The National Education Portal Training Manual Š Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, 2016
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information grants stakeholders permission to copy and disseminate any part of this book, with the sole condition that the source of the material is duly acknowledged. Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Curriculum and Support Services Division Caenwood Centre 37 Arnold Road Kingston 4 Jamaica, West Indies Telephone: 876-948-7938 Design and layout by Media Services Unit, MoEYI
TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Introduction to the National Education Portal ............................................................................4 B. Accessing the Portal ............................................................................................................................4 Activity 1: Accessing the NSC Education Portal ...................................................................... 4 C. The Educational Portal Homepage .................................................................................................. 5 D. NSC Portal Apps ................................................................................................................................. 6 Administrative Tool: Email Login ..................................................................................................................7 Activity 2: Logging in to the Portal for the first time ...............................................................7 Discussion Groups ............................................................................................................................................10 Activity 3: Joining a Discussion Group.......................................................................................12 Activity 4: Using a Discussion Group – Exploring Basic Features ................................... 14 Activity 5: Using a Discussion Group – Adding a new topic ............................................... 15 Activity 6: Using a Discussion Group – Responding to a Post ........................................... 18 Content and Collaboration Tools ................................................................................................................19 Content and Collaboration Tool: Central Repository Of Educational Content .......................19 Activity 7: Exploring the Content Share Folders ....................................................................19 Content and Collaboration Tool: Virtual Classroom And Training .............................................19 Activity 8: Exploring the VCT app as a Teacher ....................................................................19 Activity 9: Exploring the VCT app as a Student .......................................................................... 25 Activity 10: How to Use the VCT (Google Classroom) .............................................................. 27 Content and Collaboration Tool: Conference And Messaging ..................................................... 28 Activity 11: Using the Conference and Messaging App - Starting a Hangout ...................... 28 Final Note Notes
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A. INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL EDUCATION PORTAL
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he Ministry of Education, Youth and Informationâ€&#x;s National Education Portal (hereafter referred to as the Education Portal, or the Portal) is a website that provides an entry point for a range of information and tools. Most of these tools will be used to support the implementation of the new National Standards Curriculum (NSC). The Portal is meant to serve as a one-stop shop for most of what the NSC users and other interested stakeholders will need. It will primarily achieve this through the facilitation of sharing and collaboration among all NSC stakeholders. Note. The icon indicates that an instructional video has been prepared to support an activity. B. ACCESSING THE PORTAL The Education Portal may be accessed by typing the URL http://moeschools.edu.jm/ in the address bar of a web browser and pressing the Enter key. You will then be taken to the home page of the Portal (see Figures 1 – 3).
Activity 1: Accessing the National Education Portal 1. Open a web browser (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Opened Web Browser (Google Chrome)
2. Type http://moeschools.edu.jm/ in the address bar (see Figure 2).
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IMPORTANT! It is recommended that Google Chrome be used as this web browser is completely compatible with all the computer applications that will be used on the Portal.
