Training sessions & signup questions

A session is a scheduled run of a training, such as “Laser Safety, Thursday 6 PM, 8 places”. Members sign up for it on the web or in the app. You can ask them a few questions when they do, and their answers appear on the session’s roster.

Sessions live in Learning › Training Catalog, on the Sessions tab.

Schedule a session

1. In the Training Catalog, open the Sessions tab and click New Session.
2. Under Training, choose the training. Self-paced trainings are marked ”· self-paced”. In-person trainings suit a hands-on session.
3. Set Starts and Ends. The end time is optional: the × beside it removes it.
4. Fill in Location, such as “Wood shop”.
5. Set Capacity (blank = unlimited).
6. Tick Enable waitlist when full if members may queue for a place once it’s full.
7. Optionally pick an Instructor (optional).
8. Click Schedule Session.

Each row on the Sessions tab shows Confirmed, Waitlist and Attended counts. Use Open to see the roster, Edit to change the session, and Cancel to call it off.

Let members check in from the app

By default, members check in to a session by scanning the trainer’s check-in code, which proves they’re in the room. With self check-in, they tap Check in on the session in the app instead. It’s a setting on the training, so it applies to every session of that training.

1. In Training Catalog › Trainings, open the training’s ⋯ menu and choose Edit details & credentials.
2. Tick Allow self check-in from the app. It appears only on In person trainings.
3. Click Save Changes.

Members can check in from 15 minutes before the session starts until it ends. A session with no end time closes check-in 4 hours after it starts. Checking in marks the member Attended. Only members with a confirmed spot on that session who still meet the training’s prerequisites and entry requirements can check themselves in; the app shows Check in only to them. Waitlisted members, people who didn’t sign up and anyone missing a requirement are checked in by the trainer. Self check-in never issues a credential: issue it afterwards, as in Issue credentials to a class.

Changing the setting needs the Manage trainings permission. Members check themselves in on the app only; the website has no check-in button.

Who can sign up

Members can sign up only once they meet the training’s prerequisites and your space’s entry requirements. You set prerequisites on the training and entry requirements on the Entry Requirements tab. See Prerequisites.

A member who doesn’t qualify yet still sees the session, along with what to do first. MakerOps works this out from your setup, so there is nothing extra to configure:

The member is missing	They see	It links to
A training they can take	”Complete Laser Safety first”	That training in their catalog
A credential that comes from signing a waiver	”Sign the Shop Liability waiver”	The waiver
A credential no active training awards	”Ask staff about Forklift Certified”	Nothing. They need to talk to you
A sign-off after finishing the course	”Ask a trainer to sign off Laser Cutter Certified”	Nothing. A trainer issues the credential

When there are several ways to meet one requirement, they’re joined with “or”. Every line has to be done.

If a step says “Ask staff about …” when you expected a course, the training that awards that credential is probably Inactive, or no training is linked to the credential. Fix it under Training Catalog › Trainings or Credentials.

Ask questions at signup

You can ask members a few questions when they sign up for a session of a training, such as “What do you hope to make?” or “Have you used a laser cutter before?”.

1. In Training Catalog › Trainings, open the training’s ⋯ menu and choose Signup questions. The item appears only on In person trainings.
2. Click Add question, or Add yes/no question for a ready-made Yes/No choice.
3. For each question, set the Label and the Type:
   • Short text: one line.
   • Paragraph: a longer answer.
   • Single choice: the member picks one of your Options. Click Add option to add more.
   • Date: the member picks a day.
4. Tick Required if members must answer it. Help text (optional) and Placeholder (optional) help explain what you’re asking.
5. Check the Live preview, then click Save questions.

The questions apply to every session of that training, on the web and in the app. You can ask up to 20. Remove a question with its bin icon. To stop asking, remove them all and save. Members then sign up with one click again.

Read the answers

On the web, open the session from the Sessions tab with Open. Each member’s answers appear under their name, in the Signed up list and in the Waitlist. A member who moves up from the waitlist keeps their answers.

In the app, trainers open the Training tab, tap Sessions and pick the session. The answers appear under each name on its Roster.

Add a teaching guide

A teaching guide is the ordered list of points a trainer walks through in person, such as “Explain chuck operation”, each with optional notes on why it matters. It isn’t a credential: issue credentials the usual way after teaching.

1. In Training Catalog › Trainings, open the training’s ⋯ menu and choose Teaching guide. The item appears only on In person trainings.
2. Enter the point.
3. Optionally, enter trainer notes in the box beneath it.
4. Click Add point. Points are numbered in the order you add them.

Remove a point with its bin icon. To change a point, remove it and add it again. Setting up a guide needs the Manage trainings permission.

Use the guide during a session

The guide is in the app only. Open the Training tab, tap Sessions and pick the session. Under Teaching guide on its Roster, each point shows its notes and how many of the session’s members have covered it, such as “3/8”.

1. Tap a point after you’ve taught it.
2. Tick each member you walked through it, or tap Mark all.
3. Tap Save. The app shows “Coverage recorded.”

The list counts members who are signed up or checked in. The section doesn’t appear for a training with no guide.

On the web, the record is on the member’s page (People › Members & Groups), on the Training tab, under In-Person Teaching Record. It lists each point with the date it was covered, for trainings where at least one point was.

What members see

See Sign up for a training session for the member’s side, including the filter that hides sessions they can’t join yet.