Professional Documents
Culture Documents
STUDENT GUIDE
1)Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................4
2)Student Panel (SIS) ................................................................................................................................................4
2.1)Student Panel (SIS) Login ................................................................................................................................4
2.1.1)Definitions ...............................................................................................................................................4
2.1.2)Registration Email....................................................................................................................................5
2.1.3)Login Instructions ....................................................................................................................................6
2.1.4)First Time Log In ......................................................................................................................................7
2.1.5)Login Errors..............................................................................................................................................8
2.1.6)Password Reset........................................................................................................................................8
2.1)Transcript ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.2)Module Registration .................................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.1)Financial Information ........................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.2)Registering for a Module ...................................................................................................................... 15
2.2.3)What to Consider After a Successful Module Registration .................................................................. 17
3)VLE Browser Support .......................................................................................................................................... 18
4)VLE Login Page .................................................................................................................................................... 19
4.1)Login Instructions ........................................................................................................................................ 19
5)Using the VLE ...................................................................................................................................................... 20
6)Home Page ......................................................................................................................................................... 20
7)Administration Block .......................................................................................................................................... 21
8)Navigation Block ................................................................................................................................................. 22
8.1) My Courses Course navigation explained ................................................................................................ 23
9)Student Area....................................................................................................................................................... 23
10)Main Course Block ............................................................................................................................................ 24
11)Course Contacts Block ...................................................................................................................................... 26
12)E-Book Block ..................................................................................................................................................... 26
13)Calendar ........................................................................................................................................................... 27
13.1)Add Events to the Calendar (User events)................................................................................................. 27
13.2)View the Events ......................................................................................................................................... 28
14)Messages .......................................................................................................................................................... 29
14.1)Unread Messages ...................................................................................................................................... 30
14.2)Contacts ..................................................................................................................................................... 30
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14.3)Compose New Message ............................................................................................................................ 30
14.4)Message Navigation .................................................................................................................................. 31
14.5)Add, Remove, and Block Users .................................................................................................................. 31
14.5.1)Add a user to your contact list ........................................................................................................... 31
14.5.2)Remove and Block a User ................................................................................................................... 32
14.6)Settings ...................................................................................................................................................... 32
15)Accepting the Turnitin Agreement ................................................................................................................... 33
16)Assignments ..................................................................................................................................................... 34
16.1)Submit an Assignment............................................................................................................................... 34
16.2)Submission notifications ........................................................................................................................... 37
16.3)Viewing the Similarity Report.................................................................................................................... 38
17)Forum ............................................................................................................................................................... 38
17.1)Get familiar with the VLE forum ................................................................................................................ 38
17.1.1)Main Area ........................................................................................................................................... 38
17.1.2)Auto save ............................................................................................................................................ 39
17.2)Using VLE forum ........................................................................................................................................ 40
17.2.1)Creating new thread ........................................................................................................................... 40
17.2.2)Edit thread .......................................................................................................................................... 40
17.2.3)Thread navigating ............................................................................................................................... 41
17.2.4)Reply to post....................................................................................................................................... 42
17.3)Subscription............................................................................................................................................... 42
17.3.1)Forum subscription ............................................................................................................................ 42
17.3.2)Thread subscription ............................................................................................................................ 42
18)Contact Information ......................................................................................................................................... 43
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1) Introduction
The main aim of this guide is to provide students with an introduction to the Universitys 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.
2.1.1) Definitions
Username: It is the personal email address used to register with us.
Password: It is the password sent to via email after enrollment completion as advised by the admissions
adviser. Make sure to check spam/junk folders in case the password was routed to these folders.
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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.
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a) You are using the personal email address with which you registered as the 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:
1. The Password Manager allows you to change or reset your password.
2. The new password can be used to log on to the Universitys Student Panel (SIS) and the Virtual Learning
Environment.
3. Please bear in mind that Virtual Learning Environment accounts are automatically created only for students
with at least one registered module.
4 .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.
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Then, you will be connected to https://sis-usw.unicaf.org/pmanagern , where you will see a screen just like the
one below:
1. Type in the email you used when you registered with us.
2. Use the refresh button only when you dont 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.
If you typed in everything correctly, you will see a message just like the one below.
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Next, check your inbox/spam box for an email for further instructions; it should look just like image 7.
1. Select the alphanumeric characters without any spaces on either side. Right-click with your mouse and
select Copy.
2. Click on the link to which the arrow is pointing.
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When the new page opens, you will see a form just like the one below.
If you typed in everything correctly, you should see a success message. Now you can login using your new
password.
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2.1) 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.
Whenever you complete a module the list will be updated and the module completed will be added.
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In case an overdue instalment exists, it will be displayed in red and have its status will read 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.
Students can also check their Student Balance through the block located on the top right side of the Student
Panel account as shown below:
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 link
as shown below (red arrow):
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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.
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.
