When you create a blank course, most of your choices and settings will be done on the settings page for the course. The Moodle Help icons on this page do a good job of explaining the purpose of each setting. However, the directions do not specify the implications of the choices you make on this page.
In the instructions given next, I've added some commentary to help you determine how your choices will affect the operation of your course, and how the student/teacher is affected by those choices. My goal is to help you make the right choices in order to create the teacher/student experience you want.
The result of this procedure is a new course, ready for adding course material.
To create a new, blank course, ...