Figure 2. Portal Web Address in Address Bar
3. Press the Enter key. You will be taken to the Education Portal homepage (see Figure 3). Figure 2. The Portal Homepage
C. THE EDUCATION PORTAL HOMEPAGE The homepage of the Portal is arranged into the following three sections (see Figure 4): 1. Administrative Tools 2. Content and Collaboration Tools 3. Discussion Groups 5
Figure 3. Education Portal Apps
Administrative Tools
Content and Collaboration Tools
Discussion Groups
Each section has three applications (apps): 1. Administrative Tools a. Enterprise Schools Management System b. Students and Parents Portal c. Email Login 2. Content and Collaboration Tools a. Central Repository of Educational Content b. Virtual Classroom and Training c. Conference and Training 3. Discussion Groups a. National Standards Curriculum, Grades 1-3 Discussion Group b. National Standards Curriculum, Grades 4-6 Discussion Group c. National Standards Curriculum, Grades 7-9 Discussion Group
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The NSC stakeholders will use all the apps in the Content and Collaboration Tools and Discussion Groups sections. However, only the Email Login will be used in the Administrative Tools section. D. EDUCATION PORTAL APPS The Portal utilises the Google Applications For Education platform (GAFE). Seven GAFE apps will be used to support the NSC implementation. This section provides information on how to use the following applications: 1. Email login in the Administrative tools section 2. Apps in the Discussion Groups section 3. Apps in the Content and Collaboration Tools section Administrative Tool: Email Login Clicking on the Email Login icon takes you to the Gmail search-based email (Webmail) service, which is accessible from a Web browser anywhere in the world so long as an Internet connection is present. The Gmail app will be used for controlling access to the Portal as only persons who have been assigned a “moeschools.edu.jm” account will be allowed entrance. Each teacher will be assigned an email account using the following convention: firstName.lastName.Schoolcode@moeschools.edu.jm For example, the email address for Jane Doe-Ray who teaches at Papine High (school code: 02052) would be jane.doe-ray.02052@moeschools.edu.jm Note. 1. For hyphenated first names, the hyphen is removed. (N.B. The email accounts are not case sensitive; capitalisation in the examples is for clarity.) 2. The hyphen is maintained for double-barrelled surnames. For example, the email for Jane Doe-Ray would be jane.doe-Ray.02052@moeschools.edu.jm 3. All accounts have been given a default password: „Reset1234‟. You will be automatically prompted to change this password upon accessing the account for the first time. 4. Education officers and trainers will have email addresses using a different convention from Teachers.
Activity 2: Logging in to the Portal for the first time 1. 2. 3. 4.
Go to the Portal and click the Email login icon. Using the convention given, enter your email address. Click Next (see Figure 5). Enter your password and then click Sign In (see Figure 6). Read the Welcome information and if you agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, click Accept (see Figure 7). 5. Create a new password and click Change password (see Figure 8). 6. You should see your Gmail Inbox (see Figure 9).
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Figure 4. Username Dialog Box
Figure 5. Password Dialog Box
1.
Go to the Portal and click the Email login icon. 2. Using the convention given, enter your email address. Click Next (see Figure 5).
3. Enter your password and then click Sign In (see Figure 6).
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Figure 6. Welcome Dialog Box 4. Read the Welcome information and if you agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, click Accept (see Figure 7).
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Figure 7. Change Password Dialog Box 5. Create a new password and click Change password (see Figure 8). 6. You should see your Gmail Inbox (see Figure 9).
Figure 8. Gmail Inbox
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Discussion Groups There are three discussion groups, one for grades 1-3, one for grades 4-6 and one for grades 7-9. Grades 1 – 3
Grades 4 – 6
Grades 7 – 9
These groups have been designed to facilitate the discussions and sharing of resources among stakeholders. The Discussion groups allow stakeholders to: 1. Engage in discussions about a specific subject. 2. Create questions and respond to stakeholder questions posted. 3. Organize meetings, workshops, or other events among members of a group. 4. Share various resources (such as website links, videos, images, documents etc.) with members of the group. 5. Read group posts through email, the Portal, or both. To join a group: 1. Go to the Discussion Groups section on the Portal homepage and click on the group icon, or group name. 2. Click on the Join group button. The Join group dialog box will appear. 3. Fill in the options on the Join Group dialog box. 4. Click the Join this group button. You are now a member of the group.
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Activity 3: Joining a Discussion Group 1. Go to the Portal homepage and click on the Grades 1-3 group name. What do you observe? You should see a screen similar to the one in Figure 10. Figure 9. Discussion Group for Primary: Grades 1-3
Apply for membership
2. Locate and click on the “Apply for membership” link. You should a screen similar to the one in Figure 11. 3. Carefully read the information you are seeing. Click on the various links (e.g. edit, the icon and the drop down icon) to make your selection (see Figure 11) 4. After you have finished exploring and making your choice(s), click the button “Apply to join this group” link (see Figure 11).
