OpenSpace provides some important benefits to you. These include:

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1 Cengage Education A member of Open Colleges Welcome to OpenSpace OpenSpace is our virtual campus. It is our online space for students, tutors and staff to interact. It provides you with a secure, interactive learning environment that allows you to access a wealth of learning resources, including your course materials, activities and assessments. OpenSpace enables you to interact and engage with your trainers, submit assessments, view your grades and access our extensive online libraries. You can catch up with other students through student forums and lounges and find a study buddy. Importantly, OpenSpace also includes a knowledgebase of frequently asked questions, online enquiry forms and much more. In planning the development and launch of OpenSpace, we took on board feedback and suggestions from our students, trainers and staff in respect of the StudentPortal. In response to this feedback, OpenSpace has been designed to provide you with a more intuitive and engaging learning environment. OpenSpace aims to better connect you with your trainers and fellow students to create a rewarding online learning community. So, what s new? OpenSpace provides some important benefits to you. These include: Better Navigation OpenSpace includes more intuitive navigation enabling you to access your information more easily. Using the new docking system, you can customise your learning environment to meet your needs. More Functions OpenSpace incorporates a range of improvements in functionality. There is improved messaging with trainers and you can now control your own communication settings. OpenSpaces also provides you with the opportunity to store and manage your own files (such as draft assignments). Enhanced Support OpenSpace provides you with 24/7 access to a wide range of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) as well as online access to our key forms and policies. You can also log and track any questions youhave directly in OpenSpace. Your Feedback OpenSpace also includes the new Student Evaluation of Unit and Trainer (SEUT). This survey will provide us with invaluable feedback on your experiences within each Unit. We strongly encourage you submit a SEUT at the completion of each Unit. Over time you will also notice that we are including additional online resources and support materials within our courses. This is all part of our commitment toquality and continuous improvement. Should you have any questions or feedback regarding OpenSpace please feel free to contact us on I wish you all the best in your studies. Anthony Bohm CEO Cengage Education 1

2 Contents Login p.3 A New Way to Navigate p.3 Tab Bar and Docking p.4 Home p.4 My Home p.4 Tags (Interests) p.4 Contact Us p.4 Search the FAQs Knowledgebase p.5 Submit an Online Enquiry p.5 My Profile p.5 Forums p.5 Latest News p.6 Blogs p.6 The Student Lounge p.6 Messaging and My Contacts p.6 Messages p.7 Contact My Tutor p.7 Find a Study Buddy p.8 Online users p.8 View the Order of Studies p.8 View My Grades p.8 View My Payments p.8 Manage My Private Files p.8 My Units (Learning materials) p.9 Search Online Libraries p.9 My Assessments p.9 Submit an Assessment Online p.10 View My Assessment Feedback and Grade p.10 Student Evaluation Survey p.10 My Profile Settings p.10 Change My Password p.11 My Message settings p.11 Upcoming Events p.11 Calendar and Events p.11 2

3 Login To login to OpenSpace Open your web browser and enter the following address We recommend you bookmark this page for future reference To login, enter your Username and Password Click the Login button Forgotten your username or password? Click Forgotten your username or password? link Enter either your Username or address and click the Search button If we can find you in the database, an will be sent to your address with the login intructions If we can t find you in the database, contact our Student Support Team on To log out from OpenSpace: It is strongly recommend that you logout of OpenSpace when you have finished your session. Click the Logout link in the top right of your screen A New Way to Navigate Tab bar ( docked ) Left Bar Page Breadcrumb: You can click on the page breadcrumb to navigate to that page. Navigation Header Log out Excel Forum Image External Link Glossary Internal Link FAQ Gradebook PDF Report Test Word Resource Upload Assignment Gradebook Sound Video HTML Component: Site wide boxes such as Calendar, Upcoming events etc. which are located in either the left or right sidebars Undock all Settings Footer: The footer contains quick links to our Online Enquiry, FAQs and Policies and Procedures. Middle Panel Right bar 3

