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1 System Administrator Course Administration Introduction........................................................................ 3 System Administrator.................................................................... 4 Administrator................................................................................. 4 How to add an administrator......................................................... 4 Dashboard................................................................................................. 6 Shared dashboards...................................................................... 6 Course dashboards...................................................................... 6 My dashboard............................................................................... 6 How to activate dashboards......................................................... 7 User and Access Rights............................................................................. 8 Importing from a file....................................................................... 8 Editing users.................................................................................. 9 How to add a user manually.......................................................... 11 Supervisors................................................................................................ 13 Individual Learning Plans.............................................................. 13 Mentors.......................................................................................... 15 How to create individual learning plans.......................................... 15 How learners access their individual learning plans....................... 15 Workflow.....................................................................................................16/17 Hierarchies.................................................................................................. 19 Editing hierarchies.......................................................................... 19 How to add hierarchies................................................................... 20 Course Administration................................................................................. 22 How to search for courses.............................................................. 22 How to add courses........................................................................ 22 How to archive courses.................................................................. 24 Project Administration................................................................................. 25 Terms.......................................................................................................... 26 How to add terms........................................................................... 28 Trash Can................................................................................................... 30 Global Settings........................................................................................... 31 General.......................................................................................... 31 Files............................................................................................... 32 Layout............................................................................................ 34 Set default course settings............................................................. 34 Absence.......................................................................................... 35 Manage assessment and submission statuses.............................35/36 Manage login page settings............................................................. 36 Manage export settings.................................................................... 36 Profiles.......................................................................................................... 38 Site................................................................................................... 38 Course............................................................................................. 41

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Page 1: itslearning System Administrator's Handbook

1

System Administrator Course

Administration Introduction........................................................................ 3 System Administrator.................................................................... 4 Administrator................................................................................. 4 How to add an administrator......................................................... 4 Dashboard................................................................................................. 6 Shared dashboards...................................................................... 6 Course dashboards...................................................................... 6 My dashboard............................................................................... 6 How to activate dashboards......................................................... 7 User and Access Rights............................................................................. 8 Importing from a file....................................................................... 8 Editing users.................................................................................. 9 How to add a user manually.......................................................... 11 Supervisors................................................................................................ 13 Individual Learning Plans.............................................................. 13 Mentors.......................................................................................... 15 How to create individual learning plans.......................................... 15 How learners access their individual learning plans....................... 15 Workflow.....................................................................................................16/17 Hierarchies.................................................................................................. 19 Editing hierarchies.......................................................................... 19 How to add hierarchies................................................................... 20 Course Administration................................................................................. 22 How to search for courses.............................................................. 22 How to add courses........................................................................ 22 How to archive courses.................................................................. 24 Project Administration................................................................................. 25 Terms.......................................................................................................... 26 How to add terms........................................................................... 28 Trash Can................................................................................................... 30 Global Settings........................................................................................... 31 General.......................................................................................... 31 Files............................................................................................... 32 Layout............................................................................................ 34 Set default course settings............................................................. 34 Absence.......................................................................................... 35 Manage assessment and submission statuses.............................35/36 Manage login page settings............................................................. 36 Manage export settings.................................................................... 36 Profiles.......................................................................................................... 38 Site................................................................................................... 38 Course............................................................................................. 41

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Project.......................................................................................... 43 How to add profiles............................................................................44 Fixed Rules...................................................................................... 47 Policies..................................................................................................... 48 How to add policies.........................................................................49/50 Security......................................................................................................... 51 Interfaces and Themes................................................................................. 52 Early Learner Interface.................................................................................. 60 How to activate early learner interface............................................. 66. Parents.......................................................................................................... 67 How to activate the parent portal...................................................... 69 How to add parents and associate students..................................... 69 Accessibility................................................................................................... 73 Logs and Statistics......................................................................................... 75

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Administration introduction

The administrator role

Every organisation must appoint people with the responsibility for maintaining structure, user accounts and bulletin boards in itslearning. These people are called administrators. If this responsibility is divided between several people, it may be practical to divide the total responsibility into various responsibility areas (see below). In small organisations, it is often practical that one person takes care of all administration tasks. In that case, an alternate should be prepared to assume the administrator role in case of sickness or other absence. All administrators have an Admin tab in the top menu:

Different administrator roles

The classification below is not an absolute rule, but suggests how your organisation can group the tasks of the administrator into different administration types.

System administrator

Create administrators.

Logs for data transfer from administrative systems.

Licence statistics.

Edit global settings.

Edit profiles.

Administrator with responsibility for users, hierarchy and projects

Create and manage hierarchies.

Create and maintain users.

Monitor projects.

Administrator with responsibility for news and information

Manage bulletin boards.

Publish news and information.

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System administrator

The system administrator has superior responsibility for the structure of the site. It is recommended that the user account of the system administrator is used exclusively to change settings and get information that applies to the site as a whole. If the system administrator also works as a teacher, all work with courses and educational activity should be done with another user account. To keep the roles separated, the platform is delivered with a default setting preventing the system administrator from working with courses. The interface for system administrators only allows them to work with the administration of itslearning.

Administrator

Administrator rights are provided by the system administrator. This means that the system administrator and administrator cannot be the same person, but that the administrator profile is created based on the tasks the administrator is supposed to do. See Different administrator roles above. An administrator basically has

two areas of responsibility:

Administrate persons, hierarchies and projects for an organisational unit.

Add content in the intranet, and information on the bulletin boards.

How-tos

Adding an administrator To add an administrator, follow the instructions in Adding a user manually in the Users and access rights topic. In the Profile field, select Administrator or System administrator.

Assigning administrator rights to an existing user If you want to assign administrator rights to an existing user, click the Admin tab and then Users and access rights. Search for the user to whom you want to assign administrator rights, and click the edit icon

behind the user's name: In the Select profile drop-down list, you can change the to an administrator profile.

Then select the tab Hierarchy at the top. Change the role from Teacher or Learner to Administrator in the hierarchy group that you are responsible for. If the user is not already in the group, you must use Add to hierarchy, search for the right group and select the role Administrator for the group.

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Note: When a user is attached to the role Administrator for a hierarchy group, the user will inherit the right below this point. In practise this means that if a user is set with the role administrator at the top level of the hierarchy, he or she will be administrator for all users and the school/departments on the site.

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Dashboard

The dashboard system in itslearning replaces the course landing pages and main page. The

dashboards support drag & drop, useful if you want to rearrange the various content blocks on a dashboard. Note that in the first phase, only teachers and administrators are allowed to customise the dashboards.

There are three types of dashboards: shared (for the whole school), course, and personal (‘My dashboard’).

Shared dashboards

The shared – or main – dashboard is found on the main landing page, usually the first page you are presented with when you have logged in to itslearning. Course dashboards

The course dashboards are on the course landing pages – usually the first page you see when entering a course.

My dashboard

All users get a customisable personal dashboard called My dashboard. The personal dashboards, managed by the individual users, allow the following content blocks to be added: files, images, links, rich content, and RSS information. ‘My dashboard’ provides both learners and teachers with a place where they can organise their learning and teaching with the available content blocks. The link to this dashboard is found on the main dashboard.

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How-tos

Activating dashboards (administrators) Dashboards are activated on site level (this must be done by itslearning during the beta phase). If they are activated for your site, a hierarchy administrator can turn on dashboards for the hierarchies on your site. To activate dashboards for your site, log in as a hierarchy administrator: Then do the following:

1. Click the Admini tab.

2. Click Hierarchy.

3. Select a hierarchy and click the Edit button.

4. Check the box Use dashboard.

Adding content blocks

1. Go to a dashboard.

2. Click + Add content block.

3. Select a content block from the pop-up window.

Deactivating content blocks

1. Go to a dashboard.

2. Click the X in the top right corner of a content block.

Activating content blocks

1. Go to a dashboard.

2. Click Add content block.

3. Click Reactivate content block.

4. Select a deactivated content block from the drop-down list, and click OK to reactivate it.

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User and access rights In Users and access rights, you can add, edit and delete the users of your site.

New users must be registered in itslearning and be provided with a user name and password before they can be added to courses. There are three different methods of registering users in itslearning:

By integration from an administrative system.

By importing from a file.

By manually adding users from the Admin menu.

Only administrators can add users. This is done by clicking the Admin tab, and choosing Users and access rights.

Importing from file

The Import from file function allows you to import batches of users in a single operation. You can, for

example, make the list in an Excel file and then export it to a semicolon-separated file that you can import into itslearning. When you make the file in Excel, you have to set it up as in the example below:

Note: E-mail addresses are not mandatory, but by adding e-mail addresses, users can receive new passwords and user information by e-mail. This saves your organisation from a lot of manual work if the users forget passwords and user names in the future.

You do not have to have the fields in a specific order. The above picture is just an example. Windows users should save the file as a CSV file, while Mac users should save it as Windows Comma Separated (.csv) file.

See the How-tos section below for a detailed step by step guide on how to import users from a file.

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Editing users

Existing users can be edited. The user list in the administration overview looks like this:

Use the icons in the last column to edit the users.

Icon Description

Delete: Click this icon to delete the user.

Edit: Here you can edit user information, personal information and account information.

Progress report: Allows you to see the progress report of the user.

Attendance reporting: Allows you to see the absences of the user.

Print: Click this icon to print a new user name and password.

E-mail: Click this icon to send an e-mail with user name and password to the user.

How-tos

Adding a user manually

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click Add new user.

4. Enter information in the following fields:

User information

First name Required field: The first name of the user.

Last name Required field: The last name of the user.

Username Required field: Enter a username. The username can be based on the real name of the user, for example "frankbeck", "frankb", a student number or similar.

