Guide to Using IBS 2.7. Internet Biblical Seminary Release 2.7

Transcription

1 Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 1

2 Guide to Using IBS 2.7 Internet Biblical Seminary Release 2.7 Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 2

3 Copyright Copyright 2013 Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission from Internet Biblical Seminary. Requests for permission should be addressed to: info@internetseminary.org. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 3

4 Contents Copyright... 3 Introduction... 6 What is IBS?... 6 What s New in IBS IBS Site... 7 Getting Help with IBS... 7 Terminology General terminology Role terminology Course terminology Pricing terminology Interactive and facilitated class terminology Get started in IBS Register My IBS Portal Explore Groups Notices My Courses My Personal Growth My User Profile Enter a Campus Start a new Group Shop Group Details Course Catalog Study Programs Sales Catalog Viewing the Sales Catalog Purchasing a Sales Item Checkout procedure Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 4

5 My Courses My Orders Refunds Learn Download My Files Downloading a PDF Downloading an offline interactive course (OFIS) Using your downloaded interactive course Enter My Classes Check My Scores The Classroom Class Discussions Lead Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 5

6 Introduction Welcome to the Guide to Using IBS 2.7. We are excited to have the privilege of partnering with Christian organizations to use the Internet to teach God s Word to people anywhere in the world! The purpose of this document is to help students become familiar with the Internet Biblical Seminary so that they can apply for admission to a Group, purchase biblical learning products, use the products, and explore other opportunities for growth such as becoming a facilitator or starting a new Group in IBS. If you intend to take facilitated classes in IBS, you should also complete the Online Student Orientation course, available in your Group s sales catalog or from IBS Learning Services. What is IBS? The Internet Biblical Seminary (IBS) provides a collaborative platform for churches or mission organizations to make their training available to students anywhere in the world via the internet. It is especially useful for believers who have difficulty getting access to traditional, classroom-based biblical training for various reasons, including local restrictions, cultural opposition, and financial or geographical limitations. IBS extends seminary-level training to students in restricted circumstances. The advantages of employing online training, rather than traditional in-person training, for the Great Commission are many: Availability of hardware and access to internet services is expanding worldwide. As the costs of overseas travel have increased, the cost of internet usage has actually decreased. Facilitators can teach more classes since travel is not required. Facilitators can hold multiple classes concurrently by teaching in the asynchronous mode. Greater scheduling flexibility is possible for facilitators and students when teaching asynchronously, which can translate into more students being trained. Using the internet as the vehicle for training may reduce the risk to students and facilitators. The cost of publishing and transporting course materials is greatly reduced through the use of electronic media on the internet. Online classes can be composed of local, national, or international members. Our ultimate goal is to teach believers to observe all things that Jesus has taught us for the glory of God and for His honor and pleasure. With this tool, it is possible to fortify greater numbers of church leaders by training them in the Word of God. As leaders around the world gain understanding in the Word, they will train more trainers as they teach their own congregations. What s New in IBS 2.7 Previous releases of IBS focused primarily on making training materials available to students, with less emphasis on the relationship between ministry partners and their students. Previously, any student could join IBS and use the materials with minimal involvement from a sponsoring Group. In IBS version 2.7, several new features have been added to encourage a closer relationship between the students and the Groups that provide the training, and to give Groups more control over their courses: Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 6

