Student Guide INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE RESOURCES Date: 12. March. 2018 By: Technical Support Team
Table of Contents 1) Introduction 3 2) Student Panel (SIS) 3 2.1) Student Panel (SIS) Login 3 2.1.1) Definitions 3 2.1.2) Registration Email 4 2.1.3) Login Instructions 5 2.1.4) First Time Log In 6 2.1.5) Login Errors 6 2.2) SIS Password Reset 7 2.2) Transcript 10 2.3) Module Registration 11 2.3.1) Financial Information 11 2.3.2) Pre-Registering for a Module 14 2.3.3) Enrolling for a module 19 2.3.4) What to Consider After a Successful Module Registration 21 3) VLE Browser Support 22 4) VLE Login Page 23 4.1) Login Instructions 23 5) Using the VLE 24 6) Home Page 25 7) Administration Block 26 8) Navigation Block 27 8.1) My Courses Course navigation explained 28 9) Student Area 29 10) Main Course Block 30 11) Course Contacts Block 32 12) E-Book Block 33 13) Calendar 33 13.1) Add Events to the Calendar (User events) 34 13.2) View the Events 36 Page 1-51
14) Messages 37 14.1) Unread Messages 37 14.2) Contacts 38 14.3) Compose New Message 38 14.4) Message Navigation 39 14.5) Add, Remove, and Block Users 39 14.5.1) Add a user to your contact list 39 14.5.2) Remove and Block a User 40 14.6) Settings 40 15) Accepting the Turnitin Agreement 42 16) Assignments 43 16.1) Submit an Assignment 43 16.2) Submission notifications 45 16.3) Viewing the Similarity Report 46 17) Forum 46 17.1) Get familiar with the VLE forum 47 17.1.1) Main Area 47 17.1.2) Auto save 48 17.2) Using VLE forum 48 17.2.1) Creating new thread 48 17.2.2) Edit thread 49 17.2.3) Thread navigating 49 17.2.4) Reply to post 50 17.3) Subscription 50 17.3.1) Forum subscription 50 17.3.2) Thread subscription 50 18) Contact Information 51 Page 2-51
1) Introduction The main aim of this guide is to provide students with an introduction to the University s online resources and more specifically to the Student Panel (SIS) and the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Our university is using a virtual learning environment called Moodle to model authentic, real-world education by integrating a set of virtual concepts for classes, examinations, resources, etc. The guide uses pictures with captions for a better understanding of what is being described. When arrows and numbers appear near the pictures, simply follow the sequence in the description. All pictures are identified by their topic name and number; some instructions can refer to picture number. Course shells are arranged in a three-column format. The two outside columns are for small boxes. Moodle calls them blocks. Blocks can be interactive, or they can contain useful and important information. The third, center column allows for viewing of the entire site. 2) Student Panel (SIS) The student panel is accessible at https:// sis-usw.unicaf.org and provides students with an easy-to-use interface for managing important student tasks such as: My page Modules Student Finance Transcript Feedback Suggestion Box Help Services 2.1) Student Panel (SIS) Login This section offers guidance with the process of signing in to the Student Panel (SIS) account. 2.1.1) Definitions Username: It is the personal email address used to register with us. Password: It is the password sent to you via email after enrollment completion as advised by the admission s adviser. Make sure to check spam/junk folders in case the password was routed to these folders. Page 3-51
2.1.2) Registration Email Image 1 below shows how a typical registration email from the university should look. Image 1: Registration Email Page 4-51
2.1.3) Login Instructions a) Navigate to https://sis-usw.unicaf.org You should be automatically redirected to the URL below: sis-usw.unicaf.org You will then be presented with the login area in the middle of the page which requests your username and password (see image 1). Image 1: Login Instructions b) Enter the correct username and password as defined in the Definitions (2.1.1) section above, and click the Login button. After using the correct username and password and clicking the Login button, you will be presented with the front page of the Student Panel, which should look similar to Image 2 below. Image 2: Login Instructions Page 5-51
2.1.4) First Time Log In When you log in for the first time you, will need to complete the following 5 steps: Confirm your intended programme of study with the preferred start date; Complete your personal information; Provide your contact information; Include additional information; and Check the admission requirements. Your next steps: Upload the required academic documents; If you wish to apply for a scholarship please click on the "Apply for a scholarship" button; Submit the payment application fee; If your application is successful, an offer letter will be issued; and When you have received the Offer Letter you should proceed to pay your deposit by clicking on the "Pay Deposit" button. 