VIRTUAL LEARNING – E-FORUM – User Manual

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

A. INTRODUCTION

B. VIRTUAL  LEARNING: Professional Learning Community e-Forum

C. CREATE A COMMUNITY

D. CREATE A LESSON

E.  STUDENT REGISTRATION/ENROLMENT

 

A. INTRODUCTION

  1. What is Virtual Learning?
  • Virtual learning  is a learning experience that is enhanced through utilizing computers and/or the internet both outside and inside the facilities of the educational organization.
  • It is also known as e-learning, digital learning, hybrid learning, home-based learning, or other related terms.
  • The instruction most commonly takes place in an online environment.
  • The teaching activities are carried out online whereby the teacher and learners are physically separated (in terms of place, time, or both).
  • Distance learning is conducted in a virtual learning environment with electronic study content designed for self-paced (asynchronous) or lives web-conferencing (synchronous) online teaching and tutoring.

(Ref: https://www.vedamo.com/knowledge/what-is-virtual-learning/)

 

 2.  What devices and tools to be used?

  • Use any device from a smartphone (simple application such as WhatsApps, video calls, etc.) to laptops and tabs.
  • Use innovative tools and strategies (using education applications such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, Zoom, Apple learning Centre, Edmodo, etc.) that can be applied in a smartphone, laptop, and other devices.

Strategy 1: Virtual learning – Professional Learning Community e-Forum (a simple interactive online /home-based learning)

Strategy 2: Digital Flipped Learning (comprehensive virtual learning platform based on Moodle application) – Refer to Digital Flipped Learning: User manual

Strategy 3: CIDS-VideoCorps (small group online communication tools) integrated into both strategies as a means of a virtual meeting.

    • allows students-lecturer/teacher interaction in the invitational virtual learning session.
    • capable of integrating links of the virtual learning activities to the lesson plan.
    • Basic knowledge of ICT is required in implementing visual learning in school.

 

 B. STRATEGY 1: VIRTUAL  LEARNING – Professional Learning Community e-Forum – (Participation in an interactive e-forum Professional Learning Community via laptop or smartphone)

  • Students may participate in a synchronous or asynchronous mode of interaction– (teacher-student interaction).

(Synchronous communication means that two or more people exchange information in real-time. Asynchronous communication refers to the exchange of data between two or more parties without the requirement for all the recipients to respond immediately)

 

  1. Features
  • It is simple & practical features
  • User may use a laptop or smartphone as a medium
  • It is an interactive virtual forum platform
  • Similar to the Facebook concept
  • Able to insert text (for instructions), video clips from YouTube, audio, or images as a stimulus.
  • Links to Google Classroom to access resources created and stored in the Google drive or the one drive (notes, assignments, etc.) and google search for accessing other external resources.
  • It will enhance the lesson conducted and inspired learners

 

  2.  Application Procedures 

(a) Login to CIDS – Login to CIDS – Login as usual to CIDS main page using the same CIDS ID

        • Press Virtual Learning – PLC at the main menu
        • Press Virtual Learning (Homepage) – E-Forum
        • Press Private Communities – to create private interaction room/site

 

The PLC Homepage will appear as below:

 

 

(b)  Update your profile (recommended for the first time user)

        • Press My Profile
        • Fill in the required information & press Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

 

        • Press Change Profile Photo – to insert your photo
        • You may Select File to Upload Photo from your local drive
        • Or press Take Photo to take a snapshot from your device.
        • Press Capture and Save (for snapshot)

 

 

 

C. CREATE A COMMUNITY (for teachers to create a room for their teaching & learning group)

  • It is recommended that the community group is created under the teacher’s name, not by subject or class.
  • It will avoid too many communities being created.
  • However, teachers are free to determine their ways of creating their community.
  • Students will log into the e-Forum once the learning activities have been prepared by the teachers.
  • Notifications can be made through schedules delivered at the beginning of the interaction, or through the teachers’ messages.
  • It can also be notified via a group of what apps or by other methods.
  1. Procedures
    • Press Create a Community
    • Fill in the Details of the Community to be created
    • Press Create Community and Continue to Photos (please follow the instructions)