7 Admission processing In order to foster stronger relationships between students and ministry Groups, a student in IBS 2.7 must apply for admission to a Group and be accepted before s/he can access the Group s training materials. Group administrators are encouraged to dialog with the student before accepting his/her application. (The GA may delegate this responsibility to an Academic Dean.) Offering management IBS 2.7 offers Groups much greater flexibility to manage the courses they offer. Groups may choose to offer a given course in any of several formats downloadable PDF, interactive independent study, facilitator-led, etc. They can also choose to make their courses available to a wide or limited audience, or to keep them exclusively for use within their own Group. Payment integration In IBS 2.7, a payment system is introduced. Each Group has great flexibility in pricing its materials and can provide discounts based on the student s country and/or the Group(s) to which s/he has been admitted. Academic Groups may also provide financial aid to individual students. Notification system Previous versions of IBS relied on for routine communications with students. IBS 2.7 introduces a notification system, so that system-generated notices, as well as personal messages from facilitators or GAs to their students, are delivered to the student within IBS. Grading and course completion tracking IBS 2.7 offers basic functionality for: o Recording grades in facilitated classes. Facilitators can specify the assessments they want to grade in each of their classes, and the final score can be seen by the student before being recorded to a transcript. o Tracking students completion of interactive online classes. Group administrators may specify the minimum scores that students must achieve on Lesson Self Checks and Unit Exams in order to complete the class. If the class is facilitated, the facilitator must confirm that the student has met all completion requirements. IBS Site You may access IBS at Hint: You can use this IBS home page as a shortcut to the Bible. If you click on the quote from 2 Timothy 2:2, located directly under the sidebar menu, you will open the NET Bible, in the language in which you are viewing the IBS site. You do not have to have an account or be logged in to IBS to use this feature. Getting Help with IBS The IBS Help system consists of several components: A collection of short videos, each of which explains a particular function or feature of IBS. Helpful documentation, such as this guide for students. Guides are also available for facilitators and group administrators. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 7

8 A Knowledgebase of short articles which you can browse, or use a simple Search function to locate articles that contain the term you are searching for. A ticketing system you can use to submit your question or report a problem to Help Desk Staff. Someone from IBS will read your question and respond, generally within 48 hours. There are three ways to reach the Help system within IBS: Option 1: From the IBS home page or any other page, click Help at the top of the sidebar menu. You do not have to be logged in to IBS to access the Help system, but if you are not logged in you will see only a few options. To see more options, enter your user name and password to log in to IBS. Option 2: From inside a classroom, click Help on the toolbar at the top of the screen. You will go directly to the Classroom Functions section of the IBS Knowledgebase. Option 3: From the Class Discussion forums, click Help on the menu bar near the top of the screen. When the Help Documents forum appears, you will see two links. Click Search the Knowledgebase to go directly to the Class Discussions section of the IBS Knowledgebase. Click Submit your question to Help Desk Staff to enter the ticketing system and send a question to IBS staff. While browsing the Knowledgebase, if you cannot find the answer to your question, you can submit it to the Help Desk Staff. To do this, click IBS Help Desk in the "breadcrumbs" at the top of the page. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 8

9 When the IBS Help Desk screen appears, click Submit a Ticket. Someone from IBS will read your question and respond, generally within 48 hours. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 9

10 Terminology In order to understand the material presented in this guide, you must understand the following terms as they are used within IBS. General terminology Internet Biblical Seminary (IBS): A collaborative, internet-based platform for hosting seminarylevel courses for Bible students throughout the world. Group: A school, church, or ministry organization that establishes a presence in IBS for the purpose of providing course materials, offering the materials to students, or both. Publishing Group: A Group that is functioning in a publishing role by creating and providing course materials. Academic Group: A Group that is functioning in an academic role by admitting students and establishing a catalog of products which students may purchase or enroll in. Academic Groups may also provide facilitators to lead their students through courses. Admission: The process by which an Academic Group agrees to accept a student into the Group. Students may enroll in courses or purchase materials only from Groups to which they have been admitted. Campus: The environment within IBS where students interact with a Group to which they have been admitted. Role terminology Student: the most basic role; every registered IBS user has student privileges. Students must be admitted to one or more Groups before they can access courses. Facilitator: a user who has been approved by a Group to lead online facilitated classes. Group Administrator (GA): the person within a Group who handles administrative functions for the Group. Academic Dean (AD): a student, facilitator, or GA within an Academic Group who performs tasks related to managing students (admissions, financial aid, etc.) Course terminology Course: The content to be taught; intellectual property without respect to format or media. Each course is in a specific language; a translation into a new language is a new course. Course Catalog: The master list of courses offered by an Academic Group. This is simply a list of courses, not a list of items available for sale. It may contain courses that have not yet been published as a salable product. Study Program: A set of courses recommended by a Group Administrator to meet specific educational goals or criteria for his/her Group. Study Programs may be for a student s personal growth, or may contain courses that students can complete to earn a particular certification or degree, if offered by the Group. Courses listed in a Study Program are a subset of those in the Group s course catalog. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 10

