Note: For general information about Lists, see How to use OpenSesame Lists. To learn about Lists already created by our content experts, see How to use Curated Lists.

Smart Lists provide instant, tailored recommendations by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to suggest courses based on your preferences. The algorithm also takes into account your organization’s previous course selections, completions, and learner ratings, when available.

If you prefer videos, see the following walkthrough:

In this guide:

• Create a Smart List
• Add courses to Smart Groups

Create a Smart List

Log in to your OpenSesame account and select My Lists from the navigation bar:

Next, click the New Smart List button:

Enter your preferences and requirements, such as topics, languages, course length, and whether to limit results to the OpenSesame Plus subscription catalog. If you're in a hurry, you can click the Create Your List button as soon as you enter a topic.

If you click Advanced options, you can select specific publishers and course features, such as audio narration, assessments, and activities:

When satisfied with your answers, click Create Your List to receive custom recommendations.

Each Smart List's title defaults to the date and time it was created. To update that or add a description, click the relevant field, enter your changes, and click the checkmark to save.

Smart List recommendations are grouped by each topic you submit. Each group begins with a maximum of 5 courses:

As with standard Lists, you can share Smart Lists with others to collaborate and gather feedback, preview courses, or—if you use a learning platform that integrates with OpenSesame—send courses to your learning platform.

Add courses to Smart Groups

If your training needs are greater than five courses per topic, put the Smart Lists algorithm back to work with each group's Add Courses button:

The button opens the Smart Groups panel, where you can browse additional courses for the selected group. The suggestions will be based on the group topic and preferences you submitted earlier.

To adjust those preferences and refine your results, change the filters or keyword. Click Show filters: 

This reveals the filters panel. The search bar will already have the group's topic as a keyword:

This panel has the same filtering options as the OpenSesame catalog. (For more information, see How to use our course catalog’s search tools.)

To add a course to your group, hover your cursor over the course image and click the Add to List button that appears:

To add multiple courses at once, click Select courses:

Click your courses and then Add to Group:

Finally, you can close this panel by clicking the X or by clicking back to your Smart List.

If you have further questions, our Support team is here to help via email at support@opensesame.com or via live chat and phone. Feel free to reach us at (503) 808-1268, ext. 2, or at +44 203 744 5541 in Europe.