Your e-Learning Handbook

1 Introduction to e-Learning..........................................................................................2
1.1 What is an ePBL...................................................................................................2
1.2 Definitions............................................................................................................2
1.3 Types of ePBL......................................................................................................2
1.3.1 Practice and Assessed....................................................................................2
1.3.2 Trial and Error...............................................................................................2
1.3.3 Others............................................................................................................3
1.4 Who to contact if you have problems with your e-Learning................................3
1.4.1 Submitted enquiries.......................................................................................3
1.4.2 Etiquette........................................................................................................3
1.4.3 Response to Enquiries...................................................................................3
1.5 Announcement emails, list-server email and Bulletin boards..............................3
2 Completing ePBLs......................................................................................................4
2.1 Deadlines..............................................................................................................4
2.2 ePBLs during Holidays........................................................................................4
2.3 Bulletin boards.....................................................................................................4
2.4 Accidental submission..........................................................................................4
2.5 Missing a node.....................................................................................................4
2.5.1 Losing Marks.................................................................................................4
2.6 Intranet 30 minute time out..................................................................................4
3 FAQ’s...........................................................................................................................4
4 My ePBL records.........................................................................................................6

1 Introduction to e-Learning
1.1 What is an ePBL
Electronic Problem Based Learning (ePBL) is a
method of leading students through a process of
continuous learning. The system was created
several years ago by the Faculty of Life Sciences and
has been used as a learning tool since this time.
ePBL has proven to be a very useful learning tool in
previous years with students gaining basic skills in
course units before they ‘cram’ for exams.
Students completing the ePBL’s, in the way they
have been designed, have found them to be an
excellent support tool for their studies and Time
Management skills. Students are encouraged
through the ePBL system to manage their own
studies and this helps to teach them self
dependence. Students keep on track by completing
their ePBLs before the deadlines.
Evidence has shown that when run as a simple
‘learning tool’ the ePBLs are completed by
approximately only 10% of students on any given
course. For this reason, it was decided to award
marks for completing ePBLs, thus using the ePBLs
as a form of assessment.
Some students believe that the point of ePBLs is just
an easy way to obtain marks for their units and so the
ePBLs are often rushed. However, the ePBLs are a
learning tool, that when used correctly will help in
exams. The ePBLs encourage students to read their
lecture notes, go through extra learning material and
complete their own research into a topic. Due to the
nature of the ePBL and the ‘deadline’ system, this
revision of the unit is occurring at several points
within the semester and not just as ‘cramming’ for a
few weeks prior to the exam, This type of learning is
termed ‘Continual Learning’, and increases students’
broader knowledge of the subject and information
gathered is remembered for much longer then in
normal revision.
1.2 Definitions
• ePBL – An ePBL is an e-Learning component of a
unit. Usually containing a number of nodes. Each
unit’s ePBL can be identified by it containing the
units ‘course code’ and unit title, e.g. BIOL10111
Biochemistry.
• Node – Each ePBL is split up into sections called
nodes. Nodes are small learning tasks (such as
attending a lecture, reading a chapter out of a
text book, looking at a website/scientific paper,
etc.) and a short assessment of multiple choice
questions. Nodes are only open for a short time,
during this time tasks and an assessment must
be completed to a pre-defined node threshold. If
this is not completed, the user scores 0% for the
node in question, cannot retake the node (except
in exceptional circumstances) and is
automatically locked out of subsequent nodes;
users must then contact the e-Learning Team to
request to be reinstated on to the system. NOTE
reinstating rules depend upon ePBL type.
• Threshold – Each node has a threshold, this is
the minimum score you must achieve to pass the
node.
1.3 Types of ePBL
Each ePBL falls into a category with specific
progression rules, each of which is explained below.
Before you start your ePBLs you should read all the
information in the introductory page for each ePBL
you are taking (each one may have a different
format), this will inform you of course information and
ePBL progression rules.
1.3.1 Practice and Assessed
The ePBL system is a learning tool that provides
constructive feedback to your responses. The
practice and assessed system helps students to have
practice at key concepts and obtain constructive