2.1.5) Login Errors If you are unable to log in into your account, make sure that: a) You are using the personal email address with which you registered as username. b) You are using the correct password sent to you in the registration email. It is the password sent to you via email. Make sure to check your spam/junk folder. c) You are entering your password with upper and lower case letters where needed. All passwords are case sensitive. d) If you are copying and pasting the password, make sure that no spaces/empty space is being copied. e) You are using the correct URL: sis-usw.unicaf.org If you are already doing all of the above and are still facing issues, you may use the Password Manager which is available in the Login Area of the Student Panel (SIS) as a link, or navigate directly to sis-usw.unicaf.org /pmanager. Important Notes: The Password Manager allows you to change or reset your password. 1. The new password can be used to log on to the University s Student Panel (SIS). 2. Please bear in mind that Virtual Learning Environment accounts are automatically created only for students with at least one registered module. 3. If a student has not registered to at least one module yet (current or past module), then access to the VLE is not provided at that point. Page 6-51
2.2) SIS Password Reset At the Login page: https://sis-usw.unicaf.org click on the click here link (see image 1) to navigate to the Password Manager. Image 1: Password Reset Then, you will be connected to https://sis-usw.unicaf.org/pmanager, where you will see a screen just like the one below: Image 2: Password Reset 1. Type in the email you used when you registered with us. 2. Use the refresh button only when you don t see the numbers in the image. 3. Type in the numbers that you see in the image above. 4. Finish by clicking on the Submit button. Page 7-51
If you typed in everything correctly, you will see a message just like the one below. Image 3: Password Reset Next, check your inbox/spam box for an email for further instructions; it should look just like image 4. Image 4: Password Reset 1. Select the alphanumeric characters shown by arrow 1 without any spaces on either side. Right-click with your mouse and select Copy. 2. Click on the link to which arrow 2 is pointing. Page 8-51
When the new page opens, you will see a form just like the one below. Image 5: Password Reset 1. Right click with your mouse and choose paste. 2. Type in the email you used when you registered with us. 3. Type in your new password (should be at least 8 characters long). 4. Type in your new password again. 5. Type in the numbers you see in the image above. 6. Click on the Submit button when you have finished. If you typed in everything correctly, you should see a success message. Now you can login using your new password. Image 6: Password Reset Page 9-51
2.2) Transcript Here you can view the unofficial transcript / results of your modules. To view your module interim grades, click on the Transcript link, on the left hand side of the window as shown on the image below. Image 1: Transcript Whenever you complete a module the list will be updated and the module completed will be added. Page 10-51
2.3) Module Registration This section will guide you on how to pre-register and finally enrol for a module by using the University s Student Panel. 2.3.1) Financial Information Before commencing with the instructions for the module registration, it is important to make sure that you do not have any overdue instalments in your account. You may check your instalments status by selecting the My Payment Plan option through the Student Panel s menu. (see image 1). Image 1: Financial Information In case an overdue instalment exists, it will be displayed in red and its status will display Overdue. When an overdue instalment exists, a student will not be able to register for a module, therefore he/she must use the Make Payment option in order to pay the overdue amount. Page 11-51
Students can also check their Current and Available Balance through the block located on the top right side of the Student Panel account as shown below: Image 2: Financial Information Finally, a statement of account is available by selecting the Statement of Account option through the left main menu. The statement of account can be exported in a PDF format by clicking on the Download Statement button as shown below ( red arrow ): Image 3: Financial Information Page 12-51
The PDF Statement (shown below) displays all the transactions made in a student account. On the debit side it shows module orders and how much each module costs. On the credit side it shows the scholarships for each module plus deposits made. Image 4: Financial Information It does not matter if the Total Balance is positive or negative. At the bottom of the page, the box Remaining Due Balance shows the date and the amount of the next payment as well as any outstanding instalments that exist. Page 13-51
2.3.2) Pre-Registering for a Module Registering for a new module is a very easy task and should take just a couple of minutes if the above conditions are met. Pre-registration to a module is needed before you can successfully enrol to a module. To pre-register for a module, follow these steps: a) Log in into your account. b) Navigate to the Modules section through the navigation menu on the left side of the screen. Click on Modules tab. You should see a list with all of the modules in your academic programme. The next available course is the one that it is highlighted. You can distinguish the modules with open offers by checking the Offers column on the far right side of the screen. The button View Offers is enabled for modules with open offers. Image 1: Pre-Registering for a Module Page 14-51
