Open LMS

Distance Learning Orientation Summer Perkins

support@go.mcdowelltech.edu

828-652-0651

www.mcdowelltech.edu

Open LMS Learn Help for Students

866-834-8920

https://help.blackboard.com/Blackboard_Open_LMS/Student

HYBRID & INTERNET COURSE STUDENTS: Welcome to McDowell Technical Community College and the Distance Education course orientation. Instructors take advantage of Open LMS courses to extend teaching beyond the four walls of the traditional classroom. Most instructors post their syllabus and course schedule/assignments in Open LMS. Instructors, online and face-to-face, may use the online grade book to communicate grades to students and protect the integrity of grades and student information.

Open LMS Open LMS – Steps to Access

1. Launch your web browser 2. Navigate to the MTCC website by entering http://www.mcdowelltech.edu in the address bar. 3. Click the Open LMS icon in the upper right corner

NOTE:

MTCC Open LMS is hosted away from the main campus. If the MTCC server is down, Open LMS will continue to be accessible. Bookmark the direct link to your hybrid and internet courses: http://mcdowelltech.mrooms.net. If doing a Google search for “Open LMS” please be sure you are selecting the McDowell Tech Open LMS and not one for another school.

IMPORTANT – Log into Open LMS with the following naming convention: User ID:

• First letter of your first name • First letter of your middle name • Last name • Last two digits of your student ID number Example: Jane Mary Donovan | Student ID 0123456 Her login would be jmdonovan56

Password: • You will receive a temporary password via email at your MTCC Gmail account.

Once you have logged in you may: View your classes and update personal information - On the main screen, select My Courses in the top right corner.

My Courses – this is your personal menu. Displays all the courses you are currently enrolled in and is the best place to see everything important you need to know at-a-glance. Use it as your landing page to stay engaged and keep current with what others are saying. If you are missing a course, and it is after the first day of classes, please contact Student Services at 652-0607 Edit your profile:

1. Click Profile or Preferences 2. Click Edit Profile

Currently enrolled courses. Click the tile to enter a course. Where are course materials usually located? Courses contain a collection of activities and resources for you to access and complete. You can also you’re your grades and other participants in your course. Each course is designed a little differently. Always take time to look over your entire course (go through each menu item and syllabus) so that you are familiar with the nature and location of all your course materials. Contact your instructor if you are unsure about anything.

Most courses follow a consistent organization for common course materials:

• Announcements Forum – contains course announcements. Your instructor may post announcements regularly so be sure to check these at least two or three times a week.

• Course Information – course materials such as the syllabus and schedule are usually located here.

• Weeks/Topics/Modules – instructional materials and learning activities such as reading/research assignments, exercises, tests, and projects.

• Forums – discussion activities (if used) • Course Dashboard – contains Gradebook, Badges, Calendar, Files, etc.

To get back to another section, you can use the breadcrumbs trail. There are breadcrumbs on each page to show you where you are.

Downloading course materials Your instructor probably has many different files uploaded in your course. You can download them as is by clicking on the link or use our new tool, Blackboard Ally. Ally creates alternative formats for those files such as audio, HTML, and electronic braille. You can download the alternative formats anywhere that files are used. Just choose the version that is best for your needs.

1. Log into your course and find the file you want. 2. To download as is, simply click on the file link 3. To see/select alternative formats: select the chevron beside the file and select Alternative formats. 4. You don’t have to stick to just one format. Use as many formats as you want.

Saving a document to upload for grading

Open Microsoft Word, type your information/paper then: Save As File:

1. Click File 2. Click Save As 3. In the Save As box, choose the needed

folder location or USB drive. 4. Type in the name of your document in

the File Name box as directed by your instructor.

5. Save As type: click the drop-down arrow in the box and choose the appropriate type. Use either .docx or .rtf (Rich Text Format)

6. Click Save

If using Google Docs and need to save as a Microsoft Word file:

1. Click File 2. Hover over Download 3. Click Microsoft Word 4. In the Save As box, choose the

needed folder location or USB drive.

