Table of Contents. Welcome...2. Logging In...3. If You Have an Account...3. If You Do Not Have an Account...3. Logging Out...5. Interface Basics...

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1 Admin Help Guide

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3 Table of Contents Welcome...2 Logging In...3 If You Have an Account...3 If You Do Not Have an Account...3 Logging Out...5 Interface Basics...5 About the Interface...5 Working with Your Browser...5 Entering Data...6 Searching...6 Enabling/Disabling Objects...7 Deleting Information...7 Modifying Information...8 Working with Multiple Languages...8 Working with Your Account and Profile...9 Editing Your Profile...9 Changing Your Password...10 Password Rules...10 Recovering a Forgotten Password...11 Renewing Your Membership...11 Viewing Your Payment Transactions...12 Working with Your Training Plan...15 What the Training Plan Shows...15 Available or In Progress Learning Activities...15 iii

4 Table of Contents Completed Activities...16 Working with Learning Activities...16 Navigating Through Assessments...17 Moving Through the Assessment...18 Displaying Assessment Progress...18 Working Within Time Limits...19 Exiting or Completing the Assessment...19 About Attempts and Your Attempts History...19 Registering for Learning Activities...20 Printing a Completion Certificate...20 Working with Your Activity Report...21 Configuring an Organization...23 Configuration Overview...23 Core Settings...23 Configuring Core Settings: Overview...23 Configuring General Settings...24 Configuring Accounts and Access...25 Configuring Support and Settings...26 Locations...27 About Locations...27 Configuring Locations...29 Configuring Location Types...31 Importing Locations...32 Departments...34 About Departments...34 iv

5 Table of Contents Configuring Departments...35 Importing Departments...35 Job Titles...37 About Job Titles...37 Configuring Job Titles...37 Importing Job Titles...37 Certifications...39 About Certifications...39 Configuring Certifications...41 Membership...42 About Membership...42 Configuring Membership Types...43 About Pricing...44 Pricing and Taxes...45 Managing Users...47 About User Accounts...47 About User Roles...48 Adding Users...49 Options for Adding Users...50 Adding Users Manually...50 Importing Users...51 Working with User Accounts...54 Opening a User's Account...54 Editing a User's Profile...54 Changing a User's Password...55 v

6 Table of Contents Giving Users a Certification...55 Viewing a User's Transactions...56 Membership...56 Creating a User's Membership...56 Renewing a User's Membership...58 Managing a User's Training Plan...59 About Managing Training Plans...59 Viewing Training Plan Details...59 Viewing Attempts at an Item...60 Editing User's Attempt Status and Score...60 Changing a User's Attempt Limit...61 Adding an Offline Attempt for a User...62 Viewing Assessment Results...63 Viewing User's Completion Certificate...63 Loading Content...65 What Can Be Loaded...65 Concepts of Content Loading...65 Introduction...65 About SCORM...65 Producing SCORM...66 About QTI...67 About Manifest Files and Resource Files...67 Manifest and Resource Identification and Storage...67 Choices for Content Loading...68 Introduction...68 vi

7 Table of Contents New Learning Activity...69 Correction to Existing Learning Activity...70 Change Needed to Behaviour of Existing Activity...71 Change Needed to Substance of Existing Activity...73 New Activity that Points to Previously Loaded Resources...74 For AICC Users...77 Verifying Loaded Content Works Properly...78 Managing Content...79 About Content and Learning Activities...79 About Managing Content...79 About Rollup...80 About Events...81 Viewing Details of a Learning Activity...81 Viewing Learning Activity History...83 Editing Learning Activities...83 Adding a File...83 Rearranging Order of Contents...84 Editing Title, Type, and Other Information...84 Editing Event Information...85 Enabling Completion Certificates...86 Setting Passing Score...87 Setting Attempt Limit...88 Setting Presentation Settings...88 Assigning Tags...89 Specifying Prerequisites...90 vii

8 Table of Contents Specifying Instructors...91 Setting Pricing...91 Setting Registration Options...92 Allowing Self-Registration...93 Copying a Learning Activity...95 Deleting a Learning Activity...96 Managing Participants...96 Viewing Registration Information...96 Viewing Activity Status...96 Viewing Completion Certificates...97 Entering Course Results...97 About Tags...98 Creating Tags...98 Assigning Content to Users About Assignments Methods for Assigning Content About Overlapping Assignments Creating Assignments Step 1: Set the Basic Assignment Properties Step 2: Choose the Activities to be Assigned Step 3: Choose When the Activities Will be Available Step 4: Choose Who Will be Able to Access the Content Step 5: Confirm and Save the Assignment Editing Assignments Adding Participants Directly viii

9 Table of Contents Removing Access to Content Troubleshooting Resolving the Problem Yourself Contacting Technical Support Taking Screen Shots for Problem Diagnosis Clearing Your Browser and Deleting Cookies If you use Internet Explorer If you use Firefox Recovering a Forgotten Password ix

10 Welcome Welcome This online help describes how to configure and manage your Learning Management System. Because the LMS has been configured for your unique environment, the appearance of screens and the labels on fields in your environment may differ from what is described here. All functions and features available are described. Which features you can use, and the scope of what you do with those features, varies based on your user role. This online help explains tasks related both to your role as an administrator and to your role as a learner. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 2

11 Logging In If You Have an Account Enter your Username and Password and click Login. (You may need to enter additional information, such as a Client ID, if your organization requires it.) You may be prompted to change your password. Note: If you forgot your password, you can recover it. If You Do Not Have an Account Contact your administrator or create one yourself. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 3

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13 Logging Out Be sure to click Logout when you are done working with the LMS. Logging out protects your privacy and ensures that information about your training activities is recorded accurately. After a specific period of inactivity, you will automatically be logged out. This will not be obvious until you click on something in the interface, at which point you will be prompted to login again: Once you login again, your previously selected action will be completed. For example, if you click on an event when your session has timed out, when you log back in again the event information will be open. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 4

14 Interface Basics About the Interface Depending on your user role, you see some or all of the following tabs across the top of the interface: My Training shows your training plan. Configuration is used to configure an organization. Users is used to add or manage users. Content is used to load content or manage the Content Library, including assigning learning activities to users. Reports is used to generate and view administrative reports. Clicking on a tab opens a set of menus on the left: click a menu to perform a function. Screens show available functions below the screen title. To drill-down into more detailed data, click the linked name (for example, to display the details for a user, click the user's name). Working with Your Browser The LMS supports most modern browsers, in particular Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera. Other browsers, and older versions of these browsers, may work, but we recommend using one of these. Your browser needs to have cookies and JavaScript enabled. The LMS doesn t require any plug-ins or the downloading of any Active-X components. Internet Explorer users need to permit Active-X execution, as the LMS uses the XML- HTTP component and Internet Explorer supplies this using a built in Active-X control. Some training content may require specific plug-ins. It is recommended that you use the navigation tools offered within the LMS interface rather than your browser's navigation buttons to move around. You can only have one learning activity active at a time: if you open additional learning activities in a new window or tab (using your browser functions), the previous activity will be de-activated. Although it is not recommended, you can create a bookmark to your current location in the LMS. When you return to the bookmark, you will be prompted to login and will need to know your client ID (if you don't know it, contact technical support). Bookmarks will take you to the bookmarked learning activity, not to a specific spot in its content. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 5

15 Interface Basics Entering Data Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*). Some screens allow you to select from a list of items. Some screens show you the currently selected items (for example, the instructors currently associated with a learning activity). To remove the selection, you can either clear the checkbox beside the item or click the beside it. If your organization supports multiple languages, data entry screens will repeat some data entry fields, one field per language. Show Data Entry Fields You are usually only required to supply information in the default language. If translated terms are not supplied, the default language's value will be used regardless of the user's language. Searching To make it easier to move through long lists of information, whenever you see a list of items you will also see a Search box. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 6

16 Interface Basics As you type characters in that box, the interface filters the list to show only those items that match what you type. Matching will take into account all the information displayed on the page where you are searching, not just names. If you want to perform more sophisticated searching, you can enter more than one set of characters, separated by spaces. Each set of characters will be used as its own filter. This is helpful if you want to search for items based on more than one type of information available for that item (there is an implied "AND" condition between character sets). You can also enter a range [x - x] to target specific sets of numbers and alphabetical characters. Give Me An Example Searching for "Course 101" returns all list items that contain the strings course and 101. Searching for "2[0-9][0-9]" returns all list items that contain a 3 digit number beginning with the number 2, such as 200, 201, 202, and so on. Enabling/Disabling Objects Some objects in the LMS, such as clients, users, and assignments, can be enabled or disabled. Disabling an object suppresses its function. For example, if you disable a training assignment, the assignment has no impact (until it is enabled again). Note: Where the LMS shows user counts (for example, the number of users associated with a specific department), those figures include users whose accounts have been disabled. Deleting Information With the appropriate user role, you can delete information of any type from the LMS. Some deletions can be undone and some cannot: you are warned if the impact of deletion might affect functioning. Throughout the LMS you will see a "Delete" function where deleting is available. Some screens allow you to select multiple items for deletion. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 7

17 Interface Basics Keep in mind that changes to the LMS take effect immediately for all users: deleting a learning activity, for example, means it no longer appears to users. Modifying Information With the appropriate user role, you can modify information of any type in the LMS. While viewing information, you will see an "Edit" function: generally, editing information displays the same screen you saw when adding that information, with the current values shown. Modify and save the information as necessary. Keep in mind that changes to the LMS take effect immediately for all users. Working with Multiple Languages The LMS is a multi-lingual application: supported languages are determined by your configuration. If multiple languages are supported, you will be able to enter text strings in each language supported. The LMS will display text in the user s preferred language, if it is available: otherwise it will display the text using the client s preferred language. When working with multiple languages, enter the translated values consistently to ensure the best experience for your user community. A user's account indicates their preferred language. When a user chooses a language other than English, the interface navigation (button names, menus, etc.) change to that language, and any text you have entered for that language is applied. If an alternative term in the chosen language is not configured, the default language will be used. Give Me An Example You have a learning activity called "Introduction to Marketing", with the French title "L'introduction à la Commercialisation". You have another learning activity called "Introduction to Sales", but have not provided a French title. A user choosing the French interface would see "L'introduction à la Commercialisation" and "Introduction to Sales". Note: This mechanism does not affect the language used within the learning content itself. The content can, however, use the SCORM API to determine the learner s preferred language and act accordingly if it supports multiple languages. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 8

18 Working with Your Account and Profile Editing Your Profile Your profile provides contact and other information either entered by the person who set up your account or entered by you when you created your account. It also shows any certifications you have been granted (these can be used to determine if you have the necessary prerequisites for a learning activity). Note: You also use this function to view payment transactions and to renew a membership. 1. In the top right corner of the screen, click My profile. 2. You see a new screen. 3. To edit your profile, click Edit profile. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 9

19 Working with Your Account and Profile 4. In the new screen you see, edit the information. An asterisk (*) beside a field means it is a required field. The information you can edit depends on your organization, but may include items such as: 1. First Name, Last Name 2. Address: used if you need to recover a forgotten password. 3. Language: determines the language used for the interface. Changing Your Password When you login for the very first time, and possibly when you login later, you may be prompted to set or change your password. If this happens, and how often it happens, depends on the LMS configuration. The new password must conform to password rules. At any time, you can change your password yourself: In the top right corner of the screen, click My profile. You see a new screen. Click Change password. You are prompted for both your current password and the new password you want to use from now on. Password Rules To protect your privacy, always use passwords that are memorable to you but not easily for others to guess. Your password should contain a combination of letters, digits, and symbols. Passwords are case-sensitive: for example, " PAsswOrd" and " PASswOrd" are not considered the same. The minimum length of your password is determined by your organization. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 10

20 Working with Your Account and Profile Recovering a Forgotten Password If you have forgotten your password: 1. On the login page, click Forgot your password? You see a new screen. 2. Enter your username and click Send A message with the subject line "How to reset your password" is sent to the address in your profile. If the system does not have an address for you, it will present you with information on how to contact technical support. Tip: You can specify a different address by editing your profile. 4. Open the . Click the link it contains, or copy it into your browser's address window, to be prompted for your n ew password. Follow the password rules. Renewing Your Membership If your LMS has been configured to manage memberships and your membership has expired, you will be prompted to renew when you login and will not be able to continue until you renew. Depending in your organization's rules, you may be able to renew your membership before it expires: In the top right corner of the screen, click My profile. In the screen you see, click Renew membership. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 11

21 Working with Your Account and Profile A new screen appears. Follow the prompts. Viewing Your Payment Transactions If you have registered for learning activities that charge a fee, you can see a history of your financial transactions related to those activities. 1. In the top right corner of the screen, click My profile. 2. You see a new screen, with a menu on the left. Click Transaction History. You see a new screen showing your transactions. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 12

