Continu's core terminology — what each concept means, how it differs from related ones, and where to read more.
Continu has several concepts that sound similar but mean different things. This glossary defines each term and points at the article that covers it in depth. Bookmark this article — most "which one should I use?" questions are answered here.
For the foundational guide on how the objects connect, see How Continu Works.
Audience and Access Concepts
User. One person in Continu. Has attributes (name, email, role, department, hire date, manager, custom attributes). See User Management.
User Role. One of Learner, Manager, Creator, Admin, or Owner. Determines what the User can do in Continu. One role per User. See User Roles.
Smart Segmentation. Attribute-driven population logic. Defines an audience by query ("all Sales Managers in EMEA"). The segment updates itself as user attributes change. Use when the audience is dynamic. See Smart Segmentation.
Group. A manually curated list of Users. Members are added explicitly, not by attribute. Has Group Managers who oversee the audience. Use when the audience is fixed and curated. See Groups In Continu.
Team. A multi-membership attribute on User accounts. A User can belong to many Teams. Auto-creates on bulk import. Use for cross-functional groupings. See Creating and Editing Continu Teams.
Department, Location, Level. Single-value attributes on User accounts. A User has one Department, one Location, one Level. Used in segmentation, content visibility, and reporting. Typically synced from HRIS.
External Users. A Department designation for users outside your employee base (contractors, partners, vendors). Content segmented to External Users stays hidden from internal users unless explicitly shared. See External Users.
Content Concepts
Content. Any learning material — Articles, Videos, Files, SCORM, Workshops, Assessments, Surveys, Learning Tracks, Journeys. The unit that gets assigned to Users.
Article. Text content authored natively in Continu with rich formatting, embedded images, and links. The default for knowledge content. See Add an Article to Continu.
Workshop. A live instructor-led session — in-person or virtual (Zoom, Teams, Meet). Has dates, registration, and attendance tracking. See Workshops in Continu.
Assessment. A graded knowledge check. Variants: Text Assessment (multiple choice / dropdown / written response), Video Assessment, Screen Recording, Video Coaching. Has rubrics, scoring, retry logic. See Assessments.
Survey. An ungraded response collection. Up to three questions, attached to content (before or after). Use for reactions, feedback, informal knowledge checks. Different from Assessment — Surveys don't have correct answers. See Surveys.
Learning Track. An ordered collection of Content with optional completion logic. Use for sequenced learning where order matters. See What is a Learning Track?
Journey. A time-based program combining Content, Workshops, and Assessments — released on a schedule rather than all at once. Use for onboarding sequences and time-spaced programs. Different from Learning Track — Journeys have time-based release; Tracks deliver all at once. See Tracks and Journeys.
Category. A topical grouping on the Explore page. Each Content piece belongs to one or more Categories. Curated by admins. See Categories In Continu.
Tag. A cross-Category label on Content. A "Sales Skills" tag might appear on Articles, Videos, and Workshops across multiple Categories.
Delivery Concepts
Assignment. A connection between a User (or audience) and Content with an expectation of completion. The unit that puts Content on a learner's Dashboard with a due date. See Designing Assignments.
Direct Assignment. An Assignment created manually by an admin or manager. Audience is fixed. Use for one-off needs. See Creating a Direct Assignment.
Automated Assignment / Automation. An Assignment created by a rule that fires on a trigger. Audience is dynamic. Use for recurring programs. "Automated Assignment" and "Automation" describe the same engine through two different UI paths — the Assignment builder (Share → Assignments) and the Automations area (Share → Automations). See Automation Design Best Practices.
Assignment Instance. A single delivery of an Assignment. Multiple Instances per Assignment = same content, different audiences or timings, separate reporting. See Understanding Assignment Instances.
Trigger. The event that fires an Automation — hire date, content completion, Group membership change, profile update, etc. See Automation Audience Trigger Guide.
Share. Make Content available without expectation of completion. Shared Content appears on the learner's account but not as an Assignment. Use when no completion tracking is needed.
Engagement Concepts
Eddy. Continu's conversational learning agent. Answers questions from indexed content (Articles, PDFs, uploaded videos). Available in-app, in Slack, and in Microsoft Teams. Different from a chatbot — Eddy stays in conversation, adapts, and surfaces the right next step. See Eddy.
Badge. A recognition object earned by completing a specific milestone (Track, Journey, Assessment, Workshop, etc.). Visible on learner profiles. See Badges and Recognition.
Certificate. A more formal credential for compliance-grade completion. Often paired with an E-Signature for audit trail. See Enable Content Certificates.
E-Signature. A learner-affirmed signature on Content indicating they've read and acknowledged the material. Used in compliance programs.
Reporting Concepts
Completion Data. The record of what each learner has finished. Source of truth for compliance, manager visibility, and program effectiveness reporting.
Report. A pre-built view of completion or engagement data with filters. Different reports answer different questions. See Reporting: Which Report Should I Use?
Report Builder. A custom query tool for building reports that don't match the pre-built ones. See Report Builder in Continu.
Insights. Continu's deeper analytics dashboards — most often used for Eddy AI usage data. See Continu Insights.
Common "Which One?" Questions
Smart Segmentation vs Group? Smart Segmentation maintains itself by attributes. Group is curated manually. Use Smart Segmentation for "all Sales in EMEA" (attribute-driven). Use Group for "the Q1 mentorship cohort" (curated list).
Group vs Team? Group is a managed audience list — created explicitly, managed centrally. Team is a multi-membership user attribute — set on each User, multiple Teams per User. Use Group for managed audiences with managers. Use Team for cross-functional tagging.
Track vs Journey? Track is order-based content delivery (all at once). Journey is time-based (released on a schedule). Use Track for short courses. Use Journey for onboarding programs and time-spaced learning.
Assessment vs Survey? Assessment is graded. Survey is response-collection only. Use Assessment for knowledge checks. Use Survey for reactions and feedback.
Direct vs Automated Assignment? Direct is manual, audience-fixed. Automated is trigger-based, audience-dynamic. Use Direct for one-offs. Use Automated for recurring programs.
Article vs File? Article is native Continu text content. File is a binary upload (PDF, PowerPoint, Word, etc.). Use Article whenever possible — searchable, mobile-friendly, in-place edits. Use File when you specifically need to deliver a polished document.
Badge vs Certificate? Badge is lighter-weight recognition. Certificate is formal compliance documentation, often with E-Signature. Use Badge for general recognition. Use Certificate for audit-grade requirements.
See Also
- How Continu Works — how all these objects connect.
- Content Strategy — strategic frame on Content choices.
- Designing Assignments — strategic frame on assignment design.
When in doubt about which Continu concept to use, find it here. Each term links to its full article.