National Science Foundation (NSF) Public Use Data Course

User Guide

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Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Registration/Login................................................................................................................................... 2

Access the NSF Course ............................................................................................................................ 4

Using the Portal .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Navigating the Course ............................................................................................................................. 5

Monitoring Progress ............................................................................................................................... 7

Retrieving Documents............................................................................................................................. 8

Course Content ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Pre-tests and Post-tests .......................................................................................................................... 8

Exercises ............................................................................................................................................... 10

Videos ................................................................................................................................................... 11

Finishing the Course.................................................................................................................................. 11

Program Evaluations ............................................................................................................................. 11

Obtaining Your Certificate..................................................................................................................... 12

*Last updated: January 18, 2018

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Introduction

Welcome to the Association for Institutional Research’s (AIR) National Science Foundation (NSF) Public Use Data course!

The main goal of this course is to assist you in learning more about the status of science and engineering in the U.S. by using a suite of data resources that provide the most comprehensive information available regarding the education of scientists and engineers and on research and development funding expenditures. Across two core lessons, we will introduce you to a few of the most well-known surveys sponsored by NSF’s statistical branch, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES).

This two-month (60 days) course is designed to be self-paced (no mentor support), with content being delivered through the My Learning Portal (hereby “Portal”), AIR’s learning management system (LMS). As long as you have a reliable internet connection, you can enroll in the course and work through the material and exercises at your own pace during the time allotted. After successfully completing the course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion.

This user guide will cover all major issues related to the use of the Portal and navigating the course.

Registration/Login From AIR’s website (http://www.airweb.org/pages/default.aspx) hover over the EDUCATION tab, click on Online Education, then scroll down and click NSF PUBLIC USE DATA COURSE:

To register for the course, in the course description, click on the Register button located in the Registration Information box. You will be invoiced $0 for the course. NOTE: You will not have access to the course until you register.

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In the next screen, click Start Online Course Request, then fill out all the appropriate information:

Once you finish, verify your information and click Submit. You will receive a message confirming your submission along with contact information:

In the next few days, you will receive an email with a link to the My Learning Portal. Clicking on the link will logged you in to the Portal’s Welcome page, where you can access the NSF course content. If you encounter problems, please contact Guillermo Farfan at gfarfan@airweb.org.

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Access the NSF Course

1. From the Welcome page, click on View my Learning.

2. On the Learning Activity page, click Launch Pre-work next to the course title. To begin the course, you must first complete a quick background questionnaire. You’ll be asked four questions. Once you have answered them, click .

On the next screen, you can either retake the questionnaire if you wish to edit your answers or click Continue to Course Content to proceed with the course.

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Once submitted, the course status in the Learning Activity page will change from Not Started to In Progress.

Using the Portal Navigating the Course

The navigation menu (pictured), which is on your left, will allow you to click and access any part of the course. You can expand content folders by clicking on the + sign.

You can open/exit the navigation menu by clicking on the tab at any time. Information about the course appears in the tab.

All course content appears on the right side of your screen. As a reminder, the NSF course is organized into two main Core Lessons. Each lesson has:

A Pre-test A Core Lesson paper (and accompanying video) A Task Module covering each survey (including a primer, demonstration video

advanced topics, and a hands-on exercise) A Post-test

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The legend for each icon that appears at the bottom of the content screen (pictured below) is listed here:

Allows you to navigate through the content.

Takes you to the Course Home page.

Takes you back to the Learning Activity page.

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Monitoring Progress

To monitor your progress, click on or go back to the Learning Activity page (by clicking View my Learning on the Welcome page) and then click on the course name.

You can now see your progress on the Course Home page, where two tabs are shown: Contents and Documents. The course outline is on the Contents tab as pictured below:

You can access course content in any way you prefer. As you navigate through the course material, and exercises are completed, green check marks appear next to the corresponding content or section.

IMPORTANT: In the Portal, courses are not completed unless ALL course content appears with green check marks.

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Retrieving Documents

On the same Course Home page, click on the Documents tab to retrieve the NSF Data Tables information document:

Course Content

Pre-tests and Post-tests

In the Portal, tests are used to see how much of the content you may already know before starting a lesson, and how much you may have learned after completing a lesson, respectively.

There are two pre-tests and two post-tests in the course, each at the beginning and end of a Core Lesson. All tests are automatically graded. To start a Pre-test or Post-test, click Start.

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IMPORTANT: For both pre- and post-tests, although you can start and exit multiple times, you are ONLY allowed to submit once.

Questions on tests will appear all at once. To view, scroll down with your mouse or use the navigation on the left-hand of your screen (pictured). Select your answer by checking the radio button.

After selecting your answers, click . Your score and a list of your answers will appear. Incorrect answers include feedback and corrected answers.

You can continue with the course by clicking Continue to Course Content.

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IMPORTANT: Regardless of your score, once you complete a test, you will see the word “passed.” This means you can move on with the course content (remember that tests are there to track, not evaluate, your learning).

Exercises

In this course, every Task Module (excluding advanced topics) in each Core Lesson includes an exercise. Exercises are also automated; and much like tests, you will receive a score and feedback immediately upon submission.

However, unlike tests, you can restart and resubmit an exercise as many times as you wish. This is done so you can make corrections or changes as you learn the material.

Exercises include overall instructions that explain what you need to do. There are also Step-By-Step guides that will walk you through the procedure for each question (pictured).

When you are ready to submit your answers, click :

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Videos

Videos in this course are embedded using a third-party application and will play from the beginning once finished. Each video also includes closed captioning (CC).

The legend for each icon that appears in the video player is listed below:

Closed captioning (English only)

Video resolution

Full-screen mode

Finishing the Course

Program Evaluations

A program evaluation may be added at the end of the course. If so, you will complete it the same way you would a test. This activity will not be graded as the Portal automatically assigns zero points after submission, regardless of how many items you answered.

Remember, however, that you must click on and complete the program evaluation along with all the other course material for the Portal to acknowledge your completion of the course and issue your certificate.

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Obtaining Your Certificate

Depending on when a course is completed, you might see a Congratulations message acknowledging your success. If so, you will be able to access your certificate there:

You can also access your certificate after completing a course by going to the Welcome page and clicking on View my History:

Once there, click View Certificate. This opens a separate window where you can see your certificate. Download or print the file as desired.

We hope this short guide is useful and that you gain additional knowledge from the NSF Public Use Data course.