def create_empty_course(url, user, name='New Course', short_description="", is_private=False): learning_activity = LearningActivity(parent=None, root=None, is_container=True, name=name, uri='/activity/' + url) learning_activity.save() course = Course(short_description=short_description, root=learning_activity, private=is_private) course.save() auth = AuthorLearningActivity(user=user, learning_activity=learning_activity) auth.save() return learning_activity.id, learning_activity.uri