 

      • Press Settings (keep the default setting)
      • Press Next Step

 

      • Press Select your File
      • Search & select the logo file from your folder (create a logo for your group)

 

Resize (crop) the photo

  1. Press Crop Image to save the image

Your logo will appear on the screen. You can delete or replace the photo

 

 

 

D. CREATE A LESSON

  • You can insert various materials in this e-forum (materials from Google Classroom – Google Doc, slides, etc.), video clips from YouTube, images, audio recordings from sound recorders, video recording from a smartphone or other devices, materials from Goggle Drive storage, One Drive, etc. depending on your skills and creativity.
  • Learning will be interesting if the lecturer/teacher is creative enough to provide his materials to his students instead of just copying links from materials created by other teachers.
  • You can use laptops or smartphones for this e-Forum Digital Learning.

Please take note that there are slight differences in application characteristics (application features) between laptops, i-pad, smartphones etc.(please explore).

 

 

  1. Creation of contents in e-Forum
    • There are submenus for various functions/links

The following items are recommended to be included in the content of the forum:

      • Enter a Subject, Topic, Discussion topic, etc.
      • Write in short – instructions/questions (what students need to do)
      • Write a short introduction of the content and perhaps a few important points
      • Insert link materials  (One link per delivery) for further readings
        • Examples: link from Google Drive, One Drive, Google Classroom, YouTube, Websites, etc.
        • The file must be shareable for all.

 

 

(a) Example 1: video link

Press on the YouTube menu button

          • Find a Video Clip and copy the URL
          • Return to the E-Forum and Paste URL
          • Press Send/Post

 

After press Post/Post Update – it will display as follows:

 

(b) Example: From Google Classroom

      • Press on the relevant button (Example: Go to the Google Classroom page)
      • Search for materials (stored in Google Drive)
      • Copy file (make sure it has shared permissions for all)
      • Paste in e-forum space
      • Press Post
      • You may find materials for other links – Google image, Google Info, Google Meet, etc.
      • You may record audio – save it to Google drive or One Drive and then insert the link in the e-forum.
      • You may do a video recording – upload it to YouTube and then copy the link to the e-forum.
      • There is much more that can be done with your creativity to create strategies.
      • The PLC-CIDS Digital Learning features are constantly updated to improve the learning process.
      • There are also limitations (restrictions) on this application.

 

   2. Chat Room

 While you are in the e-Forum, the Chat room will appear at the bottom right-hand corner. Chat can be used as students’ informal discussion before writing in the e-forum.

      • Press Public Chatroom to interact with everyone
      • Or Press the specific name in the Public Chatroom to interact privately.
      • You may send messages, attach files, and images

 

E.  STUDENT REGISTRATION/ENROLMENT

    • School teachers can register their students and the data can be used by other teachers to invite them to their respective e-Forum communities.
    • Teachers should work together to determine the person who will register the student  (an error message will appear if the student is registered twice).
    • Register your student individually or in the group (bulk registration) – recommended
    • Students may register by themselves.
    • Enroll your student in the room/site.

 

To register your student:

    • At the main CIDS website press Virtual Learning – PLC
    • Press Virtual Learning: PLC- E-Forum or
    • At the main menu of ASIE Model press Virtual Learning: PLC – E-Forum
    • Press Add New Student
    • Follow instructions

 

 

 

F. STUDENT PARTICIPATION

  1. Procedure 1: Login  Virtual Learning PLC Homepage

 

 2. Procedure 2: Login to Virtual Learning  PLC – (E-Forum)

    • Press Login on the main PLC page
    • Enter Email & Password – given teacher (do not change Email and Password)
    • Press Login

 

Password: gcskm123456

 
Emel: [email protected]
Example of e-mel & password
Example: Condition 1

 

3. Procedure 3: Update Profile

    • Edit Profile
    • Press My Profile
    • Press Edit – to enter personal information
    • Fill in the Full Name(required). Others are optional.
    • Name will appear if the the registration is done by the student.
    • Press Save Changes at the end of the page (left-hand-side)
Save Changes