feedback, while also accurately recording student
abilities.
Each weeks work is comprised of 2 nodes, one
practice and one assessed. The practice nodes are
designed to give you practice on a subject, feedback
and allow you to increase your competency in order
to progress to the assessed node. Students must
achieve a predefined threshold (in as many attempts
as they require) to prove their competency prior to
taking the assessed node. The assessed nodes
assess a student’s ability in the subject and only the
initial attempt score will be taken, this contributes
towards the unit mark, no feedback is given with
assessed nodes.
1.3.2 Trial and Error
Trial and error nodes are based around the concept
that people can learn from their mistakes. The nodes
have a 100% threshold to ensure that when students
answer incorrectly, they are given the chance to
review their answers, obtain feedback and improve.
Students are not penalised for incorrect answers but
are expected to pass the nodes. There is no limitation
on the number of attempts at the node. This type of
node is scored in a pass/fail manner, if a student
reaches the 100% threshold, they will receive a pass
on the node. If the student scores less than 100%,
they will receive a fail on the node. A percentage of
the ePBL mark is obtained per node passed.
1.3.3 Others
Occasionally there are ePBLs that do not fit into the
above categories, (ePBLs that have no marks,
ePBLs that are for revision purposes, used in a
classroom session etc). The progression rules for
these ePBLs are always explained in the
introduction.
1.4 Who to contact if you have
problems with your e-Learning
If you have any e-Learning enquiries you must ONLY
contact the e-Learning Team. Do not contact unit co-
ordinators and lecturers as they are busy and may
not take action in regards to e-Learning enquiries;
this may mean that you miss a deadline. The e-
Learning team will guarantee to respond to any
enquiries with 1 working day of receipt.
e-Learning enquiries, such as technical difficulties,
requests for information, requests for re-activation etc
must be submitted via the e-Learning enquiry form:
located in the left hand menu on every ePBL
page. Alternatively you can access the form via
* Life Sciences
* > Intranet Services
* > Information Services Office
* > IS contact
* > e-Learning Team
The direct link is:
http://www.intranet.ls.manchester.ac.uk/itservices/for
ms/arsikdelearning.asp
1.4.1 Submitted enquiries
When filling in an e-Learning enquiry form, please
ensure that you give as much detail as possible
about the problem (i.e. error messages, details of
which node and ePBL your enquiry is about, etc), this
will ensure that the enquiry will be completed sooner.
You must NOT supply us with your university login
password; University of Manchester policy states that
this password remains completely private to you.
When an enquiry is successfully submitted, a
“confirm submission” page and a reference number is
assigned, this number should be recorded in case
of a problem. If no reference number is assigned, the
request has not been submitted correctly and the
form must be re-submitted.
1.4.2 Etiquette
All submissions via the enquiries form are dealt with
by the e-Learning team, therefore (as when
contacting any member of university staff)
appropriate email etiquette should be adhered to,
including language styles (for example, excessive
use of capitalisation, exclamation marks etc, is
considered inappropriate).
1.4.3 Response to Enquiries
The e-Learning Team guarantee to respond to an
enquiry within 1 working day, however resolution of
problems may require more time. If no response is
received within 1 working day, the enquiry form
should be resubmitted with the information and the
original request reference number for investigation.
NOTE: 1 working day is 9-5 Monday to Friday,
excluding bank holidays, Christmas and Easter
shutdown etc. Requests sent after 5pm on a
Thursday are not guaranteed to be dealt with
before the Friday deadline, and any requests
submitted after 5pm on a Friday will not be
accessed until the following Monday at the
earliest.
The e-Learning Team will do everything possible to
restore user access to relevant ePBL nodes before a
deadline, however high numbers of requests and late
requests may mean that any request submitted after
5pm on Thursday (1 working day prior to the
deadline) will not be resolved prior to the deadline.
Re-submission of requests within 1 working day will
not increase response time. Despite this, enquiries
that are submitted prior to 5pm on a Friday, may be
resolved prior to the deadline, therefore, you must
keep checking your access until Friday 6pm. NOTE:
If the e-Learning team give a user access to a node
at 5pm on the deadline day and that node is still not
completed by the deadline, the user will score 0% for
that node and NOT get a second chance to complete
the node.
Personal email addresses (such as hotmail and
yahoo) are not permitted for use when contacting
University of Manchester staff, and staff email filters
generally move these emails into junk mail boxes,
therefore if for any reason you are asked to contact a
member of staff via email, you MUST use your
University of Manchester email address.
If you have submitted a request you must check for
our reply. The subject of the email will be
“Servicedesk - Incident Acknowledgement ID:
******”. You must ensure that you look out for this
email and read it immediately when it comes through.
This will tell you what action has been taken and
what you need to do next.
1.5 Announcement emails, list-server
email and Bulletin boards.
The e-Learning Team will send out important
information via the announcements service, list
servers and bulletin boards. Students must monitor
these carefully throughout the year. Do NOT assume
that emails prefixed as ‘LISTSERVER’ and
announcements are unimportant, as they frequently
contain vital information. The e-Learning team do not
accept claims of lack of knowledge, if the above
