Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

Virtual Learning Academy

Staff Documentation Version 4.0 9/2012

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

1 Overview.......................................................................................................................... 3 2 Login & Homepage ......................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Login..................................................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Homepage ............................................................................................................................ 5 2.2.1 Toolbar......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.2 Your Courses ............................................................................................................................... 5 2.2.3 Your Students............................................................................................................................... 6 2.2.4 Units to Grade.............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.5 New Messages ............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2.6 Finals to Grade............................................................................................................................. 6

3 Viewing Units .................................................................................................................. 7 3.1 Course Units Page ............................................................................................................... 7
3.2 Unit Page .............................................................................................................................. 7 3.2.1 Split Screen View ........................................................................................................................ 7 3.2.2 Unit View..................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2.3 Questions View............................................................................................................................ 8 3.2.4 Resources View ........................................................................................................................... 9

4 Grading and Course Progress ...................................................................................... 10 4.1 Student Grades Page ......................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Unit Assessment Page ....................................................................................................... 11 4.3 Course Progress Page ....................................................................................................... 13
4.4 Course Reports……………………………………………………………………….… 13

5 Messaging...................................................................................................................... 15

5.1 Reading Messages ............................................................................................................. 15 5.2 Writing New Messages ...................................................................................................... 16 5.3 Forum/Threaded Discussion…...…………….………………………………………… 16

6 Support .......................................................................................................................... 17 6.1 Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................ 17 6.2 Contact Tech Support ....................................................................................................... 17 6.3 VLA Teacher Blog……………………………………………………………………… 18

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

1 Overview

The goal of this document is to provide an overview of Virtual Learning Academy or VLA. It will familiarize you with the most common features of the application.

This manual starts by explaining how to login to VLA and what information is contained on the home page. The next section describes how to view unit content, questions and resources. The following section explains the grading of units and viewing the progress of a class. The final two sections explain the messaging system used to interact with students and the help system.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

2 Login & Homepage

2.1 Login

This is the first page of the application. A valid username and password is required in order to proceed.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

2.2 Homepage

The Home Page is the first page you will see after logging in. The following sections explain the individual parts of this page.

2.2.1 Toolbar

The toolbar is located in the top right corner of the homepage and provides access to some commonly used features of VLA. The toolbar can be found on every page.

Return to the VLA Home Page.
View messages (See Section 5.1 for details).
View VLA Teacher Blog (See Section 6.3 for details). Write a message (See Section 5.2 for details).
View Forum, Threaded Discussion (See Section 5.3 for details). Frequently asked questions (See Section 6.1 for details). Contact technical support (See Section 6.2 for details).
Logout of the system.

2.2.2 Your Classes

This section displays a list of your classes. Clicking on a class name will take you to the Course Units page where you can view the units associated with the class. Clicking the
icon takes you to the Class Progress page where you can see student grades.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

2.2.3 Your Students

This section displays a list of students from all of your classes. To view student grades,

click on a name and you will be taken to the Student Grades page. Clicking on the	icon will display a new message window. Clicking the	icon takes you to the ‘View As the Student’ page. What this means is that when you click this icon you will be taken to the homepage of the student. This is the exact same page the student sees when they login. Then you can then travel through the VLA application as the student. This feature can be used to assist students who are having problems with VLA. Also, this allows you to see their units and grades in other classes.

2.2.4 Units to Grade

This section displays a list of all assignments that have been submitted by your students for grading. Clicking on a unit name will take you to the Unit Assessment page where it can be graded.

2.2.5 New Messages

This section of the homepage displays unread and not answered messages. Click on the name in the ‘From’ column to view the message.

2.2.6 Finals to Grade

This section displays a list of students who have completed all of their units and need a final grade assigned. Clicking on a student’s name will take you to the Student Grades page where a final grade can be entered.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

3 Viewing Units

3.1 Course Units Page

To get to the Course Units page click on the class name in the ‘Your Courses’ section of the Home Page. This page displays a list of all the units for a class. Clicking on a unit name will take you to the Unit page where you can review the unit.

3.2 Unit Page

The Unit page allows the teacher to see the unit content, questions and additional resources. The following sections will explain the various options available in the vertical toolbar on the left.