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24 Working with Your Training Plan What the Training Plan Shows Depending on the LMS configuration and your user rights, you may see one, some, or all of the following in the menu: 1. Training Plan shows all the learning activities assigned to you by someone or chosen by you. The list includes activities you have completed, are currently taking, or have yet to take. 2. Course Library shows a list of the online training that you can choose to take. 3. Upcoming Events shows a list of the events that you can choose to participate in. 4. Activity Report generates a report showing your performance on learning activities. The Training Plan shows all the learning activities assigned to you by someone or chosen by you. The top part of the screen shows learning activities that you have not started or have started but not yet completed ("in progress"). The bottom part of the screen shows completed activities. In the example below, "101 Reading Blueprints" is in progress, "Interview Soft Skills2" and "Safety Test" have not been started, and "Initial Assessment" and "Interview Soft Skills" are complete. Available or In Progress Learning Activities Icons indicate the nature of the available or in progress learning activity: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 15

25 Working with Your Training Plan indicates a piece of online learning or an assessment indicates an event Activity types (course, tutorial, meeting) are shown below the title of each learning activity. These types are for information purposes only: what you see when you launch the content of an activity does not depend on its type. Learning activities may have an end date and/or a due date. If a learning activity has an end date, it is removed from the Training Plan on that date, regardless of its status. If a learning activity has a due date, once that date has passed you see the word "Overdue" beside the learning activity. Note: Even if a learning activity no longer appears on your Training Plan, if it was in progress, you can see information about it in your activity report. Learning activities are shown in a logical order, with those that have a end date or due date associated with them appearing first. Learning activities without a date are shown in the order they were assigned (or that you registered for them). Completed Activities If you have completed any activities, they are listed (along with the date each was completed) on the bottom part of the Training Plan. Only the last three completed activities are shown: if you have completed more than three, click View all completed activities to display all completed activities. Depending on your organization, you may be able to re-open completed activities by clicking on them in this part of the screen. Working with Learning Activities From the Training Plan page, click the name of the learning activity you want to work with. The activity opens, showing: 1. more detailed information about the activity 2. the contents of the activity (with the status of each item) 3. the actions available for each item. For example: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 16

26 Working with Your Training Plan when you see... the title of the item as a link, for example a Launch link, for example a Resume link, for example an Attempts history link, for example that means... the item contains additional content within it (for example, a lesson might contain several topics): click the title to open the item you can launch that item, opening it and attempting to complete it: click the Launch link you have launched the item before: to resume work with the item, click the Resume link (not all content can be resumed) you have launched or completed the item: to see information about your attempts, click the Attempts history link Once you launch (or resume) an item, how you navigate through it depends on the nature of the content. For example, you might see a PowerPoint slide show, an interactive video, or a multiple choice quiz. If you launch content that is an assessment, you may see the navigation tools described in Navigating through Assessments. If you are uncertain how to use the navigation tools provided with content, contact technical support. Navigating Through Assessments TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 17

27 Working with Your Training Plan Content items identified with this icon are a specific type of assessment. Use the following instructions for navigating through them. Assessments may be used as tests (with scored results) or as surveys. Moving Through the Assessment Answer questions by clicking the correct answer (or doing whatever other action you are directed to do). Click the Next and Prev buttons on the navigation bar to move through the screens of the assessment: You can also navigate using keyboard keys: use the up and down arrow to move between selections (e.g., possible answers to a question) use the space bar to select/deselect an option use the Enter key to move forward a screen. Displaying Assessment Progress To display your progress on the assessment, click the Menu button on the navigation bar: Note: The Menu button appears only if questions in the assessment can be answered in any order. You see a new screen showing one block for each question: 1. white blocks indicate questions you haven't yet viewed 2. light grey boxes indicate questions you have viewed but not answered 3. dark grey boxes indicate questions you have viewed and answered To move to a specific question, click the corresponding box. If you previously answered the question, you can change your answer. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 18

28 Working with Your Training Plan To return to the assessment from the menu, click the Return link. Working Within Time Limits The assessment may have a time limit: if so, the number of minutes remaining appears on the navigation bar, with the timer updated every minute until the five minute mark is reached. Once there are five minutes remaining in the time limit, the count-down display becomes larger and counts down in seconds: Once time has expired, the assessment is automatically submitted: you see a message telling you this and showing your results. If you lose your connection to the LMS while completing an assessment, you can resume it if the time limit has not been reached. If the time limit has been reached, ask your local administrator for help. Exiting or Completing the Assessment At any time during the assessment, you can click the Exit link. Depending on the LMS configuration, you may be prompted to choose whether you want to submit your answers (you may not be able to resume the assessment later) or suspend the assessment (you may be able to return to it later). The last screen of the assessment offers a Submit button. When you click this button (or exit and choose to submit your answers) your answers are submitted and, depending on the assessment, you may see your results. These results might include a list of the correct answers as well as your score. About Attempts and Your Attempts History Each time you launch or complete an item within a learning activity, this is considered an "attempt". Some learning activity items may restrict you to a specific number of attempts. Note: Resuming an incomplete learning activity, which may or may not be possible, is not considered an additional attempt. Once you have made an attempt at an item, an Attempts history link appears below the item. You can click that link to see the details of all your attempts, including their results, if appropriate. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 19

29 Working with Your Training Plan For an item that limits the number of attempts, once you have reached that limit you can no longer launch the item. If you need to extend the number of attempts, contact technical support. Registering for Learning Activities You may be able to choose to register for learning activities. Click Course Library (for online training) or Upcoming Events (for events). You see a list of available learning activities. Click on an activity, then click Register. Depending on the activity, you may be prompted for payment information, to accept a waiver, and/or for additional information (such as your choice of meal or accommodations at an event). Once you have completed registration, the learning activity appears in your Training Plan and can be worked with normally. Note: The learning activity also remains on your Course Library or Upcoming Events page, although the Register link is no longer available. Printing a Completion Certificate A learning activity may be associated with a completion certificate. When you successfully complete such a learning activity, a Completion certificate link is added to the learning activity's page. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 20

30 Working with Your Training Plan To view and print a completion certificate: Open the learning activity by clicking on its name. Click Completion certificate. You are prompted to open or save the certificate (which is in PDF format). Once you have opened it (or saved and opened it), you can print it to your local printer. Working with Your Activity Report Your activity report shows a detailed record of your learning activities. To display the report, click Activity Report. For each online training activity you attempted or completed, you may see the following information: 1. if it was completed 2. if it was attempted but not completed (and how many times it was attempted) TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 21

31 Working with Your Training Plan 3. when you started it, when you completed it, and how long it took you to complete it 4. the score you achieved on it (if relevant) 5. whether you passed or failed it (if relevant). For each event you registered for, you see the date and location of the event. To see more detailed item-level information, click the "+" beside the activity's name. Use the toolbar to work with the report. To navigate forward, backward, or to specific page in the report, use these controls: To refresh the report, click To export the report for further manipulation or printing: 1. Choose a format from the list. 2. Click Export 3. Follow the prompts. Tip: To print your activity report, use the Export function to export it to PDF and then print the PDF. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 22

32 Configuring an Organization Configuration Overview 1. Configure core settings to define your organization's name, features of the LMS you want enabled, contact information, and other details. 2. Optionally, configure locations to which users and events can belong. 3. Optionally, configure departments to which users can belong. 4. Optionally, configure job titles which users can have. 5. Optionally, configure certifications that can be used as prerequisites for learning activities. 6. Optionally, configure memberships that can be used to limit access to learning activities. 7. Optionally, configure pricing to be charged for access to learning activities. Caution: Configuration changes made after users have begun using the LMS may affect functionality. We recommend finalizing your configuration before adding users. Once the organization is configured, you will need to: 1. Add users who will use or manage the LMS (or allow users to add their own student accounts). 2. Prepare and load content, creating learning activities. 3. Optionally, modify your content library after loading. 4. Make learning activities available to users. 5. Provide your member community with the URL they need to access the LMS and who to contact for non-technical problems (such as setting a password). (The URL was established as part of general configuration settings.) Be aware that configuration changes and additions take effect immediately. For example, changing the name of a learning activity in the configuration interface changes that name everywhere the learning activity is used. Core Settings Configuring Core Settings: Overview To configure the core functionality of the LMS : TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 23

33 Configuring an Organization 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Settings (menu). 2. You see the Settings screen, which has three editing options: o o o General Settings (names, logo, and available functionality) Accounts and Access (minimum lengths for usernames and passwords) Support and Settings (contact information to be presented to users) Configuring General Settings In the Settings screen, from the Edit menu choose General Settings. You see a new set of fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 24

34 Configuring an Organization Enter a Client ID, typically a shortened version of the organization's name, or an acronym for the organization. This ID is used as part of the URL for accessing the LMS, so use a simple string made up of alphabetic and numeric characters (not special characters such as &,?, spaces or any other punctuation characters). The login URL users will use to access the LMS appears below the client ID. Note: Users who access the LMS using the URL will not be prompted to enter a Client ID when they login. Enter the organization's Name. This is used internally to identify the organization: if you do not specify a logo, this name appears in the banner of LMS screens. Enter an Identifier for the organization. Enter an Application Name for the LMS. This is the name used to identify the system to users. It appears in the browser s title bar and may be used in s sent from the LMS. Optionally, upload a logo (suggested size is pixels wide, pixels high; must be GIF, JPG, or PNG format) to appear in the banner of LMS screens. If you do not upload a logo, the organization's name appears in its place. Enable or disable the optional functionality you want to use: o o o o o o o o locations location hierarchies events departments job titles certifications membership users can sign up for an account (presents users with a "create account" option on the login page; accounts are given the student role) We recommend you give careful thought to which functions you choose to enable. Typically, enabling a function causes additional data or other fields to appear and additional functionality to become available. If you disable a function once it has been enabled, data gathered to support that function (for example, job titles of users) will be retained and, where relevant (such as for content assignment rules) will continue to be used. However, since the necessary data entry fields will not appear on the screens, any new data will not be captured. This can lead to inconsistent results. Configuring Accounts and Access TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 25

35 Configuring an Organization In the Settings screen, from the Edit menu choose Accounts and Access You see a new set of fields. Specify the Minimum Lengths for usernames and passwords. These limits will be applied when the user account is created or a password is changed. Generally, the longer the password length, the more secure the user passwords will be. Note: A minimum length of six characters is recommended. Advise users to use a combination of letters, digits, and symbols in their passwords. Optionally, choose a Password Expiry time period. When a password expires, at next login the user is prompted to create a new one. Note: Values apply only to usernames and passwords created from this point on. Configuring Support and Settings Be sure to provide contact information that users can rely on when seeking help. For some support functions, such as resetting passwords or getting additional attempts at a learning activity, you may want users to contact someone other than technical support. For these purposes, set up a local administrator and share their contact information with users. 1. In the Settings screen, from the Edit menu choose Support and Settings. You see a new set of fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 26

36 Configuring an Organization 2. Specify the address and phone number a user will see on their Help page and can use to receive support. 3. For communications from the LMS (such as for password recovery), optionally modify the default address and/or the related SMTP settings. Locations About Locations Locations can be defined for an organization. They can be used simply to record additional information about users, or can be used to assign content to users based on their location. Locations can reflect geography (state, region, city) or organizational structure (work team, office, reporting responsibility). Locations allow a user to be established as an administrator with limited scope, responsible for just the users within their location. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 27

37 Configuring an Organization If events are supported, locations are also used to identify the place where an event takes place. Optionally, locations can be organized into hierarchies by identifying location types. You can specify which locations can have users associated with them, and which are used purely for organizational purposes. Give Me An Example Based on Geography Say you identified this hierarchy for your locations: Head Office Region District Customer Service Center Repair Center Each of these would be a location type. You would then define locations of each type: Rochester (head office type) Western New York (region type) Greater Rochester (district type) The Mall, Greece (customer service centre type) Brighton (repair center type) Central New York (region type) Greater Syracuse (district type) Sparks Street (customer service centre type) When you defined the Greater Rochester location, you would specify that it was a district, and then choose as its parent Western New York. For the Greater Syracuse location, you would specify that it was a district and then choose as its parent Central New York. Give Me An Example Not Based on Geography Your hierarchy could be based on lines of business: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 28

38 Configuring an Organization Computer Sales New Refurbished Peripheral Sales Printers Keyboards Service Contracts Each of these would be a location type. You would then define locations of each type, for example: PC (Computer Sales type) Dell (New type) Mac (New type) Dell (Refurbished type) Mac (Refurbished type) Home (Peripheral Sales type) Office (Peripheral Sales type) Logitech (Printers type) When you defined the Dell location for new computers, you would specify that it was of the type "New", and then choose as its parent "Dell". For the Dell location for refurbished computers, you would specify that it was on the type "Refurbished" and then choose as its parent "Dell". Location types also play a role in user management. Administrative users in a location that has child locations can be limited to managing just their location (Local Administrator) or the subordinate locations as well (Multiple Location Administrator). Configuring Locations You can configure the list of locations using one or all of these methods: import users with new locations associated with some users TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 29