c) Click on button to view the available offers for a particular module. Image 2: Pre-Registering for a Module d) Click on button to view offers further details and proceed with the pre-registration. Image 3: Pre-Registering for a Module Page 15-51
There are courses that have pre-requisites and you will need to complete them before you can register. To check the Module Prerequisites for a module click on the module name to view the Module Details. Image 4: Pre-Registering for a Module Click the blue arrow in the Module Prerequisites section to view module s prerequisites. Once you complete a prerequisite it will be checked. (See image 5) Image 5: Pre-Registering for a Module e) Click on the button to complete your pre-registration. If there are no financial issues involved and any prerequisites of the module are completed, you should view a message of success (see image 6), otherwise a descriptive error message will be provided (see image 7 for an example). Image 6: Pre-Registering for a Module Page 16-51
Image 7: Pre-Registering for a Module f) In case of a successful pre-registration, you should receive an email containing your module details and enrolment dates. Successful pre-registrations are provided at Modules section on navigation menu on the left side of the screen, on My Pre-Registrations tab. On pre-registration, no money are deducted from your account, the module s amount is blocked and will be deducted upon enrolment. You can check your balance, where current balance is the current amount on your account, and available balance is the amount available to spend. Image 8: Pre-Registering for a Module If you click at the arrow at right and select Balance Details, you will be able to view the amount on hold and why the amount is hold. Image 9: Pre-Registering for a Module Page 17-51
Next step is to enrol to the module during enrolment period. southwales.unicaf.org Image 10: Pre-Registering for a Module You have the chance to cancel your pre-registration before the enrolment period start by clicking on cancel button next to the pre-registered offer. Image 11: Pre-Registering for a Module If you cancel your pre-registration, the module s amount will be unblocked. Page 18-51
2.3.3) Enrolling for a module You will be able to enrol to a module only at the case that you pre-registered for the module. To enrol for a module, follow these steps: a) Log in into your account. Navigate to the Modules section through the navigation menu on the left side of the screen. Click on My Pre-registrations tab. You should see a list with your pre-registrations. Image 1: Enrolling for a module b) During enrolment period you will be able to enrol to the module. Click the button. Offer details are provided. Image 2: Enrolling for a module: Page 19-51
c) Click on button to complete your enrolment. If there is a place to enrol to the class a success message will be provided (see image 3) and an email with module s offer details will sent to you, otherwise a descriptive error message will be provided. Image 3: Enrolling for a module Navigate to the Modules section through the navigation menu on the left side of the screen. Click on My Enrolments tab to view all of your successful enrolments. Click on to view all offer s details such as dates, price and grade. Image 4: Enrolling for a module You can access VLE simply clicking on button. Page 20-51
2.3.4) What to Consider After a Successful Module Registration There are four things to take under consideration upon a successful module registration : 1. To enter the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) navigate to Modules tab and click My Enrolments from the navigation at left. Every offer you are enrolled to has a relevant link for the VLE. Click on the button at desired offer and then click on the button to access VLE (Alternatively, you may log in to the University s VLE using https://vle-usw.unicaf.org ). 2. You will also receive another email with your credentials for the VLE platform. Please make sure that you do not leave any spaces when you copy and paste your password. 3. You will be able to access your module from the starting date of the module. 4. If you don t cancel your pre-registration before enrolment period starts, you will be enrolled automatically. Page 21-51
3) VLE Browser Support Browser Minimum version Recommended version Notes Google Chrome 30.0 Latest Recommended. Mozilla Firefox 25.0 Latest Apple Safari 6 Latest Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Latest Version 10 is required for drag-and-drop upload of content from outside the browser into Moodle Page 22-51
4) VLE Login Page The login page appears after you navigate to https://vle-usw.unicaf.org. At this point, you are not logged into the system. Access to VLE is granted to whomever has been registered to any module at least once. Image 1: VLE Login Page 4.1) Login Instructions a) Make sure that you are using your * email address as your username and that you are using the correct password. b) Then click on Log in button. Important Notes: * Use the email address that you used when you registered at our university. If you forgot your VLE password, you can reset it by using the Forgot your password? link located on the login page. Page 23-51