Password Enter a password for this user account. A password is automatically generated if you leave the password field empty.

Re-type password Re-type the password from the step above.

Password change Here you can decide whether or not users are allowed to change their passwords. The options are:

Allowed: Users are allowed to change their passwords.

Not allowed: Users are not allowed to change their passwords.

Must change password on next login (changed to Allowed after login): Users are asked to change their passwords after the first login. After that, users are allowed to change their passwords.

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User information

Password never expires

Check this box if you never want the password to expire.

Select profile Required field: Assign the new user to a profile. By default, there are profiles for guests, learners, teachers/employees, administrators and system administrators. Profiles can be added from Administration >> Profiles (site) >> Add site profile.

Hierarchy Required field: Assign the new user to a hierarchy. A learner normally belongs to a class, while a teacher belongs to a section or department.

Personal information

E-mail address Add the e-mail address of the user. This field is recommended since it can be used to send an automated welcome message with user name and password.

Date of birth Enter the date of birth. Example format: 20/06/1977.

Cellular phone Enter the cellular phone number of the user.

Phone Enter the phone number of the user.

Address Enter the address of the user.

Address Enter the address of the user.

Postal code Enter the postal code of the user.

Postal address Enter the postal address of the user.

Account information

Synchronisation key

Field that is used when synchronising against administrative systems.

Content administrator

Check here if the user is allowed to manage content in the library.

Set when user account expires

If you want the user account to expire at a specified date, use the date picker to select the date.

Allow login from these IP addresses

You can specify one or more specific IP addresses from which this user is allowed to log in. Example format: 158.36.191.141,158.36.191.162 (Empty = all allowed) (a subnet mask can be defined using the CIDR syntax, for example, 158.36.191.0/24).

Send e-mail to user

Check this box to send a welcome message to this user when you click Save. The mail contains the username, the password, and the site to which the user belongs.

Importing users from file

Note: Before importing parents, you should read this section, on importing parent users.

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1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click Import users from file.

4. Click the browse icon: to browse for the file you want to import. See the example above on which file formats you can import.

5. Specify the separator character in the file. This can for example be a comma, a semi colon or similar.

6. Click Next.

7. Select the fields you want to import in this overview (see the screenshot below). Select a profile in the Profile drop-down box. The headings from your file are available from a drop-down list. We have the following headings in our file: First name, Last name, User name, Class and E-mail. In the First name field, select the option from the drop-down list that corresponds with the heading in your import file. In this case we have used the heading "First name". Repeat this in the fields you want to import.

8. Click Finish. You are asked if you want to start importing.

9. Click OK.

Synchronising users in the system

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click Import users from file.

4. Click the browse icon: to browse for the file you want to import.

Specify the separator character in the file. This can for example be a comma, a semi colon or similar.

5. Click the browse icon to browse for the file you want to import. You can, for example, make the list in an Excel file and then export it to a semicolon-separated file that you can import into itslearning. When you make the file in Excel, you have to set it up as in the example below. Note: First name and Last name are mandatory. The field for the synchronisation key involves a unique identifier for a specific user. It is

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recommended that this identifier exists on a user. In the example below no new user should be added, but the users will be put into new hierarchy groups.

6. Select the fields you want to import. Select a profile in the Profile drop-down box. The headings from your file are available from a drop-down list. We have the following headings in our file: First name, Last name, Synch key, Level 1 and Level 2. In the First name field, select the option from the drop-down list that corresponds with the heading in your import file. In this case we have used the heading "First name". Repeat this in the fields you want to import.

7. Check the field that you want to have as your Synchronisation field. You can choose more that one field to synchronise with.

8. Click Finish. You are asked if you want to start synchronising.

9. Click OK.

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Supervisors

'Supervisor' is a joint label for the mentor and headteacher roles. So, if a user is both a mentor

and a headteacher, the Mentor tab is replaced with a Supervisor tab, which contains the mentor and

headteacher administration tools. Users who are only mentors or only headteachers will see a mentor or headteacher tab, respectively. Administrators are allowed to manage mentors and headteachers from Admin >> Supervisors.

Individual learning plans

Follow-up on individual learners can be a time-consuming task if the proper tools aren't used.

Most teachers see the advantage of following their learners' progress via the learning management system they use on a daily basis. Within the learning management system, they can combine plans, results, and assessments when creating the individual learning plan (ILP). Read more ... In some countries, teachers must hold a conversation at least twice a year with the learner and his or her parents about the learner's status and planned activities related to learning objectives. The ILP forms a basis for an evaluation dialogue between the learner and teacher. Together, on the basis of this conversation, the learner, parents, and teachers can sketch out a plan describing how this learner should reach the goals (for both subject competence and social competencies such as behaviour and attitudes).

The ILP is managed by a new role, 'mentor'. Learners find the ILP via the ePortfolio tab.

Mentors

A role called mentor is connected to the ILP. The mentor's main role is to create and maintain individual learning plans. The administrators are responsible for managing the mentors. On the Admin tab there is a new option, Mentor. In the mentor view, administrators can add and delete mentors and can assign

hierarchies to individual mentors.

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How-tos

Administrators

Adding mentors

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Mentor.

3. Click + Mentor.

4. Search for the user(s) you want to add as mentors, and click Ok.

Assigning mentors to hierarchies

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Mentor.

3. Click on the mentor to whom you want to assign a hierarchy.

4. Click + Add hierarchy..

5. Select a hierarchy by clicking Choose behind the hierarchy name.

Changing terminology Administrators are allowed to change terminology for the mentor or individual learning plan.

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Mentor.

3. Click Settings.

4. Enter the new names and click Save.

To reset your new terminology to the original, default names, click the link Reset to original names.

Mentors

Adding new plans

1. Click the Mentor tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

3. Click Create new behind the relevant learner's name.

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4. Select whether to create a new plan or base the plan on an existing one.

5. Enter a title.

6. Select the start and stop date.

7. Click Create.

Deciding which columns to include in a plan You may select the columns you want to appear in the plan by clicking Select columns. A checked box

means that the column will be included in the plan. You can drag and drop the various columns to rearrange the order. Adding content to a plan

1. Click the Mentor tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

3. Click Create new to create a new plan (see above), or click Draft to edit an existing one.

4. Click on Competence 1 and enter a new title for the first competence. The plan is saved as you type.

5. Enter a Goal (click within the cells and type). Note that the Reflection column should be filled in by the learner.

6. Click + Task to start adding tasks. You may add several tasks within one competence.

Learners

Finding my individual learning plans

1. Click the ePortfolio tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

Changing the status of tasks

1. Click the ePortfolio tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

3. In the Task column, click the arrow behind a task. Usually the default status is Not started. You can change the status to Ongoing, Completed, Waiting for others, or On hold.

Entering reflections

1. Click the ePortfolio tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

3. In the Reflection column, click within a cell and start typing your reflection.

Viewing older plans

1. Click the ePortfolio tab.

2. Click Individual learning plans.

3. Click the View all plans link.

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Workflow

By clicking Admin >> Workflow, one can set the visibility in the workflow overview for

attendance, behaviour, and assessments. The work flow page consists of three sub-pages, with work flows for attendance, behaviour, and assessment. In short, this page allows you to decide when different roles see the attendance information in different phases, and when the information should be sent to external systems. The overview is similar for attendance, assessments, and behaviour; each is divided into three phases: course, group, and organisation. Course teachers are responsible for the course phase, mentors handle the group phase, and an organisation supervisor – usually a headteacher – is responsible for the organisation phase. To edit the attendance, behaviour, or assessment workflow, click Admin >> Workflow and select one of the

tabs. Let's illustrate this with a practical example: If you want the attendance to be visible for learners and parents in the course registration phase, click the Attendance tab, and check the box in front of 'Learner' and 'Parent'. If you don't want to make the attendance visible for learners and parents until the group registration phase, you leave the boxes unchecked in the course registration phase and instead check them in the next phase. This means that parents and learners will not be able to see the attendance until the teacher submits it to the mentor.

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Hierarchy A hierarchy in itslearning is the organisational structure of the school. The school itself is at the

top of the hierarchy and different classes, the administration and so on can be added as subhierarchies. When users are added in itslearning, they are added into hierarchies. The advantage of having the different learners grouped into subhierarchies is that groups of learners are easier to work with. Imagine if all the learners in a school were grouped in a large list? It would not be easy to handle school work in such a situation. Below is a suggestion on how to structure a hierarchy at a school: Chesterson Chesterson \ Employees Chesterson \ Teachers Chesterson \ International Chesterson \ International \ 2001 Chesterson \ International \ 2002 Chesterson \ International \ 2003 Chesterson \ International \ 2004 And so on. Note that instead of using classes named by year or age, it is a good idea to name classes after, for example, the year of birth. This makes it easier to adjust the hierarchy for the next school year without having to change the name of this element in the hierarchy.

What to use hierarchies for?

When you add a course you have to add participants to it. If you have a school with several thousand learners, it is a tedious job to select the learners you want to add to your course from one single list. Instead, if the different classes are divided into sub-hierarchies, a group of learners is easily added to the course. In itslearning, this is called hierarchy synchronisation.

Setting up hierarchies correctly

The Hierarchy type setting, under Admin >> Hierarchy >> Add/edit hierarchy, is crucial for making

functionality such as privacy, terms, and policies work. The hierarchy type drop-down list has five options: Not defined, Site, School, Class, and Group. It is important to define the root hierarchy as a Site. You should not add a site under a site. The organisations for which you want to add terms, policies, and privacy rules must be defined as School or Site. The logical rule is as follows: one site, and several schools within that site, but not several schools within a school. If schools have sub-hierarchies, such as classes, they should have the hierarchy type Class, while groups within the class should have the Group hierarchy type. Below a hierarchy defined as School you can have hierarchies defined as Class, Group, and Not defined.

