Student documentation
From EFrontWiki
The student interface is simplified to enable functional and straighforward navigation to the provided material, tests and communication tools.
Contents |
[edit] Registration
Users can create new accounts from the main eFront page by clicking on the "New user link" link. This will redirect them to the registration form where login and password information are submitted. After completing all mandatory information users and clicking on the "Register" button, users create their new account. Depending on the system settings each account may have first to be activated by the system administrator or via an email link before a new user can successfully log into the system.
 Student registration form |
[edit] Course catalog
User courses and lessons are structured in directions. More specifically, the main student lessons' page, shows all directions that contain courses which have the lessons that this student attends. This organization allows the student to quickly review current lessons and their status, not only by having a look at the completion percentages for each lesson, but also by moving the mouse cursor over each lesson and acquiring additional information.
 Course catalog |
[edit] Main lesson page
By selecting a specific lesson from the courses list, the student is redirected to the main page for that lesson.
 Main lesson page |
Though the exact format of this page depends on the Lessons/Courses management options set by the professor for this lesson, the lesson content tree is always shown. Users may either press the "Start lesson" button to view all units sequentially or select a unit at random from the content tree (if this is allowed by the lesson's Rules). The "Lesson Information" button provides an overview of the lesson, denoting its content details and its completion rules.
The main lesson page often contains small inner tables which relate to personal messages, forum topics or calendar dates that relate to the corresponding lesson.
 Communication tabs |
Finally, the left sidebar menu also changes whenever a lesson is selected and offers one step links to the enabled lesson modules. The last link on that menu called "Change lesson" will lead the student back to the courses' main page.
 Left sidebar menu |
[edit] Traversing lesson
A lesson can be traversed sequentially by pressing the start button 
or in a random order by clicking on the title of one of its units on the lesson main page.
 Lesson's structure |
The page displaying a unit presents the content that has been defined by the professor with the lesson content management.
 Unit's content |
When the student has completed studying a unit, he can then mark it as completed from the relevant button on the bottom of the page.
 Complete unit icon |
As units become completed in this way, the student progresses in the lesson. The student may get an overview of the completed units from the lesson material overview on the top right side of the lesson window.
 Student's progress |
Students may also partly or entirely print the lesson's content from the corresponding options of the panel on the right side of the lesson content window.
 Unit's operations |
Moreover, comments may be added to each unit rendering it more easily readable and understood by each individual student. The comments on each unit appear on the bottom of its content page.
 Unit's comments |
[edit] Tests
Tests are denoted with a small pencil 
on the lesson content structure. They might include various types of questions ranging from multiple choice to empty spaces completion and from development to true/false ones. The lesson's professor defines whether the test will be timed or the number of times a student may repeat the test.
 A sample multiple choice test |
[edit] Projects
Pending lesson projects appear on the main lesson page if this module is enabled for the lesson. Students can access the projects' page either from that panel or from the link on the left sidebar. Project answers may submitted for each project any number of times until the project deadline expires. The most recently uploaded answers' file will be the one on which the student will be evaluated for the project.
 Uploading a project |
[edit] Digital Library
Each lesson offers to its users a digital library, where they can store files concerning the lesson. If the professor decides to share these files with the students, they can find them in the digital library and download them.
 Digital library |
[edit] Lesson Completions conditions
A student may view a lesson's completion conditions by clicking on the "Lesson information" icon on the main lesson page. The lesson completion rules might involve setting some or all units as complete, passing a test with a certain grade etc. When all lesson conditions have been successfully fulfilled, the student will acquire the final grade from the lesson's professor.
 Lesson completion conditions |
[edit] Communication
eFront students may use a variety of tools to communicate with their professors and their classmates. These are:
- Personal Messages
- Forum
- Content Comments
- Chat
It is worth noting that Forum and Chat methods, which are lesson specific, can be deactivated by that lesson's professor. Let's have a more detailed look to each one of those communication ways:
a. Personal Messages
 Messages main page |
From the "Tools" menu and the "Messages" link the student is redirected to the personal messages page, which resembles a common mailbox: messages can be
- viewed by clicking on their subject
- flagged as important
- marked as read or unread
- deleted
- moved to other messages folders (with drag and drop). Messages folders may as well be created or deleted
 Composing a new message |
Clicking on the "New message" link allows students to compose their own messages. Subject, message body and attachment can be completed as usual. However, eFront offers a variety of choices by predefining a number of recipients' categories, like user types, user groups, users implicated in a specific lesson or course etc.
b. Forum
 A forum's page |
Fora are always related to lessons, which means that a lesson has to be selected from the main student page in order for the "Forum" option to appear. Users, may create topics in the forum, post or comment on other users' opinions and generally discuss on lesson topics of their choosing.
 List with topics and polls for a specific lesson |
Moreover, users can create polls on a topic of interest, providing an arbitrary number of possible answers and viewing the statistics on the answers given. Every student may vote only once. Polls appear on the same page as lesson topics. Both can be edited either by their creator or by the system's administrator.
c. Content Comments
| Comments appearing on the bottom of a lesson's unit |
Students may add comments to lesson units by clicking on the corresponding option on the "Unit operations" panel on the right side of a page. These comments will appear to any other user visiting that unit, thus constituting another communication method between eFront users and facilitating the e-learning process by offering insights or sources on each subject. However, though all users are allowed to view a comment, only its author of a comment has authorization to modify it.
d. Chat
 Two students chatting |
Chat rooms offer the most immediate means of communication. Online eFront students attending a specific lesson may join the lesson common or a private chat room. Moreover, they can create and administer private chat rooms, inviting other users to join them with an automatically created personal message.
Chat message exchange occurs instantly on the press of the "Send" button. Finally, common chatting features like smilies are also provided.
[edit] Personal Options
From the "Tools" menu and by clicking the "Personal Info" link, a student may change his profile information. Personal information like email or contact details (in eFront Enterprise) can be filled in from the corresponding form.
 Personal information |
Moreover, a student may select an avatar image from the "Set avatar" form on the bottom of the "User settings" tab. A student may either use one of the preselected images or upload an image of his choosing.
 Avatar |
Finally, the "Attending" tab shows a list of all lesson and courses the user currently attends, together with their status (completed or not) and the score achieved in each of them.
 Lessons status |
Transactions
A more elaborate view of the lessons and courses attended appears in the user statistics page which is accessed from the "Tools" menu and the "Reports" link. Besides that, the student may view some general information for his account like total time spent in the system, personal or chat messages sent etc. These pieces of information provide a more cohmprehensive overview on the student's account and educational status.
 Students Reports |
