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Welcome………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Setting up your Profile……………………………………………………………………… 4

Accessing your Course……………………………………………………………………… 7

Forums…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

Assignments…………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Chat…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17

Quizzes…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

Blogs………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

Communication with Lecturers and Students…………………………………… 20

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Welcome to JTS Online!

Learning in a virtual environment can be an exciting experience. For many persons

this may be the first time you will be taking a class in this mode. To help you

become comfortable with the learning portal we have taken the time to prepare a

tutorial. This tutorial will explain various aspects of the website and how you can

navigate it. Please take the time to read through this manual before logging into

your courses. This will help to save you time in the long run and also help you to

become more comfortable with the various features.

While we recognize that it will be a great help to you at the beginning, feel free to

come back to this manual throughout the duration of the semester to refresh

your memory and answer whatever questions you may have.

We wish for you a successful and enriching semester as you embark on your

online programme with us.

Yours truly,

JTS Online Coordinator

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On this page you can gain access to your profile page by clicking on your name in

the upper right hand corner of the page. Your Profile is where you can input

information that you would like your lecturers and fellow students to know about

you. It is also where you can go to view your activity in the course management

portal and view any postings you have made as well as make notes for your

different classes.

Upon signing in you will see the following screen. If you need assistance in signing in please view the tutorial “Accessing Your JTS Online Accounts”.

To access your profile:

Click on your name which appears in the top right hand corner

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This is what your profile page will look like. The different tabs are where you will

enter and view your relevant information.

The different tabs on your Profile Page:

• Profile – This tells where you are from, shows your email address (students

should use their JTS address as their default address), the courses you are

presently registered for and when you have accessed the system. Please note

that your first and last access date and time is shown. This can serve as an

alert as to whether or not your password has been compromised. If it has

been you should change your password immediately. If you desire to send a

message to someone in your course or your lecturer you can use the message

button on their profile page.

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• Edit Profile – This is where you will enter basic demographic information

about yourself, a brief personal description, your interests and post a photo.

Entering this information will help your lecturer and your classmates to get to

know you better.

• Forum posts – For each of your classes you will be required to take part in

discussions or what we refer to as a forum. If you need to check on what

posts you have made to any discussion or if you need to edit or delete your

posting, you can do so in this tab.

• Blog – Your Blog can be used as an online journal, which may be a

requirement for some courses. In general it is a series of chronological

postings made by you the blogger. You can allow or restrict other persons

viewing your blog entries.

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To access the courses you have been registered for, you may use any one of the

following methods after logging on:

1. Browsing through the Department within which the course falls

2. Type the name of the course in the “Search courses” section

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Upon Entering Your Course

Upon entering your course you will see a number of areas – a left side bar, a right

side bar and the centre of the page.

The left side bar will include a number of areas:

1. Online Resources – Here you will see a number of

resources that can be used for research and assist you in

completing your assignments, eg. EBSCO which is an online

database where students can access full academic articles

and journals.

2. People – Here you will find a list of all the participants,

including your lecturer, in the course that you are logged

into at the time. You can view each person’s profile and

find out more about them and send them messages if you

desire.

3. Activities – All the activities which your lecturer has posted

can be found here.

4. Search Forums – You may be able to locate a forum by

using this tool. Simple type in the topic of the forum or a

key word which was used.

5. Administration – Here you will be able to view your grades

and profile as well as edit your profile

6. Course Categories – This is a quick link back to the course

categories and will enable you to switch between your

courses.

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The second area is the right side bar which will include:

The third section is in the centre of your page and is the area that you will interact

with most often. The diagram on the following page will demonstrate this.

1. Latest News – Here you will see any news

items or special announcements posted by

your lecturer. These items will be specific to

the course that you are logged into.

2. Upcoming Events – Here you are able to view

the upcoming events in the life of the

Seminary as well as the due dates for any

assignments set in the course you are logged

into. To get a brief description of these events

click on the event. You may also view the

Calendar for the month by clicking on “Go to

Calendar”

3. Recent Activity – By clicking on this area you

will be able to keep a track of where you are in

your course and how you have been

participating. This can help you to see if you

have missed any of the notes or forums

posted.

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At the top of this section you will see the overview of the course.

Here your lecturer will have a welcome message and upload other

pertinent material such as the Course Outline, the Study Guide and

any other materials that you need to know about at the beginning of

your course. Ensure you take the time to read through this

information before going any further.

Your course will be broken up into weeks. At the top

of each week you will see the date of that week and

maybe a short introduction. Immediately below you

will find notes, power point slides, discussion board

topics, audio-visuals, etc. that you will be required to

interact with. Simply click on each item to download

and view.

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The forum module is an activity where students and lecturers can exchange ideas by

posting comments. There are 4 basic forum types which are explained below. Lecturers

may choose to set a time frame within which students must make their postings and may

also choose to grade the forums. Students may have the option to subscribe to a forum;

in doing so you will be sent email transcripts of every post made in that forum.

Standard forum for general use

In this forum type, students will see the introduction text in a separate space above the discussion

field, in which you will see the information such as the title of the discussion (which means the

forum's title), its author, the number of replies and the date of the last post. This is an open forum

where any one can start a new topic at any time.