5) Using the VLE Did you know that you can customize the view of the VLE according to your needs? You can roll-up or roll-down the blocks hiding the content and leaving just the title visible. 1) By clicking on the (^) sign, the block will roll up. 2) By clicking the (v) sign, the block will roll down. Or, you can remove all the blocks to focus on the main area. You can do this by clicking on the button, which is located on the upper right corner of the course shell. But do not forget to recover the blocks back by clicking on the button. Page 24-51
6) Home Page The VLE Home Page is the first screen you will see after logging in to your account on the University s Virtual Learning Environment. Image 1: Home Page The colors of the boxes in Image 1 above are associated with the colors of the headers below. Header In the header, you will see the navigation bar, from which you have quick access to Student Support, the course to which you are registered, and the user menu. From the user menu, you can access the student area, your profile page, messages and your private files. Left-Column Here you see three blocks, Navigation, Administration, and the Clock. In the Navigation block, you will find the Student area, the Calendar, Forum posts, Messages, My private files and the My Courses Category. You will see an extra category appear when you enter a course, called Current Course. In the Administration block, you will see Edit profile and Messaging. In the Clock block you see the difference between your time and server s time. Center-Column, Main Content At the homepage, this area will inform you about news and announcements related to the University, such as scheduled maintenance, updates, announcements, and so on. Page 25-51
7) Administration Block The Administration Block can have different content depending on the currently active page. The default content of this block when the active page is the Front page or course overview page is the following: Image 1: Administration Block 1) My profile a) Edit profile Update your profile change your timezone, your preferences, upload your photo, etc. b) Messaging Configure methods for incoming message notifications. Page 26-51
8) Navigation Block The Navigation Block is used for the main navigation across the VLE. It contains categories, subcategories and links. Image 1: Navigation Block Navigation Links Description 1) Home View news and announcements. 2) Student area A brief overview of the course. 3) VLE Calendar You can view deadlines for assignments and quizzes, chat times and other course events. 4) My profile 5) My courses Forum posts Discussions View all the posts you have made in discussion forums. Messages Your contacts, messages and notifications. My private files Your private space for uploading and managing a set of files. Module code name to which you are currently registered, if any. Access to the module to which you are currently registered. Page 27-51
8.1) My Courses Course navigation explained Your course explained in detail. 1. Your course code name expanded. southwales.unicaf.org 2. Course participants list - participants are the teachers and students who are part of the course. 3. Course Sections - all the courses are divided into sections for better organization of material. 4. Section Assessment Point-Self Assessment expanded. This is a quick way of accessing the course activity or resource. Image 1: My Courses - Course navigation explained Page 28-51
9) Student Area The student area includes a quick overview of the current course(s) on which you are enrolled. Image 1: Student Area Page 29-51
10) Main Course Block This area contains the main course material. Image 1: Main Course Block The main course block is the most important block in the Virtual Learning Environment. Every student should become familiar with the main course block since this is the block which contains all the module material as well as module s announcements, contacts, and events. The main course block has three parts: a) The first part contains the Instructor s details and a link for sending him/her a direct VLE message. Image 2: Main Course Block Page 30-51
b) The second part of the main course block is the general introduction message accompanied by the introductory material to the course. Image 3: Main Course Block c) The third and final part is the topic section. Each topic is easily identified by the distinctive background color behind each topic s title. The user has the option to open or close all topics at once by using the buttons shown in the image below. Each section has its own introductory text and a number of different types of files such as PDF s, audio recordings, videos, presentations, word documents, text files, and links to other sites. Image 4: Main Course Block Page 31-51