39 Configuring an Organization import locations manually define locations (described below) 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Locations (menu). You see a list of existing locations. 2. Click Add a location. You see a new screen. 3. Enter the location's Name (appears in drop-down list of locations) and Identifier. 4. If appropriate, specify this location's position in the location hierarchy by choosing a Location Level and Parent Location. 5. Choose the location's Time Zone. For future implementation: recommended when using geographic-based locations. 6. Enter the location Address. 7. Click Add Location. You see the list of locations, including the one you just added. The location is now available in all Location lists in the system. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 30

40 Configuring an Organization Configuring Location Types Configure location types in order of the hierarchy (that is, configure parent location types first, then child ones). Since locations can be used both for capturing information about users and for identifying the location of an event, you may want to use location types to separate the list of locations used for each purpose. This will let you exclude locations intended for events from the list that appears in the users' record. Give Me An Example Location type "Meeting Rooms" could include the locations "Boardroom", "Meeting Room A", "Meeting Room B", "Holiday Inn Conference Center" and so on. Location type "Offices" could include the locations "Head Office", "Western Sales Office", "Eastern Sales Office", and so on. 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Locations (menu). You see a list of existing locations. 2. From the View menu, choose Location Types. You see a list of existing location types 3. Click Add a location type. You see a new screen. 4. Enter the location Type (appears in drop-down list when configuring locations). 5. If this is a parent type with no type above it, choose a Parent Type of None. - or - If this is a child type, choose the appropriate Parent Type. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 31

41 Configuring an Organization 6. To allow users to be associated with this location type, check the Yes, users may be assigned... option. This lets you prevent locations from appearing in the list of user locations and being accidentally applied to users: only locations of types that have this option checked will appear in the Location list in user accounts. Give Me An Example You have a Region that has a District within it. When you want users to be assigned to districts, check "users can be assigned" for the District location and leave it clear for Region. This will require users to pick a district as a location and prevent them from choosing regions accidentally. 7. Click Add Type. You see the list of location types, including the one you just added. Importing Locations Importing can be used for both adding and modifying job titles. Preparing the File The file must be a comma-separate values (CSV) file. Such files can be produced from Excel. Note the following guidelines: 1. Use a.csv extension for the file. 2. File must contain at least one row. 3. Column headings are optional. 4. To enter a multiple-line address, separate each line with a \n (e.g. to specify "123 Main Street, Apt. 12", enter "123 Main Street\nApt. 12") Tip: If you use column headings, create ones that are similar to or identical to the field names in the record: this will save time when matching the CSV contents to the record's requirements. Show Me an Example Location, Type, Parent Atlanta, District, Georgia Georgia, State, Eastern USA Eastern USA, Region, Head Office TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 32

42 Configuring an Organization When multiple languages are being used, CSV files can contain a title for each language. If the CSV is for... It must... creating records contain all required fields modifying records have a location name or System ID identical to an existing record in each row both creating and modifying records contain required fields for both new and existing records Importing the File 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Locations. 2. Click Import locations. 3. Browse to the location of the CSV file and open it. 4. Click Next. You see a progress indicator, then a screen that allows you to match the contents of the CSV to the potential contents of the record. Import Locations Screen TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 33

43 Configuring an Organization 5. If the first row of the file contains column headings, check the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the second row of the CSV file. - or - If the first row of the file does not contain column headings, clear the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the first row of the CSV file. 6. Use the arrow buttons to view additional rows, if necessary. 7. For each column in the CSV file, choose the matching Field, or choose Do not import this field. 8. Click Next. 9. If any errors are found in the CSV file (for example, data needed for creating a record is missing, or you specify a location parent without a location level), you are prompted to either view the error file or proceed. Rows with errors will not be imported. Choose to cancel (so you can change the matching or the CSV file itself and try again) or continue. 10. You see the Confirm and Save screen. If the CSV file contains information for an existing record, you can choose whether to leave the record unchanged or update the record. 11. Click Confirm and Save. The information is imported. Departments About Departments TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 34

44 Configuring an Organization Departments can be defined for an organization. They can be used simply to record additional information about users, or can be used to assign content to users based on their department. Configuring Departments You can configure the list of departments using one or all of these methods: 1. import users with new departments associated with some users 2. import departments 3. manually define departments (described below) 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Departments (menu). You see a list of existing departments. 2. Click Add a department. You see a new screen. 3. Enter the department Name (appears in drop-down list of departments and job titles) and Identifier. 4. Click Add Department. You see the list of departments, including the one you just added. Importing Departments Importing can be used for both adding and modifying departments. Preparing the File The file must be a comma-separate values (CSV) file. Such files can be produced from Excel. Note the following guidelines: 1. Use a.csv extension for the file. 2. File must contain at least one row. 3. Column headings are optional. Tip: If you use column headings, create ones that are similar to or identical to the field names in the record: this will save time when matching the CSV contents to the record's requirements. When multiple languages are being used, CSV files can contain a title for each language. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 35

45 Configuring an Organization If the CSV is for... It must... creating records contain all required fields modifying records have a department name or System ID identical to an existing record in each row both creating and modifying records contain required fields for both new and existing records Importing the File 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Departments. 2. Click Import departments. 3. Browse to the location of the CSV file and open it. 4. Click Next. You see a progress indicator, then a screen that allows you to match the contents of the CSV to the potential contents of the record. 5. If the first row of the file contains column headings, check the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the second row of the CSV file. - or - If the first row of the file does not contain column headings, clear the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the first row of the CSV file. 6. Use the arrow buttons to view additional rows, if necessary. 7. For each column in the CSV file, choose the matching Field, or choose Do not import this field. 8. Click Next. 9. If any errors are found in the CSV file (for example, data needed for creating a record is missing), you are prompted to either view the error file or proceed. Rows with errors will not be imported. Choose to cancel (so you can change the matching or the CSV file itself and try again) or continue. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 36

46 Configuring an Organization 10. You see the Confirm and Save screen. If the CSV file contains information for an existing record, you can choose whether to leave the record unchanged or update the record. 11. Click Confirm and Save. The information is imported. Job Titles About Job Titles Job titles can be defined for an organization. They can be used simply to record additional information about users, or can be used to assign content to users based on their job title. Configuring Job Titles You can configure the list of job titles using one or all of these methods: 1. import users with new job titles associated with some users 2. import job titles 3. manually define job titles (described below) 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Job Titles (menu). You see a list of existing job titles. 2. Click Add a job title. You see a new screen. 3. Enter the job title Name (appears in drop-down list of job titles) and Identifier. 4. Click Add Job Title. You see the list of job titles, including the one you just added. Importing Job Titles Importing can be used for both adding and modifying job titles. Preparing the File The file must be a comma-separate values (CSV) file. Such files can be produced from Excel. Note the following guidelines: 1. Use a.csv extension for the file. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 37

47 Configuring an Organization 2. File must contain at least one row. 3. Column headings are optional. Tip: If you use column headings, create ones that are similar to or identical to the field names in the record: this will save time when matching the CSV contents to the record's requirements. Show Me an Example TitleEnglish, TitleFrench supervisor, surveillant clerk, employé de bureau sales rep, représentant When multiple languages are being used, CSV files can contain a title for each language. If the CSV is for... It must... creating records contain all required fields modifying records have a job title name or System ID identical to an existing record in each row both creating and modifying records contain required fields for both new and existing records Importing the File 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Job Titles. 2. Click Import job titles. 3. Browse to the location of the CSV file and open it. 4. Click Next. You see a progress indicator, then a screen that allows you to match the TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 38

48 Configuring an Organization contents of the CSV to the potential contents of the record. Import Job Title Screen 5. If the first row of the file contains column headings, check the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the second row of the CSV file. - or - If the first row of the file does not contain column headings, clear the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the first row of the CSV file. 6. Use the arrow buttons to view additional rows, if necessary. 7. For each column in the CSV file, choose the matching Field, or choose Do not import this field. 8. Click Next. 9. If any errors are found in the CSV file (for example, data needed for creating a record is missing), you are prompted to either view the error file or proceed. Rows with errors will not be imported. Choose to cancel (so you can change the matching or the CSV file itself and try again) or continue. 10. You see the Confirm and Save screen. If the CSV file contains information for an existing record, you can choose whether to leave the record unchanged or update the record. 11. Click Confirm and Save. The information is imported. Certifications About Certifications TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 39

49 Configuring an Organization Use certifications when you want to track competency levels in a defined body of knowledge. Users may need to complete a specific learning activity to be certified. They then need to take some ongoing learning activities to retain their certification. Certification / recertification can be granted automatically by the system or be manually recorded for individuals. This feature is particularly useful for organizations with ongoing continuing education requirements. Certification can offer several levels and can be set to expire at intervals (for example, annually), requiring re-certification. For example, completing a Basic First Aid program certifies the user for a year, then an annual refresher is needed to retain the certification. Certification is often offered at multiple levels. Give Me An Example. You could offer Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System certification at three levels: 1. Level 1 - WHMIS Certified - certified able to work in the workplace following WHMIS rules 2. Level 2 - WHMIS Certified Trainer - certified able to facilitate WHMIS training for other employees 3. Level 3 - WHMIS Program Facilitator - certified able to train other trainers Note: Certifications are not the same thing as completion certificates. Users are granted certification either manually or when a user completes an activity that sets a system global objective that has been mapped to the certification. Re-certification is granted through global objectives or by extending a user's certification manually. Administrators can edit a person s certification and change the expiry date. The LMS keeps a history of these edits. To implement certifications, follow these steps: 1. Enable certification for the LMS. 2. Configure the list of possible certifications and, optionally, the certification levels. 3. Optionally, assign certifications as prerequisites to learning activities if you are using self-registration and want to control sign-up for an activity based on the learner s current certifications. 4. Add certification to a user's account - or - Load content that allows users to earn a certificate or re-certify by completing learning activities (established in the content's global objectives). TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 40

50 Configuring an Organization Note: Re-certification is granted only through global objectives. Configuring Certifications Certifications 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Certifications (menu). You see a list of existing certifications, with the number of levels and users associated with each. 2. Click Add certification. You see a new screen. 3. Enter a Name, Description, and Identifier for the certification. 4. If this is a one-time certification, go to the next step. If this is an on-going certification, enter the number of months the certification is valid for. You can either specify that the recertification never expires, or the length of time the recertification is valid for. 5. Click Save Changes. Certification Levels TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 41

51 Configuring an Organization By default, each certification has a single level (Level 1). To change the name of this level and/or add levels: 1. Click Configuration (tab), then Certifications (menu). 2. Click on the certification name to which you want to add a level. You see details of the certification, including duration, and levels. 3. To modify a level's name or duration, click the level name. - or - To add a level, click Add new level. 4. Enter (or modify) the Level name and Description. 5. Click Add New Level. Membership About Membership Use memberships to give specific users access to an entire Content Library for a limited period of time. Give Me An Example Users sign up for a training program supported through a specific content library and are granted an initial membership that expires in one year. After their membership expires, users must pay a renewal fee to maintain access to the Content Library. Membership can be given to a user manually or, using global objectives, automatically as the result of taking a learning activity. Give Me An Example Users could be presented with a screening test. If they fail the test, they are granted basic membership; if they pass, they are granted full membership. Additional learning activities could be available only to members of a specific level. Once a user's membership expires, they will be prompted to renew it at login, and will not be allowed to continue accessing learning activities until they renew. To implement memberships, follow these steps: Enable memberships. Configure membership types. Optionally, manually give users a membership. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 42

52 Configuring an Organization Configuring Membership Types Click Configuration (tab), then Membership Types (menu). You see a list of existing membership types: to open the configuration options for one, click its name. Click Add a membership type. You see a new screen. Enter a Name, Description and Identifier for the membership type. Either specify an annual expiry date or enter the length of time membership and renewed membership lasts. Give Me An Example TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 43

53 Configuring an Organization All memberships might expire on September 15, regardless of when people become members. Alternatively, membership might expire one calendar year after the individual becomes a member. Enter the number of days before membership expiry that a user can renew their membership. Give Me An Example You might want to allow users to renew their membership 10 days before expiry. If they do not renew before expiry, they will be prompted to do so when they login. Optionally, enter the amount to be charged for Initial Membership and Renewal membership. Click Add Membership Type. Your see the list of membership types, including the one you just added. About Pricing Use pricing when you want to require users to pay for access to specific learning activities. Users gain unlimited access to a learning activity they have paid for. To allow access to a set of learning activities, or to limit the length of time a user has access to those learning activities, use memberships. Since pricing is not required for users who receive access to learning activities through assignments, you will need to either manually make users participants in the learning activity, or allow self-registration. Tip: If you want to offer pricing only for specific users, make a copy of the learning activity. Use an assignment to provide access to one copy of the learning activity for users who will not be charged, and manually make users participants or allow self-registration for the second copy. To use the pricing functionality, you must have it enabled, defining the payment types permitted (PayPal, Cheque, VISA, MasterCard, Cash, etc.) and entering the details required to enable the PayPal payment gateway. Using pricing, users can be charged a fee for: memberships learning activities registration options To require payment from users, manually add them as participants or use selfregistration. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 44