5. Type in the name of your document in the File Name box as directed by your instructor.

6. Save As type: click the drop-down arrow in the box and choose the appropriate type. Use either .docx or .rtf (Rich Text Format)

7. Click Save

Uploading your saved document for grading The following steps will place the file in the Grade Book:

1. Click the assignment link tile (blue top border) and re-read the directions to make sure you have covered everything.

2. Click the Add submission button in the bottom right hand corner. 3. Drag and drop the file or click the small paper icon to “Add” your saved document. 4. Double Click the needed document by locating it on your computer or thumb drive. 5. Once chosen, click Upload this file. 6. The file now shows in the boxed area. Click Save changes. 7. Back at the directions screen, you will be able to see the attached file, add comments, and edit the

submission (if allowed). 8. When you are completely finished click Submit assignment. 9. If enabled, on the next screen, you will have to read the statement and click Continue to confirm

submission. 10. On the next screen, you should see a green check mark verifying the submission.

**Check to see if the document was received correctly in the Gradebook (Course Dashboard - Gradebook)

Taking a quiz/test in Open LMS When you click your quiz/test tile (orange top border), you will read the directions and then click Attempt quiz now to begin the test. Be sure to read the test instructions at the top of the test page. Depending on the setup of the test, you may have a time limit, multiple attempts, and/or must complete the test in one sitting.

When you click the Finish attempt button, you will be given a Summary of attempt. You can Return to attempt to review and/or change any answers or, if ready, click Submit all and finish. You will be given a Confirmation screen to once again, Submit all and finish. At this time, your answers, grades, and any available re-attempts may be shown depending on how the test was set up. If you receive an error message, contact your instructor.

IMPORTANT: If you need to visit other web sites while taking your test, do not do this in the same browser window that you are using to take the test! Instead, open a separate browser window to visit other sites.

Reviewing your grades You may check your grades and your performance at any time

1. Within your course, click Course Dashboard (bottom of menu on left side) 2. Click Gradebook to view your scores.

From the Gradebook you can view overview and user reports

• Overview report – see how you are doing overall for each course • User report – see how you are doing on each assignment, quiz, and activity in the course. You can

select the activity name to view the submission.

Sending messages to your instructor or other another student(s) in Open LMS

1. Under the Course Dashboard click Participants. 2. Select the user you want to message. 3. Under their name, select Message. 4. Type your message and click the paper airplane on the right to send.

Forum – Add a new post Most instructors will utilize Forums many times over the semester. Be sure to log in and check it frequently to post your thread and to reply to others.

1. Click the Forum tile (light green top border) you need to answer

2. After reading the directions, click Add a new discussion to begin answering the forum

3. Type a Subject 4. Click in the box and type your information for the post. Click

“Browse” to attach files, if necessary. 5. Click Submit.

Forum – Respond/Reply to others 1. Click the correct Forum tile link. 2. Read other students post. 3. Click Reply 4. Type a subject. 5. Click in the box and type your information for the reply.

Optionally, select Use advanced editor to format your post. 6. Click Submit.

Etiquette for Forums • Participate actively in the discussions, having completed the readings and thought about the issue. • This is not texting or a general email. Please utilize spell and grammar check. There is a phone

keyboard/browser extension/app called Grammarly that will check these things automatically. Use complete sentences and avoid slang (e.g. “Wassup?” “Yo” and so forth). Capitalize when appropriate.

• Refrain from inappropriate language, do not demean, bully, or embarrass others. • Challenge others with the intent to facilitate growth, disagree with ideas, not personal attacks. • You may find it useful to read your post out loud before submitting. The “tone” is a very important

part of electronic communication. • The instructor reserves the right to delete messages which do not follow their particular guidelines.

Forum Preferences 1. Click on My Courses in the top right corner. 2. Select Preferences under your name. 3. Change desired settings then click Save changes.

Badges Teachers and admins award badges based on a set of criteria determined at the site or course level. Depending on the course page design, you can view badges through the course tools, or through navigation block.

You can set preferences for displaying your badges:

1. Click My Courses. 2. Under your name, select Preferences. 3. Choose to display badges - select Badge preferences and select or clear Automatically show badges I

earn on my profile page. 4. Manage badges - select Manage badges, and search for the badge to update.

Calendar From your Dashboard, either within a course or from the My Courses menu, you have access to a calendar that displays events by the following types:

• Global: Viewable in all courses. Created only by site administrators or a user with rights to create site-wide events.

• Course: Viewable only within a course; created by an instructor. • Group: Viewable only by members of specific groups; created by an

instructor. • User: Private event created by an individual user, including students, and

viewable only by that user.

You can add you own events in the school calendar. These events are only visible to you in your personal calendar view.

To add a user event:

1. Click on the month name, i.e “October” 2. Click on New event or on the date 3. From here you can add a title, change the date, and select Show more

for more specific details. 4. When finished, click Save. Remember, this is a user event. It is not

visible to other members of the class.