External administrative systems

Larger schools may have some kind of administrative system that automatically synchronises the user data of the learners with itslearning. Such systems can, in most cases, synchronise to which courses and hierarchical structure the learners belong. The basic structure is created before the school starts a new semester.

Roles in the hierarchy

There are four roles in a hierarchy: Administrator, Employee, Student and Guest. These roles cannot be changed, and must not be confused with profiles.

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Change site name

The name of a site, as it appears in the header on the main page, can be changed by editing the name of the root hierarchy, or the name at the top of the hierarchy list. See Editing a hierarchy in the How-tos section below. To change the name of the site, edit the Title field:

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Properties of a single hierarchy level

Each level/group in the hierarchy can be set up with different properties. Note that the nature of a hierarchy demands that some of the sublevels inherit properties from the levels above them.

Field Explanation

Path The path to the level you are adding.

SyncID An ID used in synchronisation.

Title The name of the hierarchy level/group, for example All students, Year groups.

Organisation A unit – most often a school – for which you can add policies, terms, and privacy rules.

Organisation type

Unclassified, Site, School, Class, or Group.

Legal ID An external identifier that can be used for site agreements and resources. This allows vendors in, for example, Diglib to match site agreements and resources with their own internal IDs.

Organisation address

The address of the organisation. The address is used in, for example, automatically generated letters.

Use dashboard

Setting to enable a dashboard as a main landing page.

Use bulletin board

Setting to enable a bulletin board on the main landing page.

Show only bulletin title

If this element in the hierarchy is to have its own bulletin board for news and information, a setting determining whether to show the entire message or just the heading there. If you select the latter, the user must click on the heading in order to view the content. If you want only the heading to show, check this field.

View in search and group import

If this box is checked, users linked to this point in the hierarchy are shown, for example, when you use the search function to send a message. It will then be simple to locate these specific users as a group.

Allow relationship with course

Links to courses make it possible to retrieve the relevant group when adding users in the course or subject. Changes made in this group are automatically updated in the relevant course or subject.

How-tos

Adding a sub-hierarchy

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Hierarchy.

3. Select the hierarchy below which you want to add a sublevel hierarchy, by clicking it once so that it becomes highlighted in blue.

4. Click the Add button.

5. Enter a title for the hierarchy, such as '2012', 'Year 2011', or similar.

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6. Select the options you prefer (described here).

7. Click Save

Using import from file to create hierarchy levels

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click Import users from file.

4. Click the browse icon to browse for the file you want to import. You can, for example, make the list in an Excel file and then export it to a semicolon-separated file that you can import into itslearning. You can read more about importing from files here. When you make the file in Excel, you have to set it up like the example below:

5. Specify the separator character in the file. This can, for example, be a comma, a semicolon or similar.

6. Click Next.

7. Select the fields you want to import in this overview (see the screenshot below). Select a profile in the Profile drop-down box. The headings from your file are available from a drop-down list. We have the following headings in our file: First name, Last name, Sync key, Level 1 a, and Level 2. In the First name field, select the option from the drop-down list that corresponds with the heading in your import

file. In this case we have used the heading "First name". Repeat this in the fields you want to import. Choose a starting point in the existing hierarchy and match Level 1 with Sub level 1 and Level 2 with Sub level 2. Note: This will create the users and the hierarchy levels that we have defined in the CSV

file, as well as place the users in the specific groups.

8. Click Finish. You are then asked if you want to start importing.

9. Click OK.

Editing a hierarchy

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Hierarchy.

3. Select the hierarchy below which you want to add a sublevel hierarchy by clicking it once so that it becomes highlighted in blue.

4. Click the Edit button.

5. Make your changes. For information on the various fields, see the step Adding a sub-hierarchy, above.

6. Click Save.

Deleting a hierarchy

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Hierarchy.

3. Select the hierarchy you want to delete by clicking it once so that it becomes highlighted in blue.

4. Click the Delete button.

5. Click OK in the pop-up box to delete the hierarchy.

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Course administration The course administration provides the administrators with an overview of all the courses on the

site. Note that when administrators enrol themselves to courses they are visible in the participant list of the course. The administrators can see when and by whom the course was created, when it was last visited and updated, and the number of participants. In addition, the administrators are allowed to:

add courses

delete courses

enrol themselves in courses

withdraw themselves from courses

archive courses

unarchive courses

You can find the course administration by clicking the Admin tab, and then Courses.

Administrators who self-enrol to courses get the highest security level.

Tip: If you want to filter archived and active courses, place the cursor in the search field, select 'Active courses' or 'Archived' courses, and press the Enter key or click Search.

How-tos

Searching for courses You can see a list of all the courses of your site when you enter the course administration. However, if the list is long, you may want to search for a specific course. To do this, follow the instructions below:

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Courses.

3. Enter a search term in the text field. You can search for both the course title and course code.

4. In the options listed after 'Search for', select whether to search active courses only, archived courses only, or all courses.

5. Hit the enter key or click the Search button.

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Adding courses

1. Click Add course.

2. Enter the course title1, course code

2 and credits.

3

3. Click Save to add the course.

Tip: If you want to upload a zipped file archive into the course, click Upload file. Browse for the file on your computer and click Upload file. Read more about file uploading. The file package may consist of files you have used in a previous course, or perhaps elements produced by an external publisher. itslearning supports the SCORM and IMS content package standards.

1 The name of the course can be, for example, History 102, Mathematics, or English. The title is always

used in headings and lists where the element appears. 2 Some courses have codes such as English 102 or English 103. This is an optional field.

3 The credits are the points or units the learners can earn by taking this course. This is an optional field.

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Deleting courses

1. Check the boxes in front of the courses that you want to delete.

2. Click Delete.

Archiving courses

1. Check the boxes in front of the courses that you want to archive.

2. Click Archive.

Unarchiving courses

1. Check the boxes in front of the courses that you want to unarchive.

2. Click Unarchive.

Enrolling yourself in courses There are two methods of enrolling yourself in courses. If you want to enrol in a single course you can click Enrol me behind the course in which you want to enrol. Courses in which you are already enrolled are

marked with a red square, while courses you are not participating in are denoted with a green square.

If you want to enrol to several courses simultaneously, follow the steps below:

1. Check the boxes in front of the courses in which you want to enrol.

2. Click Enrol me.

Withdrawing yourself from courses There are two methods of withdrawing yourself from courses. If you want to withdraw from a single course you can click Withdraw me behind the course from which you want to withdraw. Courses to which you

belong are marked with a red square, while courses to which you do not belong are marked with a green square. If you want to withdraw from several courses simultaneously, follow the steps below:

1. Check the boxes in front of the courses from which you want to withdraw.

2. Click Withdraw me.

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Project Administration Most schools allow the learners to create projects that do not involve teachers. Learners can

invite participants and manage the projects on their own. In principle, the projects are a closed area for the project participants. However, to prevent the projects from being abused to unwanted activities, administrators can survey the projects. To get to the project administration overview, click the Admin tab and choose Projects. Here you see a list

of all the projects, who created them, and the number of participants in each. If you need to survey the project, you can use the Add participant function and add yourself as a group participant. Click the Projects tab to enter the project.

Note: The project function should be based on mutual trust between teachers and learners. Even though administrators can access the projects, the projects of the learners should be respected. It should also be noted that the project manager can see if administrators have enrolled themselves to the project.

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Terms

Important information about terms and hierarchies

In order to allow adding terms, the root hierarchy should be defined as a site. The organisations for which you want to add terms must be defined as schools or sites. The hierarchy is edited from the Admin tab >> Hierarchy. Select the correct type from the Hierarchy type drop-down list, and click Save. Read more.

A term is a division of the year, a block of weeks during which the organisation holds classes. These divisions may also be called semesters, quarters, or trimesters, for example, depending on the institution and the country. In itslearning, the administrator manages terms from Admin >> Terms. Terms are added

on organisation level. A profile setting determines whether a profile is allowed to manage terms (see Granting term management rights to a profile under How-tos below).

It is recommended that before you add a term, you add attendance categories and attendance codes. Important: You must have at least one code that indicates presence information.

Note: A term cannot be edited once it has been added for a course.

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Daily sessions

A daily session is the total number of hours you have in a school day. There are two types of daily sessions: One (whole day) for organisations using a 24-hour clock and Two (AM/PM) for those using a 12-hour clock.

The 24-hour clock is a convention of timekeeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 23. The 12-hour clock divides the 24 hours of the day into two periods: the hours before noon (numbered 1 to 11, followed by ‘am’ for ‘ante meridiem’ (Latin for ‘before midday’) and the hours following that before midnight, followed by ‘pm’ (for ‘post meridiem’, Latin for ‘after midday’).

Perform counting for class in

Choose whether to count the class sessions in units or minutes. A unit could, for example, be a lesson or a period. If 'Count class in minutes' is selected, it is possible for a mentor to decide the default length of an individual class session in minutes.

Number of class hours per day

One (whole day): Using this session allows you to refer to the total number of hours in a school day – for

example, from 08:00 to 16:00. The number of class hours per day would then be eight. Two (AM/PM): The system of two daily sessions is used at schools that apply the 12-hour clock, or two daily

sessions (for example, before and after lunch). It allows you to specify the number of class hours in the morning and afternoon/evening sessions. If the school day lasts from 8:00am to 4:00pm, you enter ‘4’ in the field Number of class hours in AM session, and ‘4’ in the field Number of class hours in PM session.

Default code indicating presence

As manually keeping account of who is present involves too much work, itslearning allows you to select a default code indicating that a learner is present. If nothing else is stated, all participants are assumed present. When the absence information for a course is sent to the mentor, itslearning automatically inserts the default code for presence in the attendance overview.

