EOI · 26/09/2011 EOI Business School Virtual Classroom is based on a Web platform called Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Distance Learning Environment). The Virtual Classroom is accessed with a Web navigator. Moodle can work with virtually any navigator, from any operating system (MS-Windows, MacOS, GNU/Linux and others).

1. ESCUELA DIGITAL, ABIERTA Y
COLABORATIVA
EOI Virtual Training
Platform
Student’s Guide
Febrero 2011
Decanato EOI
Esta publicación está bajo licencia Creative
Commons Reconocimiento, Nocomercial, Compartirigual, (by-
nc-sa). Usted puede usar, copiar y difundir este documento o
parte del mismo siempre y cuando se mencione su origen, no se
use de forma comercial y no se modifique su licencia. Más
información: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

2. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM ................................................... 3
1.1. What is the Virtual Classroom?................................................................................................ 3
1.2. Access to the Virtual Classroom............................................................................................... 3
2. ACCESS TO A SUBJECT OR COURSE.......................................................................... 5
2.1. Navigation within the subject or course .................................................................................. 6
2.2. Left-side Block ......................................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1. Calendar ............................................................................................................ 8
2.2.2. Administration ................................................................................................ 12
2.2.3. Activities.......................................................................................................... 15
2.2.4 My Courses ...................................................................................................... 15
2.3.1. Links of interest (Enlaces de interés) .............................................................. 17
2.3.2. Online Users .................................................................................................... 18
2.3.3. Messages ........................................................................................................ 18
2.3.3.1. How to send a message? ............................................................................. 18
2.3.3.2. How to manage contacts? ........................................................................... 21
2.3.3.3. How to configure our messaging? ............................................................... 23
2.3.4. People ............................................................................................................. 24
2.3.5. News ............................................................................................................... 25
2.4. Central Block ................................................................................................................. 25
2.4.1. Activities.......................................................................................................... 26
2.4.2. Documentation ............................................................................................... 35
2

3. 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
1.1. What is the Virtual Classroom?
EOI Business School Virtual Classroom is based on a Web platform called Moodle (Modular Object
Oriented Distance Learning Environment). The Virtual Classroom is accessed with a Web navigator.
Moodle can work with virtually any navigator, from any operating system (MS-Windows, MacOS,
GNU/Linux and others). The recommended navigators are MS-IE 6.0 or above and Mozilla/Firefox.
If earlier or not very well-known navigators are used, the Virtual Classroom is still accessible,
although some of the advanced functions (like the internal text editor) will not work. Specifically,
from MacOS, Mozilla should be used and not Camino or Safari.
1.2. Access to the Virtual Classroom
http://www.e-formacion.org
In order to access the system we must be registered as users. The user’s account details, initially
provided by the administrator, are entered into the following fields, as indicated in the figure
below:
By clicking on the main page will appear.
3

4. This page will vary in appearance depending on the course. The list of courses in which a student is
enrolled will appear in the centre.
To enter a subject, just click on its name,
The system will show this subject’s main page:
4

5. 2. ACCESS TO A SUBJECT OR COURSE
When a student enters the subject, the items and options are as follows:
- Heading: EOI’s logo, the subject or course name and the navigation bar appear at the top.
- Left-side block: contains a number of blocks, a calendar and a list of events, from where
students can access events and planned activities; a small administration space, from
where they can edit their profile and know their marks; a list of activities; a shortcut to
access the courses where they are enrolled.
- Central block: the introduction to the subject will appear, followed by the activities and
exercises that students must do. It will therefore contain each subject’s items: links to the
course contents and texts, the different didactic activities, etc. By clicking on each of them,
5