54 Configuring an Organization If you manually give access to learning activities with payment associated to them, you are prompted to enter payment information or to provide a reason for allowing the user access to the learning activity at no cost. Self-registering users will need to enter payment information (PayPal or credit card) to register for the learning activity. You can specify multiple prices for a learning activity. Pricing and Taxes If a tax code has been defined for your LMS, taxes will automatically be added to all prices appropriately. Tax codes can be configured to calculate and apply tax based on either the service's location or the user's location. Give Me An Example Residents of Australia are charged 10% GST for a learning activity; users who are outside of Australia are not charged tax. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 45

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56 Managing Users About User Accounts The fields that a user account can contain have been defined for you. Not all fields are visible in all views: for example, some fields are visible when you create the account but not visible to a user creating an account, while some are valid only when importing. By default, user accounts contain: username (required) password/password confirmation (required) first and last name (required) address (required) residence, business, and mobile phone numbers (three separate fields, all optional) postal address identifier job title, location, department (if used) preferred language role account status password expiry membership Be aware of the required information. In particular, if you plan to make use of locations, departments, and/or job titles, be sure to enter values for those items in the user's record, or have your system provider configure these to be required fields so that they are consistently entered. Give Me An Example If you plan to assign content to users based on their job title, enter a job title for each user. If you plan to have taxes included in pricing and have those taxes calculated based on the user's address, enter their Province/State and Country. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 47

57 Managing Users For a user to receive s from the LMS (this allows users to perform password recovery, and allows you to notify a user of a password change you perform), their account needs to contain a valid address. The functions available to a user and the scope of information they can see depends on the user role assigned to their account. If you will be using the optional membership feature, you may need to give users an initial membership, unless membership has been configured to be provided when users meet specific objectives. If the organization uses certifications, you may want to update users to note their current certifications. Note that you can also configure certifications to be granted to users when they meet specific objectives. About User Roles Each user in the LMS is assigned a specific role that determines what functions the user can perform in the LMS and the scope of information they can see. They can also determine the learning activities users can see, if assignments assign content only to students. The following roles are available, in order of increasing scope and privilege: Student Local Administrator/Local Administrator (Reports Only) Multiple Location Administrator/Multiple Location Administrator (Reports Only) Organization Administrator/Organization Administrator (Reports Only) Master Administrator/Master Administrator (Reports Only) Reports Only roles have the same scope as their counterparts, but provide access only to reports. Some roles rely on specific conditions. This role... Requires... Student Local Administrator -no conditions- locations to be enabled TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 48

58 Managing Users Multiple Location Administrator Organization Administrator Master Administrator locations and location hierarchies to be enabled -no conditions- your organization to have, or be able to have, clients For users who should be able to... use the LMS only for accessing learning activities, modify their profile, change their password, view their certifications, and generate their own activity reports Use this role... Student Note: All other user roles, in addition to the special permissions they offer, give those users the Student role for their learning activities. add/edit/delete user accounts, create/edit assignments, and manage users for their location view reports for their location add/edit/delete user accounts, create/edit assignments, and manage users for their location and any child locations view reports for their location and any child locations in addition to everything a Local Administrator can do, load content, edit Content Library, and adjust configuration of their LMS view reports for their LMS in addition to everything an Organization Administrator can do, add clients, grant content to a client, and edit or revoke content grants view reports for their organization's LMS and those of any clients Local Administrator Local Administrator (Reports Only) Multiple Location Administrator Multiple Location Administrator (Reports Only) Organization Administrator Organization Administrator (Reports Only) Master Administrator Master Administrator (Reports Only) Adding Users TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 49

59 Managing Users Options for Adding Users Users can be added or modified in one or all of the following ways: 1. by an administrator, manually 2. by an administrator, importing information from a file 3. by a user who creates their own account (if the LMS is configured to allow this) 4. when a user is redirected to the LMS via the optional AICC interface 5. through the web services interface (usually occurs when the LMS is integrated with another application or a web site) Note: Simply creating a user account may not necessarily give that user access to learning activities. Learning activities need to be made available to users. To ensure consistent records, individuals should have only one account, so typically you would choose to either add user accounts or allow users to create them, but not both. Adding Users Manually You can also add users by importing a file. 1. Click Users (tab). You see a list of existing users. Note: You can only add or edit a user account for a user whose role is equal to or lower than your own. 2. Click Add a user. You see the Add User screen. 3. Enter a Username and Password. The user will need this information to login to the LMS. Note: The minimum length of the username and password is configurable. 4. Check or clear the User must change this password at next login option. This option enhances security and is recommended. 5. Enter information about the user, including Name and contact details. Note: Even if contact details are not required, you may find them useful in reporting. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 50

60 Managing Users 6. Enter an Identifier for the user (for example, their employee number). This can be used to identify the user to external systems, if user information is exported via the Users List report. 7. If your LMS has been configured to use locations, departments, and/or job titles, choose from the available lists (for example, choose a Job Title for the user). 8. Choose the user's preferred Language. This affects the language used to present information to the user. 9. Choose the user's Role. This affects the functions they can perform. Note: You can only assign roles that are equal to or lower than your own role. 10. Click Add User. Importing Users Importing can be used for both adding and modifying user accounts. You can import locations, job titles, and departments along with user information, or use the specific function for importing that type of information (which is necessary if you are using multiple languages and want to import titles in different languages, or if you want to import more than just location name and identifier). Note: You can only import data to create or modify user accounts for users with roles equal to or lower than your own. Preparing the File The file must be a comma-separate values (CSV) file. Such files can be produced from Excel. Note the following guidelines: 4. Use a.csv extension for the file. 5. File must contain at least one row. 6. Column headings are optional. 7. To enter a multiple-line address, separate each line with a \n (e.g. to specify "123 Main Street, Apt. 12", enter "123 Main Street\nApt. 12") Tip: If you use column headings, create ones that are similar to or identical to the field names in the record: this will save time when matching the CSV contents to the record's requirements. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 51

61 Managing Users If the CSV is for... It must... creating records contain all required fields, with entries conforming to the configured rules (for example, minimum length of username) If no password is specified, a temporary random password is generated and stored in a file you can download at the end of the import process: it is highly recommended that you require users to change the temporary password on initial login (you will be prompted to make this choice when you import the file). Information not specified for a new record will be set to the default (for example, the role will default to Student). modifying records have a username or System ID identical to an existing record in each row Tip: Generate the Users List report and export it to CSV format to use as your starting point. This CSV will contain all current values for all users, which you can then edit to create updates to apply to users. both creating and modifying records contain required fields for both new and existing records Use caution: if you have a column (for example, Address) that is populated for the rows used to create a record, but leave the column blank for existing records, the corresponding values for those users will be cleared (for example, a user's existing address will be removed). Show Me an Example in Excel Show Me an Example in Notepad TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 52

62 Managing Users Importing the File 1. Click Users (tab), then Import users. You see the Import Users screen. 2. Browse to the CSV file and open it. 3. Click Next. You see a progress indicator, then the Match Fields screen. 4. If the first row of the file contains column headings, check the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the second row of the CSV file. - or - If the first row of the file does not contain column headings, clear the Ignore the first row when importing... option: the screen shows, in the Your Data column, the first row of the CSV file. 5. Use the arrow buttons to view additional rows, if necessary 6. For each column in the CSV file, choose the matching Field, or choose Do not import this field. 7. Click Next. Note: You can only import the user s address, not the addresses of locations, using Import Users. To import addresses of locations, use the Import Locations function. 8. If any errors are found in the CSV file (for example, data needed for creating a record is missing, or the password isn't of the minimum length), you are prompted to either view the error file or proceed. Rows with errors will not be imported. Choose to cancel (so you can change the matching or the CSV file itself and try again) or continue. 9. You see the Confirm and Save screen. Depending on the contents of the CSV, and whether or not it contains information for existing records, you may be prompted to: 1. choose whether the information in existing records should remain unchanged, or whether the imported information for those records should be used to update those records 2. choose whether or not to use passwords contained in the CSV TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 53

63 Managing Users 3. choose if users whose accounts are created through the import process must change their password at first login 10. If your CSV file contained information for new accounts but did not include passwords, the system creates passwords for you. To view this, click Generated for. If you use these passwords, to ensure security, specify that users must change their password at first login. 11. Click Confirm and Save. The user information is imported. Working with User Accounts Opening a User's Account a. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users (these might have be added manually, imported, or created by users themselves). b. Click a user's name. You see some information from the user's profile, an indication of when they last logged on to the system, and an indication of the administrator who created the account or if the account was created by the user. You also see summary information about the user's training plan, certifications, and recent transactions. c. Once you have opened a record, you can: 1. edit a user's profile 2. change a user's password 3. manage the user's training plan 4. view or add a user's certifications 5. view a user's transactions (paid-for learning activities) 6. manage a user's membership Note: You can also open a user's account by clicking on their name in the learning activity's participant list. Editing a User's Profile 1. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. 2. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 54

64 Managing Users 3. Click Edit profile. You see a screen similar to the one used when to add users manually. 4. Make your changes and click Save. Note: If you change a user's username, you need to notify them of the new name or they will not be able to login. Changing a User's Password Note: Users can recover a password on their own, as long as an address is stored in their account. a. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. b. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. c. Click Change password. You see the Change Password screen. d. If the user's profile does not include an address, enter the new password (you will need to inform the user of the new password). If the user's profile includes an address, you can choose to either send an message to the user prompting them to change their password themselves, or enter a new password (you will need to inform the user of the new password). e. Choose whether the user should be required to change their password when they login next. Typically, use this when setting the password to a known value for the user and then communicating it to them. f. Make your changes and click Confirm. Giving Users a Certification 5. Click Users (tab). You see a list of current users (these might have be added manually, imported, or created by users themselves). 6. Click a user's name. You see summary information about the user. 7. In the Certifications area of the screen, click View details. You see a list of the certifications the user has, if any. 8. Click Add a certification. You see a new screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 55

65 Managing Users 9. Choose the Certification and Certification Level. 10. Choose the date the user Achieved the certification and the certification's Expiry Date. 11. Add any necessary comments and click Save Changes. The user's account now contains the certification. Viewing a User's Transactions 1. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. 2. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications and the five most recent transactions for the user. 3. Under the Recent transactions heading, click View details. You see a full list of transactions for the user, their amount, method, and status. This list includes only transactions with a dollar value. 4. Click the transaction number to display more details (such as the PayPal invoice ID and transaction ID). 5. Optionally, click Edit. The Amount and Payment Status become modifiable. Make any necessary changes and click Save Changes. This should be done only to correct or override past payments or refunds, such as to correct an entry made in error by an administrator processing offline payments. Note: Editing a transaction does not change the original transaction record, but adds a corrected record. Membership Creating a User's Membership TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 56

66 Managing Users If your organization uses memberships, you can create memberships for users. 6. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. 7. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. 8. Click Create membership. The bottom portion of the screen changes to show a Membership creation area. 9. Choose the Membership Type and specify the date they became a member and the date their membership expires (defaults to the interval specified for the membership type). 10. Optionally, enter the Membership Fee (defaults to the fee specified for the membership type). 11. Add any descriptive Comments (appear in reports and transaction history). 12. If you have Received Payment from the user, specify the type of payment (e.g. cash) TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 57

67 Managing Users -or- Click Pay using PayPal. 13. Click Create Membership. Renewing a User's Membership 1. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. 2. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. 3. Click Renew membership. The bottom portion of the screen changes to show a Membership renewal area. 4. Choose the Membership Type and specify the date the renewal expires. 5. Optionally, enter the Renewal Fee (defaults to the fee specified for the membership type). TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 58

68 Managing Users 6. Add any descriptive Comments (appear in reports and transaction history). 7. If you have Received Payment from the user, specify the type of payment (e.g. cash) -or- Click Pay using PayPal. 8. Click Renew Membership. Managing a User's Training Plan About Managing Training Plans You can display details of, and make changes to, the learning activities in a user's training plan. Each user's training plan lists the learning activities that user was assigned or chose to register for and their status. When working with a user's training plan, be aware that learning activities may consist of a single item, or (more typically) consist of multiple items organized into a folder hierarchy. Items that a user can launch are called leaf items. The title of a learning activity that consists of a single item is not underlined (linked). The title of a learning activity that contains folders of items is linked: click the title to see a list of folders and items within the activity (you may be able to continue drilling-down to items within subfolders). Viewing Training Plan Details To view more details about learning activities for a user: Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. Under any learning activity on the screen, click View details or, for an activity that contains items, click the activity name to drill down and see details for each item. You see information such as how long the learning activity was in use by the user, how many attempts were made by the user to complete the learning activity, and the assignment used to make that learning activity available to them. (You can edit the assignment from here.) TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 59

