You can make (sub)modules and topics visible or invisible to students. If you make a (sub)module or topic invisible, it will not be visible to students, regardless of any time and/or date settings.
By default, modules (and topics) are set to Visible. You change this in the (sub)module itself:
- Navigate to Content in your course's navigation bar.
- Click on the desired (sub)module.
- Click on the slider next to the eye in the top center of the screen. This allows you to set the (sub)module to Visible or Hidden.
- If you have set a (sub)module or topic to Hidden, you will also see an eye icon with a line through it in the left navigation bar.
Don't forget to publish the (sub)module again later if it should be visible to students.
You change the status of a topic in the topic itself:
- Click on the topic you want to make visible or invisible.
- Click on the slider next to the eye. NB: you can also change the status via Edit, using the three dots at the top right.
If a (sub)module is published (Visible), but the release date (via Add dates and restrictions) is in the future, then students will see the name and description of that module (for example: Teaching material second semester), but they will not no access to it yet. You can make conscious use of this: you can give students a hint of what is on the schedule, without revealing the actual content of the module.