6. students will have access to the topics, notes, quizzes, workshops, etc. Each subject or
course contents will depend on the lecturer in question.
- Right-side block: contains a number of blocks for communication within the Virtual
Classroom.
- Bottom of the page: we find our user information and we can cancel the register
, or return to the main page from any course subsection . This link at the
bottom of the page, found in all EOI’s subjects, is a very useful
link to Moodle site help documents and is always available if we have any queries. It is a
context sensitive link, i.e. it shows us information related to the item with which we are
working.
We should get used to using the link logout to abandon the Virtual Classroom before closing the
navigator.
2.1. Navigation within the subject or course
When users go further into the subject visiting the different items, the heading will guide them
showing a navigation bar like the one indicated:
Each of the texts in red in the navigation bar takes us to a specific place within the subject. This bar
can be used to navigate easily through the subject. The first link takes us to the Virtual Classroom
main page, while the second link takes us to the subject main page. They are very useful “short
cuts”.
On the right is a pull-down list of all the subject resources and activities that can be visited. It can
be used to go from one item to another without having to pass through the subject main page,
making navigation easier.
6

7. 2.2. Left-side Block
7

8. 2.2.1. Calendar
This block is a calendar that can be used as a personal diary. It can be used to display important
subject dates and deadlines: exams, deliveries and tutorials, etc.
There are four event categories that we can control with the calendar. Each one of them is
identified with a background colour.
They are important dates for all the Virtual Classroom. Only the system
administrators can publish global events.
They are important subject dates (for example, exam dates, tutorials, etc.)
Only lecturers can publish events for a subject, and they are visible on all
users’ calendars enrolled in that subject.
They are important dates for a specific group in a subject. They are only visible
on this group members’ calendars. Only lecturers can publish this type of
events.
They are important dates for each user. These events are only visible on each
participant’s calendar, but not on the other users’. Obviously, users can enter
all the events that they wish in their own calendar.
8

9. When the cursor is moved over the calendar, some mini-windows open with information about
the day marked for some event. By clicking on the event type at the bottom of the calendar its
information can be activated or deactivated.
In the heading of the panel we have a small navigation bar that
allows us to see the previous month or the next . The name of the month is a hyperlink that
takes us to the diary.
Here the user can add and manage different events.
If you click on a day with events, the view will be as follows:
9

10. To create or edit an event on a specific day the event editor is used .
10

11. Upcoming Events under the calendar block, reminds you of the acts or activities scheduled in the
immediate future.
11

12. 2.2.2. Administration
This block enables students to access the management functions. The options available for
students are: Grades and Profile.
a)
A subject includes different kinds of activities that can be graded with a mark. This space contains
a list of all the activities that can be graded with the marks so far. This list is private and can only
be seen by the student concerned.
12

13. This screen summarises the marks obtained in the subject:
- All the subject items and their marks appear on the left. Each item’s names and marks are links
that lead to a detailed view of each particular item.
- To the right of the tasks the grades can be seen.
This list only shows the marks for the Virtual Classroom activities like forums, chats, quizzes,
assignments, workshops or lessons. The marks for written exams or other activities, for example,
reading and analysis of documentation and resources are not included in this space.
b)
Here you can see and edit your profile, set your preferences for classroom communication, change
your password and check your activity report.
In users can publish some information about themselves. It may be a physical
description, but also about their work, tastes and hobbies.
13

14. 14

15. In the advance options, at the top, users are advised to mark:
2.2.3. Activities
In the centre, the subject or course is structured into topics. Lecturers indicate the resources,
materials and assignments that they deem necessary to learn the subject, usually in chronological
order.
In the block Activities we have the same information but in a different way, classified by activity.
Thus, we can access all the existing forums, all the text resources, the assigned tasks, etc. it is
merely another way of ordering the information.
However, it is not just a compilation, it also adds data not visible on the course’s main page like
whether an assigned task has been delivered or not, or the marks obtained in the quizzes. It is
therefore a fast navigation menu.
2.2.4 My Courses
This option provides a complete list of the courses where students are enrolled, so all the
programme subjects appear. It is a quick navigation menu from the subject.
15