69 Managing Users Note: Usage time for the learning activity is the sum of the usage time of all leaf items within the learning activity. Usage time of each leaf item is the difference between the launch time and the exit time or, if the user let their session time out while working with an item, between the launch time and the timeout time. Viewing Attempts at an Item To see how many attempts a user made to complete an item, and the status of those attempts: Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. If necessary, drill-down to the appropriate level of the learning activity, then click View attempts (under the name of the item whose attempts you want to view). You see details about the attempts the user made to complete the learning activity. Editing User's Attempt Status and Score Note: This process changes the score for a single user only. You may be able to change the score for all users of a learning activity. You can also change the number of attempts a user is allowed. To change the score on a completed learning activity, or the status or date of a user's attempts to complete it: Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications.under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. If necessary, drill-down to the appropriate level of the learning activity, then click View attempts (under the name of the item whose attempts or score you want to edit). You see details about the attempts the user made to complete the learning activity. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 60

70 Managing Users Click the number of the attempt. You see the Edit Attempt screen. If necessary, change the Status of the attempt. If you change the status to Completed, you can enter a completion date and score. If the item was scored, click No score recorded or enter the appropriate score (depending on how scoring has been configured for the learning activity you may enter a % score or a number score). If the item was not scored, choose a Success Status (Unknown, Passed, Failed). Click Save Changes. Changing a User's Attempt Limit Note: This process changes the attempt limit for a single user only. To change the attempt limits for all users of a learning activity, you need to edit the learning activity itself. To change the number of times a specific user can attempt to complete a specific item: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 61

71 Managing Users 1. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. 2. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. 3. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. 4. If necessary, drill-down to the appropriate level of the learning activity, then click View attempts (under the name of the item whose attempt limit you want to change). You see details about the attempts the user made to complete the learning activity. 5. Click the Attempt Limit link and change the number of attempts allowed (or set to "unlimited"). 6. Optionally, enter notes about the changes. 7. Click Save Changes. Adding an Offline Attempt for a User 1. Open the user's record. 2. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. 3. Under any learning activity on the screen, click View attempts. You see details about the attempts the user made to complete the learning activity. 4. Click Add Offline Attempt. You see the Add Offline Attempt screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 62

72 Managing Users 5. Enter the Started and Completed date/time for the user's attempt. 6. If the item has a passing score defined, enter the user's score. 7. Click the appropriate Success Status. Note: If you entered a score, the LMS will attempt to determine the Success Status, but you can override the value. 8. Add any notes (maximum 80 characters) concerning the offline attempt, then click Add Attempt. Note: Attempts added in this way appear the same as attempts the user made online. Viewing Assessment Results To view details about an individual user's performance on an assessment: Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. Click View attempts (under the name of the assessment whose results you want to view). You see details about the attempts the user made to complete the learning activity. In the Results column, click either details (to display a PDF of the assessment questions and the answers the user entered) or feedback (to display a PDF of the feedback the user received at the completion of the assessment). Viewing User's Completion Certificate You can view (or print) the completion certificate for a user. Note: You can also view (and print) completion certificates for all users of a learning activity. Click Users (tab). You see a list of the currently configured users. Click a user's name. You see a summary of the user's profile, training plan and certifications. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 63

73 Managing Users Under the Training Plan heading, click View details. You see the status of each learning activity in the user's training plan. If necessary, drill-down to the appropriate level of the learning activity, then click Completion certificate (under the name of the item whose completion certificate you want to view or print). The completion certificate appears in PDF format. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 64

74 Loading Content What Can Be Loaded You can load three basic types of content into the LMS: 1. SCORM-compliant interactive learning content created using a content authoring tool 2. QTI assessments/surveys created using Firmwater's Word-to-QTI conversion tool 3. standalone files (PDF, PowerPoint, AVI, etc.) created by a commercial application Note that for users to view standalone files in the LMS, they will need the appropriate software (for example, they will need PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer installed to view PowerPoint standalone files loaded in the LMS). Note also that most multimedia file types, including video files and Flash, may need to be wrapped in some HTML to control how the file is displayed. You should always verify that the loaded content works properly before granting it to clients or assigning it to users: see Verifying Loaded Content Works Properly. Concepts of Content Loading Introduction For the LMS to present content to users, that content needs to be compliant with SCORM standards. Your content authoring tool must be able to create content that is SCORM-compliant. For other types of content, when you load it into the LMS, the LMS assigns the appropriate runtime parameters to control the presentation and status tracking. Although the content loading process looks after creating the appropriate SCORM for you, it is helpful to understand some basic SCORM concepts in order to maintain content once it has been loaded. If you will be loading assessments or surveys, you need to understand some basics of QTI. About SCORM TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 65

75 Loading Content SCORM is a powerful and flexible set of technical standards for e-learning content. It controls the interaction of your content and the LMS. To learn more about SCORM, consult these online resources: What is SCORM? Guidelines for Creating Reusable Content Producing SCORM Your authoring tool must produce SCORM-compliant content, in what is called a SCORM "package". For some useful resources concerning some popular commercial authoring tools, click here. If you are given a choice of several different SCORM versions, choose SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 Second Edition, or SCORM 2004 Third Edition. Your SCORM package must follow these conventions: 1. <item identifier>, <manifest identifier>, <resource identifier> and <imsss:sequencing ID> elements must begin with a letter, followed by any number of letters, periods, underscores, or hyphens. 2. Resource file names must not include any of the following characters: < (less than) > (greater than) * (asterisk) % (percent) & (ampersand) : (colon) " (double quotes) If using SCORM 1.2, the manifest must list the entry point file for each resource. If using SCORM 2004, the manifest must also list all files used by each resource. The components of the SCORM package must be placed in a zip file (this is typically created by your authoring tool). The zip file must follow these conventions: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 66

76 Loading Content 1. The manifest file must be at the root of the zip file. 2. Resource files referred to by the manifest may be in either the root or a subdirectory. About QTI QTI is the Question and Test Interoperability specification from the IMS Global Learning Consortium that describes a basic structure for the representation of question and test data and their corresponding results reports. The LMS supports QTI version 2.1. To learn more about QTI, visit the IMS web site. Note: A newer version of the standard has been developed but was abandoned and is not supported by the LMS. The Assessment Toolkit available from Firmwater converts properly formatted Word files into QTI-compliant XML files. The toolkit documentation explains how to set up your Word file appropriately: to view this documentation, click here. About Manifest Files and Resource Files Although your authoring tool, or the LMS, creates the necessary SCORM parameters, you need to be familiar with two key components of SCORM in order to maintain your loaded content. These components are the manifest files and resource files. Manifest files define the structure of activities, the menu of items the user sees, how users navigate from item to item, how items are scored, the rules involved in rolling up status information, and other aspects of the activity's behaviour. Resource files are the images, text, and other items that users interact with. Manifest files point to the resources needed for the learning activity. For example, the Introduction to Blueprints learning activity is made up of numerous items. One of them is a Study Guide item that launches a PDF file for the user to read. The fact that the Study Guide is available to the user, where in the structure and flow of the learning activity the user sees it, and the item's name are all controlled by the manifest file for that learning activity. The PDF file itself is a resource file that is pointed to by the manifest file. Manifest and Resource Identification and Storage About the Manifest Every SCORM package must contain an imsmanifest.xml file: the file name is the same for all packages, regardless of their content. This file contains TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 67

77 Loading Content descriptive information about the manifest, defines the structure and behaviour of items, and contains links to the resources needed for the learning activity. Manifests are identified by a combination of their identifier and their version number, both of which are contained in the manifest identifier portion of the imsmanifest.xml file. For example: <manifest identifier="testfile" version="1.0"> If the LMS creates the manifest (because you are loading an assessment or standalone file), it creates an identifier identical to the QTI identifier, and automatically sets the version to 1.0. About Resources Resources needed for a learning activity are listed in the imsmanifest.xml file for that activity. Like manifests themselves, resources are uniquely identified, with a combination of the manifest identifier and version and the resource identifier. For example, if the manifest mentioned above contained <item identifier="resource-12345">, then that item would be uniquely identified as: "testfile" + "1.0" + "RESOURCE-12345". A resource identifier can appear only once in the imsmanifest.xml file (although the same resource identifier can appear in several different manifests). If the LMS creates the manifest (because you are loading an assessment or standalone file), it creates resource identifiers based on the QTI assessment "ident" value. Once a resource has been loaded as part of a manifest, other manifests that point to the loaded resource can themselves be loaded. Importance of Identifiers to the LMS The LMS relies on the manifest identifier and version to determine if the content being loaded is new or a replacement. Only one manifest with the same identifier and version can exist in the LMS at any one time. For example, if you copy a learning activity through the LMS interface, or grant it to a client, the copy or the granted activity is given a different version number so that it remains unique. Choices for Content Loading Introduction TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 68

78 Loading Content This section describes some common choices for loading and managing content. Note that some types of maintenance activities, such as rearranging the contents of a learning activity or adding a file to an existing learning activity, can be done through the interface itself. Note that this section does not describe every option available. Consult your service provider if you would like help with features such as: 1. Having assessment questions randomly selected from a pool of choices. 2. Integrating images with assessments. 3. Combining several learning activities into a larger, modular learning activity. 4. Assigning activity types to individual items within a learning activity. New Learning Activity You have created a learning activity that is not associated with any existing learning activities. This could be a learning activity that deals with a subject not already covered by existing activities. It might also be an updated version of existing content (for example, an activity that explains the latest regulations for an industry) but that you want treated as an entirely new activity. Create the activity using the appropriate authoring tool, or acquire the activity from another source. 1. If using a SCORM package, make sure it conforms to the requirements. 2. In the LMS, choose the appropriate client. 3. Click Content (tab), then Load Content. You see a new set of fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 69

79 Loading Content 4. Click Browse and browse to the location of the package. 5. Choose a type (used for labelling the learning activity in the LMS), and click Add as New Content. 6. Click Load Content. 7. Verify that the learning activity works. 8. Make the new learning activity available to users and/or, if desired, grant it to clients. Correction to Existing Learning Activity You notice an error that you want to correct in an existing learning activity, such as a typographical error or unacceptable quality of graphics. The error doesn't change the purpose or substance of the learning activity, but needs to be corrected. You may have already made the learning activity available to users, and some may have already completed, or started, the activity, but you are concerned only with the correction applying to new users of the learning activity. 1. Update your learning content and re-generate the SCORM package from your authoring tool, or replace the resources in the original zip file with the new resources. 2. Click Content (tab), then Load Content. You see a new set of fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 70

80 Loading Content 1. Click Browse and browse to the location of the package. 2. Choose a type (used for labelling the learning activity in the LMS), and click Update the resources of existing content. 3. Click Load Content. If you get an error, your authoring tool may have changed the manifest identifier when you re-generated. Manually correct this by following the instructions in Change Needed to Substance of Existing Activity. 4. Verify that the learning activity works. Users of any client that has been granted access to the learning activity will see the corrected version when they launch the activity. Note: If the learning activity consists of a standalone file, simply ensure that the filename is the same as the original and load the content as described above. If the learning activity is a QTI assessment, ensure the QTI "ident" value is the same. Change Needed to Behaviour of Existing Activity A learning activity has been in use for a while, and you want to make changes or improvements that affect the behaviour of the activity. For example, you want to change the score assigned to some items. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 71

81 Loading Content 1. Create or acquire the modified package. 2. Determine the unique manifest identifier for the existing learning activity: 1. In the LMS, choose the appropriate client. 2. Click Content (tab), then either Activities or Events (menu). 3. Click on the name of the learning activity you want to correct. 4. Click on the linked date that appears in the Content description for the learning activity. Show Me Where 5. Take note of the manifest identifier and version you see. Show Example 1. Edit the imsmanifest.xml file for the corrected package to have the manifest identifier and version be the same as the existing ones. Show Example 2. Click Content (tab), then Load Content. You see a new set of fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 72

82 Loading Content 3. Click Browse, then browse to the location of the package. 4. Choose a type (used for labelling the learning activity in the LMS), and click Replace existing content as new activity. 5. Click Load Content. 6. Verify that the learning activity works. The previous activity is no longer available to your users (its manifest and resources are retained, but marked as deleted), so you need to make the new version available to the appropriate users. Users of a client that has been granted access to the learning activity, however, will continue to see the original activity. Change Needed to Substance of Existing Activity A learning activity has been created that, although related to an existing activity, should be treated as an entirely new one. For example, you have a learning activity that explains how to conform to 2010 industry regulations. You have developed a learning activity that explains how to conform to the 2011 version of that regulations and have it available by November of You still want users to complete the activity related to 2010 content, since those regulations are valid. However, you also want the 2011 version available to users. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 73