11) Course Contacts Block The Course Contact block works in concert with the VLE messaging system. The main purpose of the Course Contacts block is to provide an easy way to communicate with fellow students and the Instructor. This block is only located in the module area (right bottom corner) since each course has different participants. Image 1: Course Contacts Block Course Contact Icons Explained 1) Email Send emails directly from VLE 2) Messaging VLE instant messaging system 3) User Status Online Indicates when a user is online 4) User Status Offline Indicates when a user is offline In order to send a VLE message to a contact, you have to click on the (2) dialog icon located under each contact s name. A new page will open (see 14.3.Compose New Message) where you can compose the message and click on the Send Message button. The only difference between sending messages and sending emails is that you need to click on (1) the envelope icon instead of the message icon, should you wish to send an email. Page 32-51
12) E-Book Block The e-book block is located in the right column of each module area. Its main aim is to provide useful information regarding the e-book used for the specific module. E-book types may differ from course to course. Wherever an e-book is provided for a module you can click on the puzzle icon located under the welcome message to access it. Details of both essential and required reading are provided in the course outline and, where relevant, the e-book details can be seen on the right-hand side of the VLE screen. Note: During the Induction module all the required material can be found in the course. There is no ebook. 13) Calendar In the calendar, you can view your deadlines for assignments and quizzes, chat times and other course events or you can create your own events. Calendar events are divided in four categories. 1) Global Events: These events are global and visible to every user in the VLE. 2) Course Events: These events are related to a specific course and are only visible to the participants of that course. 3) Group: Students and Instructors of a specific module are part of a group. These events will be visible only to people belonging to this group. 4) User: Each VLE user may create its own events by using the Navigation Block and clicking on the Calendar link located in the category named VLE. User scheduled events are only visible to the user who has created the event. Page 33-51
13.1) Add Events to the Calendar (User events) To open the calendar, first click on the Calendar link from the navigation block, then, secondly click on the New event. Image 1: Add Events to the Calendar (User events) Page 34-51
Step by step of creating a new event. Image 2: Add Events to the Calendar (User events) General 1) Type of event You are allowed to create only 'user' events. 2) Event title Type in the title of the event. 3) Description It's optional, but you can describe the event as well. 4) Date Start date of the event. Duration 5) Without duration Instant event, no continuation 6) Until Specify the date by which the event should end 7) Duration in minutes Specify the minutes by when the event should end Repeated events 8) Repeat this event Check the box if you wish the event to repeat on a weekly basis 9) Repeat weekly, creating all together 10) Save changes Click to create the event Specify how many weeks the should the event last or repeat itself Page 35-51
13.2) View the Events southwales.unicaf.org Click on Student Area from the Navigation block. There you will see two blocks with which you can interact. Calendar Block ( Image 1 ). As you can see from the image, we have scheduled the event on 27-Jul-15, that s why the 27 on Monday is highlighted. 1) Hover with your mouse over the highlighted day. In this case, it s 27. 2) A label should appear. Click on the event name as the image shows, to view more details about the event. Image 1: View the Events Upcoming Events Block (Image 2). As the name of the block suggests, you are able to view upcoming events. As you see on the image, our event starts Today and lasts for 2 hours. 3) Navigate to the calendar and view all the upcoming events. 4) Create New Event takes you straight to #13.1.Add Events to the Calendar (User events) image 1. Image 2: View the Events Page 36-51
14) Messages You can send instant messages to your Instructors or your fellow students directly in the VLE. The VLE messaging system notifies you when there are new post in forums (if you are subscribed), assignment submission etc. Image 1: Messages You can access the messages either from (1) the Messages link located under My Profile or from (2) the student menu located on the top right of the shell. You can also use the #11.Course Contact Block (click for more details). 14.1) Unread Messages When the messages page loads up and you have unread messages, it will show you the sender of the message as well as how many unread messages you have. Image 1: Unread Messages Page 37-51
14.2) Contacts If you don t have unread messages, you will be shown the contact list. Image 1: Contacts 14.3) Compose New Message To send a VLE message first navigate to your module and locate the Course Contacts block on the bottom right-hand side of the module. Then click on the text bubble icon next to the person you would like to send a message. See #11.Course Contacts Block explain in more details the functions of Course Contacts block. Type the message in the text field, then click the Send message button. A copy of your message will appear above the text field. Image 1: Compose New Message Page 38-51