16. 2.3. Right-side Block
16

17. 2.3.1. Links of interest (Enlaces de interés)
Users have different tutorials on how to use the application, tutorials configured and coordinated
by the site administrator.
An example of this is the link to the Biblioteca EOI: Bases de Datos y Catálogo de EOI (EOI Library:
EOI Catalogue and Database) where the user will have access to the Guía de Recursos y
Herramientas de Información (Information Tool and Resource Guide), which contains all the basic
information on the library services, including the different sources of information and databases
along with how to access them.
We can access a selection of the best databases, such as ISI Web of Knowledge, Factiva, ABI
Inform, Marketline, SABI and DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals). These sources of
information also provide us with sectorial reports, periodical publications, PhD theses, country
reports, world press and company reports, among others. We can also access the catalogue of EOI
publications and research studies, plus social networks like facebook, twitter, etc.
17

18. 2.3.2. Online Users
The online user block shows the list of those users that have been connected in the last five
minutes. Although this does not mean that the user is connected at this very moment, if we place
the cursor on her name, we will see whether she is. As we will see below, we can also send a
message to that user.
2.3.3. Messages
This option provides users with a private and personal communication channel. It is the usual
communication means for students to collaborate or discuss with one another and lecturers. It is
therefore an instantaneous messaging service, a synchronous application, usually quicker than a
chat, which allows users to exchange messages without using e-mails.
The main characteristic of this option is that it is a Web system; it only requires the navigator to
use the messaging. The list of addresses is the list of course participants and only they can
exchange messages.
2.3.3.1. How to send a message?
There are two ways of sending a message:
- From the online user block we can send messages to people who are
connected at that moment, by clicking on their names.
18

19. - The block provides access to the list of contacts that the user has indicated
for her sessions.
After clicking the word You just have to click on
the name of the contact chosen.
19

20. If the message recipient does not appear on the list, you will have to add their name.
20

21. 2.3.3.2. How to manage contacts?
The simplest way to add a person to our list of contacts is to send a message from their profile in
the list of at the block, or to click on the envelope icon that appears to the
right of the user’s name in the Online User block, if that person happens to be online.
It will open the window to chat with the recipient and their photo and full name will appear plus
three options to manage the contact:
- The first is to add this person to our list of contacts, just by clicking. The page will be
automatically refreshed and change to (which means that we have saved the
contact correctly).
If the person that we wish to add to our list of contacts is not on line, we will click on the link
Search:
21

22. In the field Name we key the person’s name and the search results will appear in another window:
The configuration icons appear again with the person’s name.
22

23. 2.3.3.3. How to configure our messaging?
Users can configure the messaging service and adapt it to their own preferences. This is done from
the Message / Settings tab.
This new window has a check box for each of the different options. It is especially interesting to be
able to receive an e-mail if you are not going to be on line for some time. Moreover, if we choose
the option we are preventing
direct communication.
23

24. 2.3.4. People
The People block has the link to Participants where we find a list of everyone related to the course.
Different filters can be applied to provide us with the information desired. We can change the
ranking criterion by pressing First name/Surname, City/Town, Country or Last entry. The arrow
changes the order to ascending or descending.
24

25. 2.3.5. News
This block shows, the headings of the 5 most recent messages published by the lecturer. Following
the hyperlink we access the forum and can see the complete messages, although we can
access previous topics using .
In theory, all participants are registered in a pre-determined way to the news forum, so that they
will also receive messages in their e-mails. This function aims to always keep students informed.
2.4. Central Block
When users access the subject they find the centre of the page containing all the information
available to do the envisaged tasks.
25

26. It contains the presentation, aims and syllabus of the subject as well as the curriculum and
presentation of the lecturer in charge of delivering the subject, along with the weekly timetable
and planning that students will also find in the study guide.
After the introduction to the subject, users have the topic block divided into two parts: activities
and documentation.
2.4.1. Activities
Students will find the list of activities that they must develop to pass the subject. The activities
shown depend on the subject. Those that are usually used are: reading activity (resources), forum,
practical exercises via workshops and tasks, quizzes and chat.
- Resources:
The resources identified by this page of a book icon are simple hyperlinks to items that can be
seen, read, displayed, executed, downloaded from the web, etc., and provide information. There
are many items that can be a resource:
. Texts with more or less format
. Web pages
. Documents in different formats: pdf, doc, ppt, sxw, sxi, etc.
. Image files
. Executable files
This item is mainly for activities where students have to read and analyse the study
documentation and they will be given the basic instructions to do so.
26