Please note, any Global, Course, or Group events will show a colored background on the date.

View and/or edit a calendar event Activities in a course that have an associated due date will auto populate the Course Calendar on the specified date. From the calendar, hover over the date and select the event title to view the individual event OR Use these calendar controls to adjust your view:

• Preferences: Change the Time display format, set the First day of the week, number of Maximum upcoming events, Upcoming events look-ahead, and whether or not the calendar will Remember filter settings when you return.

• Course: View events from a specific course. • Events key: View or hide by event type. • Monthly view: Select a specific month of the calendar. • Export calendar: Export all events in iCal format to view

events externally using a different software program. • Manage subscriptions: Import external calendar events into the school calendar.

Blackboard Open LMS App

Download the Blackboard Open LMS app to your phone. During setup you will use the MTCC site link to get registered: https://mcdowelltech.mrooms.net

Google Play

App Store

Gmail Gmail – Steps to Access MTCC provides a go.mcdowelltech.edu Gmail address for all students, online and seated. You are required to use this email address throughout your time as a student at MTCC.

1. Launch your web browser 2. Navigate to the MTCC website by entering http://www.mcdowelltech.edu in the address bar. 3. Click the envelope in the upper right corner

OR You can access by going through Google directly. Type https://accounts.google.com in the address bar

4. Click in the Username box Username is:

• First letter of your first name • First letter of your middle name • Last name • Last two digits of your student ID number Example: Jane Mary Donovan | Student ID 0123456 Her login would be jmdonovan56 (If not already populated add “@go.mcdowelltech.edu” after your username)

5. Click in Password: • All initial passwords are your student ID adding a zero (or two) to total 8 digits. You will be

asked to reset your password after logging in the first time. Example: password would be 00123456

6. “Welcome to your new account” will appear. Click the characters you see in the picture box below and then Accept.

7. You will receive a ---“Hello, Jane Donovan, Welcome to Google Apps”--- message 8. Click Email 9. Click Apps Icon (nine squares in upper right corner) 10. Click Mail to view your emails

You will need to check this assigned Gmail frequently to communicate with your instructor. If you would like, you may forward your MTCC Gmail to an existing email account.

• While in Gmail account, click the cog wheel on the right - Settings – Forwarding and POP/IMAP Gmail Setup on Smart Phones iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app on your device 2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars 3. Tap Add Account 4. Tap Gmail 5. Enter your account information, be sure to use your full Gmail address, including “@go.mcdowelltech.edu” 6. Tap Next 7. Tap Save

Android:

1. Open the Email application. 2. On the Your accounts page, select Next to get

started with setup. 3. Enter your full Gmail address (including the

@go.mcdowelltech.edu) and password, then select Next.

4. On the next screen, you can give the account a nickname and choose the name to display on your outgoing messages. Tap Done

How to Succeed as an Online Student • Students are required to log in to their Open LMS course twice each week and do work • If students do not work on their course for a period of two weeks, they will be dropped from the class.

Contact your instructor with any questions. • It is the students’ responsibility to keep up to date on assignments. This policy adheres to the attendance

guidelines according to the McDowell Technical Community College handbook. • Most of these classes will require students to purchase textbooks and other supplementary materials. • Be sure to log in to your courses on the first day of class. Complete all first week activities in a timely

manner since some of these may be necessary for you to be officially registered. • Navigate the entire course site and be sure you understand the course syllabus, policies, and schedule. • Always ask questions when you are not sure about something. • Stay ahead. Check your course schedule regularly. When you have an assignment to complete, read the

assignment instructions as soon as possible, ask the instructor if you have any questions, then plan how much time you need to complete and submit the assignment by the due date.

• When you have an online test to complete, set aside sufficient time to complete the test. Be sure you have a quiet location and time. It may be to your advantage to inform people around you that you should not be interrupted.

• If you need to visit another website while taking a test, open a separate window or browser. • Remember to LOG OUT of everything when you are finished.

Communicating with your instructor You should always feel comfortable communicating with your instructor, when you have questions about the learning materials, completing an activity, or if you have any concerns associated with the course. Communicate with your instructor early so he or she can help you before your situation becomes urgent.

• Click Participants. This section contains contact information for your instructor. Your instructor should tell you his or her preferred means of communication. Most instructors will also indicate the best time to get in touch, including office hours if they have an office on campus.

• Check in with your instructor. • Use email as your first mode of communication. • Check your email regularly. • BEFORE emailing your instructor: Your instructor receives a lot of emails. Make sure you have previously

checked and read the announcements, assignments, email, etc. before requesting assistance, for it may have been covered in the content on Open LMS or a prior email.