14.4) Message Navigation In message navigation section, you will find your Contacts list, recent conversations and notifications. * If you have blocked someone, an extra notice will appear at the end of the list named Blocked Users. Image 1: Message Navigation 14.5) Add, Remove, and Block Users 14.5.1) Add a user to your contact list To add someone to your contact list click on the Add contact (1) when you are sending him/her a message, Chapter 14.3. Also, from the same place you can add this user to the block list by clicking the Block contact (2) link. Image 1: Add a user to your contact list Page 39-51
14.5.2) Remove and Block a User To remove someone from your contact list, first, click on Messages as the Chapter 14 describes. Then on the name of the person you want to be removed. Now click on the X icon (1) or the Remove contact (1) link. To block someone from sending you messages, click on the forbidden icon (2) or the Block contact (2) link. You can also, click on the text bubble icon (3) or the All messages (3) tab to view the conversation with that user. Image 1: Remove and Block a User 14.6) Settings Click on messages in the administration block. Image 1: Settings Here, you are able to specify in which cases as well how you want to receive your messages. Image 2: Settings Page 40-51
For example, in the screenshot labeled Image 2, you can configure personal messages between yourself and your fellow students. In this case, the email check box is unchecked when you are logged in. When you are offline, this box is checked, which means that you will receive a notification in your email that you have a personal message in the VLE. This only happens when you are offline. Pop-up notifications will pop up whether you are online or offline. At the end of the page, you will see a General settings tab, image (Image 3) 1. Alerts you with a sound when popup notifications are displayed. 2. By checking this box, you are blocking everyone who is not in your contact list. 3. Disables all notifications except those marked as "forced" by the site administrator. Image 3: Settings When you are done updating your settings, don t forget to click on Update profile. Page 41-51
15) Accepting the Turnitin Agreement If you haven t accepted the Turnitin agreement before, you will need to accept it (this is done only once) to proceed with the upload and the submission of your document. After you click on the Add submission button in the assignment activity. You will see the following message: Image 1: Accepting the Turnitin Agreement That you will need to click. Then a pop-up will show up with the agreement which you will need to agree by clicking on the I agree button. Image 2: Accepting the Turnitin Agreement Page 42-51
16) Assignments Important note: In case a student is unable to upload his/her assignment on the VLE, he/she must immediately send an email to his/her tutor informing him/her about the technical issues and attaching the assignment file as a proof of evidence. The student should also contact the Technical Team informing them about the technical issue. Please be as descriptive as possible when reporting the issue. 16.1) Submit an Assignment Step 1: Click on the assignment link. You should then see a screen similar to the image below. Step 2: Click the Add submission button (1) to bring up the file upload page. (Image: 1) Image 1: Submit an Assignment Page 43-51
Step 3: Upload and save the file. ( Note: Saving your file is not considered that you have submitted for marking). (Image: 3) There are two ways to upload a file. First one is to browse for a file (1) and the second is to drag-and-drop the file (2) from your desktop or folder to the big blue arrow where it says You can drag and drop files to add them. When the upload completes and your file(s) appear in the Files area, click the Save changes button (3). Image 2: Submit an Assignment Step 4: Revise, edit or submit. (Image: 3) Your document has been saved as a draft (1). That means you have the opportunity to revise your document until the due date. Please do not forget to submit for marking before the due date. When you submit the document, your tutor will know that it s ready for marking. If the assignment link has Turnitin enabled, your document will be checked for plagiarism. You should see the Turnitin status: Pending below the document that you have uploaded (2). Come back later to see your Turnitin status, if the similarity report is too high you can edit your submission until you will be satisfied with the result. To edit your submission click Edit submission (3). This will take you back to Step 3. Now to delete your file, click on it then click the delete button and then update button. When you finish with the revision you must finalize your submission. To submit your document for marking, click Submit assignment (4) button. Image 3: Submit an Assignment Page 44-51