4 Tab Bar and Docking This exciting new feature allows you to control the space and layout of your page by allowing you to dock components, collapse them from the left or right sidebar, and move them to the Tab bar on the left of your screen. It keeps your screen nice and tidy yet allows you to access information when you need to. To dock a component Locate the component you wish to dock Click icon Your component will now appear on the left Tab bar To un-dock a component From the left Tab bar click the component you with to un-dock Click icon Your component will now appear either on the left or right sidebar To view a docked component Use your mouse to hover over the docked component with your cursor To close the view and return it to the tab, click icon To un-dock all components on the Tab bar Click icon at the bottom of the Tab bar Home This is the site-wide home page of OpenSpace. All general institution announcements and important information is posted on this page. Go to Navigation Home My Home This is your individual user home page. The units you are enrolled in are displayed here. Go to Navigation My home Tags (Interests) Tags allow you to describe your interests in a way that is easy for people with similar interests to find them. You can also add tags to blogs. To view site-wide tags, the tag cloud Go to Navigation My Open Spaces Tags The size of each tag is related to the number of items associated with it. The larger the tag, the more users associated with it. To search for a tag Enter a search term in the Search box and click the Search button The results matching your search will be returned. You can view any of the tags by clicking the relevant link. To add a tag to your list of interests From the tag cloud click the Add tag name to my interests link To enter your interests (tags) to your profile Go to Settings My profile settings Edit profile In the Interests section enter your List of interests in the text box separated by commas. e.g. cycling, space travel Click Update Profile button Contact Us This page lists our key contact details for our support functions including student support and payment services. Go to Navigation My Open Spaces Contact Us 4

5 Search the FAQs Knowledgebase This is our knowledgebase of frequently asked questions (FAQs). It is a fantastic resource to quickly answer your questions. We recommend you use the FAQs before you log an Online Enquiry or before you contact our Student Support Team. Go to Navigation My Open Spaces FAQs Enter a search term in the search for box Click Find FAQ button Click on any of the relevant FAQs for further information Provide feedback to us on the FAQ by indicating if this FAQ helped answer your question To view the FAQ click on the link Some FAQs have related attachments which you can download You can click on the Printable View button if you wish to print the particular FAQ Submit an Online Enquiry If you have any questions, requests, suggestions or a complaint you can now submit them online using our online enquiry form. The enquiries are work flowed to our Student Support team who will respond to your enquiry within 2 business days. To submit an Online Enquiry Go to Navigation My Open Spaces Online Enquiry Complete the fields on the form including a short subject header Provide as much information as possible about your enquiry in the Description box Click Submit Query button You will receive an automated from us to let you know we have received you online enquiry. The will contain your Online Enquiry reference number. Should you need to contact us about the enquiry please quote the reference number from this . If you need to provide further information to your submitted enquiry please do not submit another online enquiry. Forward the details from the automated generated above containing your enquiry number in the header and your additional information in the body of the . This will be automatically added to your original enquiry. You will be contacted either by phone or with an answer to your enquiry by the Student Support team within 2 business days. My Profile This is where you can view your personal OpenSpace portal profile. Go to Navagation My Profile View Profile This is a view only page. To edit your profile go to Settings My profile settings Edit profile Forums This is where you can view your forum posts and discussions. A forum is an area where students and staff can post announcements or create a discussion topic. This is a great place for students to share their thoughts and student experiences. There are 3 main types of forums, site-wide forums, course forums and unit forms. To view your Posts Go to Navigation My profile Forum posts Posts To view your Discussions Go to Navigation My profile Forum posts Discussions To search forums Enter a search term in the search forums component Click Go button To locate a unit forum go to Navigation My units Forum name 5