83 Loading Content 1. Create the activity using the appropriate authoring tool, or acquire the activity from another source. 2. If using a SCORM package, make sure it conforms to the requirements. 3. Although not required, it might be useful to give the package a name that indicates its relationship to the existing activity (for example, "Regulations 2011"). 4. Determine the unique manifest identifier for the existing learning activity. 1. In the LMS, choose the appropriate client. 2. Click Content (tab), then either Activities or Events (menu). 3. Click on the name of the learning activity you want to correct. 4. Click on the linked date that appears in the Content description for the learning activity. Show Me Where 5. Take note of the manifest identifier and version you see. Show Example 1. Edit the imsmanifest.xml file for the corrected package to have the manifest identifier and version be different from the existing ones. 2. In the LMS, choose the appropriate client. 3. Click Content (tab), then Load Content. 4. Browse to the location of the package, choose a type (used for labelling the learning activity in the LMS), and click Add as New Content. 5. Verify that the learning activity works. 6. Make the new learning activity available to users and/or, if desired, grant it to clients. New Activity that Points to Previously Loaded Resources You have loaded resources as part of another learning activity and want to use those in other activities (for example, a "welcome" video might apply to several different learning activities). You will need access to the manifest used to originally load the resources you want to point to. For the purposes of the instructions below, "original manifest" refers to the manifest that was used to load the resources, "new manifest" refers to the manifest that you want to point to those resources. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 74

84 Loading Content 1. Create or acquire the new learning activity package, ensuring it conforms to the requirements and unzip it into a working folder. 2. Download the Firmwater extension found at to the folder that contains the SCORM package contents. 3. Determine the unique identifiers of the resources you want to re-use, and the unique identifier of the manifest used to originally load them into the LMS, by viewing the original manifest. The manifest identifier is found in the <manifest identifier> tag, the resource identifiers in the <resource identifier> tag. Show Example 4. Edit the new manifest to modify the <manifest> element: 1. Add the xmlns:fw="urn:schemas-firmwatercom:fw_imscp_extend_v2" property. 2. Update the xsi:schemalocation property with the additional value urn:schemas-firmwater-com:fw_imscp_extend_v2 fw_imscp_extend_v2.xsd (to indicate the above XML Schema file can be found inside the modified SCORM package). Show Example TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 75

85 Loading Content 5. Edit the new manifest to modify the <resource> element: 1. Change the <type> property to "external". 2. Change the <identifier> property to that assigned to the resource in the original manifest. 3. Add new properties to reference the manifest ID and version number of the original manifest: fw:sourcemanifestid and fw:sourcemanifestversion. 4. Remove all indications that this resource has an associated file, by deleting all other resource properties, especially HREF, and all child elements. Show Example 2. In the new manifest's <organization> element, ensure each <item> has an identifierref property identical to the resource's identifier. Show Example TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 76

86 Loading Content 3. Save the new manifest with the edits. 4. Create a zip file with the contents of the folder where your new manifest is stored, ensuring that the imsmanifest.xml file is at the root of the zip. 5. In the LMS, choose the appropriate client. 6. Click Content (tab), then Load Content. 7. Browse to the location of the package, choose a type (used for labelling the learning activity in the LMS), and click Add as New Content. If the manifest points to resources that cannot be found in the LMS (either because they have not been loaded, or because the reference identifiers are wrong), an error appears and the new activity is not created. The loader looks to resolve resource references in the following order: 1. In resources uploaded to the client chosen in step In resources uploaded for activities that were then granted to the client chosen in step If you are loading on behalf of a child client, in resources available in your database (will automatically grant access to those resources to the client chosen in step 9). 8. Verify that the learning activity works. 9. Make the new learning activity available to users and/or, if desired, grant it to clients. For AICC Users For information on having content loaded into the LMS be launched from an existing Learning Management System, see Supporting AICC Access. Revisions to Existing AICC Topic (these changes will be made to the existing help topic) 1. Each learning activity to be accessed from another system must have a unique external identifier. The calling system relies on this identifier to locate the appropriate learning activity. Check and, if necessary, set or change the External IDs for each learning activity to be launched through AICC Access. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 77

87 Loading Content 2. The organization identifier in the SCORM package imsmanifest.xml file (About Manifest Files and Resource Files) must be unique in the LMS. Verifying Loaded Content Works Properly Before you make loaded content available to users or grant it to clients, it is strongly advised that you verify that it is working the way you intended. It is much better to correct errors or resolve problems before users begin working with learning activities. Here are some specific suggestions: 1. If your content is very large, you may want to consult your service provider for advice on how to effectively manage large content packages. 2. Launch the content yourself and test its behaviour, preferably on a site that is not accessible to the public. 3. Assign the newly loaded content manually (see Adding Participants Directly) to only a select group of users who can review and comment on it. Ensure that everyone involved in reviewing or testing content takes the time to review it thoroughly: the effort spent now will save time in the long term. Here are some typical things you'll want to have verified: 1. Is the correct content launched for each item in the activity? 2. Is each item free of typographical and other content errors? 3. When you complete and pass, or complete and fail, each item, is the status and score information saved to the LMS correctly? (Some authoring tools (like Articulate) provide many options that control the status information saved.) 4. If your content supports suspend and resume, ensure this functionality does it work properly? For example, will your content resume where the user suspended it or does it always start playing from the beginning on resume? 5. Does your content work with each Internet browser type and version used by your target population? If plug-ins are used by your content, do they work in each type and version of browser? 6. If your content asks questions and saves the responses as interaction data to the LMS, is this functionality working properly? The saving of user responses is an option in many authoring tools, allowing you to analyze user's responses to questions individually or in the aggregate. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 78

88 Managing Content About Content and Learning Activities Once content (even an individual file) has been loaded into the LMS, it becomes a learning activity. Content comes in many forms, and always consists of at least one item. Items within the content can be grouped into folders that help organize the content for users. Items that a user can launch are called leaf items. Give Me An Example Introduction to Marketing (activity) - welcome (leaf item) - what is marketing? (folder) - common definition (leaf item) - newer definitions (leaf item) - who does marketing? (folder) - departments (leaf item) - individuals (folder) - marketing directors (leaf item) - conclusion (leaf item) When modifying content, you first need to view the learning activity's details and navigate to the correct level of the content's hierarchy. About Managing Content As an administrator, you can modify many of the activity's parameters that determine how the learning activity appears to users and what requirements it places on users. However, you cannot directly edit the content (resources) of the learning activity. Changing the resources of a learning activity requires loading replacement resource files. If you have been granted content by your service provider, you cannot replace the resource files for that content. Every component of a learning activity (the activity or event itself as well as each folder and item within it) has properties (a title, type, description, and external ID): you can modify these at any level. In addition, you can do the following: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 79

89 Managing Content 1. add a file (PDF, PowerPoint, or other static file) to the learning activity 2. rearrange the order of folders or items within folders (but not move items between folders) 3. edit the type, title, or description that the users see 4. edit information about an event 5. if using the optional completion certificate feature, enable completion certificates for a learning activity 6. set the passing score for a learning activity 7. limit the attempts for a leaf item within a learning activity, or for an entire singleitem learning activity 8. set the presentation options for a learning activity for users 9. assign tags to a learning activity 10. specify prerequisites for a learning activity 11. assign instructors to a learning activity 12. assign a price to a learning activity 13. add registration options to be presented to self-registering users 14. choose to make the learning activity available for self-registration 15. make a copy of a whole learning activity 16. delete a learning activity or its individual folders and/or items About Rollup Rollup determines how leaf items affect the parent's status and is normally set in the content that is loaded. When you add a file to a learning activity you choose whether or not to track it for rollup. If you choose to track it for rollup, the item is considered when calculating the completion status of the parent. It does not affect the success status of the parent, however. Show Me the XML The following SCORM parameters are set for the item (this is the actual XML as it would be specified in the manifest): < imsss: rolluprules rollupobjectivesatisfied="false" rollupprogresscompletion="true" objectivemeasureweight="1.0"/> < imsss: deliverycontrols tracked="true" completionsetbycontent="false" objectivesetbycontent="false"/> TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 80

90 Managing Content If you choose not to track the file for rollup, the item is not considered when calculating the status of the parent. Show Me the XML The SCORM parameters are set as follows: < imsss:deliverycontrols tracked="false" completionsetbycontent="false" objectivesetbycontent="false"/> A leaf item may or may not report its usage. If it does report its usage, you see that information at the item level on a user's Training Plan. If it does not report its usage, usage is calculated as the difference between the launch and exit times or, if the session timed out while the leaf item was open, between the launch and timeout time. The usage for a leaf item includes the time spent in all attempts at that item. The usage for an entire learning activity is the sum of the usage for leaf items that were included in the rollup. Leaf items that weren't included in the rollup have their own usage time but do not contribute to the overall usage time of the activity. The rollup of time for an item includes the time for all child items that are tracked. About Events You can use the LMS to manage events. Events are learning activities that typically have some in-person component, such as an instructor-led training session. Events must have a date, time and location, although the location may be virtual, such as the URL to a webinar. They can also be limited to a maximum number of participants, and/or may include within them online components such as worksheets or registration packages. To implement events, follow these steps: 1. Enable events and locations (location hierarchies are not required for events) for the LMS. 2. Configure locations. Events can be created by converting activities: edit the activity and check Yes, this is an event, then follow the steps for editing event information. Viewing Details of a Learning Activity TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 81

91 Managing Content To display the learning activity's details screen: Click Content (tab), then Activities (menu) or Events (menu). Click on the name of an activity or event. You see summary information about the learning activity, and links to the functions that can be performed on it, in the shaded portion. You see the contents of the learning activity in the "contents" area at the bottom of the page. The contents area indicates the learning activity's structure: a "+" appears beside the name of a folder. In the contents area, you can: 1. click a "+" beside a folder to display the items within it 2. click a folder name to edit its properties and view the items within it 3. click an item name to edit its properties Note: Use the breadcrumb display at the top of each screen to orient yourself to where you are in the learning activity. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 82

92 Managing Content Viewing Learning Activity History Open the learning activity's details screen and do one or all of the following: 1. Click the date the learning activity was loaded, granted (given to you by your service provider), or copied. You see the details of how you received the content and who was responsible for loading it into the LMS. You also see the manifest identifier and version of the loaded content. 2. Click the number of assignments (if any) used with the learning activity. You see the Assignments screen and can view or change these assignments. Editing Learning Activities Adding a File To add a file (PDF, PowerPoint, etc.) anywhere in the hierarchy of a learning activity: Open the activity detail screen. Navigate to the appropriate level of the learning activity's details screen. Click Add File. You see the Add File screen. Browse to the file to be added. Enter a Title, choose a Type, and enter a Description for the file. If you want the completion status of this item to contribute to the status of its parent, check Track this asset for rollup. If not checked, attempts at this item are still tracked but are not considered when the LMS rolls-up status to parent items. No status information is displayed to users for un-tracked items. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 83

93 Managing Content Click Add File. The file is added to the top of the selected area. If necessary, you can change the order of the items to move the new file to a different location. You can, if appropriate, add the same file multiple times to the same learning activity. To replace an existing file, delete it (click on it and then click Delete) and add it again. The replacement will appear as a new item to users, with a status of "not started". Rearranging Order of Contents To change the order of folders or items within a learning activity, open the activity detail screen, navigate to the list of items you want to rearrange, and drag and drop the folders or items displayed there to a new position within the folder or learning activity. Note: Rearranging items can be done only within a specific level of the learning activity. That is, you can order items that have the same parent, but cannot move items to a new parent. Editing Title, Type, and Other Information Open the activity detail screen. Navigate to the appropriate level of the learning activity's details screen and click Edit (below the activity, folder, or item name). Note: Use the breadcrumb display at the top of each screen to orient yourself to where you are in the learning activity. Optionally, change the Title (displayed to users). Optionally, choose an activity Type. Optionally, enter a Description, optionally using formatting commands (see below). For the top level of a learning activity only, enter the Publisher of the original content. Enter an External ID. This ID must start with a letter, followed by additional letters, numbers, or characters (periods, underscores, hyphens). Note: External IDs must be unique if you are using AICC access. Click Save Changes. Note: Other fields on this screen vary depending on the level of the learning activity being edited, and are described elsewhere in this help. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 84

94 Managing Content Formatting the Activity's Description Descriptions can be formatted using the Markdown tagging language. for italics (emphasis), use an asterisk (*) before and after the word (e.g. this is an *excellent* program) for bold, use two asterisks before and after the word (e.g. this course is **required** for new staff) to add a ruled line, use three or more asterisks on a separate line to add a bulleted list, prefix each item with an asterisk and a space, and put each on a new line (e.g. * Red * Green * Blue Tip: You can preview the description format by saving your work. The formatted description will appear in the Description area of the activity details. For the full syntax available, visit the Markdown web site. Editing Event Information In addition to all the other functions involved in editing learning activities, you can edit additional information just for events. To edit event information: Open the activity detail screen for the event. Click Edit You see the same screen as for activities, with some additional fields. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 85

