCORM package | E-learning modules following the SCORM standard. | [Add a SCORM activity](/19/docs/add-a-scorm-activity) [Update a SCORM activity](/19/docs/update-a-scorm-activity) [SCORM troubleshooting](/19/docs/scorm-troubleshooting) [SCORM reports](/19/docs/scorm-reports) [SCORM activity settings](/19/docs/scorm-activity-settings) |
| Seminar | Face-to-face or virtual training events managed via a Totara course. | [What are seminars?](/19/docs/what-are-seminars) [Enable seminars](/19/docs/enable-seminars) [Set up a seminar](/19/docs/set-up-a-seminar) See the [Seminar activity](/19/docs/seminar-activity) section for the full list of seminar documentation. |
| Survey | Premade surveys to help creators and trainers to understand the effectiveness of the course. | [Set up a survey activity](/19/docs/set-up-a-survey-activity) [Survey activity settings](/19/docs/survey-activity-settings) [Survey activity types](/19/docs/survey-activity-types) [Survey activity response reports](/19/docs/survey-activity-response-reports) |
| Wiki | An informative page (or set of pages) that learners can edit and contribute to. | [Setting up a wiki activity](/19/docs/setting-up-a-wiki-activity) [Wiki activity settings](/19/docs/wiki-activity-settings) [Using the wiki activity](/19/docs/using-the-wiki-activity) |
| Workshop | An activity for learners to submit work and peer review others' work. | [Using the workshop activity](/19/docs/using-the-workshop-activity) [Workshop activity settings](/19/docs/workshop-activity-settings) |

## Resources

Resources tend to be passive content items that are useful for distributing information. They are normally [added to the course](/19/docs/add-a-course-activity-or-resource) by a Trainer or Site Administrator and then accessed by Learners (or other Trainers). There is a wide range of different resource types available in Totara Learn which can add depth to your courses.

| **Resource type** | **Description** | **Related pages** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Book | Multi-page resources divided into sections and chapters. | [Book activity settings](/19/docs/book-activity-settings) [Add chapters to a book activity](/19/docs/add-chapters-to-a-book-activity) |
| Embedded media | Audio or video resources shown within the course page. | - |
| Folder | A selection of related files displayed in one folder. | [Folder settings](/19/docs/folder-settings) |
| IMS content package | A collection of files following the IMS standard. | [Add an IMS content package](/19/docs/add-an-ims-content-package) [IMS content package settings](/19/docs/ims-content-package-settings) |
| Label | Labels allow you to add additional text or multimedia assets to the course page. | [Add course content as a label](/19/docs/add-course-content-as-a-label) [Label settings](/19/docs/label-settings) |
| Page | Accessible and updatable web pages. | [Create a page resource](/19/docs/create-a-page-resource) [Page resource settings](/19/docs/page-resource-settings) |
| URL | Allows you to add hyperlinks to other web pages and useful resources. | [URL resource settings](/19/docs/url-resource-settings) |

Join the [Totara Community](https://totara.community/) for more resources to help you get the most out of Totara.

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