Polycom University Quick Start Users Guide July 2015, v3.0
Table of Contents Five Things to Know Before You Begin... 3 Partner User Navigation to Polycom University... 4 Non-Partner End-User Navigation to Polycom University... 5 Searching and Browsing for Courseware... 6 Registering for Certification Tracks... 8 Registering for and Taking an Online (elearning) Course or Assessment... 12 Exiting and Completing Courses... 14 Retaking Courses... 14 Special Note on Preparing for Assessments... 15 Registering for a Remote Lab or Instructor-Led Course... 16 Registering for Specialization Tracks... 18 The ME Screen... 20 Viewing Completed Learning... 21 Searching for Recommended Learning for Assessments AFTER Enrollment... 22 Printing Certificates... 23 Using the Calendar to Search for Classes by Location... 24 Launching Assessments... 25 Locating Course Attachments After Registration... 26 Locating Training Facilities... 27 Using ILT Training Schedules... 28 Help and Assistance... 29 Important Terminology and Functionality... 30 2 P age
Five Things to Know Before You Begin Avoid common mistakes made by users in Polycom University by reading this page first. If you don t read anything else in this document, read this page! 1) Certifications for Partners Completing all of the certification track requirements does not automatically add the certification to your Polycom University transcript or your company s gap analysis. All users must register for a certification if they intend to add it to their Polycom University transcript prior to completing the required courses. Partners can now use one-click to register for certification tracks and courses at the same time. See page 14 for more details. For example, if you complete PLCMOS101 and CFSSOS101, you do not automatically receive credit for PTWOS100 certification. You must register for PTWOS100 certification prior to completing the two courses. This is one of the most frequent reasons our Partners currently contact Polycom University support. 2) Payment Registering for a fee-based course is a two-step process. Step one is the registration for the fee-based course; the registration status displays as Pending Approval. Step two requires payment information for the fee-based course. Essentially, Polycom University reserves your seat in the class, but does not guarantee your seat in the class. Once the payment information is received and processed, your registration status displays as Registered. See page 12 for more details. 3) Class by Location Polycom offers classes to a worldwide audience in multiple locations and multiple languages. Find the right instructor-led, blended, or virtual class for you by using the Calendar function in Polycom University. See page 23 for more details. For example, a user in South America may be looking for an instructor-led RPIIT202 class in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but a user in Hong Kong may be looking for the same class in Chengdu, China. Use the Calendar s filter function to quickly narrow down your location options based on multiple criteria. 4) Printing Certificates Users can now print their own completion certificates from within Polycom University. See page 22 for more details. 5) Locations Users signing up for instructor-led classes at a Polycom Learning Center (PLC) or Authorized Training Partner (ATP) location may need to know directions to the training facility. This information is available in Polycom University. See page 26 for more details. 3 P age
Partner User Navigation to Polycom University Step 1: Login to Polycom Connect at http://connect.polycom.com Step 2: Once logged in, access Polycom University from the TRAINING tab, clicking Polycom University. NOTE: If the Partner user does not have a Polycom Connect account or have moved to a different company, click Create New Account (shown in Step 1) to begin creating your new account. It may take up to 24 hours for the new account to become active in our systems. Once the Partner account is active, their Polycom University account should be activated in two to three hours. Partner users should always use their official company email domain when creating their Partner account in Partner Connect. The email domain is one of the items used to associate their account with the correct organization. 4 P age
Non-Partner End-User Navigation to Polycom University Step 1: Enter your Polycom University credentials at: https://polycom-customers.sabacloud.com NOTE: If you do not have a Polycom University account, register for a Polycom University account by clicking Sign up here. After completing the end-user signup, the end-user receives an email with a link to activate their account. Once the Polycom University account is activated, it may take up to 24 hours before the end-user is able to access any course content. This is an expected behavior and not a support issue. This access to Polycom University is only for non-partner users. Partner users should always use Partner Connect to access Polycom University. 5 P age
Searching and Browsing for Courseware Option 1: Use the smart search feature located next to Browse in the upper right corner of the main landing page. You can search by keyword, certification track code, or course code. In the examples shown below, voice and VSO are entered into the search field. As you enter keywords, tags, or strings that match the learning titles, Polycom University s smart search displays related content that matches your entries in a drop-down list. The more detailed your search criteria, the fewer selections displayed. Smart search tips include: You do not need to use wildcards, such as an asterisk (*) in your searches. Simply enter the search criteria. Entering the course code is the quickest way to locate a course, assessment, or certification track. If you do not know the course code, try entering keywords. As you enter your search criteria, smart search anticipates possible selections and displays them in a drop-down list. If a drop-down list does not appear after entering your search criteria, click the search button. Click the desired item in the drop-down list. If your selection does not appear in the search results or if no search results display in the drop-down list, proceed to Option 2 (below). Option 2: Use the Search Catalog button on the Home page (your layout may appear different). 6 P age