95 Managing Content In the Event information area, enter a Location for the event. This must be a location that has been configured. Enter the Start and End date and time for the event. Choose whether the event can have Unlimited participants or enter a maximum participant level (once that limit is reached, users will not be able to self-register for the event, although you can manually add them as participants to the event).. Click Save Changes. Enabling Completion Certificates About Completion Certificates Completion certificates can give users a sense of satisfaction at completing a learning activity. If no passing score is associated with a learning activity, completion certificates are generated for users who simply complete the activity. Completion certifications can be customized to suit your organization and typically display the user's name, the learning activity's name, and the date of completion. They can include electronic signatures and other information. For activities that contain many items, the completion certificate becomes available when the activity s completion status is set to "completed" for the user. This will happen as a result of the rollup. You can choose to let users view and print their own completion certificates, have administrators mass-produce certificates on behalf of users, or both. Having administrators produce the certificates is useful if certificates need to be manually signed. To configure completion certificates, follow the steps below. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 86

96 Managing Content If you allow only administrators to receive access to the completion certificate, administrators can view and print certificates for users who successfully completed the course. Enabling Completion Certificates To associate a completion certificate with a specific learning activity: 1. Display a list of events or activities by doing one of the following: 1. Click Content (tab), then Activities or Events (menu). 2. Click Content (tab), then Tags (menu), then click the tag whose activities you want to assign a completion certificate to. 2. To associate a completion certificate with a single activity, click its name, then click Edit (below the activity name). In the Completion certificate access area of the screen that appears, indicate whether Students, Administrators, or both receive access to the certificate. To associate a completion certificate with multiple activities, click the checkboxes of each activity you want to assign a completion certificate to, choose Completion certification access and click Go. You are prompted to choose whether Students, Administrators, or both receive access to the certificate. 3. Click Save Changes. Setting Passing Score You can specify a passing score for a leaf item within a learning activity, or for an entire single-item learning activity. Changes to a passing score take effect immediately but do not affect the results of previous attempts. Give Me An Example If an attempt has been marked as failed because a user only got 75% and the passing score was 80% at the time, changing the passing score to 75% will not mean the user's attempt is changed to a pass. However, you can change the results after changing the passing score: when you save the attempt, the status will be re-evaluated using the current passing score. 1. Open the learning activity's details screen. 2. Click Edit (below the event or item name). TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 87

97 Managing Content 3. Choose whether or not there should be a Passing Score for the item/event, and, if used, what score is considered a "pass". 4. If you want to be able to enter or change success data for the item/event, check Display on course results page. Note: This option is available only for items directly under the learning activity, not for those further down in the hierarchy. 5. Click Save Changes. Setting Attempt Limit You can limit the number of attempts users can make to complete a leaf item within a learning activity, or for an entire single-item learning activity. Changes to attempt limits are taken into account only for users who have not started the activity. You can manually change the attempt limits for individual users who have already started the activity. 3. Open the learning activity's details screen. 4. Click Edit (below the event or item). 5. Choose whether there should be a limit to the Number of Attempts for users to complete the item/event and, if used, what that limit is. Note: You can manually change the number of attempts for an individual user as well. Such limits will not be affected by changes made to the item as a whole. 6. Click Save Changes. Setting Presentation Settings Presentation settings are only available for leaf items. They determine what navigation options are offered by the LMS (such as whether to display an exit link) and how the item should behave. Navigation options are often set within the SCORM package that is loaded to the LMS. However, you can use these settings to override what was loaded. It is advisable to test the behavior of the learning activity as loaded before making changes to these settings. 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Navigate to the appropriate level of the learning activity's details screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 88

98 Managing Content 3. Click Edit (below an item name). 4. From the Edit menu, choose Presentation. You see the Presentation Options screen. 5. If the content contains its own user interface control to allow users to exit from the content, clear Show exit link since content does not include it. Otherwise, check the option. 6. To provide a link to let users navigate to the next sibling item in the content, check Show continue. Note: Providing this link for the last item in a folder may not be advisable: the link will take the user to an item in another folder. 7. To provide a link to let users navigate to the previous sibling item in the content, check Show previous. Note: Providing this link for the first item in a folder may not be advisable: the link will take the user to an item in another folder. 8. Click Save Changes. Note: At any given level in the learning activity's hierarchy, you should set these values consistently where possible, so all siblings have the same presentation settings. Assigning Tags To assign existing tags to a learning activity, or to create a tag and assign it to a learning activity: 4. Open the activity details screen. 5. Click Edit (below the activity name). You see a new screen. 6. From the Edit menu (top right corner), choose Tags. You see a new screen, showing the tags currently associated with the learning activity. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 89

99 Managing Content 7. Click Add Tag. You see the Add Tag screen. 8. Choose an existing tag from the list or enter the name of a new tag. 9. Click Add Tag. The selected (or created) tag is assigned to the activity. 10. If desired, repeat the process to add further tags. To assign existing tags to multiple learning activities, or to create a tag and assign it to multiple learning activities: Open the activity details screen. Check each of the activities you want to assign a tag to or check the checkbox in the header to check each activity listed. From the Select Operation menu at the bottom of the screen, choose Add a Tag and click Go. You see the Add Tag screen. Choose an existing tag from the list or enter the name of a new tag. Click Add Tag. The selected (or created) tag is assigned to the activity. Specifying Prerequisites Prerequisites are enforced when a user registers for a learning activity or is added as a participant. If the user registering for a learning activity meets the prerequisite requirement currently in force, registration is allowed to continue. If adding the user as a participant, you are prompted to confirm that they can have access to the learning activity regardless. Currently certifications are used as prerequisites. 5. Open the activity detail screen. 6. Click Edit (below the activity name). 7. From the Edit menu (top right corner), choose Prerequisites. You see a new screen, showing prerequisites associated with and available for the learning activity. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 90

100 Managing Content 8. Check each of the certifications and levels that are to be a prerequisite for this learning activity. 9. Click Go back to summary. The selected prerequisites are shown in the details of the activity or events. Specifying Instructors A user with any user role can be specified as an instructor for a learning activity: being an instructor provides no additional privileges, and is used for user information purposes only. Note: Since this information is exposed via the web services API, it can be used to display contact information for instructors on a web site that lists courses. 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Click Edit (below the activity name). 3. From the Edit menu (top right corner), choose Instructors. You see a new screen listing assigned instructors and available users. 4. Check the users who are to be instructors for this learning activity. The first instructor is designated as the "lead" instructor. 5. Click Go back to summary. The selected instructors are shown in the details of the learning activity. Setting Pricing If pricing is enabled for an organization, you can specify one or more prices for a learning activity. Different prices can be set for different date ranges. 4. Open the activity detail screen. 5. Click Edit (below the activity name). You see a new screen. 6. From the Edit menu (top right corner), choose Pricing. You see a new screen. 7. Click Add Price and enter the regular price for this learning activity. 8. If you want to offer time-specific pricing (typically, a reduced "early bird" rate), click Add Price again and enter another price and the end date for it. You can add as many prices as you wish. 9. Click Go back to summary. The price is shown in the details of the learning activity. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 91

101 Managing Content Setting Registration Options Registration options allow you to ask registrants questions and record their answers for planning or other purposes. These are typically used for events. Note: Responses to registration-time questions are reflected in the Event Registration report. Before you proceed, you should decide on the questions you want to ask (options) and the choices the user can choose from (value) when answering those questions. Give Me An Example What kind of meal do you prefer? (option) vegetarian (value) chicken (value) beef (value) Do you require wheelchair access to the facility? (option) yes (value) no (value) If pricing is enabled, registration options can be connected to prices: for example, you might want to charge different prices for different meal choices. 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Click Edit (below the activity name). 3. From the Edit menu, choose Registration Options. You see a new screen, showing any options currently specified for this learning activity. 4. Click Add Option. You see a new screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 92

102 Managing Content 5. Enter the first Option Name (typically a question). 6. Enter a Description and Identifier for the option. 7. Enter the first Value (one choice the user can pick from). 8. Optionally, attach a Price to the value. 9. Enter an Identifier for the value. 10. Choose whether this value is the default (selected automatically for the user). 11. Click Add new value and continue to add all the values for the option. 12. When you have entered all the values, click Add Option, then repeat to add other options. Note: Registration option questions are presented when a user selfregisters or is manually added as a participant. These questions are not asked when an activity is assigned through assignments. Allowing Self-Registration TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 93

103 Managing Content Use self-registration to allow users to choose which learning activities they want to take. Depending on what additional optional features have been configured, users may be required to have specific prerequisites before they can take a course, and/or may be prompted for registration options and pricing. Self-registration can be used alone or in conjunction with the function that allows users to create their own accounts. Give Me An Example If you do not allow users to create their own accounts, self-registration is simply used to allow some learning content to be available to those who choose to take it. If you allow users to create their own accounts, you have in effect a self-directed learning environment where users choose first to participate at all in training, and then register for learning activities. Self-registration allows users to choose the learning activities they wish to participate in. It is often used in conjunction with allowing users to create their own accounts. For learning activities open to self-registration, you may choose to add registration options. 5. Open the learning activity's details screen. Note: If this learning activity is already available to users, it will appear to the user twice: once in their training plan (because they have access to it) and once in their course library or upcoming events list (because it is available for self-registration). However, the user cannot register for an activity that is already part of their plan and will be notified of this if they attempt to self register for an activity that is already part of their plan. 6. Click Edit (below the activity name). 7. From the Edit menu, choose Self Registration. You see the Self-Registration screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 94

104 Managing Content 8. Click Yes, allow students to self-register. 9. Optionally, choose a date range during which self-registration is allowed. 10. If a waiver has been uploaded to your system, and you want it presented to selfregistering users, check Present waiver when registering. Note: The Registration page URL provided at the bottom of the page can be sent to users to invite them to register for the activity. When users click that URL, it will take them into the registration process for this activity. They will be required to login to the system in order to complete the registration process. You can configure the system to permit users without accounts to create their account. 11. Optionally, configure registration options (which may or may not include pricing). Copying a Learning Activity You can copy an entire learning activity, but not just some of its folders or items. Most properties associated with the learning activity are copied, except for assignment information, self registration settings and completion certificates. 1. Open the activity detail screen. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 95

105 Managing Content 2. Navigate to the appropriate level of the learning activity's details screen. 3. Click Copy. You are prompted for a title the copied learning activity should be given and, if the copied learning activity is an event, for the location and start/end date. 4. Enter the required information and click Copy Item. The learning activity is copied and the copied version appears in the Content Library. Deleting a Learning Activity As with other items in the LMS, deleting a learning activity has an immediate effect on users. In particular, the learning activity will be removed from the training plan of any user who has access to it. The learning activity will remain in any assignments that use it, but will be marked as deleted in those assignments. Results data from any users who launched the learning activity prior to its deletion will be available in reports. To delete a learning activity: 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Click Delete. You are prompted to confirm the deletion. Managing Participants Viewing Registration Information 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Click # Participants. You see a list of the participants who have access to the learning activity and, for those individuals, when they registered for the learning activity. To see a user's account, click on the user's name. 3. From the View menu, choose Registration Information. You see when each participant registered for the learning activity, as well as payment information for that participant (if applicable). Viewing Activity Status Open the activity detail screen. Click # Participants. You see a list of the participants who have access to the learning activity and, for TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 96

106 Managing Content those individuals, when they registered for the learning activity. To see a user's account, click on the user's name. From the View menu, choose Course Status. You see the status of the course for each participant, as well as the participant's status for any items that had the Display on course results page option checked. Viewing Completion Certificates You can view (or print) the completion certificates for all users who earned one for a specific learning activity. This is available only if the learning activity was configured to allow administrators access to completion certificates. Note: You can also view (and print) completion certificates for an individual user of a learning activity. Open the activity detail screen. Click # Participants. You see a list of the participants who have access to the learning activity and, for those individuals, when they registered for the learning activity. To see a user's account, click on the user's name. From the View menu, choose Course Status. You see the status of the course for each participant, as well as the participant's status for any items that had the Display on course results page option checked. Click Completion certificates below the learning activity's name. The certificates for each applicable participant appear in PDF format. Entering Course Results This function is available only for learning activities set up to be scored by instructor or administrator only (for example, to enter paper-based information collected from participants). 1. Open the activity detail screen. 2. Click # Participants. You see a list of the participants who have access to the learning activity and, for those individuals, when they registered for the learning activity. To see a user's account, click on the user's name. 3. From the View menu, choose Course Status. You see the status of the course for each participant, as well as the participant's TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 97