3.2.1 Split Screen View

The Split Screen view shows the unit content and questions on the same page.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

3.2.2 Unit View

The Unit view shows a unit’s content.

3.2.3 Questions View

The Questions view shows a unit’s questions.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

3.2.4 Resources View

The Resources view shows where you can find more information or sample problems for the unit. They can be documents or websites.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

4 Grading and Course Progress

4.1 Student Grades Page

To get to the Student Grades page click on the student’s name in the ‘Your Students’ section of the Home Page. On this page you can view the student’s units and grades. You can change between courses by using the ‘Course’ dropdown menu. Clicking on the unit name will take you to the Unit Assessment page.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

4.2 Unit Assessment Page

There are two ways to get to the Unit Assessment page:
Click on the course name in the ‘Units to Grade’ section of the Home Page. Click on the unit name on the Student Grades page.

This page allows the teacher to grade a student’s answers to a unit.

Perform the following steps to grade a unit:
1) To grade a question choose the ‘Correct’, ‘Incorrect’, ‘Re-Do’ or ‘Exclude’ button appropriately. By selecting ‘Re-Do’, the student will be able to make corrections, once the unit is sent back to them. By selecting ‘Exclude’, the question is not counted and does not factor into the student’s score. Comments for the student regarding their answer to the question can be entered in the ‘Teacher Comments’ textbox. The students will be able to see the comments once a grade is assigned for the unit.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

2) Continue grading until the end of the unit. If you have to stop grading in the middle of the unit press the ‘Save & Calculate the Grade’ button at the bottom of the page. This will save the questions that you have already graded so that they do not have to be redone when you log back in.

When you have completed grading all questions click the ‘Save & Calculate the Grade’ button. You will notice that the ‘Calculated Grade’ for the unit is displayed just above the pink box.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

3) Inside the pink box is where you enter the student’s grade for the unit. The percentage correct is automatically placed in the ‘% Correct’ textbox. However you can change the number. Place the same number grade in the ‘Grade’ textbox. Also, enter any comments you would like the student to receive in the comments textbox. Finally, hit the ‘Save & Post the Grade’ button. Once the grade is posted the student will be able to see the results. If needed, you can come back at a later time and change the grade for the student.

You can also request that the student redo the unit by changing the ‘Select the unit status’ button to ‘This unit must be re-done’ and hitting the ‘Save & Post the Grade’ button. Then when the student checks the status of their unit it will be marked that it needs to be redone.

4.3 Course Progress Page

To get to the Course Progress page click on the	icon in the ‘Your Courses’ section of the Home Page. From this page you can view student grades, averages and final scores. By using the ‘View’ dropdown menu you can also choose to view student ‘Seat Time’. Seat time is the amount of time spent working on the class (reading a unit, answering the questions…). Clicking on a unit’s score will take you to the Unit Assessment page where you can modify the grade. Clicking on a student’s name will take you to the Student Grades page.

4.3 Course Reports

To get to the Course Reports page click on the “Class Count Report” link in the ‘Reports’ section of the Home Page.

Select what information you would like to include on the report and click ‘Run Reports.’

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The reports can be printed or saved to your desktop.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

5 Messaging

The system allows you send and receive messages from your students.

5.1 Reading Messages

To view the Messages page click the	icon in the toolbar. Click on the name in the ‘From/To’ column to read a message.

To respond to the message click the ‘Click Here to answer’ link at the bottom of the message.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

5.2 Writing New Messages

To write a new message click the	icon in the toolbar. Choose which student or class to send the message to by using the ‘To’ dropdown menu.

5.3 Forum/Threaded Discussion

To post a message on the forum, click on the	icon in the toolbar. Choose to post the message for all students to view or select a specific class. See the Threaded Discussion Instruction Manual for step-by-step instructions.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

6 Support

6.1 Frequently Asked Questions

Click the	icon in the toolbar to view frequently asked questions.

6.2 Contact Tech Support

Click the	icon in the toolbar to send a message to Tech Support.

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Virtual Learning Academy	Staff Documentation

6.3 VLA Teacher Blogs

Click the	icon in the toolbar to view the VLA Teacher Blog. The students also have a VLA Student Blog on their homepage.

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