• Do not be offended if your instructor points you to other resources. He or she will often refer you to other resources that should help answer your question instead of rewriting an answer that appears elsewhere. This is to help you become aware of resources in your course site and to help your instructor get through long lists of emails.

• Include specific content in your subject line and message. To help your instructor respond to you, be specific about who you are and what you need. In EVERY message include your full name, course, and section you are in, and the assignment, reading or unit you are working on. Include any specific information that needs to be addressed in your instructors reply to you. Example: Smith John CIS110.95 Assignment #5

• Your instructor will respond within 48 hours, usually. • Don’t be afraid to try other forms of contact.

If additional help is needed, call or email the Distance Education Department. Phone 828-652-0651 or Email support@go.mcdowelltech.edu

Receiving an email from the Distance Education Department You will periodically receive emails from the Admin in the Distance Education Department. Please read these emails. They may refer to possible issues that have either been resolved, fixed, and or pending.

Save all your work until the semester ends Ideally save your information to a USB storage device also known as a memory stick, thumb drive, jump drive, or flash drive. If you do not have a storage device available to you and you are off campus, email the document to yourself. Emailing yourself will provide an electronic version of your work. Remember, computers on campus, when powered down, erase all information contained within the hard drive.

Technical Support for Open LMS Learn for Students Go here to find answers to common questions, directions for adding content, taking tests, interacting in an online course, etc.

Address: https://help.Open LMS.com/Learn/Student

Microsoft Products Supported Products At McDowell Technical Community College, we currently use Microsoft products. If you are using OpenOffice by Sun Microsystems or another program that is not in the Microsoft family such as Google Docs we do not have support for .odt files (unless your instructor has specifically downloaded this product).

Microsoft Office – FREE You can register your @go.mcdowelltech.edu email at https://products.office.com/en-US/student/office-in-education to get access to the online version of Microsoft Office products. You will need to enter your email address and go through the verification steps. Once verified your apps become fully functional within 15 minutes.

NOTE: If you are happy using Google Drive and downloading the documents as Office files before submitting then keep using them. This is intended to give you another choice, the use of Office products that may be more robust.

Microsoft Office – To Purchase You may purchase the full Microsoft package at a student discount through Office 365 University at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/office-365-university/cfq7ttc0k5bb?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab

Library or Academic Resource Center Students who do not own a computer may utilize a computer in the Library or Academic Resource Center (ARC): Hours Monday – Thursday 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, Fridays 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Research – MTCC Library Remote Access Remote research access is provided to MTCC students. This permits authorized individuals to connect to resources from home or any other off-campus location.

• Tutorials for the Library Online(tutorials and study skills links): 1. Type https://www.mcdowelltech.edu in the

address bar 2. Hover over Services and click Library 3. Click the ACA Study Skills & Tutorials tab

• SIRS – Research (Leading issues, Pros & Cons) Renaissance (Arts & Humanities), and Government Reporter (Information By & About the U.S. Government). All are great search engines to assist in research topics. http://sks.sirs.com Username: 1578866H Password: 28752

• Facts on File (FOF) http://www.fofweb.com/Subscription/ Username: mcdtechcc Password: mcdlib Bloom’s Literary References Online Database Examines great writers, important works, memorable characters, and influential movements and events in world literature. Issues and Controversies Database Explores more than 800 hot topics in business, politics, government, education, and popular culture.

• Please visit the MTCC Library or make an appointment by contacting Pat Tallent at 828-659-0401 or ptallent@mcdowelltech.edu

• NCLIVE - What is it? The power of your library, online! It gives you free access to eBooks, audio books, videos, online magazines, newspapers, journals, and more. Access NCLIVE at http://www.nclive.org Choose an icon from the Electronic Resources section of the page. A password is not required once logged into Open LMS for NCLIVE. A password is required if accessing NCLIVE outside of Open LMS. You will need to obtain this password from your instructor of the library. To use NCLIVE:

1. Log into Open LMS 2. Click your class you are enrolled in 3. Click Course Information 4. Click Library - Online Resources through MTCC 5. Click the link for NCLIVE (You will

automatically be logged into the NCLIVE page without a username and password).

6. Click in the search bar 7. Type your desired research subject 8. Glick Go

If too much information appears, you may narrow down your search 9. Once found, click the full text of the content or you may click on the PDF Full-text version or HTML

and save it to your hard drive.