The following topics provide an introduction to edx.org and edX Edge, and describe steps for getting started on edX websites.
This information is intended for course teams. The EdX Learner’s Guide also includes information about creating and activating accounts and about the edX Demo course. You might want to share pointers to information in the EdX Learner’s Guide with prospective learners, along with your own course- or institution-specific details about the registration process, such as password policies or the use of campus credentials.
For information about enrolling learners in a course, see Options for Enrolling Learners in a Course.
To explore edX courses or create edX course content, you can register an account on the edx.org website, the edX Edge website, or both. These sites are visually and functionally similar, but their content and purposes are different.
edx.org hosts massive open online courses (MOOCs) from edX institutional partners. To publish a course on edx.org, you must have an agreement with edX and specific approval from your organization. Courses on edx.org are publicly listed in the edX course catalog and are open to learners from around the world.
Edge, at edge.edx.org, is a more private site. Courses on Edge are not published on edx.org. Any member of a partner course team can create and publish courses, including test courses, on Edge without receiving approval from edX or a partner institution. You can also host small private online courses (SPOCs) on Edge.
However, Edge does not have a course catalog, and courses cannot be found through search engines such as Google. Only learners whom you explicitly invite or who have the URL for your course can participate in your course on Edge. Note that you can invite an unlimited number of learners to participate in an Edge course.
Note
The user accounts on edx.org and edX Edge are separate. To access or create courses on both websites, you must complete the account registration process on each of the two sites.
When you create an edx.org or edX Edge account, you associate an email address with your edX account. EdX strongly recommends that you use your organizational email address or select an existing account (such as a campus account) that is set up to use your organizational email address.
You can create an account for edX or edX Edge in different ways.
Note
If you do not use an existing social media or linked organization account to create an edX account, you can still link these external accounts to your edX account later. For more information, see Link or Unlink a Social Media Account. If you link your accounts, you sign in to your edX or edX Edge account automatically whenever you sign in to the external account.
Registering an account for edX or edX Edge has two steps.
When you create, or register, an account, you specify a public username that will represent you on edX or on edX Edge. Because your username, and not your full name, is used to identify you to course team members and other learners, edX recommends that you select your username carefully. You cannot change your public username after you register.
You also provide your full name, which appears on any certificates that you earn. You can change your full name at any time. For more information, see Change Your Password.
To register an edX or edX Edge account, follow these steps.
Go to the edX or edX Edge registration page.
(Optional) To link your external social media or organization account to the edX account that you are about to create, select the external account that you want, and follow the steps on the page that opens. After you follow the steps on that page, you return to the edx.org or edX Edge registration page.
On the registration page, enter the required information for your new account. Fields that are marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
On Edge, if you linked your account to an organization account, some of this information might be provided for you.
Verify that you entered your email address correctly. You must reply to the activation message that edX sends to this address to complete the account creation process.
(Optional) Enter additional information, such as your date of birth. This information can help course teams better understand their learners and improve their courses.
Accept the edX terms of service and honor code.
Select Create your account.
When you create your account, edX sends an account activation email message to the email address that you provided. This message contains instructions for activating your account. You must use this email message to activate your account before you enroll in any courses.
If you linked your edX Edge account to an organization account, your account might be activated and you might be enrolled in your course automatically. If that is true, you will go directly to your dashboard, where your course will be visible.
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If you sign out of your edX or edX Edge account, you cannot sign in again until you activate your account. You also cannot enroll in any courses until you activate your account.
To activate your account, you use the email message that you receive from edX when you create your account.
After you activate your account, your browser automatically opens to an “Activation Complete” page that contains a link to your dashboard.
After you create and activate your account, if you want to modify your account information, reset your password, or link or unlink accounts, go to the Account Settings page.
You can only access the Account Settings page from the LMS. You cannot access this page from Studio.
To sign in to edx.org, go to https://courses.edx.org/login. If you receive an error message or encounter another problem when you try to sign in, try these troubleshooting techniques for solving sign in problems.
If you get this message when you try to sign in, try these solutions.
If you get another error message, check your browser for these obstacles to successful sign in.
On the sign-in page, under the Password field you can select Forgot Password. You receive an email message with a link to follow to reset your password.
If you are already signed in, you can reset your password on the Account Settings page.
To activate an account that you register, or to reset your password, you follow a link that edX sends to you in an email message. A number of issues can prevent the message from reaching you successfully.
EdX only sends email messages to the email addresses for registered accounts. If you do not receive an email message that you expect, check for these common problems.
EdX provides the edX Demo course and Overview of Creating an edX Course to help familiarize you with the experience of taking, and creating, edX courses.
The edX Demo course allows learners who are new to online education, or to edX, to explore different types of content and learn how to take a course. EdX recommends that you become familiar with the way learners experience an edX course before you begin building your first course.
Note
You can include information about the edX Demo course in your course materials, and recommend that new learners take the edX Demo course before proceeding with your course.
Overview of Creating an edX Course is an example of an edX course that was built with Studio. It is a self-paced walk-through of planning, building, and running your own online course.