Step 5: Final Step. (Image: 4) And lastly, click the Continue button. Once finalized, you will not be able to make any more changes. Image 4: Submit an Assignment 16.2) Submission notifications Upon successful submission you should receive in your email a receipt that the assignment has been successfully submitted. Image 1: Submission notifications If the assignment has Turnitin enabled, you will also receive Turnitin Digital Receipt. (Image: 2) Image 2: Submission notifications Page 45-51
16.3) Viewing the Similarity Report Click on the assignment link that you previously have uploaded and saved your assignment and you should see the similarity report (1) below your assignment. You can also click on the similarity report (1) to view the full report. (Image 1) Image 1: Viewing the Similarity Report 17) Forum The forum activity module enables participants to have asynchronous discussions i.e. discussions that take place over an extended period of time. The News Forum though it s an exception, due to it s not made for discussions but for informing students relatively to the course, about different announcements and news s, used just by the teachers. Hence you may not reply nor create a discussion in there. A single discussion is also called a "thread", or topic. Page 46-51
17.1) Get familiar with the VLE forum Forum Icon: Forum name can be anything (Assignment 1 for instance). 17.1.1) Main Area To enter the forum main area click on the forum activity. After you click on the forum link you will see a screen similar the image 1 below. 1. Button for adding new thread to the forum. 2. This is the search engine of the forum. 3. The settings of the forum. 4. Title of the thread (click to open). 5. Author of the thread. 6. Shows how many replies the thread has. 7. Shows how many unread posts you have. 8. The dot icon indicates you are not subscribed to the thread, you can click on it to get subscribed. 9. The mail icon indicates you are subscribed to the thread, you can click to unsubscribe. Image 1: Main Area Page 47-51
17.1.2) Auto save While you are writing new thread, you may notice every minute below the text editor a notification appears and informs you the thread you are writing got saved. To retrieve the saved thread, simply start a new thread, you will see your thread recovered and the notification below the text editor. 17.2) Using VLE forum 17.2.1) Creating new thread While you are in the forum main page click on the 1. Write your threads title. 2. Write your message. 3. Choose whether you want to be subscribed to your own thread and receive notifications when someone replies back, or to be unsubscribed and to not receive any notification about this thread (not recommended). 4. Here you can attach a file to your thread by simply dragging and dropping into the upload box area, considering the restrictions of curse, mentioned above the upload box. 5. And finally when you done click on the Post to forum button. button. Image 1: Creating new thread You will see a success message informing you that you have 30 minutes if you want to make changes to your post. Page 48-51
17.2.2) Edit thread In case you want to edit your post and you still have time, first you need to open the thread. Click on title (1) to open the post. Image 1: Edit thread Then at the bottom right-hand corner of your post, you will see Edit, Delete and Reply. Click on edit link and you will see #17.2.1.Creating new thread image 1 from above. Image 2: Edit thread 17.2.3) Thread navigating To open a thread you need to click on its title when in main forum area. 1. This is the title of the forum. 2. This is the title of the thread. 3. Here you can subscribe to the current thread. 4. Navigate to previous thread. 5. Change the way how you view the thread. 6. Here you click to reply to that post. Image 1: Thread navigating Page 49-51
17.2.4) Reply to post At the bottom right-hand corner of the post you can see the reply link. By clicking on it you will get navigated to page with a text editor. The process for replying it s the same as creating new thread. 17.3) Subscription You can subscribe either to the whole forum and receive notifications from all of the threads or you can subscribe to one or multiples individual threads of your interest (recommended). 17.3.1) Forum subscription First you need to be located in the forum, then you can click the Subscribe to this forum link, which is located under forum administration in the administration block. The link will change to Unsubscribe from this forum, and of curse by clicking it again, you will be unsubscribed. Image 1: Forum subscription 17.3.2) Thread subscription To subscribe to an individual discussion you need to click on the dot icon at the end of the line of the discussion, how we show on image 1 below. Image 1: Thread subscription To unsubscribe you need to click on the mail icon, like image 2 below indicates. Image 2: Thread subscription Page 50-51
18) Contact Information Support department for general issues. support@unicaf.org e-book department. ebooks@unicaf.org For any technical-related issues, you may contact the VLE Technical Support Team at the following email address: technical@unicaf.org Please allow 24 to 48 hours (during working days) for a reply. Page 51-51