Search by for classes by Category, using filters to narrow down the search results. Search results are displayed on-screen. 7 P age
Registering for Certification Tracks In Polycom University, Partner users are required to register for a certification track to receive credit for completion. If a user completes all of the requirements for a Polycom University certification track, but does not register for the certification track first, the certification track will not be granted and Partner users will not receive credit in their company s training transcript or gap analysis. Remember, always register first for the certification track! On July 1, 2015, Polycom University introduced one-click, a new approach to registering for most of our certification tracks AND required self-paced courses and assessments at the same time. One-click requires the Partner user to locate the certification track using either of the methods in Step 1 (below). Once the certification track is identified, use the following steps to quickly register. One-click does NOT work with any certification or specialization track requiring completion of an instructor-led course, virtual instructor-led course, or online lab. Each of these class offerings require the Partner to individually select the date of the class they are attending. Step 1: Locate the certification track using either the smart search area (page seven of this document) or open the Certifications folder located on the Polycom University home page (shown below). For demonstration purposes, we will use Voice Endpoint Sales Certification VSOS100. Step 2: Click on the title of the certification track, shown below. If you click Register, you are unable to use the one-click functionality and will register only for the certification track, not its required components. 8 P age
Step 3: Click Register. 9 P age
Step 4: The certification track requirements that Partners are using the one-click functionality to register for are identified by the selected checkboxes. Also included in the list are Completed and In Progress courses or assessments that apply to the certification track. If the Partner wishes to register for one of the recommended courses at this time, click Select class next to the course. Partners can always register for recommended courses at any time; they do not have to complete those registrations at this time. After confirming all selections, click Complete Registration. 10 P age
Step 5: Click Close. You have successfully registered for the certification track and its required courses and assessments. Users can now launch any of the certification track s individual components by clicking Launch on the Polycom University home page. Ensure that your pop-up blockers are turned off. 11 P age
Registering for and Taking an Online (elearning) Course or Assessment Online Courses and Assessments Polycom University offers many online courses and opportunities to demonstrate competency through taking assessments. Individuals can take these courses or assessments at their own pace. Step 1: After finding the course or assessment, click Add to plan. Dependent upon the screen/area in the system, you may also click Enroll. If you see and click Enroll, the course automatically launches in a new window, but you can close it and return to complete the course at a later time. Review the Launching Assessments section on page 23 for additional information specific to Polycom University assessments. NOTE: An Add to Plan window may appear. This feature allows you to set a personal due date or reminder to complete the course. This is not a required field. If you do not wish to set a reminder, click Cancel to proceed. If you do set a due date, it is only visible within your training transcript in Polycom University. 12 P age
Step 2: Go to the ME menu to begin taking the course. The course or assessment previously added to your plan now appears in the list with a View classes button. Click View classes and then click Enroll. If you are already enrolled in a course or assessment, it appears in the list with a Launch button. Click Launch to begin reviewing the course or taking the assessment. 13 P age
Exiting and Completing Courses Users must click Click to Exit to receive credit for completing an online, elearning course. Retaking Courses Occasionally, users wish to review their Completed elearning courses. You do not need to re-register for the class. Simply locate the course in the My Completed Learning menu and click Launch. 14 P age
Special Note on Preparing for Assessments Many certifications are based on passing assessments. Most assessments have recommended learning that will help a learner prepare to pass the assessment. Recommended learning is listed in the following location, in addition to registering for a certification track using one-click registration. When clicking on the assessment that you are registered for in the ME menu, the recommended learning appears under the name of the assessment. If you see more listed, this is an indicator that additional recommended learning is available. Click more to see all of them. 15 P age
Registering for a Remote Lab or Instructor-Led Course Remote Labs Polycom University offers hands-on access to remote labs. Courses designated as Remote Labs are somewhat different as they are not instructor-led, however, they are scheduled at specific times to allow the learner the required access to remote lab infrastructure. Course offerings may be subject to a course fee and availability. Instructor-Led Training Polycom University instructor-led training allows our students to experience face-toface instruction with opportunities to complete hands-on labs. Polycom University offers this type of training in several global classroom locations. Course offerings may be subject to a course fee and availability. Access Polycom University to see availability and locations. Remotely Delivered Instructor-Led Training Polycom University remote instructor-led training provides remotely delivered training in which students interact face-to-face with peers and expert instructors without leaving the comfort of their office or home. Polycom University currently is piloting this delivery on select courses. Course offerings may be subject to a course fee and availability. Step 1: After finding the course, read the screen before clicking Enroll. The screen only displays a few of the date/time options, as shown below. Other options include: Click Add to Plan and choose the date/time later from the ME menu. Click Enroll if one of the options shown is the class you want to take. Click View detail to see the dates/times. NOTE: Multi-day courses appear as sessions, as shown on page 14. Click find more classes to see additional class offerings. Another option is to use the Calendar function. See page 24 for more details. 16 P age