methods of communication have been used to inform
students of vital information.
2 Completing ePBLs
2.1 Deadlines
All ePBLs go online on Friday at 00:00 (midnight
Thurs night to Fri morning) on the date specified.
All ePBLs go offline on Friday at 23:59 (midnight Fri
night to Sat morning) on the date specified.
The start and deadline dates for all nodes are found
in the WebCT calendar
(http://webct.manchester.ac.uk) or on the ePBL date
list, which can be found in the course materials
section of any unit with an ePBL component.
ePBL nodes should be attempted well in advance of
the deadline, as failure to complete the node due to a
problem close to the deadline (technical, illness, etc)
will not permit you a second chance at the node.
Early completion of nodes ensures that technical
difficulties can be addressed prior to the deadline and
to ensure that users do not have too much work to do
on the deadline day.
Problems encountered on any nodes where question
content is in question, should be submitted as an e-
Learning request immediately and the e-Learning
Team will investigate.
2.2 ePBLs during Holidays
Date lists should be checked prior to holidays and
students should have full awareness of when nodes
are coming online and going offline. Some nodes
may open or close during reading week, Christmas,
Easter, or after the last teaching week, such nodes
will also be open for at least 1 week during normal
teaching time. Claims of lack of knowledge of end
dates will not be supported by the e-Learning team. It
is each student’s responsibility to organise and
monitor their own learning and ensure that work is
completed to deadlines.
2.3 Bulletin boards
Bulletin boards are used to discuss any aspect of
units and e-Learning with colleagues. Peer-peer
learning is an excellent tool; however answers to
ePBLs or any other assessments must not be
posted. These boards are strictly monitored and any
posts deemed inappropriate or contain answers to
assessments will be removed. Posting assessment
answers is cheating and any person found doing this
will be dealt with appropriately.
Checking the bulletin boards is an essential part of
the ePBL, as if there is a problem with an ePBL
question, a notice will be posted here regarding the
problem as well as any appropriate action the e-
Learning Team and academics are taking to resolve
this.
2.4 Accidental submission
Pressing the enter/return keys whilst working through
an ePBL will result in a submission. Therefore, care
must be taken to prevent anything leaning against
keyboards whilst completing ePBLs. Should
accidental submission occur (specifically for trial and
assessed ePBLs), submit an e-Learning enquiry and
then re-complete the node immediately (failure to re-
complete the node, prior to the deadline will result in
the initial score being taken).
The e-Learning Team will look at claims of accidental
submission on a case by case basis and ensure that
the appropriate action is taken. In some cases this
will be to take a second attempt (hence the
requested second submission).
2.5 Missing a node
If a student misses a node they will automatically be
removed from the system, therefore they must send
a request to the e-Learning team via the ‘e-Learning
enquiry’ form located on the left hand menu of any
ePBL page. Be warned that the e-Learning team
manages many e-Learning courses, therefore being
specific in the request will assist with quicker re-
activation.
2.5.1 Losing Marks
If a student misses a node, they will lose the marks
for the node/s they miss, but will still keep the marks
from the nodes that have been successfully
completed.
2.6 Intranet 30 minute time out
The intranet has a 30 minute time out. Therefore
submissions entered after 30 minutes will not be
recorded (This is evident by being redirected onto the
log on page instead of the ‘submission confirmed’
page). Should this occur, check the last submission
by entering the relevant node and checking for
scores and a review buttons. If your submission was
not accepted, you must re-complete the node. For
this reason, the e-Learning team recommend that
records of all answers are copied and kept.
3 FAQ’s
• I cannot access my ePBL by my normal route.
There are many ways to access your e-Learning
resources:
 - Log into FLS intranet
- Access My Intranet
- My course units
- Click on the appropriate course unit
- Select the e-Learning tab
- Choose the ePBL module
OR
- Log into FLS intranet
- Click on Undergraduate and Teaching
Office
- Click on ePBL
- Click on By Title
- Select the ePBLs you need to complete.
OR
- Log into FLS intranet
- Click on Undergraduate and teaching office
- Click on Course Units
- Select the correct course
- Select the e-Learning tab
- Choose the ePBL module
If you still cannot access your ePBLs, you must
submit an e-Learning enquiry form immediately.
• I cannot access my ePBL node/s (no links are
available on the node list), how can I access
this weeks work?
Have you checked the date list/calendar to see which
nodes should be available to you at this time?
Sometimes ePBLs have a short break when there
are no nodes online.
If you have a problem accessing nodes that should
be online according to the date list, report it ASAP, (if
you do not inform the e-Learning team that you have
become disconnected from an ePBL, you will not be
re-activated), ideally it should be reported before 5pm
on the Thursday before the deadline so that the e-
Learning Team have time act on your request.
Submissions later than this are not guaranteed to be
dealt with before the deadline and you will not be
allowed a second chance if your request is received
this late. Ensure you remember to tell the e-Learning
team which ePBL(s) you are having the problem with.
See ‘Contacts’.
• I missed the deadline for my ePBL, what
should I do?
Contact the e-Learning Team immediately and tell
them which ePBLs and nodes you have missed and
why.
If you were ill or absent for some reason, please take
your doctors note and other documentation to the