How-tos

Granting term management rights to a profile (administrator)

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Profiles.

3. Click the edit icon under the profile for which you want to add term management rights.

4. Under Administration, check the box behind Manage terms.

5. Click Save.

Adding terms (administrator)

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Terms.

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3. Click Add term.

4. Enter information in the following fields:

Term name: The name that appears in lists and overviews.

Description: Short description of the term. Appears in lists and overviews.

Organisation: Usually a school in a hierarchy.

Start date: The date the term starts.

End date: The date the term ends.

Daily sessions: Choose whether to use a whole day or divide the term into AM and PM sessions.

o One (whole day):

1. Number of class hours per day: A number between 1 and 24.

o Two (AM/PM):

1. Number of class hours in AM session: A number between 1 and 12.

2. Number of class hours in PM session: A number between 1 and 12.

3. Default code for present: Select the code you want to appear by default when the

participants are present.

5. Default code for present: As manually keeping account of who is present involves too much work,

itslearning allows you to select a default code indicating that a learner is present. If nothing else is stated, all participants are assumed present. When the absence information for a course is sent to the mentor, itslearning automatically inserts the default code for presence in the attendance overview.

6. Perform counting for class in: Choose whether to count the class sessions in units or minutes. A unit

could, for example, be a lesson or a period. If 'Count class in minutes' is selected, it is possible for a mentor to decide the default length of an individual class session in minutes.

7. Days in term: Check the boxes in front of the days for which you want this term to apply, normally

Monday–Friday.

Deleting terms (administrator)

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Terms.

3. Select the term(s) you want to delete.

4. Click Delete term.

Adding terms to a course (teacher)

1. Enter the course for which you want to add terms.

2. Click Settings.

3. Click Properties.

4. Click Add term. (If you get the error message No terms have been defined yet, your administrator must

add a term. See above.)

5. Select a term and click Add.

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Trash can

When elements are deleted in itslearning, they end up in the trash can. Elements can be

retrieved from the trash can if you want to undo the deletion. You can decide how long the deleted item is stored in the trash can before it is deleted permanently. This is a setting in the global settings.

What happens with deleted data?

Data, such as users, projects, courses, course content, and terms, can be deleted manually or via integration. Data remains in the trash can until an administrator manually deletes it permanently. When a users are deleted, all data connected to their users accounts are deleted, including messages, assignments, projects and so on.

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Edit global settings

Under Edit global settings, the system administrator can edit a number of different settings. You can find Edit global settings on the Admin tab. This topic describes all the settings you

can edit.

Quick links

1. General

2. Files

3. Layout

4. Set default course settings

5. Absence

6. Manage assessment settings

7. Manage submission statuses

8. Manage login page settings

9. Manage export settings

10. Regional settings

General

Here you can edit general site settings such as:

Available functions:

o Enable digital exam, bulletin board and choose whether to display information.

o Set page to be displayed when users log out.

o Set quarantine period, the length of time that items can be in the trash can before they can be deleted permanently.

Set password rules. Select, for example, which password complexity to use. You have three options:

Option Description

None All passwords are accepted.

Medium Must be at least 7 characters long.

Cannot contain names or user names.

Must contain characters from each of the following three groups:

o Upper case letters (A-Z).

o Lower case letters (a-z).

o Numbers (0-9).

Strong Must be at least 7 characters long.

Cannot contain names or user names.

Must contain characters from each of the following three

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Option Description

groups:

o Upper case letters (A-Z).

o Lower case letters (a-z).

o Numbers (0-9).

o Symbols (@ ! ; + - etc).

Set login rules.

Files

Here you can manage templates, file types and file viewers. The Files settings determine the types of files

that can be added and uploaded to itslearning. If, for example, you want to use special mathematics software, you can define the file type and the application in the settings and enter the address to the web site where learners can download the programme to their computers. You can also restrict certain file types from being used, for example, MP3 files.

Template documents

As default, itslearning comes with a set of default templates. These are used when new files are added in itslearning. Administrators can delete and edit templates. By clicking Add, you can add new templates. For example: A school can insert its logo in all the documents.

When you add a template document, you are required to enter information in the following fields:

Field Description

Title Give the template a name.

Icon Upload a template icon.

Document Upload the relevant template document.

Description Add a description.

File types

Under this heading, you can see the file types available in itslearning. If users report that they cannot open a certain file type, you should make sure that the file type is defined under File types.

As a system administrator, you are allowed to edit and delete file types. Another option you have is to decide whether the file should be opened in a new window, or in the work area in itslearning.

File extensions

The file extension is the ending that appears after the full stop in a filename, such as 'jpg' (indicating a picture format) or 'docx' (for an MS Word 2007 (or more recent) document).

MIME type

The MIME type is text representing the type of content in the file. All machines have a table of MIME types enabling the operating system to know the program with which it can open a file (Windows and Linux also use the file’s extension). itslearning uses a table of file types to identify files. When a file is up- or downloaded, itslearning looks in this table to find the corresponding MIME type. When the document is

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downloaded, the MIME type is sent with the file to the browser so that the correct programme is used to open the file.

Example: JPG files have the MIME type 'image/jpg', and .doc files have the MIME type 'application/msword'.

When you add a file type, you are required to enter information in the following fields:

Field Description

File extension Enter the file extension (see above.

MIME type Enter the MIME type (see above).

Open in new window

Check the box if you want the file to open in a new window.

Status Normal: Files of this type are not locked or restricted.

Warning when downloaded: Files of this type are marked as 'dangerous' by the administrator. This means that whenever a file of this type is downloaded, the user must confirm the operation, in case the file is downloaded automatically. This prevents certain file types (for example, *.vbs and *.exe) from running automatically on the computer. File types that are not registered are regarded as 'dangerous'.

Not allowed: Files of this type are blocked from uploading and downloading.

File viewers

The file viewer decides what application to use when opening specific file type. This can come in handy if users are using different software on the same files, or if users do not have, for example, MS Word on the computers on which they are working. When you add a file viewer, you are required to enter the following information:

Field Description

Choose from stored file information

You can choose one of the stored file types within itslearning.

File extensions Shows the extensions that files need in order to get this file viewer as an option.

MIME type Shows the MIME types that files need in order to get this file viewer as an option.

Operating system Select Windows, Linux or Macintosh.

URL Enter the address where the user can download the file viewer.

Description Enter a description.

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Layout

Here you can:

Replace the itslearning logo at the top left corner with your own. It has to be in GIF format and be 47 pixels high. The width must not exceed 250 pixels.

Define links for the site. The links appear in the top right corner. You can add up to five links and decide what profiles confer ability to see the links. In the screenshot below, a link to BBC Education is added to the site:

Set default course settings

Here you are allowed to set:

What elements and functionalities to use in courses by default

o Show Links

o Show Participants

o Show Status and follow-up

o Use Calendar

o Use grade book

o Use Attendance reporting

o Show Bulletin board

o Use Files in course

Available course reports for course administrators and teachers

o Summary

o Assignments

o Personal reports

o Progress status

o Learning objective achievement reports

Available course reports for learners

o Personal reports

Set available functionalities

o Files in course4

o Portfolio assessment

o Learning objectives

4 Course files are in a folder that is placed in My Web files, but this material is also accessible from the

course settings.

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Absence

Under Absence you can define terms and dates for different terms. You can:

Add terms

Add and edit absence types

Edit the absence settings

Manage assessment settings

Here you can manage assessment settings and define assessment scales. The assessment scales are scales such as ‘Grades A to F’, ‘Grades 1 to 6’, and ‘Passed / Not passed’. You can create, delete and edit the scales. See ‘Grade book’.

Warning: If teachers have already begun using the scales, it is highly recommended to not to edit them. Instead, add a new scale.

How-tos

Adding a new assessment scale

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Edit global settings.

3. Click Manage assessment settings.

4. Click Create.

5. Enter information in the following fields:

Field Description

Title Enter a title for the assessment scale.

Totals In the Totals drop-down list, select Average5 or Count

6. Average is the

average of a given number of grades. If a learner is given the marks 1, 2, and 3, the average is 2. The count is summed from all assessments given – for example, 'Very good: 3 learners’, ‘Good: 8 learners’, and so on.

Description Perhaps this assessment scale applies to particular group of learners only? In that case, describe it here to prevent the teachers from being confused when selecting assessment scales.

Calculate percentages automatically

Check this box if you want itslearning to calculate the percentages of each assessment. Example scale: A scale that goes from 1 to 5, where 5 is the best assessment:

0-–19.9 % = 1

5 Recommended if you have a scale that goes from, for example, 1 to 10. In a summary, this

option represents calculation of the average mark – for example, 7. 6 Recommended if you have a non-numeric scale, such as 'Very good', 'Good', and 'Bad'. In a

summary, this option counts the grades instead of giving the average. Example: ‘Very good: 3 learners’, ‘Good: 8 learners’, and so on.

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Field Description

20–39.9% = 2

and so on. If you uncheck this box, you are allowed to edit the percentages.

Percentages can be changed when used with tests

If you check this box, you allow teachers to change the percentages in the test interface if the assessment scale is used on this test. This option is not recommended if the assessment contains many rows.

6. Enter a grade in the first Title field. This must be the highest grade in your scale, for example, A. Entering a description in the Description field is optional. Continue to enter the grades in a descending order. If you need more rows, click Add new row. You can move the rows up and down by selecting them and using the Move up and Move down buttons.

7. Click Save.

Manage submission statuses

Allows you to define submission statuses for use when evaluating assignments. The submission status might be, for example, 'Not submitted', 'Submitted', 'Not corrected', or 'Correction in progress'.

