---
title: Activities and panels
description: Choose an activity's kind, give learners panels to work in, show them in steps, and set what the AI sees.
updated: 2026-10-29
---

> All VIABLE docs, for people and their agents: https://developers.viablelab.org/llms.txt

# Activities and panels

An activity is one thing learners do in a course, with an AI beside it or none. Use this page when you add a lesson, a test or a survey.

## Kinds of activity

On the course's **Activities** tab, press **Add an activity** and choose a kind:

- **Lesson**: panels, a chat, or both. Start from **Chat with an AI**, **Practice questions**, **Writing task**, **Reading** or **Embedded page**.
- **Pre-test** and **Post-test**: no AI, one try, no hints, results at the end or none. A pre-test stays open to learners who join after it closes.
- **Survey**: your form's **Survey address**. The form receives the learner's ID or learner code under **The ID goes in** (`pid` by default).

## Panels

Panels are what learners work in. An activity has up to six; with none, it is a chat.

- **Questions**: a **Question set**, with your choice of feedback, tries and hints.
- **Writing**: **The task**, an optional plan, a **Rubric** of up to 12 criteria, word limits and **A Hand in button**. Drafts save as learners write.
- **Reading**: a PDF from your knowledge bases, or **Upload a PDF**. Learners can highlight and add notes.
- **Embedded page**: **The page's address**, such as a simulation. It must allow `https://page.viablelearning.org` to frame it.

::: figure activity

## Showing panels in steps

With two or more panels, set **How the panels are shown** to **In steps** (up to four). Two ready patterns: **Read, then answer** and **Read with the AI, then answer alone**.

For each step, choose what it **Shows**, whether **The AI** is **There** or **Not in this step**, and how it **Opens**: **When they're ready** or **On its own** after some minutes. A later step's questions don't reach learners' browsers early.

> [!TIP]
> A step without the AI is the sure way to keep it out of part of an activity, such as a final quiz.

## What the AI sees

Each panel has **What [agent] is shown of this panel**:

| Panel | Choices |
| --- | --- |
| Writing | **All**, **Task only**, **Nothing**, **Custom** |
| Questions | **The question**, **Nothing**, **Custom** |
| Reading | **The page in view**, **The selection**, **The whole document**, **Nothing**, **Custom** |
| Embedded page | **Its events**, **Nothing**, **Custom** |

**Learners are told** shows what learners read about it. **Preview what [agent] reads** shows exactly what the AI gets. Answer keys are never in it.

## Voice and photos

Learners can speak if the agent's published version has a Transcribe step, and hear replies if it has a Speech step. Then turn on **Learners may speak** and choose **Read replies aloud**. Transcription is billed per audio minute.

**Learners may attach photos** and **Learners may attach PDFs** allow up to 4 files a message, 8 MB each. If they aren't offered, the editor names the agent step to change.

Every saved change makes a new version, which learners get the next time they open the activity.

::: cards
- [How the AI helps](/docs/teach/ai-helps): tell the AI the goal and how far it may go.
- [Question sets](/docs/teach/question-sets): write, import or draft the questions a panel asks.
- [Agent steps](/docs/build/steps): add Transcribe, Speech and VETTING steps.
:::