Lesson Hollow

Building a Curriculum File

You can build a curriculum file using any spreadsheet application that exports to CSV. Here is how to do it step by step.

1. Choose a spreadsheet application

Any of these will work. Use whichever you already have installed.

  • LibreOffice Calc
  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Apple Numbers

2. Download the template

This template has the correct format already set up. All you need to do is replace the sample data with your own.

Save CSV Template

3. Open the template

Open the downloaded file in your spreadsheet application. You should see two columns. Column A has the field labels and Column B has the sample values. The top five rows are curriculum details, followed by a blank row, followed by your tasks.

4. Fill in your curriculum

Replace the sample data with your own. Keep the field labels in Column A exactly as they are. Here is what goes where:

Name
Your curriculum name. This is required.
Description
A short description of the curriculum.
Publisher
The author or publisher name.
Grade Level
Must be one of: Any, Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, College, Adult.
Link
A URL for the curriculum (if you have one).

For each task row below the blank line, fill in four columns:

Title
The task name. Every task needs a title.
Description
What the learner should do for this task.
Action
Must be exactly one of: Read, Watch, Listen, or Do.
URL
A link to the resource for this task (if you have one).

5. Watch the formatting

Spreadsheet applications sometimes add formatting that breaks CSV files. Before you export, check for these common problems:

  • Keep cells as plain text. Do not apply number, date, currency, or other cell formats. If your spreadsheet auto-formats a value, change the cell format back to plain text.
  • Do not merge cells. Every field should live in its own single cell.
  • Do not leave extra content outside the template area. Delete any notes, comments, or extra columns you may have added while working.
  • Do not delete the blank row between the curriculum details and the task header. The import needs it.
  • Action values are case-sensitive. Use Read, not READ or read.
  • Do not rename the column headers. The task header row must be exactly Title, Description, Action, URL.

6. Export as CSV

Save or export the file in CSV format. The steps vary by application:

  • LibreOffice Calc: File > Save As, choose "Text CSV (.csv)" as the file type, and save.
  • Google Sheets: File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv).
  • Excel: File > Save As, choose "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)" as the file type, and save.
  • Apple Numbers: File > Export To > CSV, then save.

Give the file a name you will recognize, like ocean-study.csv.

7. Upload to Lesson Hollow

  1. If you are a Guide, switch to the Player View of the person who will study this curriculum. If you are the Player, you are already in the right place.
  2. Go to the Curriculums tab.
  3. Click New Curriculum.
  4. Select the CSV Upload tab.
  5. Drag your CSV file into the upload area, or click to browse and select it.
  6. Review the preview. Lesson Hollow will show your curriculum name, details, and a list of tasks. If there are errors, it will tell you what to fix.
  7. Click Create Curriculum to finish.