Manage login page settings

Allows you to manage the news and links that appear on the login page. You can decide whether to show:

News: Here you are allowed to add custom news and add them to the login page. Click Change to add or

news.

Course catalogue: Check this box to add a link to your course catalogue on the login page.

Links: Here you are allowed to add custom links and add them to the login page. Click Change to add or

edit links.

ePortfolio list: A random list of ePortfolios from your site's users. The list changes every hour.

You can add news or links by clicking Change. Click Add news to add a news on the login page.

The news function also have an RSS feed. That means that everyone can receive news updates from this page.

Manage export settings

Here you can edit the column separator when exporting grade books and similar export settings.

Regional settings

Here you can set the regional settings of the site as shown in the following screenshot:

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Profiles

In itslearning, all users are assigned to a profile. The profile decides the role of the user. Common roles are system administrators, administrators, employees (teachers), learners

(students, pupils) and guests. Profiles are given different access rights and permissions. Some profiles are allowed to do things that others are not allowed to do. For example: A teacher can add assignments and tests in a course, while learners

are limited to answering and taking tests and assignments. There are three groups of profiles:

Site: The site profiles contain a set of profiles that describe what rights and permissions the profiles have

on the site. The default profiles are system administrator, administrator, employee, student, guest and AICC.

Course: The course profiles decide what functions the different profiles have access to in the courses.

The default profiles are administrator, teacher, student and guest.

Project: The project profiles decide what functions the different profiles have access to in the projects.

The default profiles are project manager and project participant.

Site profiles

When you click the Profiles link in the administration overview, you see a large table with available

functionalities. They are explained in the table below. The green tick mark indicates that the function is available for the profile, while the red 'X' indicates that the function is unavailable.

Title

Language This item allows you to change the profile name for all supported languages. This is useful if your site wants to use a system of profile names that departs from the defaults, such as by changing 'Staff' to 'Teacher'.

Privacy

Visible to Visit this topic to learn more about the 'Visible to' privacy setting.

Communicate to See this topic to learn more about the 'Communicate to' privacy setting.

Receive communication from

Visit this topic to learn more about the 'Receive communication from' privacy setting.

Profile settings

Security level Indicates the security level of the profile. Advanced profiles have the highest security level. For example: System administrators have 100 and Guests 10. Note: The security level

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Profile settings

must be unique.

Allowed HTML Code Level

Indicates how advanced HTML code this profile is allowed to use. There are four levels:

Everything: All HTML code is allowed.

Less restricted: Common harmless HTML code is allowed.

Restricted: The use of HTML code is restricted.

Highly restricted: The use of HTML code is highly restricted.

Use this profile to synchronise with a role in the hierarchy.

Select the role with which you want to synchronise this profile.

Profile functionality

Main page Indicates whether the main page is available for this profile.

Dashboard Indicates whether dashboard on the main landing page is available for this profile.

Calendar Indicates whether the Calendar is available for this profile.

Messages Indicates whether the internal message system is available for this profile.

E-mail Indicates whether this profile has access to the built in e-mail reader.

Multiple messages from online users

Indicates whether users associated with this profile are allowed to select multiple users when sending messages from 'Who is online?'.

Search content Indicates whether this profile is allowed to search for content in the Search page.

Search users Indicates whether this profile is allowed to search for users in the Search page.

Detailed information about users

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to see detailed information about a user, even if user has selected not to share the information.

Private files Indicates whether this profile should have access to a private file area.

Web files Indicates whether this profile should have access to the My web files function.

Library Indicates whether this profile should have access to the Library (this function is shown only if your site has bought the library module).

Enable personal library

When clicked, enables the personal library for this profile. Here, indicate those whom people with this profile may share with (the options are 'None', 'School', 'Site', and 'Community').

ePortfolio Indicates whether this profile has access to the ePortfolio function.

Personal settings Indicates whether someone with this profile is allowed to change the personal settings.

Subscriptions Indicates whether this profile is allowed to subscribe to the available subscriptions.

Contacts Indicates whether a user with this profile is allowed to use the Contacts tool.

Community course catalogue

Indicates whether someone with this profile is allowed access to the itslearning community course catalogue.

Site course catalogue Indicates whether someone with this profile will have access to the site course catalogue.

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Profile functionality

Create courses Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add courses.

Access to course Indicates whether this profile is allowed to enrol to a course.

Create projects Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add projects.

Access to projects Indicates whether this profile is allowed to be invited to projects.

Shortcuts Indicates whether a user with this profile will be able to access the shortcuts drop-down list in the top right corner of the menu.

Start URL Indicates the start page that persons with this profile sees when logging in to itslearning. The default is 'Dashboard'.

Administration

Global settings Indicates whether this profile is allowed to change the global settings.

Manage policies Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage policies.

Manage cloud e-mail Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage cloud e-mail, such as Google mail.

Manage courses Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage courses.

Manage projects Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage projects.

Manage users Indicates whether users associated with this profile are allowed to manage users from Users and access rights.

Manage supervisors Indicates whether someone with this profile is allowed to manage supervisors.

Manage hierarchy Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage hierarchies. This implies adding, editing, and deleting hierarchies.

Manage SMS Indicates whether a user with this profile is allowed to manage SMS functionality.

Manage itslearning digital exam

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage digital exams.

View logs Indicates whether someone with this profile is allowed to see logs of imports from administrative systems.

Manage API Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage APIs.

View license statistics

Indicates whether someone with this profile is allowed to see licence statistics.

Manage search engines

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete search engines in Search Internet under the Search tab.

Manage IMS Enterprise Web services

Indicates whether a user with this profile is allowed to manage IMS Enterprise Web services.

Manage terms Indicates whether this profile is allowed to manage terms.

Default settings

Normal login Indicates whether users with this profile are allowed to log in to itslearning without a secure connection (http).

Secure login Indicates whether users with this profile are allowed to log in to itslearning with secure connection (https).

Quota Indicates the maximum storage quota (in kilobytes) that is allowed for this profile. (1024 KB = 1 MB)

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Default settings

Message recipient limit

Indicates how many users this profile can send messages to simultaneously (0 = unlimited).

Synchronisation

Default profile for external enrolment

Indicates that this is the profile for users that are externally enrolled. Note: Only one profile can be the standard profile.

Map from profile Indicates that during synchronisation or import this profile is mapped to a profile in the import. For example: During an IMS import, the role Learner is mapped to the Student profile. In this case you enter Learner in the Map from profile field.

Course profiles

Title

Language Allows you to change the profile name for all supported languages. This is useful if your site wants to use profile names that differ from the default names, such as 'Staff' instead of 'Teacher'.

Permissions

Security level (0-100) Indicates the security level of the profile. Advanced profiles have the highest security level. For example: System administrators have 100 and Guests 10. Note: The security level must be unique.

Manage participants and groups

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete participants in a course.

Manage participants and groups when synchronised

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete participants in a course when the course is added by means of a synchronisation (import).

Use trash can Indicates whether the trash can is available for users with this profile.

Manage activities in course calendar

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete calendar activities that belong to the course.

View as other profile Indicates whether this profile can view the course as a different profile. This can for example allow the teacher profile to preview how the course looks like for the learner profile.

Manage general administration permissions (for example, bulletins, course settings, access to reports)

Indicates whether this profile has access to general administrator rights. This implies administration of bulletin board, course settings, access to reports and so on.

Edit course title Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course title.

Edit course title in synchronised courses

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course title when the course is added by means of a synchronisation (import).

Edit course credits Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course credits.

Edit course credits in synchronised courses

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course credits when the course is added by means of a synchronisation (import).

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Permissions

Edit course code Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course code in a course.

Edit course code in synchronised courses

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to edit the course code in a course when the course is added by means of a synchronisation (import).

Delete course Indicates whether this profile is allowed to delete courses.

Archive course Indicates whether this profile is allowed to archive courses.

Report on participants (for example status)

Indicates whether this profile is to be used when reports are created, whether they are to be shown in the status pages and so on.

Default profiles

Use this course profile for administrators in hierarchy (when synchronising with hierarchy)

When a hierarchy is synchronised the users that are administrators in the hierarchy is given this course profile.

Use this course profile for teachers in hierarchy (when synchronising with hierarchy)

When a hierarchy is synchronised the users that are teachers in the hierarchy is given this course profile.

Use this course profile for learners in hierarchy (when synchronising with hierarchy)

When a hierarchy is synchronised the users that are learners in the hierarchy is given this course profile.

Use this course profile for guests in hierarchy (when synchronising with hierarchy)

When a hierarchy is synchronised the users that are guests in the hierarchy is given this course profile.

Use this profile for default membership

New users get this profile by default.

Use this profile for users creating a course

Users that add new courses get this profile by default.

Default permissions in root folder (used when new courses are created)

Full control Select whether someone with this profile should be granted Full control permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

Edit Select whether someone with this profile should be granted the access level for Edit permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

Write Select whether someone with this profile should be granted the access level for Write permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

Evaluate Select whether someone with this profile should be granted the access level for Evaluate permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

Participate Select whether someone with this profile should be granted the access level for Participate permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

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Default permissions in root folder (used when new courses are created)

Read Select whether someone with this profile should be granted the access level for Read permissions in the course folder when a course is added.

Project profiles

Title

Language Allows you to change the profile name for all supported languages. This is useful if your site wants to use a set of profile names that differs from the defaults (for example, wishing to change 'Staff' to 'Teacher').

Permissions

Security level (0-100) Indicates the security level of the profile. Advanced profiles have the highest security level. Example: Project managers have 50 and project members 30. Note: The security level must be unique.

Manage participants and groups

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete participants in a project.