Undergraduate office and register your absence.
Without documentation you cannot be considered for
a second chance at the nodes you missed.
• I will be absent from university for a
significant time due to circumstances I
cannot control, this means that I will miss one
or more nodes, what should I do?
If you know that you are not going to be able to
complete a node before the deadline day, you must
inform the e-Learning Team so that we can take
appropriate action. We will look at each request on a
case by case basis and decide if you should be given
another opportunity to complete the node or extend
deadlines. Remember that you may also need to
contact the undergraduate office if you are to miss
significant university time. The e-Learning team work
closely with the undergraduate office in regards to
these circumstances.
• I didn’t reach the node threshold by the
deadline date, why can I not access the next
ePBL?
If you do not achieve a threshold for a node by the
deadline day, you will be locked out of the
subsequent nodes and required to submit a request
to the e-Learning Team to be reinstated.
• I submitted an e-Learning request but have
not received a reply, what should I do?
Did you submit the request less than 1 working day
ago? If so, do nothing, you will get a reply within 1
working day. If it was more than 1 working day ago,
please submit another request and in this quote the
reference number from your previous request. Please
remember that the e-Learning Team work office
hours, therefore if you submit a request after 5pm
you will not receive a reply that day. If you submit a
request after 5pm on a Thursday, it is possible that
you will not receive a reply until the following Monday,
thus you will miss the Friday deadline.
• Can I have an extension for the node I
missed?
Students who miss work by the deadline will not be
awarded an extension except in a documented
exceptional circumstance that covers a significant
part of the activation dates. If you do miss a deadline
and have supporting documentation, take it to the
Undergraduate Office and fill in the appropriate
forms, and then contact the e-Learning Team to
inform that you have informed the Undergraduate
Office and wish to apply for a second chance. The e-
Learning Team will then contact the Undergraduate
office to find out more about your circumstances.
Each request will be dealt with on a case by case
basis and all relevant members of staff will be
contacted in order to allow a decision to be made
over the next actions to take.
• I lost my intranet connection at home/My
computer broke/ I have not got internet
connection at home/ I became ill / fell asleep/
had to go somewhere in an emergency - on
 the Friday deadline when I was about to do to a significant number of students the e-Learning
my ePBL, can I have a second chance? team will extend the deadline for the node by a day
No. You must ensure that you complete your ePBLs or 2 (details will be sent via the announcements). The
early as this will allow time to get any problems e-Learning team will decide (with consultation) what
sorted. If you do not have internet connection or is deemed ‘significant service disruption’ and the
experienced any computer problems, use a length of the extension.
University cluster PC, go to your local library, go to a
friend’s house, or go to an internet café. The e-
Learning team ensures that you have as much time
4 My ePBL records
as possible with all nodes normally open for 2 weeks, You cannot see your ePBL scores within the system
therefore leaving the work to the deadline and then once a node or ePBL has closed. Please record in
experiencing problems at this time is an the table on the following page your ePBL scores for
unacceptable excuse. every node. Using this table will help you to
remember which ePBLs you have done and will allow
• I tried to access my ePBL and it seems that you to see how you are scoring.
the intranet is down (non-deadline day). How
can I access my node?
If the intranet is not available (a problem that would
affect many people at once), please notify the e-
Learning team ASAP. The e-Learning team will
ensure that the correct members of staff are notified
in order to fix the problem. As this question does not
affect the deadline, wait until the system is restored
(however you must still contact the e-Learning team).

• I tried to access my ePBL and it seems that

the intranet is down. My deadline is tonight,
how can I access my node?
Contact the e-Learning team as soon as possible and
continue trying to access the node every few hours. If
it occurs before 5pm, it is highly likely that the
intranet will be fixed prior to the deadline, therefore
you must keep checking. If the intranet is back online
prior to 6pm, no extensions will be granted.

If the intranet is down after 6pm on a Friday you

must still submit an e-Learning enquiry and check
that the intranet is not working from several
computers if possible (i.e. go to a computer cluster
that is networked with the university to check). If
there is a significant service disruption the e-Learning
team will extend the deadline for the node by a day
or 2 (details will be sent via the announcements). The
e-Learning team will decide (with consultation) what
is deemed ‘significant service disruption’ and the
length of the extension.

• I am trying to complete my ePBLs but the

internet is down. I tried from several locations
and no internet based service is working
(note that in this case you would be unable to
submit an enquiry or email anyone).
Ring the IS service desk number to report network
problem. If this occurs on a deadline day you should
still check every few hours and you must still submit
an e-Learning enquiry (note this will only be possible
after service is restored). It seems that you have
checked that the internet is not working from several
computers. If there is a significant service disruption
 ePBL nodes
ePBLs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20