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Orientation Guide for the Online Learning Portal Welcome to the Online Learning Portal (OLP) for the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Center for Continuing Education (CCE). This guide will give you an overview of how to access and navigate the system, view your courses and familiarize you with the features of our Learning Management System. To access the OLP, you need to visit http://olp.msucares.com. This system is accessible via a mobile device, such as an iPod, iPhone or Android phone, as well as tablets such as the iPad and Nexus 7. For this demonstration, we will be using the screen you will see on a Windows computer using the Firefox browser.

On the right of the screen is an introduction to the system, as well as contact information for the CCE. You will use your login information on the left side to access the system. If you have registered for a course through the CCE, then your login information should have been sent to you via email. Extension employees should contact the Center for Technology and Outreach for access. Your username is typically the email address you used to register for courses. Again, check your email for specific login information and for your password.

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When you first login, you will be asked to change your password. If at any time you forget this, you can use the Forgotten Password link on the front page, and a new password will be emailed to you. For this demonstration, we will login as an OLP student. We are then asked to change our password, and once we have done so, are given access to the system.

Your Homepage in the Online Learning Portal contains three columns of information. On the left, you will see a link to this page which you can access at any time. The Course Catalog will give you access to all the courses that are offered by both the Center for Continuing Education and the MSU Extension Service. Please note, however, to enroll in any of these courses, you will have to visit continuing education’s website at http://ce.msucares.com. The Administration block allows you to access and customize your profile within the system. The first time you login, you will want to click on My Profile Settings to view additional options.

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First, click Edit Profile. On this screen, you can change your first and last name, if it is incorrect or ever changes in the future. You can update your email address, current city and town and country of residence. The description box allows you to enter any biographical information you would like to have viewable to others in the system as well. Other profile fields are available, but are hidden at first. To view them all, click Expand All in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Scrolling down to the user picture section, you may upload a current picture of yourself if you wish. This can be helpful in some courses that have discussion sections, as your picture will be included next to your name if it is available. This can help you to get to know your classmates better, and help the instructor to put a face to a name as well. However, this option is optional. In the interests section, you can list any of your hobbies or interests. This can be helpful for Extension employees as they can list their expertise. Other optional fields include a personal webpage, IM contacts, as well as Office Contact Information. MSU Extension employees should fill this section out, as well as the Job Title field and service region. To update your profile, you will then click Update Profile. You can review your edits, and if you are happy with them, click on the Homepage link to return to the main screen.

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Other options under the Administration Block are Messaging. This will allow you to configure how you might be contacted. Most users will not need to change any options here except for the very bottom, where you can elect to block other users of the system from messaging you if you wish.

The final option is Badges. In this system, some courses will award badges for completion that you can then post on your profile. If you do not want to have these badges visible, then you can deselect this option and click Save Changes.

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Back on the homepage, on the right-hand side of the screen you will see the Help Desk. If you ever run into a problem using the system, you can click on Submit a New Question and this will allow you to open a ticket with our help desk to resolve this issue. For immediate help, you can also contact the helpline during normal business hours. The center column contains the course information for those courses you are enrolled in. For this example, the OLP Student is enrolled in two courses, Effective Education Presentations and Ethics for Registered Foresters. You will note the term that this course is offered is listed, as well as the category it belongs to in either the Center for Continuing Education’s catalog, or the MSU Extension Service In-service Catalog. The Instructors and/or main contacts for the course are also listed. Once you are enrolled in a course, you are typically always enrolled in it, unless it expires. Over time, this may mean you will have a long list of courses appearing on your homepage. To help you sort through your courses, you may want to select a specific Term or Category to view them by. You may also click the Eye icon ( ) to hide those courses you have completed to move them off your home page. You can always retrieve them at any time through the Manage Hidden Courses link. Click the eye again and the course will reappear on your homepage. Under each course, you will be given an overview of any assignments that are currently open and/or that you need to complete. We will now access the Presentation’s course to explore.

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The course page has two columns. To the left are the Course Contacts. You may also find helpful links here as well. The My Progress block allows you to see what assignments or material you have completed, not completed, what is in progress, what has not been attempted and what is waiting to be graded. You can click any of these options to view the material. The Navigation block will allow you to access your homepage again or the course catalog. The Grades section under Course Administration will give you access to your grade book and you can also access your profile as well. The right column contains the course content. Here you may have material to read, videos to watch, games and activities to complete, or discussion boards to participate in as well. Each course is a little different.

You may note the small box to the right of some material in courses. This is a Completion Box. Some of these will automatically check off for you once you have completed an assignment. Others are manual, such as this one, and allow you to check them off to keep a record of what you have done.

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At the bottom of the screen you will typically find final tests and/or surveys. Some courses also have certificates of completion that will also become available to you once you have completed the course. Criteria for these certificates will be listed.

At the top of the screen you will note the breadcrumb links. As you navigate through the course, you can always return to this home course screen by clicking the name of the course. In this case, the course name is COR2000. This can be helpful if you get lost in the system. You can also choose to click on the Homepage link to return to your homepage as well. That is a quick overview of our Online Learning Portal. We hope you will find the system useful. If you have any questions, please contact us at any time. Thank you for choosing Mississippi State University.