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Figure 10. Apply to join the Primary: Grades 1-3 group
Click Edit to change membership settings.
Click in the check box on the left to control whether you want your profile to be displayed in this group
Click the arrow to adjust email delivery preference.
Apply to join this group
5. When your join request has been approved you will get a confirmation email. Close the tab and go to your emailâ€&#x;s inbox to await the confirmation email. 6. When the email has been received, open it and click on the Visit the group button (see Figure 12). Figure 11. Email approving request to join Primary: Grades 1-3 group
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Visit the group
Activity 4: Using a Discussion Group – Exploring Basic Features When you go to the Primary: Grades 1-3 group that you have joined you will see a screen similar to the one in Figure 13. Figure 12. Grades 1-3 Discussion Group Page To add a new topic, click NEW TOPIC.
Discussion Categories
1. Click on each discussion category and make observations. English Language Integrated Studies Mathematics 2. Click on each of the links at the top right-hand corner and make observations. Members About Show all topics 3. Click on each of the links to the left and make observations. My groups Home Starred Favourites Recently viewed 4. Based on your explorations, share any interesting observation you made.
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Activity 5: Using a Discussion Group – Adding a new topic For this activity you will be guided through the steps for adding a new topic in a discussion group. You will also be provided with the steps for adding a link and attaching a file. You can add a new topic by doing the following: a. Point and click on the NEW TOPIC button (see Figure 14) or b. Point and click on a discussion category, e.g., Integrated Studies (Figure 13). You will be directed to a page similar to the one in Figure 14. Click the NEW TOPIC button at the top of the discussion group page (see Figure 14). Figure 13. Primary: Grades 1-3 Discussion Group page for Integrated Studies Click here to add a new topic.
Go to the Discussion Group page (Figure 13) and follow the steps below to add a new topic in the discussion group. Note. The steps described below may also be used for Discussion Groups for Grades 4-6 and 7-9. 1. Click on New Topic (see Figures 13 and 14). 2. Type the subject of your topic in the Subject field (see Figure 15). 3. Point and click on Choose a Category. Select a category, e.g., Integrated Studies.
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Figure 14. Primary: Grades 1-3 Discussion Group - New Topic Area
Click here to choose a category.
Click here to add the subject.
4. Click on the Attach a file link to upload a file to the initial post. (This is optional, but practise using this feature (see Figure 16). a. The Select a file dialog box appears. b. Click on the Select files from your computer to upload a file. c. Navigate to your file. d. Click the Open button. The file is uploaded to the Discussion Group. 5. Type the introduction to the topic. Add formatting as needed by clicking on the buttons above the topic body/message area (see Figure 16).
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Figure 15. Primary: Grades 1-3 Discussion Area – Attach a File for a New Topic
Click here to type the introduction to the topic.
Click here to attach a file.
Click Link to add a link to a website.
6. If you wish to add a link to a website in the introduction to the topic, click on Link (see Figure 16). a. Type the appropriate wording in the Text to display field (see Figure 17). b. Type the URL of the web page. c. Click OK. Figure 16. Primary: Grades 1-3 Discussion Group - Add a Link dialog box
7. Click the Post button at the top of the Discussion Group screen to post the topic (see Figure 16). The topic appears in the list of topics for the group. 16
Activity 6: Using a Discussion Group – Replying to a Post Follow the steps in this activity to reply to a post. 1. To reply to a post, first, click on the post to read it (see Figure 18). Figure 17. Primary: Grades 1-3 Discussion Group – List of Posts
Click here to read a post.
2. A box with the words Click here to Reply should appear below the post. Type your response in the Reply box (see Figure 19). 3. Click Post Reply. Figure 18. Responding to a post Click here to reply to a post.
Click here to reply to a post.
Click here to reply to a post.