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A Single Simple Discussion

In this type of forum you will see the text that has been placed in the Forum introduction

setting as the first post of the discussion. Below you will find the replies that have been posted

in response to the question or discussion topic posted by the lecturer. This is a focussed

discussion. In the example below, you will see that the student’s reply was rated.

Each person posts one Discussion

In this forum type each person can post exactly one new discussion topic (everyone can

reply to them though). So each student can start a discussion about, say, their reflections

on the week's topic, and everyone else responds to these.

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Question and Answer forum

The Q & A forum will require you to post your perspectives before viewing other students' postings.

After the initial posting, you can view and respond to others' postings. This feature allows equal

initial posting opportunity among all students, thus encouraging original and independent thinking.

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Each course you take will include a variety of assignments which your lecturer will

use to assess you. These assignments will be digital in nature and based on the

specifications given by the lecturer, will be submitted by uploading it to the JTS

Online portal. Typical assignments include essays, projects, reports and so on.

As a student you should remember to always keep an electronic copy of your

assignment in a safe place and ensure that you submit your assignments within

the time frame given as you will be unable to do so afterwards.

Below are four different ways that your lecturer may request you to submit your

assignment. You should ensure you are clear on what is required of you.

Upload a Single File

This could be a Word document, spreadsheet or anything in digital format.

Multiple files may be zipped and then submitted. After you upload your files, the

lecturer will be able to open the submission and use the Moodle interface to

assign a grade and offer comments as feedback. A student may submit a file as

many times as they like up until the deadline. Only the latest file is retained, and

this is the one the lecturer marks.

How to upload a file (See image on following page)

• Click on the assignment set by the lecturer

• You will then see the assignment and the due date for the assignment

• After completing the assignment in the format that was requested by

the lecturer, you will then click on the button “Choose file”

• After selecting the file, click the “Upload this file” button

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Advanced uploading of files

This type of assignment allows each student to upload one or more files in any

format (your lecturer will set the limit on the size of the file that can be

submitted); allows students to type a message alongside their submission; and

allows the lecturer to return a submission made by the student with feedback;

allows the student to resubmit the corrected/updated file.

In this example the student has already uploaded one file and is able to

upload another by clicking the “Browse” button to first find the file and

then the “Upload this file” button. You must click on “Send for

marking” in order to submit your work for grading.

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Online Text

In this type of assignment the student will be required to type directly into the

portal where the lecturer can provide inline comments or changes and grade the

assigment. The lecturer may provide settings that allow the student to resubmit

their work. However, once it has been graded it cannot be resubmitted.

Offline Activity

This is useful when the assignment is performed outside of the portal. It could be

something elsewhere on the web or face-to-face. Students can see a description

of the assignment, but can't upload files or anything. Grading works normally, and

students will get notifications of their grades.

After clicking on the assignment set by the lecturer you will see a

page similar to the one above with the description of the

assignment and the due dates. Click on “Edit my submission” to

write your response, or edit it if you need to make changes.

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The Chat activity allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion

via the web. A lecturer may set up a chat session with the entire class, with an

individual student or for a group of students to meet online to discuss an

assignment or topic.

Accessing your Chat room:

• The availability of a chat is usually represented by this icon

• Once you click on the link the following screen will appear

• Press “Click here to enter the chat now” to access the chat room

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The Quiz activity module allows the teacher to design and set quizzes consisting of a

large variety of Question types, including multiple choice, true-false, short answer

and essay questions. Each attempt is automatically marked, and the teacher can

choose whether to give feedback and/or show the correct answers.

Each quiz/exam will have a time limit that is set by the lecturer. Students will be

able to see a clock letting them know the amount of time they have left to complete

the quiz. It is extremely important that students submit their answers before the

time has expired. The system will not allow you to submit answers afterwards and

will therefore award a zero grade for the quiz/exam.

Accessing your quiz/exam:

• The availability of a quiz is usually represented by this icon

• Once you click on the link the following screen will appear

• To begin the quiz/exam click on “Attempt quiz now”

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The word 'blog' is a contraction of 'web log'. Blogs are a form of online journal used by

millions of people around the world for self-expression and communication. Blogs are

usually organized as a chronological series of postings created by the author of the blog

and usually are written by one person, although some blogs can be authored by groups

of people. Each student has their own Blog and there may be times when you will be

required to do so. Students should be aware however that other persons are able to

see your their entries.

Accessing your blog:

• Enter your profile

• Then click on the tab labelled “Blog”

• Click on the add a new entry button

• The image below shows the Blog Entry screen

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Even though your class will be online there are times when your lecturer may

choose to put you in a group for a specific assignment or project. In spite of the

fact that you may have group members in others parts of the country or in a

totally different country you do not need to worry. It is still possible for you to

communicate with your fellow group members.

From time to time there may be other reasons for you to communicate with other

members of the online community. There are different options available when

trying to communicating with lecturers and fellow students:

• Lecturers will advise you on their office hours and how they can be

contacted at that time, though you can always send them an email at

any time

• An email can be sent from your jts.edu.jm email account

• The messaging feature in the portal can also be used.

• Your lecturer may set up a chat room or forum for your group to

communicate easily

Whatever the situation there are many ways to get in touch and stay in touch…so

ensure you keep the communication lines open.