Editor Modes

The Lex Editor operates in two distinct modes depending on who is viewing the lesson. Understanding the difference is important for designing lessons that work well for both authoring and learning.

Teacher Mode (Editing)

When a teacher opens a lesson for editing, they see the full editor with all capabilities:

What Teachers Can Do

• Edit all content -- modify text, headings, formatting, and structure
• Insert any element -- add widgets, media, exercises, and special content
• Configure widgets -- set correct answers, options, scoring, and display settings
• View annotations -- see teacher-only notes and instructions
• Add comments and suggestions -- collaborate with other teachers
• Use AI tools -- generate content, ask AI, use autocomplete
• Manage layout -- drag blocks, create columns, add page breaks
• Preview as student -- see how the lesson looks from the student's perspective
• Publish -- make the lesson visible to students

Accessing Teacher Mode

Teacher mode is the default when opening a lesson from the course management area:

/platform/courses/[courseId]/lessons/[lessonId]/edit

Student Mode (Interaction)

When a student opens a published lesson, they see a read-only version of the content with interactive exercise capabilities.

What Students Can Do

• Read content -- view all text, images, tables, and media
• Play audio and video -- interact with media players
• Interact with exercises -- answer multiple choice, fill-in-blank, matching, ordering, true/false, and all other widget types
• Write essays -- compose text in essay blocks
• Record speech -- use speech recorder widgets
• Play games -- interact with flashcards, memory game, word search, crossword, and other game widgets
• Submit answers -- submit responses for grading and progress tracking

What Students Cannot Do

• Edit lesson text -- all content is protected and read-only
• Modify exercises -- students cannot change correct answers, options, or widget configurations
• See annotations -- teacher notes and annotations are completely hidden
• See comments -- the commenting system is teacher-only
• Access editing tools -- the toolbar, slash commands, and insert menus are not available
• Rearrange content -- drag-and-drop editing is disabled

Student View

The student view is clean and focused -- no editing tools, no sidebar panels, just the lesson content and interactive exercises.

How Modes Switch

The mode is determined automatically by:

1. User role -- teachers and course owners see teacher mode; enrolled students see student mode
2. URL -- the /edit path indicates teacher mode
3. Permissions -- access is controlled by course enrollment and role

There is no manual toggle. The platform automatically presents the correct mode based on who is logged in and how they are accessing the lesson.

Designing for Both Modes

When creating a lesson, keep both modes in mind:

Content Visibility

Preview as Student

Before publishing, use the Preview function to see your lesson exactly as students will see it. This helps you:

• Verify that exercises work correctly
• Ensure annotations are properly hidden
• Check that the layout looks good without editing tools
• Confirm all media loads and plays

Use the Preview button before publishing to verify exercise interactions, hidden annotations, and layout.

Destructive Edit Guard

The editor includes a protection system that prevents accidental destructive edits in certain contexts. If you try to delete a large section of content or a complex widget, the editor may ask for confirmation to prevent data loss.

Live Session Mode

During a live session, the editor operates in a special collaborative mode. In individual sessions, the teacher can toggle whether the student has editing access to the shared document using the edit permission toggle (see Student Edit Permissions).

When edit permission is enabled (green pencil icon), the student can type, add content, and interact with the document alongside the teacher. When disabled (red pencil-off icon), the student sees the document in read-only mode — they can view content and interact with exercises, but cannot modify the document.

This is useful for:

• Letting students write answers directly in the lesson during practice
• Restricting editing when presenting new material
• Switching between demonstration and hands-on work within the same session

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I give a student editing access?

In regular lesson viewing, editing is limited to teachers and course owners. However, during live sessions, teachers can grant or revoke editing access to the shared document in real time. See Student Edit Permissions for details.

What happens if I publish a lesson with unresolved comments?

Comments and suggestions are teacher-only. Students never see them, so unresolved comments do not affect the student experience. However, it is good practice to resolve comments before publishing to keep your workspace clean.

Can I switch between teacher and student view quickly?

Yes. The Preview button in the editor shows the student view. You can toggle between editing and preview to check your work.

Are exercise answers stored differently in each mode?

In teacher mode, you configure the correct answers. In student mode, the student's responses are tracked separately. Teacher configurations and student responses are stored independently.