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2.2.2) 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. To register for a module, follow these steps:
b) Navigate to the Modules section through the navigation menu on the left side of the screen. You should see
a list with all of the available courses in your academic programme. You can distinguish the available from
the unavailable modules by examining the Availability column on the far right-hand side of the screen. In
the image below, only the course with code BS4S05 is shown as available for registration.
The Modules section displaying all the modules for the logged in users programme. The blue arrow indicates
the only available module for registration.
c) Click on the See available button located next to the module that is open for registration. It is crucial to
click on the See available button and not on the modules name or code.
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d) You should then see the starting and ending date of the module, the instructors name and the number of
places left in the class. In order to continue with the registration, you must click on the Register button as
shown in the image below.
e) The final step is to confirm that you have selected the correct module for registration. When you are
satisfied that you have selected the correct module, click on the Continue button.
f) If there are no financial issues involved, you should now receive a Thank you page, otherwise you should
see a Transaction Failed page.
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g) In case of a successful registration, you should receive an email containing your module details and the
Virtual Learning Environments URL (See the next chapter for instructions on how to log in and use the VLE).
a) You may log in to the Universitys VLE https://vle-usw.unicaf.org immediately after receiving the modules
registration email.
b) In the modules registration email, you will not receive a new username and password for the VLE. Your
username and password for the VLE are the same as those used for the Student Panel (explained in the
previous chapters).
c) You will be able to access your module from the starting date of the module.
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3) VLE Browser Support
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4) VLE Login Page
The login page appears after you navigate to http://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.
Important Notes:
*Use the email address that you used when you registered at our university.
You can reset your password in the VLE and you might choose to have different passwords between VLE and
student panel (SIS).
If you forgot your password, you can reset it by using the Forgot your password? link located on the login
page.
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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.
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.
6) Home Page
The VLE Home Page is the first screen you will see after logging in to your account on the Universitys Virtual
Learning Environment.
The colors of the boxes on Image 20 are associated with the colors of the headers below.
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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 servers time.
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:
1) My profile
Update your profile change your
a) Edit profile timezone, your preferences, upload
your photo, etc.
Configure methods for incoming
b) Messaging
Image 21: Administration Block message notifications.
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8) Navigation Block
The Navigation Block is used for the main navigation across the VLE. It contains categories, subcategories and
links.
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8.1) 8.1) My Courses Course navigation explained
Your course explained in detail.
9) Student Area
The student area includes a quick overview of the current course(s) on which you are enrolled.
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10) Main Course Block
This area contains the main course material.
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 modules announcements, contacts, and events.
The main course block has three parts:
a) The first part contains the Instructors details and a link for sending him/her a direct VLE message.
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b) The second part of the main course block is the general introduction message accompanied by the
introductory material to the course.
c) The third and final part is the topic section. Each topic is easily identified by the distinctive background
color behind each topics 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 PDFs, audio recordings, videos, presentations, word documents, text
files, and links to other sites.
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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.
Course Contact Icons Explained
In order to send a VLE message to a contact, you have to click on the (2)
dialog icon located under each contacts name. A new page will open (see
Image 29: Course Contacts Block
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.
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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.
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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
Check the box if you wish the event to repeat on a weekly
8) Repeat this event
basis
Specify how many weeks the should the event last or
9) Repeat weekly, creating all together
repeat itself
10) Save changes Click to create the event
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Calendar Block (Image 33). As you can see from the image, we have
scheduled the event on 27-Jul-15, thats why the 27 on Monday is
highlighted.
1) Hover with your mouse over the highlighted day. In this case, its
27.
2) A label should appear. Click on the event name as the image
shows, to view more details about the event.
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 Course Contact Block (click for more
details).
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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.
14.2) Contacts
If you dont have unread messages, you will be shown the contact list.
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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.
14.6) Settings
Click on messages in the administration block.
Here, you are able to specify in which cases as well how you want to receive your messages.
For example, in the screenshot labeled Image 43, 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.
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At the end of the page, you will see a General settings tab, image (Image 44)
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
Image 44: Settings
"forced" by the site administrator
When you are done updating your settings, dont
forget to click on Update profile.
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.
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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.
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Step 3: Upload and save the file. (Note: Saving your file is not considered that you have submitted for marking).
(Image: 48)
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).
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Step 4: Revise, edit or submit. (Image: 49)
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 its 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.
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16.2) Submission notifications
Upon successful submission you should receive in your email a receipt that the assignment has been
successfully submitted.
If the assignment has Turnitin enabled, you will also receive Turnitin Digital Receipt. (Image: 52)
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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 its an exception, due to its not made for
discussions but for informing students relatively to the course, about different announcements and newss,
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.
After you click on the forum link you will see a screen similar the image 54 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.
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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.
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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 55 from above.
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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 its 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).
To unsubscribe you need to click on the mail icon, like the image 61 below indicates.
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18) Contact Information
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