Once you are confident you have found the correct class offering, click Enroll. If this is a fee-based class, such as RPIIT202, your registration status displays Pending Registration, indicating that payment information needs to be provided to guarantee your seat in the class. Each region has different contact information to process payments, but do not wait until the last minute to provide payment information. Users risk losing their seat in the class to waitlisted individuals who have already provided payment information. 17 P age
Registering for Specialization Tracks Step 1: Find the specialization either using the smart search area (page seven of this document) or the Specializations folder (bottom right of screen). For demonstration purposes, we will use RealPresence Services Specialization for Help Desk RPSAT300. Step 2: Register for the specialization, shown in the screenshots below. OR 18 P age
Step 3: Once registered, the system automatically chooses instructor-led and remote lab courses. It is IMPORTANT that you review the selections and click Change class if the class location, date, or time you desire is not selected. This is very important for instructor-led or remotely delivered courses. Once you have made all of your selections, ensure all selection check boxes are checked and click Complete Registration. 19 P age
The ME Screen The ME tab shows all the certifications, specializations, courses, and assessments for which you have registered. Certifications and specializations appear at the top of the list. Certifications and specializations for which you have not yet begun will be noted with a Register button. NOTE: This does NOT mean you have to register again. It is a function of the system to keep the Register button shown. This button changes once you begin any of the required certification and/or specialization learning. 20 P age
Viewing Completed Learning A list of your completed learning can be found by clicking Completed Learning on the left-side of the screen. 21 P age
Searching for Recommended Learning for Assessments AFTER Enrollment We have already shown how to identify recommended learning for assessments (referred to as prerequisites in Polycom University) when enrolling. However, what if you have already enrolled for an assessment and need to know what courses contain relevant information to help you prepare for the assessment? For example, you need to pass RPEEXOS103 to complete the RPEOS100 certification track, but you received a 78 score on your first attempt. Before you retake the assessment, you want to review the course material referenced in the assessment. Step 1: Locate the assessment on the ME page. Click the assessment title, which takes you to the assessment page. On this page, click more Step 2: All recommended learning associated with this assessment now displays under the RECOMMENDED LEARNING heading. Click on any of the course links to launch the course page in a new window. You can register for the course or download the Slide Notes to use as a reference during the open-book assessment. 22 P age
Printing Certificates The new Polycom University allows users to print certificates as the course, assessment, or certification track is completed. Only completion certificates for courses and assessments completed after July 9, 2014 are available for printing by the user in Polycom University. All historical copies of user certificates for courses and assessments obtained before July 9, 2014 must be requested through polycomu@polycom.com. Depending upon the number of certificates being requested, it may take some time for Polycom University support to complete this task. Step 1: Navigate to the My Plan page, located on the ME tab. Step 2: Click Completed Learning. Step 3: Click Print Certificate to print an.html version or Export Certificate to print a.pdf version. 23 P age
Using the Calendar to Search for Classes by Location Polycom University s instructor-led training (ILT) and virtual instructor-led training (vilt) classes are often offered in different training locations throughout the world. You can use the calendar feature in Polycom University to locate the appropriate location when registering for a class, using the following steps. Step 1: Click the calendar icon in the top right corner of the Polycom University screen, displaying all courses by day, week, or month. Step 2: Narrow your search results by entering the course code in the Title field, for example RPIIT202. Locations can be filtered further by entering PLC for Polycom Learning Center locations or ATP for Authorized Training Partner locations in the Location field. Based on entering PLC or ATP, you can select the desired location using Polycom University s smart search results. Click Apply after selecting the location to display the search results. Step 3: Hovering over the class link displays class information. Once the appropriate class is identified, begin the registration process by clicking the link on the calendar and clicking Enroll. 24 P age
Launching Assessments Most Polycom University assessments allow unlimited opportunities to achieve a passing score. Here is the recommended approach to registering and launching assessments in Polycom University. Step 1: Register for the assessment following the steps on page seven of this document. After finding the course or assessment, click Add to plan. Dependent upon the screen/area in the system, you may also click Enroll. Step 2: Do NOT click Launch for the assessment Step 3: Return to the ME tab and click the In Progress portion of the Learning & Certifications wheel. Step 4: When you are ready to begin the assessment, click Launch next to the assessment to begin the assessment. Please note that after 15 minutes of inactivity, the assessment automatically closes. Assessment reset requests require an email request to polycomu@polycom.com, requesting that the previous enrollment be removed from the user s transcript (including an explanation of why this is being done). Once the assessment has been removed, the user will have to re-enroll for the assessment. Polycom University strongly recommends that users failing to achieve a passing score after three (3) attempts review all course material associated with the assessment. 25 P age
