The Ous Elearning Portal Manual for Students

The OUS eLEARNING PORTALMANUAL FOR STUDENTS

Using the eLearning Portal in the PUP Open University System

The OUS eLearning Portal is a Learning Management System in the Moodle platform. LMSs are software that is designed to add to traditional learning methods in order to enhance the learning experience of their users. Moodle runs as an interactive website with a number of features and activities designed to engage learners and promote collaborative, student-centered learning.

Getting Started

In this manual, you will learn how to:

Log into the elearning portal

Change your password

Edit your profile

Navigate around the site and your subjects

View your grades

Use messages

Use forums

Submit assignments

Take a quiz

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Logging into the OUS eLearning Portal

1. Make sure you have connected to the interned (for dial-up)

2. Open your web browser.

3. Type the following URL in the address bar:

www.ouselearningportal.ph

4. This is the opening page. Click on the word login at the upper right area of the screen.

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You are now in the login page. In the appropriate box, key in your username and password.

Your username will be:

Your password will be: 1.OpenUniv

You must change this password as soon as you open your account (Please see “Changing Your Password”)

5. Click the login button.

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Accessing Your Course

After you log in, click on the course you want to enter. Be sure to click the name of the course and not the instructor’s name. Clicking the Instructor’s name will take you to their profile and not into the course. (Important Note: Make sure you enroll in the subject under the name of your Subject Specialist).

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You are now viewing the subject homepage.

Once you have logged in, it is strongly recommended that you first change your password under your profile.

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Changing Your Password

After logging into the elearning portal for the first time, you should next change your password.

To change your password:

1. Click on your name listed in the upper right area of the screen. This will open your Profile page.

2. Click on the Change Password button on your Profile page.

3. Type your passwords in the fields provided and click the “Save Changes” button. Please be sure you remember your new password.

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4. Click the Continue button to return to your Profile Page. You now have updated your password.

Editing Your Profile

Now that you have logged on to the OUS elearning portal, it is advised that you Edit your profile. Editing your profile will allow you to become

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familiar with the options available to you in order to personalize your environment.

1. To edit your profile from your Home page, click on your name on the banner at the top of the page. You will be taken to your profile page.

Select Edit Profile from the middle tab under your name.

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You will now see a page containing a series of options.

2. When you are done editing your profile, click the Update Profile button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

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Using the Calendar

The Calendar block in the OUS elearning portal is a very useful feature. The calendar is customized for each student. When you are on the main page of the portal, the calendar will contain notices about all of our different classes. Then once you go into a particular class, you’ll only see information about that one class. The calendar will also list important dates at the PUP Open University System and the PUP traditional such as schedules of contact sessions, enrolment, anniversaries, etc. You should use the calendar to stay up to date with your assignments and tests.

Navigating in the elearning portal

Once you are in your elearning portal subject, you can use your browser’s navigation buttons (the forwards and backwards arrows) but you may get confused where you are in the course. A better way would be to use the navigation tools that are built into the elearning portal. These are the Breadcrumb Trail and the Jump to menu.

The Breadcrumb Trail

The breadcrumb trail shows the pages you have passed through to get to your current location. They are shown in the top left corner of the page and clicking on them will take you to that point in the subject.

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The Jump Menu

The Jump menu is a simple way of getting to any point in the site.

Click on the down arrow next to Jump to, to open the drop-down menu. From here you will see the full list of all activities and resources in your subject. Clicking on them will take you to that page. Alternatively, you can use the left and right arrows to move one step backwards and forwards through the subject.

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Page Layout and Blocks

The Subject page you see as a student has Blocks on both sides and the main content through the middle. The image below highlights some of the features. There are a number of blocks available for your subject specialist to include or leave out as they see appropriate. Blocks can also be customized (i.e. moved to a different location by your subject specialist). This means that your subjects will all appear slightly different from each other but you should soon be familiar with each.

There are two ways to access your course resources and activities. The first is through the main course content in the middle of the page. Clicking on these links will take you directly to the activity or resource.

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The main subject content is in the center of the page. The subject will be organized in topics or weeks.

Resources and Activities have distinct icons to tell you which they are.

To get to each of the resources or activities, click on the linkExample of

Blocks

If you think that your page is too cluttered you can reduce your topics by clicking on any of these boxes. Clicking again will bring them all back. The same is true for any of the blocks.

The second is to use the activities block. Here the links take you to a list of activities/resources organized in their categories e.g. all the forums or all the quizzes.