Use trash can Indicates whether the trash can is available for users with this profile.

Manage activities in project calendar

Indicates whether this profile is allowed to add, edit, and delete calendar activities that belong to the project.

Manage general administration permissions (such as bulletins or project settings)

Indicates whether this profile has access to general administrator rights. This implies administration of bulletin board, project settings, access to reports and so on.

Report on participants (status, etc)

Indicates whether this profile is to be used when reports are created, whether they are to be shown in the status pages and so on.

Default profiles

Use this profile for default membership

New project participants get this profile by default.

Use this profile for users creating a project

Users that add new projects get this profile by default.

Default permissions in root folder (used when new projects are created)

Full control Select whether this profile should be granted Full control permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

Edit Select whether this profile should be granted Edit permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

Write Select whether this profile should be granted Write permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

Evaluate Select whether this profile should be granted Evaluate permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

Participate Select whether this profile should be granted Participate permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

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Default permissions in root folder (used when new projects are created)

Read Select whether this profile should be granted Read permissions in the project folder when a project is added.

Practical use of profiles

You can add as many profiles as you want on a site. But do you need more profiles in addition to the default profiles? If you have a group of learners with special needs, you may want to assign a separate profile for them and thus clear the work area from distracting elements and functions. Universities and university colleges may have separate profiles for students that work as assistants for lower grade students. These profiles may be allowed to correct assignments and tests. New profiles are available for everyone on the site, but they do not have to use them.

How-tos

Adding profiles

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Profiles.

3. Select where you want to add a profile by clicking the Site, Course or Project tabs.

4. Click Add profile.

5. Select a profile to serve as a basis for default values. This means that the profile is created with the settings of this profile, but you are free to edit them later. Select the profile that is most similar to the one you want to add. If you select ‘not defined’, the profile is created without any pre-selected values.

Mandatory fields under ‘Profile settings’:

o Security level (0 - 100).

o Use this profile to synchronise with hierarchy role.

6. Add titles for the profile in the languages you need.

7. Edit the other fields to your preferences.

8. Click Save.

Deleting profiles Some profiles can be deleted. To delete a profile:

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Profiles.

3. Select where you want to delete the profile by clicking the Site, Course or Project tabs.

4. Under the profile name you want to delete, click the delete icon:

5. Select an existing profile to assign to users whose profiles are being deleted.

6. Click Save.

Editing profiles

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Profiles.

3. Select where you want to edit the profile by clicking the Site, Course or Project tabs.

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4. Under the profile name you want to edit, click the edit icon:

5. Make your changes.

6. Click Save.

Note: Be careful about the changes you make because they may have serious effects!

Privacy

Administrators are allowed to configure the user visibility and communication settings for a site.

In itslearning, these settings are called Privacy (formerly known as eSafety). Some rules are configurable, while others cannot be edited. Privacy is a profile setting that is managed from the Admin tab, under Profiles.

Important information about hierarchies In order to allow addition of terms, policies, and Privacy rules, the root hierarchy should be defined as a site. The organisations for which you want to add terms, policies, and Privacy rules must be defined as schools or sites. You should not add a site under a site. The logical rule is as follows: one site, and several schools within that site, but not several schools within a school. Hierarchies are edited from Admin >> Hierarchy. Select the correct type from the Organisation type drop-down list, and click Save. Read more.

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The various roles

There are three roles used in connection with privacy:

Learners: Users with the role Pupil in a hierarchy.

Staff: Users with the role Teacher or Administrator in a hierarchy.

Guests: Users with the role Guest in a hierarchy.

Configurable rules

Site profiles

The site profiles are edited from the Admin tab >> Profiles.

Setting Explanation

Visible to Allows you to decide who will find users with this profile in searches. Some user groups will always be visible to certain other user groups. (See "Fixed rules" on page 47 below). This setting applies to the following functionality:

Search for users (search pop-up)

Invite to projects

Add to courses (individuals and hierarchies)

Send messages

Exam

Mentor

User search

Person pop-up

Who's online

Contacts (add to contacts)

Course management

Project management

Trash can

Exam management

Communicate to Allows you to decide whom users with this profile may communicate with. Some user groups will always be able to communicate with certain other groups. (See "Fixed rules" on page 47 below). Communication includes:

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Setting Explanation

E-mail using a POP/IMAP client

Cloud e-mail

Internal messages

Receive communication from

Allows you to decide whom users with this profile may receive communication from. Some user groups will always receive communication from certain other user groups. (See "Fixed rules" on page 47 below). Communication includes:

Internal messages

Fixed rules

The rules below are the default and indicate the people the various user groups are allowed to communicate with. These rules cannot be edited.

Role Explanation

Learners Allowed to:

Communicate with their parents, current mentors and teachers, and other users in the same courses or projects.

Search for their parents, current mentors and teachers, and other users in the same courses or projects.

Parents Allowed to:

Communicate with their children, and their current teachers and mentors.

Search for their children, and their current teacher and mentors.

Teachers in courses

Allowed to:

Communicate with their current learners, and the learners’ parents and current mentors.

Search for their current learners, and the learners’ parents and current mentors.

Mentors Allowed to:

Communicate with their current learners, and the learners’ parents and current teachers.

Search for their current learners, and the learners’ parents and current teachers.

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Role Explanation

School admin Allowed to:

Manage users at their school regardless of the Visible to setting, from Admin >> User and access rights.

Global admin Allowed to:

Manage users at their site regardless of the Visible to setting, from Admin >> User and access rights.

How-tos

Editing Privacy rules in profiles

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Profiles.

3. Click on the profile you wish to edit.

4. Look for the Privacy heading, and make your changes.

5. Click Save.

Policies

A policy is a collection of profile settings to which profiles or individual users can be assigned

within an organisation – such as a site or school. The policies override the default profile or user settings. You are allowed to combine different settings in a policy, as well as combine different policies for a profile or user. With the introduction of policies, you no longer have to edit existing profiles or create new ones if you want to change the permissions for a set of users. This creates a more flexible system, allowing schools to have their own rules independently from the rest of a site’s schools.

Important information about hierarchies To allow addition of terms, policies, and rules, the root hierarchy should be defined as a site. The organisations for which you want to add terms, policies, and rules must be defined as schools or sites. You should not add a site under a site. The logical rule is as follows: one site, and several schools within that site, but not several schools within a school. Hierarchies are edited from Admin >> Hierarchy. Select the correct type from the Hierarchy type drop-down list, and click Save. Read more.

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How does it work?

Let’s use an example to illustrate the usage. In a hierarchy with four schools – Chesterson, Springfield, Whitneyville, and Enfield – Chesterson has observed that a group of pupils have been bullying others through the internal messaging system. Read more... To put an end to this, the principal at Chesterson decides to turn off internal messages for all pupils. She asks the system administrator to disable the messaging system for the Pupil profile, but he is reluctant. He argues that editing the profile would disable the messaging system for all pupils in the four schools – and knowing how extensively the messaging system is used by the other schools in the hierarchy, he really thinks this is a bad idea. Instead, the system administrator asks the principal to consider using policies. He argues that the best option is to create a policy and assign the policy to the Pupil profile at Chesterson – or optionally – to individual pupils of the school. The last option would efficiently prevent misbehaving pupils from using the messaging system. The principal agrees, and instead of blocking the messaging system for all the pupils at Chesterson, Springfield, Whitneyville and Enfield, four individual pupils at Chesterson School are now suspended.

Where do I manage policies?

By default, policies are managed by system administrators from the Admin tab >> Policies. It is also possible to add policies for individual users by clicking the Admin tab >> Users and access rights >> Edit user >> Add policy from the Policies tab.

The permission to manage policies is a profile setting. It can be edited by clicking the Admin tab >> Profiles. Click the edit icon under a profile, and then check or uncheck Manage policies.

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Viewing permissions on user level

Administrators with access to Users and access rights from the Admin tab can view the permissions of

individual users. In the screenshot below, a user is assigned to the policy Messages.

The strictest policy always overrides other policies (red overrides green). If this user had been connected to a second policy that allowed the messaging system, said user still would not have been allowed to use the messaging system.

How-tos

Adding policies

1. Click the Admini tab.

2. Click Policies.

3. Click Add policy.

4. Enter the information in the following fields:

a. Name: The policy name that appears in the list of your policies.

b. Description: A brief description of the policy, such as ‘Turns off messages for pupils’.

c. Organisation: The school or site to which the policy should apply.

d. Functionality: The list of functions you are allowed to include in the policy.

5. Select the profile settings you want to override by clicking in the Override checkbox. When you click in a box, you are asked to select either Allowed or Not allowed. If, for example, messages are turned off by default, you can permit the users with this policy to use messages, and if they are turned on by default you prevent them from accessing this functionality.

6. Click Save.

Assigning policies to a profile

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Policies.

3. Locate the policy to which you want to assign a profile, and click the link No profiles under Profiles.

4. In the pop-up window, select the profiles you want to assign to the profile.

5. Click OK.

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Assigning policies to individual learners

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Policies.

3. Locate the policy to which you want to assign individual users, and click the link for individual users under Profiles.

4. Click Add users.

5. In the pop-up window, search for the users you want to add.

6. Click OK.

Security When using itslearning, safety is important. Security in this context implies physical security,

password routines, backup, privacy and good routines in general.

Passwords

Never lend your password to others. Passwords are managed by the administrator at the respective customers. Passwords are encrypted and cannot be read by others, not even the administrator.

Passwords and Post-it notes

User names and passwords written on Post-it notes and that are easily available for others constitutes the greatest risk of security breaches. Post-it notes should never be used to store your user name and password!