6 Latest News This is where site-wide news and announcements are made which belong to the forum site news. To view the detail of a topic Click on more To view older topics Click on Older topics Blogs Blogs are a personal online space where you can enter commentary about a particular subject, news or activity. Blogs are designed to be interactive. Other users can post comments and messages to the blog. To view all of your blog entries Go to Navigation My profile Blogs View all of my entries To add a new blog entry Go to Navigation My profile Blogs Add a new entry In the General section enter the following information: Title for blog entry, Blog entry body, add an Attachment (optional), Publish to Yourself (draft) or Anyone on this site. Click Save changes button To change your blog preferences Go to Settings My profile settings Blogs Preferences set the number of blog entries per page External blogs view an external blog Register an external blog register an external blog site The Student Lounge The Student Lounge is where you will find general student resources available to assist you with your studies. They include How-to videos, communication tools, study calculator, handbooks, forms, study tips and other resources. There are a number of ways to reach the student lounge: Go to Navigation My home and click the Student Lounge OR Go to Navigation My profile Order of studies and click the Student Lounge OR Go to Navigation My units Student Lounge Messaging and My Contacts Messages are where you can contact other students and manage your list of contacts. To view your contacts or recent notifications and conversations Go to Navigation My profile Messages From the drop down menu you can select either: - My contacts a list of all your current contacts. The user online status is visible. - Recent notifications a list of recent notifications such as assessment graded alerts and forum replies - Recent conversations a list of all your recent conversations - Units Unit name provides a list of all contacts associated with the relevant unit regardless of whether they are one of your contacts or not 6

7 cont. To view your contacts or recent notifications and conversations Go to Navigation My profile Messages From the drop down menu you can select either: - My contacts a list of all your current contacts. The user online status is visible. - Recent notifications a list of recent notifications such as assessment graded alerts and forum replies - Recent conversations a list of all your recent conversations - Units Unit name provides a list of all contacts associated with the relevant unit regardless of whether they are one of your contacts or not To search for a contact (student or tutor) Go to Navigation My profile Messages Click the Search button In the text box enter the name of the person to search and click Search people and messages button All the users matching the search criteria are returned To send a message to a contact Select the person you would like to send a message to by clicking on their name In the message screen type in what you would like to say in the Message text box Click Send message button To manage contacts: Add contact icon to your My Contacts list Remove contact icon from your My Contacts list Block contact icon from contacting you View Message history icon related to a contact To prevent non-contacts from messaging you Go to Settings My profile settings Message settings In the General settings section, check the Prevent non-contacts from messaging me box Messages This is where all your messages are displayed. If you have a new message and you are logged in You will have a small popup box appear, click on the Go to messages link or the Ignore link to ignore the message. If you ignore the message you can return at a later date to view it. If you have pending messages that are unread They will appear in the Messages component with the name of the user and the number of messages pending against that user If you have no pending messages you will see the notification No messages waiting To view messages Click on Messages Messages settings Go to Settings My profile settings Message settings Contact My Tutor There are three ways to send a message to your tutor, 1. Search and message your tutor using the above steps or from your Contacts List at Navigation My profile Messages OR 2. Go to the unit you are studying Navigation My units Unit name and click the Contact your tutor [Tutor Name] via messaging link which appears at the top of every unit page OR 3. Go to the unit you are studying Navigation My units Unit name General Contact your tutor [Tutor Name] via messaging 7

8 Find a Study Buddy This feature allows you to search and make contact with other students studying in your course. To search for a Study buddy Go to Navigation My profile Study buddy From the Unit drop down menu select the unit for which you wish to find a study buddy In the Max distance (kms) either select unlimited (recommended) or restrict to only search for students who live a certain distance from your postcode Click the Search button All the potential Study buddies who match your search criteria will be displayed To make contact with a student in the list, click on the person s name or check multiple users to send multiple invites Click the Send invites to selected button at the bottom of the page In the message screen you can use the default message or further personalise the message Click Send invites button You can also add your Study Buddy to your contacts list by clicking the Add contact link directly under the person s profile picture. To opt out of being a Study buddy If you do not wish to be contacted for Study buddy requests adjust your Message settings at: Settings My profile settings Edit profile OR Settings My profile settings Message settings Online users Online users display the active online users who are logged in. View the Order of Studies The Order of studies page displays all the units you are currently enrolled in and the related assessments for your course, along with any grades you have been awarded. Go to Navigation My profile Order of studies View My Grades The Grades link displays the Order of studies page which shows any grades awarded next to your assessments. Go to Navigation My profile Grades View My Payments The Payments page displays all payments you have made, your next payment date and the outstanding balance on your course. Go to Navigation My profile Payments Manage My Private Files My private files are where you can store files related to your course, such as assignments and notes, and which can be accessed from anywhere you have an internet connection. Go to Navigation My profile My private files To create a file folder Click Manage my private files button Click Create folder button Enter a folder name 8