 

    • Change Profile (Photo)
    • Press Change Profile (Photo)
    • There are 2 options for inserting the photo
      • Insert a photo from local drive
        • Press Select your file
        • Choose/press the file from the folder

 

Example:

 

    • Crop the image – to get a proper image size
    • Press Crop Image

 

    • Taken from the webcam
      • Press Take Photo
      • Adjust your position
      • Press Capture
      • Press Save

 

3. Procedure 3: Participation in e-Forum

(a) Situation 1: student has been invited to the room

      • Log in as usual to the Private Community page
      • Find the name of the community to join. Example: Prof. Kumari Education Group community
      • Press Accept Invitation – if the teacher has invited the student (for the first time only)

 

 

Example Situation 1

Accept Invitation

 

 

(b) Situation 2: Student  is not invited but wish to join

        • Log in as usual to the Private Community page
        • Find the name of the community to join. Example: Prof. Kumari Education Group community
        • Press Request Membership – (for the first time only)
        • Wait for approval
        • You can log out first and then log back in once your application is accepted
        • If you’re still waiting – do a refresh / reload on your laptop or on your smartphone

Example Situation 2

 

 

 

 4. Procedure 4: Participate in Activities & Interact with Group Members

The group community will be displayed after pressing the name of the group.

      • Read the instruction carefully on the workspace
      • Explore the content – example: Watch video clip or any other related links (contain learning materials)
      • Response to the questions
Press here to response
Play video clip
Read instruction

Example:

 

 

 

5. Chat Room (chat)

    • Chat room serves as a discussion board with friends before posted the answer to the forum
    • Press Public Chat in the chat room to chat with all your friends
    • Or press on a friend’s name to talk to the particular person only

A chat room allows files, images &  links to be inserted 

Student  may send links of his work in a google doc or google slide presentation in the e-forum workspace

 

Example: Link to Folder (storage)

  • Type of storage
    • Google Classroom (Google Drive)
    • Microsoft One Drive (need to sign in account –for the first time)
    • Materials created in other offline application need to be uploaded to Google Drive or OneDrive
  • Method
    • Click on the relevant button (Example: Google Classroom page)
    • Search for materials (kept in Google Drive)
    • Copy file address (make sure it has shared permissions for all)
    • Paste in forum space
    • Press Submit

 

Example:

  • From Google Classroom

 

 

 

 

 

    • Click on the relevant button (Example: Go to the Google Classroom page)
    • Search for materials (stuff stored in Google Drive)
    • Copy link (make sure it has shared permissions for all)
    • Paste in forum space
    • Press Submit

 

 

 

    •  You can find materials with other links – Google image, Google Info, etc.
    • You can record audio – save it to google drive or One Drive and then enter a link in the e-forum space
    • You can do video recording – upload it to YouTube and then copy the link to the e-forum.
    • There is much more that can be done with your creativity to create a strategy
    • These PLC-CIDS Digital Learning features are constantly updated to improve their user experience.
    • There are also limitations (restrictions) on this application.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Overview of the E-Forum buttons
Link to One Drive – to search the file and place the link in the forum
Link to  Zoom – (subject to the terms and conditions)
Link to Google Meet (subject to the terms and conditions)
Link to Google Info – to find general info and place the link in the forum
Link to Google Imej – to search images and place the link in the forum
Link to YouTube  – to search the Video Clip and place the link in the forum
Link to  Google Classroom  – to search the file and place the link in the forum

 
Link to Google Drive – to search the file and place the link in the forum
This menu is temporarily unavailable for application
Students need basic ICT skills to use the application where most of them have been exposed through their own experiences & explorations. There are different methods/features on laptops and smartphones for executing the application.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER OPTIONAL FEATURES

 

OPTIONAL FEATURE:  Massages

Situation: On certain occasions, you would like to send messages.

Procedures:

  • You must be on your profile site (Press My Profile)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Press Messages

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The features below are similar to E-mail.

  • Press Inbox (to see messages)
  • Press Sent (to see sent messages)
  • Press Compose (to compose messages)