27. - Forum
Forums are an ideal means for publishing small messages and holding public discussions on the
information and opinions posted there. They are the main communication tools for Virtual
Classroom users.
Forums are organised by discussion threads. There are two levels:
. List of discussions
27

28. The lists of discussions are ordered chronologically with the most recent first. It shows who started
the discussion (who published the first message thread) and the number of new replies received
and the date of the last one. The number of new replies will appear in brackets.
. Discussion window
If we click on discussion title, we display the thread where we can read the replies. Users can
configure the presentation mode:
28

29. . Chronologically: presents the list of messages, each in their own framework, all at the same level,
starting with the oldest or newest.
. Flat: shows only the titles of each message, organising them into a reply tree. It shows who
answers who, so it is useful for long discussions with many levels. We must click on each one to
open and read them.
. Nested: shows all messages together.
To reply to an opinion, we just have to click on .
29

30. 30

31. Once a message has been published, it is visible for all forum users where it is published.
Nonetheless, the author of the message has 30 minutes to edit it, change it or erase it if so desired
(because it has spelling mistakes, s/he has made a mistake in the reply or, simply, because s/he
has had second thoughts). After 30 minutes the message cannot be edited or erased. At this
moment the messages are emailed to the forum subscribers.
- Assignments
An assignment is any type of work or activity that can be assessed.
Lecturers have to establish an aim so that students complete the activity. For example, if students
are asked to do a practical exercise individually, they receive it, and once it has been solved, they
must send it to the lecturer concerned.
Optionally, once the file has been sent, the assignment can stay open and the student can send
new versions of the work. Each version will replace the earlier one. Lecturers will only see the last
one that has been sent. This will depend on the assignment’s initial configuration.
The system will email users when lecturers do the assessment, so that they can see the mark in
the option grades from Administration.
31

32. - Quizzes
Quizzes are just collections of questions, like an exam. Students reply to each of the questions and
finally receive a mark, usually a number. The mark is automatically received.
When the student is about to do the exercise, an alert will appear on the time and number of
attempts possible.
Once the student has answered the quiz and sent it, the lecturer’s correction, feedback or
comment becomes automatically available, and finally the result and mark.
32

33. 33

34. If the lecturer has configured it, students can have several attempts at answering the exercise.
Thus a list with the details of the most recent attempts and the marks will appear. The exercise
may vary from one attempt to another, since the quizzes can be configured to jumble the order of
questions and even the correct answers, to prevent the answers from being merely memorised.
The quizzes can have different types of questions:
. True – False: students have to decide whether a statement is true or false by indicating the
correct choice.
. Multiple choice: a question has several possible answers. The correct answer or answers must be
marked.
. Matching: several suggestions are given and next to them a list of possible logical pairs. Students
must choose the matching pair for each choice. The final mark depends on the number of correct
matching pairs.
. Numerical: students have to enter a number as a reply. Just one number must be entered.
Optionally, lecturers may have configured a margin of tolerance.
. Short answer: in response to the question, students must reply with a word or short sentence.
There may be several possible answers, each with a different mark. Depending on how the
question has been configured, the answers can be upper / lower case sensitive.
. Gap filling: students must complete the blanks with the solution.
. Essay: students must write a text or paragraph in answer to the question.
Students must consult the quiz mark from Grades in Administration.
- Chat
With this option we can chat in real time with other users, lecturers or students. Access is by
clicking on the resource that the lecturer has entered.
34

35. Conversations are automatically recorded and stored for a certain period of time. Lecturers can
recover the recording of a conversation and present it in writing to the student.
2.4.2. Documentation
This space has the information and study documentation. In the space reserved for Documents,
students will find two resources, a directory and a glossary.
- Directory , a folder called LIBRARY OF (followed by the course’s short name), where all the
documentation for the subject will appear. This resource is therefore a storage area where
lecturers can place the material.
35