9 cont. Click OK button To manage folders Click on the folder name Select either Zip, Rename, Move or Delete To add (upload) a file Navigate to the folder you wish to save the file Click Add button Select Upload a file Click the Browse button to search and locate the Attachment Enter a name for the file in the Save as text box. It is strongly recommended that assessments are saved with the assessment code. Click Upload this file button The maximum file size is 100MB. To manage files Click on the file name Select either Download, Rename, Move or Delete To download all files click Download all button My Units ( Learning materials) This is where you can view all current units available in your course. Your units contain all the learning materials, assessments and resources required to complete the course. Additionally you gain access to the student libraries and links to contact your trainer. To access your learning materials, student lounge or forums for a unit: Go to Navigation My units Unit name Navigate through the topics on the page To access individual learning materials for a unit direct from the navigation tree Go to Navigation My units Unit name General Item An item may include one or more of the following items, web links to workbooks and activities, assessments, forms, videos, course forum, contact my tutor or web links. To view or search contacts related to a unit Go to Navigation My units Unit name Participants Search the Online Libraries You have 24/7 access to the vast resources of Gale, one of the world s largest online libraries. There s no need to go to the library to research your assignments because you can access the entire library from your computer. The online library contains millions of articles, covering everything from business and healthcare to technology and general interest subjects. Navigate to your unit, go to Navigation My units Unit name Click the Search library search link which is available in the sidebar My Assessments Assessment are required to be completed for your course and must be submitted for grading. You can locate your assessments using any of the following steps: 1. Go to Navigation My profile Order of studies and click on the relevant assessment OR 2. Go to Navigation My profile Grades and click on the relevant assessment OR 3. Go to Navigation My units Unit General Assessment name OR 4. Go to Navigation My units Unit and click on the relevant assessment from the page 9

10 Submit an Assessment Online This feature allows you to electronically submit your unit assessments for grading. This is the preferred method for assessment submission for all students. Navigate to the assessment, refer to My Assessments On the assessment page, upload files by clicking the Add button Click Upload a file link on the left Click Browse button and select your assessment file or locate the file from your Private files Click Upload this file button Click Save changes Add a Note to your assessment submission (optional) Click the Edit button, located under the Notes heading Type your message into the text field Click Save changes button To send assessment for marking Double check you are submitting the correct assignment for marking. The breadcrumb at the top of the page displays the name of the assessment you are submitting. Click the Send for marking button If you have submitted the wrong assessment We strongly recommend you save the assessment file name as the assessment code to avoid submitting the wrong assessment. Log an Online Enquiry providing details on which assessment you submitted incorrectly and the name of the correct assessment. We will action your request and send an confirmation when complete. View My Assessment Feedback and Grade Once your trainer has graded your assessment, depending on your Message settings, you will receive a popup message and/or an notification. To view your assessment grade and feedback navigate to the assessment using one of the methods above. Refer to My Assessments. The trainer feedback and grade is displayed under the Submission feedback heading. Student Evaluation Survey The Student Evaluation of Unit and Trainer (SEUT) survey is a key survey instrument to elicit feedback from you on our teaching and learning and student support services. This information will provide input to our quality and continuous improvement strategies. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Your feedback remains anonymous and results are aggregated to a course and faculty level. Once you have submitted the assessment for the unit you will be sent a notification to complete the survey. Go to Navigation My units Unit Name Click on Student Evaluation of Unit and Trainer survey link which is at the top of the unit page Answer each question in the survey Add any additional comments in the text boxes Click Submit questionnaire button Your feedback remains anonymous and is reported at an aggregated level. 10