Locating Course Attachments After Registration Many, but not all, Polycom University courses have attachments associated with them, typically a highlevel course description and slide notes for review. There are several different ways to locate course attachments. Use the following steps to locate course attachments. The steps assume that you have already located and registered for the course. Step 1: Locate the course on the ME page. Click Attachments. Or, click the Course ID, located below the title of the course. Step 2: Click Attachments. Step 3: Click the attachment to open or right-click and select Save target as to save the attachment to your hard drive. We recommend changing the file name to the course ID or course title, since the default name for each Slide Notes file is the same and you will overwrite the previous saved file. 26 P age
Locating Training Facilities Polycom University has training facilities located around the world. If you are unsure where an instructorled training class is being held, you can locate training facility information using the following steps. Step 1: Click the Polycom Central tab in Polycom University. Step 2: Click Maps. Step 3: Locate the training facility and click on the link. Some training facilities have directions to the location that can be downloaded; others simply have contact information for the training facility. 27 P age
Using ILT Training Schedules The home page for Polycom University users has quick links to instructor-led training in regions around the world. Users can quickly locate any instructor led class for the current and immediate quarter by clicking the appropriate regional ILT schedule button. The training schedules are organized by course and show the start date, end date, location, and cost of the ILT course for that region. Once the appropriate class is located, users can register for the class in Polycom University. 28 P age
Help and Assistance Inquiries related to assessments, e-learning, navigation, registration, transcripts and Polycom University should be sent via email to: PolycomU@polycom.com Inquiries related to EMEA instructor-led course scheduling and availability should be sent via email to: emeatraining@polycom.com Inquiries related to APAC instructor-led course scheduling and availability should be sent via email to: apactraining@polycom.com Inquiries related to CALA and North America instructor-led course scheduling and availability should be sent via email to: training@polycom.com Registrants requiring virtual lab support for RPRMIT202, ESVIT204, ESNIIT203, ESCSIT202, ADEDIT203, ADEDOMIT202, and RPPVEAT301 should send emails to: cloudtraining@polycom.com The EMEA Partner Enablement Team has normal hours of operations from 7am-7pm; +44 1753 723391. Email partnerenablement@polycom.com or PartnerHELP via Partner connect portal. 29 P age
Important Terminology and Functionality Activity Type There are five kinds of activities that can be added to a plan: goal, competency, certification, course, and curriculum. Each of these is considered an activity type. Add to Plan Adds the course to the ME menu for future registration. Certification Path Contains the options for achieving a particular certification. Learners must complete the required elements of a path to achieve the certification. Class Class represents the numerous offerings of a course. Just as with instructor-led courses, ELearning courses also have classes in which an individual must Enroll. Complete Registration This function completes the registration for the Certification or Specialization; it tells the system that you have selected all items for the Certification or Specialization. Course Courses represent the title of an offering. Delivery Type The method of delivery for a course. Polycom University offers four (4) course delivery types: Instructor-led training (ILT), Web-based training (WBT), Blended offering, and Virtual Classroom. Enroll This enrolls an individual in a class and is typically the last function before launching. In Progress The status when registration for course, assessment, or certification is complete, but the course, assessment, or certification has not been completed. Launch This starts the content. Click Launch when you are ready to begin the course or assessment. One-click A method of registering for a certification track and its required courses and assessments at the same time. Pending Approval This status is applied to registrations for fee-based classes that require payment before the enrollment is approved. All fee-based classes require payment information within five business days of the class start date or the enrollment will be cancelled. Not all Polycom University classes are feebased. Plan A plan tracks a collection of items that you need to complete. The specific purpose of a plan varies according to its type. For example, you might have a learning and certification plan for attaining a certification. You might have goals and objectives to attain goals. Profile Each user can update or add detail to their Polycom University profile on the ME tab, including: spoken languages, biography, business contact information, and employment history. Recommended A course or assessment that Polycom University suggests the user review prior to completion of an assessment or certification track. This should not be confused with Required. Register This begins the registration for a Certification or Specialization track, but it does not automatically Complete Registration for courses or Enroll you into all required classes. Required A course, assessment, or certification that requires completion of pre-work before completion. This should not be confused with Recommended. 30 P age
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