4. Go to your email inbox and note what you observe. What are all the ways that a post may be viewed? 17
Content and Collaboration Tools There are three apps in the Content and Collaboration Tools section: Central Repository of Educational Content
Virtual Classroom and Training
Conference and Messaging
Content and Collaboration Tool: Central Repository of Educational Content The „Central Repository of Educational Contentâ€&#x; is a space where files are stored. These files are uploaded, removed, or altered only by subject managers and portal administrators.
Activity 7: Exploring the Content Share Folders 1. Click on the icon for the Central Repository of Educational Content (i.e. Google drive). You will be directed to a screen sub-titled Content Share (see Figure 20). Figure 19. Content Share screen
2. Click on each folder and subsequent folder until there are no more folders to view. 3. Share your thoughts on the organisation of the Central Repository of Educational Content.
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Content and Collaboration Tool: Virtual Classroom and Training The Virtual Classroom and Training (VCT) area makes use of the Google Classroom platform. This platform is web-based and integrates the Google Apps. It saves time and paper, and makes it easy to create classes, distribute assignments, communicate, and stay organized. It is envisioned that this platform will be used to conduct various types of training related to the NSC.
Activity 8: Exploring the VCT app as a Teacher 1. Log in to the portal using your “… moeschool.edu.jm” address. 2. Click on the VCT icon located on the Portal‟s homepage. You should be directed to the Google Classroom Home Page (see Figure 21). You will first get started using Google Classroom as a teacher. Figure 20. Google Classroom Home Screen
Your name and email address will appear here.
Click here to select your role as Student.
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Click here to select your role as Teacher.
Using the portal as a Teacher – Creating your first class 1. Select your role as TEACHER. Note. If you are a trainer, you would create the class and be the teacher. The persons you train, even though they may be teachers, would join your Google Classroom as students. 2. You will be taken to the page shown in Figure 22. Click the + icon Create Your First Class to start creating your first class.
Figure 21. The ‘Welcome to Classroom’ page
Click here to start creating your first class.
3. Click Create class. 4. Complete the Create a class dialog box (see Figure 23). Figure 22. The ‘Create a class’ dialog box
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5. On the next screen you should observe the information you entered in the Create a class dialog box. For example, if you have entered, if you entered the class and subject, you will see it on the class page. Figure 24 give an example. Figure 23. Example of a Class site – Stream page Class and subject
Click here to post to classroom stream.
Click here to view the class code.
6. On the Stream page, point and click on START TOUR to learn more about the features of the class page (see Figure 24). 7. Note. On the Stream page, you can create questions, create assignments and post announcements. Click on the icon
to access these tools (see Figure 25).
Figure 25. Example of a Class site – Tools on the Stream page
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8. On the Students page, you can invite students or give them a code to join the class. For example, in Figure 26, the code to join class 4W, Science is: x8dtng. Note. The class code is also displayed on the Stream page. Check the bottom left area of the screen. Figure 24. Example of a Class site – Students page
Click here to invite students.
Class code is displayed here.
Click here to adjust posting settings.
Figure 25. Example of a Class site – Adjusting posting preferences 9. On the Students page, you can adjust posting preferences for students as show in Figure 27, so that: Students can post and comment Students can only comment Only teacher can post or comment. Figure 26. About Page – Adding details of the class
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10. Go to the Stream page and create questions, an assignment and post an announcement. Make a note of the class code. In the next section, you will share this code with other participants. 11. On the About page of the class site, you can add a few details about your class. Click the “three dots‟ icon to: Add a class title Add a short description of the class Add worksheets and hand-outs to the class folder View your class calendar to keep track of upcoming work. Click Save after you have added the class details (see Figure 28). Figure 27. Example of Class site – About Page
Add class description here
Click folder to add worksheets and hand-outs to Google Drive.
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Click here to view class calendar.