Physical security

The itslearning servers are physically located at the University in Oslo. The server room is highly secure, and only a few trusted persons have access to it. itslearning is responsible for the operation of the servers. Some of our customers have local installations, and these servers are secured correspondingly.

Backup

Backups are taken every night, in addition to intermediate backups around the clock. This is the responsibility of itslearning. Ordinary users do not have to think about taking backups.

Restrict login to certain IP addresses

It is possible to download software that logs all key strokes on the keyboard, including user name and password. Dishonest users can thereby gain access to other users passwords. The damage can be considerable if unauthorised persons get hold the passwords of the administrator or system administrator.

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To safeguard against this, it is possible to decide that certain persons, for example, the administrator and the system administrator, only can log on from "secure" PCs. This means PCs that are kept in locked rooms to which only trusted fellow workers have access. The secure PCs are identified to itslearning by showing the IP addresses in a separate field in the information associated with a person.

Sage advice for the administrator

Do not create anonymous user accounts that can be used by more than one person.

Change password often, and advise the users to do the same.

Do not use automatic login procedures.

Use secure login (SSL).

Do not share administrator account with others.

Do not log in with an administrator account on a learner's computer.

Recommend that a password should have a given number of characters, or enable medium or strong password complexity in the global settings. See Edit global settings.

Do not use a login window on an external web site, because the user name and password is sent in plain text with such solutions.

Use a Declaration of Consent on your site. itslearning recommends that all clients prepare a Declaration of Consent that all users must accept on first time login. The users must accept that the institution register certain information about the individual learners. Users over 18 years of age can submit their consent in person. The parents must do so for users under 18.

My web files and ePortfolio

If My Web files is enabled, users are allowed to upload pictures and files to the Internet. My private files is a closed area to which only the user has access. Note that My web files is a open area. That means that everyone who knows the address can access the files, just like a regular web site. The same applies to the ePortfolio. If the ePortfolio is made public on the Internet, anyone with an Internet connection can view it.

Interfaces and themes

Early learners, intermediate learners, and grown learners have different interfaces, or themes, in

itslearning. In itslearning, we distinguish between interfaces and themes. The difference is that a theme is based on an interface. We have two interfaces: standard and early learner. The themes available are all based on the standard interface. It's the users' site profile that determines whether they are connected to a different interface, and a system administrator can change a user or profile's theme or interface. The following interfaces and themes are available:

Standard

Early learner

Intermediate

Space

Animal misfits

Summersky

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Interfaces

Standard

The standard itslearning version – used by most users – is intended for learners with advanced computer and reading skills.

Bright colours for early learners

The early learner interface is specially designed for early learners. A colourful appearance, simplified tools, and easily recognisable icons enable even the youngest of children to use and enjoy itslearning. Read more about the early learner interface.

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Themes

The themes are all variations of the standard interface, but with different colours and graphic design.

Simple tools for intermediate students

The intermediate interface is tailored especially for those early learners who have grown out of the early

learner's interface but are too young for the standard version. It is based on the standard itslearning interface but features bigger fonts, larger tabs, and more colours. You can choose a version that shows the main menu items as icons or a version with menus as text. In the icon version, the participants see the menu items as text when they hover the mouse over the individual icons.

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Text version:

Space theme for the future rocket scientists

The space theme is an alternative version of the intermediate theme, with a space theme in the top menu and a lunar-surface background in the main workspace. You can choose a version that shows the main menu items as icons or a version with menus as text. In the icon version, the participants see the menu as text when they hover the mouse over the individual icons.

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Text version:

Animal misfits

The animal misfits theme is quite similar to the intermediate and space themes. It features colourful depictions of animals throughout the interface and suits learners who have grown out of the early learner interface. You can choose a version that shows the main menu items as icons or a version with menus as text. In the icon version, the participants see the menu as text when they hover the mouse over the individual icons.

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Text version:

An alternative with a touch of summer

The summersky theme is, in essence, a different version of the standard interface and is suitable for older pupils and students. The icons and text are identical to those in the standard interface, but the colours and graphical style differ from it slightly.

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How-tos

Note: The information below does not apply to the early learner interface. Click here to learn how to enable the early learner interface. System administrator: Changing the theme for users without creating a new profile If you want to use the same theme for all pupils or students on your site, this option is the easiest. If you want to use different themes for, say, different age groups, see the next step.

1. Log in as an administrator.

2. Click the Admin tab.

3. Click Profiles.

4. Click the Edit icon for the profile for which you want to change interface.

5. Under Default profile settings, select an interface in the Theme drop-down list.

6. Click Save.

System administrator: Creating a new profile for a different theme If you want to use different themes for different age groups on your site, you must create a new profile for each theme.

1. Click the Admin tab >> Profiles and then add a new profile.

2. In Select a profile to serve as a basis for default values, select Student.

3. Assign the profile to the intermediate skin by selecting a theme in the Theme drop-down list under the

heading Default profile settings.

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System administrator: Assigning learners to a new theme To log in with the new theme applied, a user must be associated with a profile connected to the theme. A user's profile can be connected to the new theme from Admin >> User and access rights. Search for the user and click the Edit icon:

From the Edit page, change the profile to the one you just created, under User information >> Select profile.

Learners: Logging in with the new theme Logging in is similar for all interfaces and themes.

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Early learner interface

The early learner interface is specially designed for early learners. A colourful appearance,

simplified tools, and easily recognisable icons enable the youngest children to use itslearning in their own way. The view is different for teachers and learners. The idea is that the teachers work in the standard itslearning while the learners work in the early learner interface.

Early learner courses have less functionality than normal courses do. In practise, this means that only folders, notes, links, assignments, content from the library, and content packages such as SCORM items can be added to early learner courses.

Getting started

System administrators: Enabling the early learner version on a site

In order to enable the early learner interface on your site, a system administrator has to enable it from Admin >> Edit global settings >> Features and security.

Check the box in front of Early learner interface in order to turn it on for your site. This setting appears only if your site is a primary site. If you cannot see the Early learner interface checkbox, your site belongs

to another education segment. If you still want to use the early learner interface, contact our help desk, at [email protected].

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Early learner profiles

To log in to the early learner interface, you must be associated with a specific profile in itslearning called 'Early learner'. This profile is automatically created in Administration >> Profiles when a system

administrator enables the early learner version on your site. A user can manually be connected to the early learner interface in Administration >> User and access rights. Search for the user and click the Edit icon:

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From the Edit page, change the profile to Early learner under User information >> Select profile:

Early learner courses

After the introduction in the early learner version, there are two different types of courses – normal courses and early learner courses. The normal courses are the courses as you know them from previous versions of itslearning, while the early learner courses are specially tailored for early learners. The early learner interface has a simpler navigation system than the navigation tree you already know from itslearning. When learners log in, their courses are listed to the left.

The early learner interface has a simpler navigation system than the navigation tree you already know from itslearning. The courses are listed to the left when the learners log in. Adding early learner courses Adding early learner courses is not very different from adding normal courses. When clicking Add course you select Early learner course in the in the Select course type option list.

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There are two important features to note when you add courses. You are allowed to select an icon for the course, and there is also a colour palette that allows you to select a colour theme. The colour is used as a theme for menus and headings in the course. Course icons

The icon you select is used in course lists and as a course header both in itslearning generally and in the itslearning early learner interface.

The available icons.

The icon you select is used to distinguish the early learner course from normal courses, and to distinguish early learner courses from each other. Here, a pencil is shown as the icon for the course Writing. Colour palette

The colour palette behind the title field of the course is used to select the colour theme for the course.

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The colour palette behind the title field. Click the colour palette to see the available colours, and click on one of the colours to select it. The colours you pick are used in the theme for the course. Below are some examples of the use of theme colours:

Colour palette. Converting courses

Normal courses can be converted to early learner courses and the other way around. Note that if you change a normal course to an early learner course some features may not work. This is because the early learner courses have less functionality than regular courses do. Early learner courses do not have elements such as discussions, and when you convert a normal course to an early learner course, the discussion is not shown in the early learner course. However, if you change the course back into a normal course, the discussion becomes visible again. Content that cannot be viewed by the early learners in the early learner interface can be viewed by other profiles in the course, such as students. Bulletins

The first bulletin for each course is listed on the start page. The bulletins are sorted by date. Use bulletins to write messages for all course participants.

Personalisation

My page

”My page” is the learner's personal page. The goal of this page is to allow the early learners to express themselves by adding a personal description.

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Personal pictures

It is also possible for users to choose a personal picture from a library of images. This is done by clicking on the picture that has a question mark in the top left corner of the early learner interface. The users are allowed to change their personal picture whenever they wish.

Changing the appearance (theme)

Learners can select from three different themes: Princess, Pirate, and Football.

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Change theme by clicking the icons in the top right corner:

How-tos

Activating the early learner interface on your site

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Edit global settings.

3. Click General.

4. Check the box in front of Early learner interface.

5. Click Save.

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Adding early learner courses

1. Click the Courses tab.

2. Click Add course.

3. Select Early learner course.

4. Enter a title.

5. Click the colour palette and select a theme colour.

6. Choose an icon.

7. Click Save.

If you want to change title, icon, or theme colour later, enter the course and click Course >> Settings >> Properties.

Parents (beta)

Note: As this functionality is in beta, this topic may be incomplete.

The first version of the parent dashboard is now finished. Our goal is to provide the parents with an overview of the child’s schoolwork, development, behaviour, and presence – a combination we hope will enhance home–school communication. The parents are provided with their own parent login – one for each parent. In the first version, it is possible for administrators to import parent users via CSV files, and assign parents to learners manually. The parents see a list of their children on the dashboard:

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Administrators: See the material on getting started topic.

The first version includes the following features:

New global setting: Administrators may enable or disable the parent module as desired.