107 Managing Content status for any items that had the Display on course results page option checked. 4. Click Edit results below the learning activity's name. You see the edit results screen. 5. For each participant, choose the results. Depending on whether or not scoring was turned on for the learning activity, you can: 1. choose Failed, Passed, or No score recorded or 2. enter a score or choose No score recorded 6. Click Save Changes. About Tags Tags make it easy for you to group related information together using whatever criteria you wish. You can then perform specific actions on all or some learning activities that have the same tag. A single learning activity can have multiple tags. Give Me An Example You might have tags such as: 1. Skills Training 2. Safety Training 3. Spanish Safety Training A tag is automatically created for each activity type you choose, and automatically assigned to learning activities of that type. However, you can also create your own tags or add and remove tags from learning activities. Creating Tags To create tags independent of learning activities: 1. Click Content (tab), then Tags (menu). You see a list of available tags and the number of items that have that tag. 2. Click Add a Tag and enter a tag name. 3. Click Add Tag. The tag is added to the list and is available for associating with content. To rename a tag: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 98

108 Managing Content Click Content (tab), then Tags (menu). Click a tag name, click Rename tag, enter the new name and click Rename. - or - Open the activity details scree n. Click Edit (below the activity name). You see a new screen. From the Edit menu (top right corner), choose Tags. You see a new screen, showing the tags currently associated with the learning activity. Click a tag name, click Rename tag, enter the new name and click Rename. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 99

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110 Assigning Content to Users About Assignments Assignments make activities available to users. When you create an assignment, you identify an activity (not event) to be assigned to users, when it is to be available to those users, and which users are to have access to it. You can create as many or as few assignments as you need. Give Me An Example If each user s training plan is administrator-driven and custom designed, you can create a single assignment for each user in the organization. If you have some common activities you want all users (or all users who meet specific criteria) to access, you can create one assignment for common activities and then create additional custom assignments to reflect each user s specific needs. Note: Pricing, registration options, or certifications requirements are not enforced when an activity with those attributes is assigned. (For example, even if the activity has an associated price, users who are assigned that activity will get it for free.) Methods for Assigning Content You can choose to decide which learning activities are available to which users (administrator-driven) or let users choose the content they want to add to their plan (user-driven). An activity contains numerous items, including a study guide. You want some users to just access the study guide. You will need to create a new activity containing just the study guide. You can do this by adding the study guide as an activity on its own. You create an assignment that indicates Course 101 is available only to learners, but you also add Frank Jones, who is not a learner, to the participant list for that course. About Overlapping Assignments It is possible for a single user to gain access to the same activity through several different assignments. The results differ depending on whether or not the assignments cover overlapping time periods. Results of Overlapping Time Periods TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 101

111 Assigning Content to Users If assignments have overlapping time periods, users gain access to the activity from the earliest start date to the latest end date. If due dates are specified, the earliest due date in the assignments is used. Give Me An Example Consider a case where two assignments give overlapping access: Assignment A gives users access to activities 101, 201 and 301 from March 1 through May 31, with all activities due on May 15. Assignment B gives users access to activities 301, 401 and 501 from April 1 through June 30, with all activities due on June 15. The user's view is: Activity 101 and 201 (both due May 15) appear in March, April, and May but not in June or July Activity 301 (due May 15) appears in March, April, May, and June, but not July Activity 401 and 401 (both due June 15) appear in April, May, and June, but not in July Results of Non-Overlapping Time Periods If assignments do not have overlapping time periods, users will see the activity in their training plan repeatedly, once for each time period. The status of the entire assignment is tracked, so even if a user completes an activity in one time period, it re-appears in their training plan in the next one. Their current status in that activity is retained, though, for each reappearance, so they don't need to repeat the activity. Give Me An Example For example, consider a case where three assignments give access to the same content but at different times: Assignment C grants access to activity 101 and 201 from July 1 through August 31. Assignment D grants access to activity 101 and 301 from September 1 through September 30. Assignment E grants access to activity 301 from November 1 through November 31. The user's view is: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 102

112 Assigning Content to Users Activity 101 is available in July. The user completes it that month, and when the activity reappears in September, it is still marked as completed and is removed one month later without user intervention. Activity 201 is available in July. The user starts but does not complete it that month. It remains incomplete but available in August, then is removed in September. Activity 301 is available in September. The user starts but does not complete it that month. The activity is removed in October, but reappears in November, still marked as "not completed". Creating Assignments Step 1: Set the Basic Assignment Properties 1. Click Content (tab), then Assignments (menu). You see a list of the current assignments, who created them, and when they were created. 2. Click New Assignment. You see the first assignment properties screen. 3. Enter a descriptive Assignment Name. What Should I Consider When Choosing a Name? An assignment name should be descriptive enough to be meaningful to you, or another administrator, in the future. You should establish some conventions for assignment names, for example, "Series 100 to all users" for content assigned to all users, "Series 110 to managers" for content assigned to managers. 4. If you do not want the assignment to be active yet, select a status of disabled. When Would I Do This? It can be useful sometimes to set up assignments but only make them active at a future date. Keep in mind that the activities in an assignment may still be available to users, if those activities are part of another, enabled assignment or are otherwise made available to a user. 5. Click Next and go to the next step. Step 2: Choose the Activities to be Assigned 1. You see a list of available activities. 2. Click each activity that this assignment will make available to users. The order in which you select the activities will be the order in which activities TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 103

113 Assigning Content to Users will appear on the users' training plan. What Should I Keep in Mind? All selected activities will be assigned in the same way (for example, all will be available during the same range of dates), so choose activities that are suitable to be handled together. You can create as many assignments as you wish. Note: Activities with pricing, registration options, or prerequisites can be assigned, but will not be applied to users. (For example, even if the activity has an associated price, users who are assigned that activity will get it for free.) 1. Click Next and go to the next step. Step 3: Choose When the Activities Will be Available 1. You see the Specify Content Availability screen. 2. If you don't want to control when the selected activities are available (activities will become available immediately and remain available indefinitely), leave the fields at their defaults and click Next to go to the next step. Note: Once you save the assignment, the date on which you created or enabled the activity becomes the Available on date. 3. Otherwise, choose from the following options. To have the selected activities available... from now to a specific date Then... click End on and enter a date click Next to go to the next step from a specific date to a specific date click Available on and enter a date click End on and enter a date click Next to go to the nex t step from now to the activity's due date specify a due date (see below) click Same as due date click Next to go to the next step TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 104

114 Assigning Content to Users 1. If you want users to be informed of a due date for the selected activities, do one of the following: to set a specific due date, click Due on and enter a date to set a relative due date, enter the number of days after the selected activities were available to the user that the activities are due Give Me An Example You made a set of activities available from July 1 through December 31 of 2010, with a due date of December 15, The activities will appear on the training plan of the designated users on July 1. On December 16, the content will be flagged as "overdue". Activities will disappear from the training plan of all designated users on December 31. Click Next and go to the next step. Step 4: Choose Who Will be Able to Access the Content You see the Specify Users screen. If you don't want to control who can access the activities (activities will be available to all users), leave the fields at their defaults and click Next to go to the next step. Otherwise, choose from the following options. To have the selected activities available to... all users who have the student role Then... leave All Users in the organization selected click Only students click Next to go to the next step specified users, whether or not they have the "student" role click Specific individuals click Next: a list of users appears select the users who will have access to the selected activities specified users who have the "student" role click Next to go to the next step click Only students click Specific individuals TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 105

115 Assigning Content to Users click Next: you see a list of users who have the "student" role select the users who will have access to the selected activities click Next to go to the next step users who meet certain criteria see below If your LMS has been configured to capture locations, job titles, and/or departments for users, use that criteria to determine who gets access to the selected activities. Caution: Keep in mind that you must ensure that user accounts contain values for these criteria. Select Subset of users based on. Check Location, Job Title and/or Department. Optionally, if you want to include only individuals who are students as well as fitting the user attributes, click Only Students. Click Next. Depending on your selections in step 2, you will be prompted to choose the specific location, job title, or department (for example, the "manager" and "supervisor" job title). If you selected more than one of these, you will need to click Next and define each individually. Give Me An Example You might want to assign selected activities only to individuals who are in the Sales department, or only those who are students and in the Training department, or those who are in the Sales department with the job title of Manager. Click Next and go to the next step. Step 5: Confirm and Save the Assignment The assignment you have defined is shown on the screen. Correct it by returning to the desired wizard step or click Save Assignment to save the assignment and close the wizard. Editing Assignments TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 106

116 Assigning Content to Users You can edit either assignments you created yourself or those that the LMS created when you gave users access to specific learning activities. Note: If your edits remove a user's access to a learning activity, that learning activity is automatically removed from the user's training plan, even if the activity is already in progress. Click Content (tab), then Assignments (menu). You see a list of the current assignments, who created them, and when they were created. Click the assignment name. You see information about the assignment. Click Edit assignment. If the assignment was LMS-created, you see a list of the users who have access to this learning activity. Modify the list, click Next, and save the edits. If the assignment was manually created, you see the same screen you saw when creating that assignment. Make the necessary changes and save the edits. Note: You can also edit an assignment by clicking on its name in the learning activity's list of assignments (from the learning activity's details screen; click the Assignments link). You can also edit it by clicking on its name in the user account's training plan details. Adding Participants Directly Adding participants is one of the administrator-driven ways to make learning activities (including events) available to users. Open the learning activity's details screen. Click the participants link (either None or # Participants). You see a list of the participants who already have access to the learning activity. Where Did Those Participants Come From? The participants list includes users who have been assigned the activity through an assignment or self-registration. Click Add Participants. You see a list of available users. Select each user who should have access to the learning activity and click Register. If the learning activity requires prerequisites and the user you selected does not have the appropriate ones, you are warned of this and can choose to allow or refuse the user access to the learning activity. If registration options have been assigned to the learning activity, you are prompted to enter answers on behalf of the user. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 107

117 Assigning Content to Users If pricing has been applied to the learning activity, you are prompted to enter payment information. If you choose to provide this learning activity at no charge, you must enter a reason. The selected users appear on the detail screen and, unless certification, registration, or pricing is involved, an assignment is automatically created with the same name as the learning activity. To change the list of users associated with a learning activity, you can edit this assignment. Removing Access to Content You can remove access given through an assignment by editing the assignment or, for an activity, by removing specific participants from the participant list. This can be done only if access was granted through an assignment that designated specific individuals, or through the user being added as a participant. Open the learning activity's details screen. Click the Participants link. You see a list of the participants who already have access to the activity. Participants who can have their access removed have a small beside their name. Click the. If payment (even with a $0) value was associated with the activity, you are prompted to enter a reason for removing the access and to confirm the cancellation. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 108

118 Troubleshooting Resolving the Problem Yourself If you are automatically logged out by the LMS, simply login again and continue work. If for some reason you cannot continue with the activity you had open when you were automatically logged out, contact your administrator or technical support. If you lose your connection to the LMS while logged on (for example, your computer crashes, you close your browser, or you lose your network connection), try to login again as soon as possible to ensure you are not locked out of an activity. If the system is not behaving as you expect it to, try one or all of the following: Restart your browser (this fixes many issues). Clear your browser's temporary files/cache and delete all cookies for the domain of the site you are accessing, then exit and restart the browser. Try another browser. Restart your computer. If you cannot resolve the problem, contact technical support. Be prepared to provide them with the information they need to help them resolve your problem. Contacting Technical Support For routine matters, such as resetting a password or requesting additional attempts for a learning activity, contact your administrator or technical support. Simply click on the support address to compose a message to technical support. To help resolve your issue as quickly as possible, please record and share all of the following information with technical support: what you were doing before the error occurred, including the learning activity you were working with your username the URL of your login page the date and time of the error, including the time zone you are working in TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 109

119 Troubleshooting if you ve experienced the error many times or if it has happened only once what you ve done to try to resolve the issue yourself the type and version of your browser the operating system of the computer you are using if possible, a screen shot of the error condition. Taking Screen Shots for Problem Diagnosis On a Windows PC, press the and keys simultaneously. This captures an image of the screen to your clipboard so you can paste it into an message or other document. On a Mac, press the,, and keys simultaneously and drag the mouse cursor to select what you want to capture. The image appears on your desktop and can then be pasted into an message or other document. Alternatively, click and drag on the text of the error message to select it, then copy it to the clipboard. You can then paste it in an message or other document. Clearing Your Browser and Deleting Cookies A common approach to resolving problems is to clear your browser and delete its cookies. This is done differently depending on the browser you're using. If you use Internet Explorer In your browser, click the Tools menu, then click Internet Options. TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 110

120 Troubleshooting In the Browsing history area, click Delete. You see a new screen allowing you to choose what to delete. Click Cookies and History. Click Delete. You are prompted to confirm your action. Note: These instructions are for Internet Explorer 8. Other versions of Internet Explorer may differ somewhat. If you use Firefox In your browser, click the Tools menu, then click Clear Recent History. Choose the time range of data you want cleared (for example, only today's data). From the Details list, choose what you want cleared: be sure to include the cookies and cache items. Click Clear Now. Note: This instruction is for Firefox 3.5. Other versions of Firefox may differ somewhat. Recovering a Forgotten Password If you have forgotten your password: TPC Training Systems, a division of Telemedia, Inc. 111