11 My Profile Settings This is where you manage all your user profile settings. Go to Settings My profile settings Edit profile General First name, Surname, Username, address, Suburb, Country, Mobile Phone Number, Address, State, Postcode Change My Password Timezone The default is the Server s (your computer s) local time Preferred language select a preferred language. The default is English. Description enter a description about yourself. This appears on your user profile page. settings display: choose to allows users to see your address or hide from users format: chose whether to send and receive s as plain text or HTML format digest type: chose how you wish to receive daily digests Forum settings Forum auto-subscribe: allows you to auto-subscribe you to any forum you post to Forum tracking: allows you to keep track and highlight your posts User picture Add a picture to your user profile (optional) Interests List of interests - add a list of interests (tags) refer to Tags (Interests) OK for Study buddy select this checkbox if you want to be contacted as a Study buddy. Optionally un-tick this box if you do not wish to be contacted as a Study buddy. This is where you can change or reset your OpenSpace password. Go to Settings My profile settings Change password The password must have at least 7 characters, at least 1 digit(s) Enter your current password Enter your new password Re-enter you new password Click Save changes button My Message settings Message settings allow you to manage how you would like to receive messages and notifications, set an alternate address to receive notifications to and opt out of being a Study buddy. Go to Settings My profile settings Message settings Notifications are configured as either popup notifications or s or both depending on whether you are online or offline. We strongly recommend the Assignment and the Essay graded notifications are set as both Popup and when you are logged in. Set your notification methods For each setting, tick the box for each notification option Click Update profile button If you do not want to recieve the daily forum digest un-tick the settings for Subscribed forum posts To set an alternate address for notifications Enter an alternate address into the Send notifications to text box. Click Update profile button To prevent non-contacts from messaging you Check the Prevent non-contacts from messaging me box To set your Study buddy permissions If you wish to be contacted as a Study buddy tick the Ok for Study buddy box If you do not wish to be a Study buddy - un-tick the Ok for Study buddy box 11

12 Upcoming Events This is a summarised display of your upcoming calendar events. Go to the calender Click the link Go to the calender To create a new event Click the link New event For instructions go to Calendar and Events To set your calendar permissions For instructions go to Calendar and Events Calendar and Events The calendar can be used to manage events and reminders such as assessment dates, forum discussion dates or meeting dates. This is an excellent resource to help you manage and set learning goals. An event can either be a date (for tasks and reminders) or a date or time (for meetings and appointments). The different types of events are colour coded as: Global site-wide events Group student group or cohort events Unit specific unit date typically set by the trainer. Include trainer availability. User set by you, your personal dates and reminders Go to the calender From Upcoming events, click the link Go to the calender Your scheduled meetings are displayed To create a new event Click New event button from the calendar page or from Upcoming events New event link Type of event defaults to User Enter a name for the event and a description Enter the Date for the event Duration if this is a reminder task then it is set without duration. If this is a meeting that has a defined start and end time then click until and enter the duration of the meeting in minutes and adjust the start time next to the meeting date You can also set recurring meetings by clicking Repeat this event and enter the number of weeks Click Save changes button To manage events, locate the calendar event and Delete - click Edit - click Export - Click the Export calendar button Filter Click on. To remove filter click on. To set your calendar preferences Go to the calendar > Upcoming events, click the link Go to the calender Click the Preferences button You can edit any of the following settings: Time display format (12AM/PM or 24 hour), First day of week, Maximum upcoming events sets the number of events to display in the Upcoming events component, Upcoming events look-ahead set the number of days ahead to display in your Upcoming events component, Remember filter settings if set to Yes it will remember any filter setting you set next time you login Click Save changes button 12