Profiles: New profile setting for parents.

Privacy: The fixed privacy rules are updated to cover parental relationships.

Mentor menu: A Parents link is added to the mentor menu.

Mentor: A new child–parent overview is created for the mentor.

Administration: Administrators are allowed to add parents for a learner.

Administration: Possible to import parent users via CSV files.

Child dashboard: A dashboard is created for each child, presenting the most important information

parents need to know about their child's education and school life.

Parent content blocks: In the first stage, we have implemented the following content blocks for parents:

o Activities: Displays activities for the next 7 days.

o Attendance: Shows the attendance report.

o Behaviour: Shows the latest remarks on behaviour.

o Completed activities: Provides a list of completed tasks.

o Course overview: Lists all courses, with progress indicator and links to reports.

o Individual learning plans: Shows the current individual learning plan.

o Projects: Displays a list of the projects in which the child is participating.

o Tasks: Shows a list of the unfinished tasks in a course.

The parent dashboard as seen from a parent's view:

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How-tos

Administrators

Enabling the parent function

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Edit global settings.

3. Click General.

4. Under Available functions, check the box behind Enable parent login.

5. Click Save.

Adding parents for a learner

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click the edit icon behind the learner for whom you want to add parents.

4. Click the Parent tab.

5. Click + Parent.

6. Search for the parent or parents, check the box in front of their names, and click Ok.

It is also possible to import a CSV file with parent users. A synchronisation key is mandatory, to connect the parent and child automatically. Read more about importing parent users under this topic. A model CSV file:

First name

Last name

User name Password Pupil sync key

E-mail

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First name

Last name

User name Password Pupil sync key

E-mail

Martha Archer martharcher 43fdjD56F RGB346 [email protected]

Peter Johnson peterjohnson 65Fgos34a RGB6323 [email protected]

Mentors

Viewing information about your learners' parental relationships

1. Click the Mentor tab.

2. Click Parents.

Getting started with the parent dashboard

Before a school can start using the parent feature, a system administrator must:

enable the parent dashboard for the school.

import parents.

associate the parents with child accounts in itslearning.

Enabling the parent dashboard

A system administrator can enable the parent dashboard by following these steps:

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Edit global settings.

3. Click General.

4. Under Available functions, check the box behind Enable parent login.

5. Click Save.

Importing parent users

In order to use the parent dashboard, all parents must have an itslearning account. The most common approach is to import CSV files with parent users. A synchronisation key is mandatory for automatic connection of the parents and children. Assign parent users to the Parent profile. See the best-practice

examples below to avoid the most common mistakes. CSV file example:

First name

Last name

User name Password Pupil sync key

E-mail

Martha Archer martharcher 43fdjD56F RGB346 [email protected]

Peter Johnson peterjohnson 65Fgos34a RGB6323 [email protected]

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By means of the CSV file above, the parents are automatically connected to their children.

Best practice for importing parents from CSV files

1. Keep children and parents in separate import files in order to provide children and parents with different profiles.

2. Import the children first.

3. In the parents file:

you can have several parents related to the same child (see example B below).

you cannot have the same parent related to more than one child in the same file (see example C below).

A. Importing two children

SyncID User name First name Last name ChildID

1 son1 Jim Dickinson

2 son2 Johnny Dean

B. Handling cases where the child has more than one parent

SyncID User name First name Last name ChildID

222 mom Elizabeth Dickinson 1

333 dad Robert Dickinson 1

C. Handling cases where parents have more than one child – this file should be split into two files, one file with childID 1 and one with childID 2

SyncID User name First name Last name ChildID

222 mom Elizabeth Dickinson 1

333 dad Robert Dickinson 1

SyncID User name First name Last name ChildID

222 mom Elizabeth Dickinson 2

333 dad Robert Dickinson 2

Setting up the synchronisation -– connecting parents to children

At the bottom of the Import users from file page are two fields under Parent relationship that are important for connecting parent users to the correct children:

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Synchronisation field in import file: Here you tell itslearning what field to use when connecting parents to

their children - also called synchronising. The alternatives in the drop-down list are retrieved from the CSV file from which you are importing. In the above example, the synchronisation field would be ChildID. In this example, the ChildID value is a number, but it could also have been, for example, the child’s username. Note that the synchronisation field must be unique. Matching synchronisation field for child: This field must match the selection you have made for Synchronisation field in import file, above, and tells itslearning what kind of field the Synchronisation field in the import file involve. You can select from three alternatives: Internal person ID, Synchronisation key, and Username. If the synchronisation field in the import file contains usernames, select Username as the matching synchronisation field. If you have a SyncID field in your CSV file, then select Synchronisation key.

Manually editing parent/child relationships

Administrators can manually connect or remove parents of learners. To connect a parent to a learner:

1. Click the Admin tab.

2. Click Users and access rights.

3. Click the edit icon behind the learner for whom you want to add parents.

4. Click the Parent tab.

5. Click + Parent.

6. Search for the parent or parents, check the box in front of their names, and click OK.

To remove a parent from a learner, simply click the deletion icon in the Remove column.

Distributing user names and passwords

There are several ways to distribute user names and passwords. The usernames and passwords can be sent automatically to the parent's e-mail address from the Admin interface >> Users and access rights. It

is also possible to print the login information and send it by post.

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Accessibility itslearning is committed to delivering the best e-learning tool to the education sector. We

recognise that, among learners and teachers, there will always be users with special needs. Our obligation is to deliver the "best of the breed". It is implicit that all, no matter what their disability may be, have the same opportunities to receive an education.

This section describes accessibility in itslearning and how this is implemented in conformance with the

W3C's WAI Guidelines and section 508b of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Making itslearning accessible is a continuous process in which we constantly improve the extent of accessibility.

Enabling the accessibility settings

Under My settings >> Customise itslearning, you can check a box labelled 'Accessibility'. When this has

been done, itslearning will go into accessibility mode. As a result, the following settings are turned on: simplified tree structure, simple editor, and scroll bars for all frames. The accessibility mode is designed to ensure that itslearning is accessible to people with special needs, such as the visually impaired.

Our approach to accessibility

Achieving a given degree of accessibility in a web application like itslearning is not only a technical problem. If accessibility is to be maintained at a given level, there are also requirements regarding the content being placed in the VLE, as well as the user's chances to interact sensibly with both the system and content. There is more to accessibility than producing "pure" code. It is, for example, entirely possible to produce XHTML that validates according to the W3C standards, but is inaccessible and semantically wrong. At the same time, it is possible to write semantically correct and highly accessible web sites that do not validate according to the same W3C standards. In other words, developing while keeping accessibility in mind involves a lot of balancing and knowledge of the disabled and their use of facilities and aids. In addition to carrying out extensive technical changes in itslearning, we co-operate with leading experts in Norway who test itslearning with accessibility technology together with disabled users of itslearning. Guidelines from W3C-WAI are normative in all work that involves keeping itslearning accessible for users with disabilities. For more information on our approach to these guidelines, see the table below. Feedback from our users is always one of our most important inspirations when we are designing our products. Where it has been especially challenging to choose a particular solution, the feedback we receive from practical testing with the disabled has been most important, and has been prioritised higher than the guidelines mentioned earlier.

Support for navigation and orientation

All content delivered by itslearning is coded semantically correctly. This means that headings, paragraphs, and so on are used in the content of itslearning. If a browser is used that allows the user to make use of such semantics (for example, lists of headings, frames, and links), it is advantageous to use these for quick navigation and orientation. Groups of links (menus) are organised in lists, but also contain the option of skipping the lists. In addition, a speed menu is implemented for facilities that read the pages sequentially. The speed menu ensures quick navigation to important areas of itslearning.

Visual presentation of itslearning

itslearning is based on separation of content and layout. This means that the layout is presented with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), while the content is part of the XHTML document. This separation makes it possible for users who need other forms of presentation, such as high contrast or plain text, to override the

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appearance of itslearning according to their requirements. The same applies to text sizes, which can be changed using the browser settings.

itslearning and assistive technology

itslearning constantly undergoes expert evaluation. By combining such evaluation and user testing, we have assured the quality and verified the function of facilities and aids used in conjunction with itslearning. User tests have been carried out with blind and visually impaired itslearning users. itslearning has been through several rounds of testing with facilities for tactile presentation (Braille writing) and also with aids for serial navigation that are used by the blind and the dyslexic. We have also tested different forms of magnification and alternative visual presentations that may be of interest to the visually impaired. The following table lists the assistive technologies used during expert evaluation and user testing:

Product name and version Primary target group

ReadIT version 2 Dyslexia, low vision

Jaws version 5.10 and 6.20 Blind

HAL Blind

SuperNova Blind, low vision

Lunar / Lunar + Low vision

ZoomText / ZoomText Xtra Low vision

Accessibility functions in browsers and combinations with adaptations by Windows are also tested, and can be used successfully if necessary. In addition to these, see the itslearning general technical requirements for more information on browsers and other necessary technology. A manual for learners and teachers who use itslearning with assistive technology is under construction. This will provide more details on how itslearning can be used with assistive technology.

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Logs and statistics

License statistics

This function provides you with statistics about your site and the supplementary licenses (extra modules) your site currently has:

Users

Users total The total number of users that have a user account in this site.

Users online The number of users that are currently online in this site.

Users online last 24 hours The number of users that have been online the last 24 hours.

Users online last week The number of users that were online last week.

Users online last month the number of users that were online last month.

Storage

Storage on disk The total storage your site currently has on disk.

Storage in database The total storage your site currently has in the database(s).

Storage total The sum of Storage on disk and Storage in database.

Supplementary licenses

Module/license name The names listed here vary from site to site. If you have extra modules, such as Library or plagiarism control, they are listed here.