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 are unfamiliar with Lists and want to learn more, see this article.)

If you prefer videos, here is a walkthrough on creating a Smart List:

In this article:

• Creating a Smart List
• Adding recommendations to Smart Groups

Creating a Smart List

To make a Smart List, log in to your OpenSesame account then select "Lists" from the account menu:

This will open your Lists page. Next, select the “New Smart List” button:

A window will appear and ask about your preferences, such as topics, content languages, course length, and whether you only want courses that are included in the OpenSesame Plus subscription catalog:

If you wish, you can click the “Create Your List" button as soon as you enter a topic. If you follow the “advanced options” link at the bottom, you can also select specific publishers and course features, such as audio narration, assessments, and activities:

Once satisfied with your answers, click the “Create Your List” button to receive custom recommendations in the form of a new Smart List. For easy organization and tracking, a Smart List's title defaults to the date and time it was created. If you prefer, you can edit that as well as add a description.

Smart List recommendations are grouped by each topic you submit. Each group starts out with a maximum of 5 courses and you can easily add more, which is covered in the next section:

As with standard Lists, you can share Smart Lists with others to collaborate, gather feedback, preview courses, or—if you use a Learning Management System that is integrated with OpenSesame—send courses to your LMS.

Adding recommendations to Smart Groups

If your training needs are greater than five courses per topic, or if you have a standard List to which you’d like to add recommendations, you can put the Smart Lists algorithm back to work with the “Add Courses” button that appears at top right of each group:

This will open the Smart Groups panel. Here you can browse additional course recommendations for the selected group. If you began with a Smart List, the courses that appear will be based upon the keyword (group name) and preferences you’d submitted earlier:

To adjust those preferences, you can change the keyword and filters to refine the results. Click the "Show filters" link that appears above the first course result, which will reveal this panel:

These are same filtering options seen in the OpenSesame catalog. (If they are new to you, there is a thorough guide to each of them here.)

When you find a course you like, add it to the selected group by hovering your cursor over the course image and clicking the "Add to List" button that appears:

You can also quickly add multiple courses at once by clicking the "Select courses" link at top:

Once that option is clicked, choose your courses then click "Add to Group":

And if you have second thoughts, you can exit this view by clicking the X at top right.

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.