12. When you create an assignment, Google Classroom automatically adds it to your calendar. You can view your class calendars in Classroom or in Google Calendar. 13. You can also click on the Classroom Main Menu to get information on the classes that you created and your calendar. 14. If you have any problems navigating Google Classroom, click the question mark to get help (see Figure 29). Figure 28. Google Classroom – Join Class
Classroom Main Menu
Help
Activity 9: Exploring the VCT app as a Student Using the portal as a Student – Joining a Class 1. Click on the Classroom Main Menu
located at the top left corner of the class page
(see Figure 30) . Click on Classes . 2. You will be directed to the Google Classroom page. Click the + icon, Create Your First Class. 3. Select Join Class if you are a student. See Figure 30. Figure 30. Google Classroom – Join Class Click here to join a class.
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Figure 29. Class Code dialog box
4. To join a class, enter the class code provided by the trainer for the class (see Figure 31). 5. Read the tips provided in the „Welcome to Classroom‟ guide (see Figure 32). Figure 30. Example of a class: In-house Training - ‘Welcome to Classroom’ guide Use the menu to navigate between classes or see your assignments page.
Click the question sign ‘?’ to find out what’s new, send feedback, ask a question and get help.
Click NEXT to read the next tip.
Click here to create a post.
6. Click Stream and share a message in the Class Stream as well as comment on messages. Click Classmates to see the students in your class. Click About to get more information about the class (see Figure 33).
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Figure 31. Example of a class page: In-house Training
Click here to share a message in the class stream
Click here to see the students in the class.
Click here to read information about the class.
7. In Activity 9, you created a class. Share your class code with other participants in the training session and invite them to do the assignment you created or respond to a post. 8. Join classes created by other participants and take part in activities on their page.
Activity 10: How to Use the VCT (Google Classroom) 1. Watch the video titled “Google Classroom Tutorial 2015” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWYf4PTLPw to learn how to use Google Classroom to assign work to students, accept assignment submissions, make announcements, supply materials to students, and more. You will also look at the students‟ experience in Google Classroom. Note. Click on the link while pressing the Ctrl key, or enter the URL in the address bar. 2. After watching the video, create classes so that all the students you teach can benefit from the online classroom experience.
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Content and Collaboration Tool: Conference and Messaging Conference and Messaging is done via the Google Hangouts app. This app allows members of the Portal to initiate and participate in text, voice or video chats, either one-on-one or in a group. The Google Hangouts app has the following hardware and system requirements: 1) Hardware: Webcam (Make sure you have the latest drivers for your webcam.) Microphone Headphone/speakers 2) Supported Browsers: Google Chrome 10+ Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 8+ Mozilla Firefox 3+ Safari 4+ 3) Supported Operating Systems: Mac OS X 10.5+ Windows 7 Windows Vista with SP1 or later Windows XP 4) Processor Minimum Requirements: Any 2 GHz dual core processor or greater. 5) Bandwidth For 1:1 connections we suggest a 1 mbps/1 mbps (up/down) For group video connectivity we suggest 1 mbps/2 mbps (up/down) 6) Download and install the latest version of the plugin (http://www.google.com/talk/ ).
Activity 11: Using the Conference and Messaging App - Starting a Hangout 1. Watch the five-minute video “Google Hangout tutorial” at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oouI7KSeao 2. Go to the Portal Home page and click the Google Hangouts icon ( taken to the Google Hangouts home screen (see Figure 34).
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). You will be
Figure 32. Hangouts Home Screen Main Menu
Contacts Conversation Phone call
More
3. Explore the features of the Hangout app. 4. Invite other members of the training group, send messages, and make video calls. 5. Discuss how this app may be used to facilitate distance training and collaboration. 6. Nominate one member of the group to be a teacher. Simulate a class with the teacher in a separate room from the students.
IMPORTANT! One person can host video meetings on Hangouts for up to 10 people.
Final Note Proficiency in use of the various applications available on the Portal will only be achieved through practice. This tutorial provides a start, however you are encouraged to use the apps as much as is possible to become adept at using them. Feel free to explore. Also, many good tutorials, both documents and videos, may be found online. Credit Icon for the Important box was retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Emblem-importantred.svg/768px-Emblem-important-red.svg.png
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NOTES