You can select from the list of Activities or Resources. Once you have opened an activity/resource, appropriate further instructions will be given.

Viewing your Grades

In the elearning portal, students can view their grades at any time. To view your grades:

1. Log into the elearning portal and enter your course.

2. Click on the Grades link in the Administration Block.

3. Your grades will be displayed.

Note that you may need to click the grade category headings to see grades for individual assignments. This may vary from course to course.

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Using Messages in the elearning Portal

Messages in the portal work like a cross between an instant messenger and an email tool. If the recipient of your message is currently logged into the portal, messages act like an “instant messenger”. You are actually “chatting” with the recipient. This lets you communicate in real time. If your receiver is not currently logged in, the message is sent as an email.

To send a message you should:

1. Log into the elearning portal and enter your subject.

2. Click on Participants in the People Block.

3. Click the name of the person you wish to receive the message.

The receiver’s profile will display.

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4. On the profile page, click the Send Message button. The message window will display

5. On the Message window, type your message to the receiver in the space provided and click the Send Message button.

Remember: If your receiver is currently in the elearning portal, Messages acts like an “Instant Messenger”. If your receiver it NOT currently in the portal, the message is sent as an email.

To receive a message in the elearning portal you should:

If you are not logged in the portal, you will receive an email in your email account with message attached. You can reply to the sender in your email account if you like or you can log into the OUS elearning portal and reply from the Message Block.

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To reply from the messages block you should:

1. Log into the portal

2. Depending on your browser and security settings, you may see a pop-up window display indicating you have a new message.

3. Click on the sender’s name to view the message.

If you don’t get a pop-up window notifying you of a message, you will be able to tell you have a message by reviewing the Messages Block. Illus

The number to the right of the envelope indicates the number of messages sent to you from this person.

4. Finally, you can reply to the message.

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Using Forums

Discussion boards in the elearning portal are called Forums. You can use forums to discuss topics selected by your subject specialist.

Replying to a Forum:

To reply to a forum you should:

1. Log into the elearning portal and enter any subject in which you are enrolled.

2. Click on the forum you wish to review.

3. Read the directions and/or topic of the discussion.

4. Click on the Reply button.

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5. You are now in the Your Reply page. In the text box, type your reply.

6. When you’re done, don’t forget to click the Post to forum.

7. Once you have submitted your post you will see a page reminding you that you have time to edit the post before it is emailed to others if they have requested to have it do so.

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Submitting Assignments

You may be able to access your course assignments in the following ways:

On the main course page…

Or from the assignments page in the Activities Block

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Submitting an Online Text Assignment:

To submit an online assignment you should:

1. Click on the assignment link from one of the locations: main course page or the assignments page.

2. Read the directions given by your instructor.

3. Click the Edit my submission button.

4. In the Submission text box, type the text requested by the directions.

5. Lastly, click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the Submission page.

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Testing in the OUS elearning portal

Testing Tips:

Testing in the elearning portal is very user friendly and most students like it. The tests are computer graded which allow the students to receive their grade immediately in most cases. However, there are a few very important things you need to know before taking your first test in Moodle.

When your instructor is ready for you to take a test typically a link will appear. Be sure you’ve read any information provided by your instructor as to when you should take the test. Never enter a test unless you are prepared to complete it.

It is important to plan the time you’ll take your test. Once you start a test there is no “turning back”. You should take your test at a time when you’ll have few distractions.

Occasionally your instructor may password a test. If you are for a password when trying to enter a test you’ll need to obtain the password from the instructor. Be very careful of capitalization when keying passwords.

Your test may be timed. If so, you’ll see a timer appear at the top left of the screen when you enter your test. This timer will count down the time you have left to complete your test. In Moodle you will be kicked out when the time limit is up so please be sure to finish your test and submit it PRIOR to the time running out.

It’s a good idea to save your answers frequently. You can click the SAVE button at any time to save your answers. You may still change these answers up until the time you submit them.

When you’ve answered all questions scroll down to the bottom and click the “Submit All and Finish” button.

Most of your test questions are graded as soon as you click Submit. Your instructor decides how much information you’ll see next. You may only see your score or you may see each question and the

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correct answer. For each question, note how many points you were awarded.

Your score will appear in the gray box at the top of the page.

You may miss a fill in the blank question due to spelling. If so, contact your instructor. They may or may not give you credit for the question.

If your test includes essay or short answer questions those must be graded individually by your instructor. You are not awarded any points for those questions until the instructor has graded them.

To come back later and review your test, simply click on the name of the test from your course page, then click your grade.

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