11 Product type: The type of media or format used to present the course: pdf, interactive, etc. Interactive Product types: Online Independent Study (ONIS): An interactive format taken online in IBS by a student independently (without classmates or a facilitator). Online Facilitated Course (ONFAC): An interactive format taken online in IBS and led by a facilitator. Offline Independent Study (OFIS): An interactive format that can be downloaded by a student to study independently on his computer, without an internet connection. Printable files: PDF Letter size (PDFLS): A PDF format that can be downloaded, and printed if desired. Formatted for printing on letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) paper. PDF A4 size (PDFA4): A PDF format that can be downloaded, and printed if desired. Formatted for printing on size A4 paper. Additional product types for other paper sizes may be added to IBS as needed. Product: A course, formatted as a product type, for which the Publisher has set a Publisher price. Academic Groups select products to include in their Sales Catalogs. Sales Item: A salable product that has been added (adopted) into an Academic Group s Sales Catalog. The Academic Group sets an Academic base price, as well as specifying an effective date when the sales item will be available for purchase by its students. Sales Catalog: A list of all the sales items that are currently available for students in a Group to purchase. My Courses: A collection of all the items you have purchased from one or more Groups. Within My Courses you can see: My Classes: A list of items you have purchased that are interactive online classes, such as package types ONIS and ONFAC. You may enter the online classroom by clicking the classroom button in the Action column. My Files: A list of items you have purchased that are downloadable files, such as Offline Independent Study courses (OFIS) or PDFs. You may download these files by clicking the file name. My Orders: A list of orders you have placed in IBS. Each order may contain one or more sales items. Clicking Details in the Action column will display detailed information about each sales item contained in the order. Order Details: A list of each sales item you have ordered in IBS. Refund requests are initiated from this page. Pricing terminology Full price: The base price set by an Academic Group for each of their sales items; the manufacturer s suggested retail price of the sales item. Country factor: A mechanism for Academic Groups to offer reduced prices on their materials for students in specified countries. The country factor is expressed as a percentage which is Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 11

12 multiplied by the Academic base price. A country factor of zero will reduce the price to $0, while a country factor of 100 has no effect on the price. Financial aid factor: A mechanism for Academic Groups to offer reduced prices on their materials for individual students. The financial aid factor is expressed as a percentage which is multiplied by the Academic price. A financial aid factor of zero will reduce the price to $0, while a financial aid factor of 100 has no effect on the price. Your price: The actual price a student will pay after country factors and/or financial are applied. May be equal to or less than the full price. Refund: Money returned to the student if s/he returns a purchase or withdraws from a class within the allowed refund period. For facilitated classes, money may also be refunded if a Facilitator cancels the class or drops a student from a class. Interactive and facilitated class terminology Class: A class is a single instance of an interactive course. For an online facilitated course, the facilitator specifies an enrollment period and the beginning and ending dates of the class. A facilitated class has a specific group of enrolled students who interact with each other and with the facilitator via class discussions (forums). For an online independent study course (ONIS), the class is available continuously and students may enroll at any time and study it at their convenience. Classes can also be taken in offline independent study (OFIS) mode. Classroom: The environment in which the content of an interactive course is presented to the student. The look and feel of the classroom is similar for all interactive courses (ONIS, ONFAC, and OFIS). Lesson: A chapter of a course, generally covering one major topic of the course. IBS courses typically have 12 to 16 lessons, each of which may be followed by a Lesson Self Check (LSC). Unit: A larger subset of a course; typically, a grouping of 3 to 4 lessons. Courses typically have 4 units, each of which may be followed by a Unit Exam (UE). Lesson Self Check (LSC): A brief system-graded quiz that may appear at the end of each lesson. For online courses (package types ONIS and ONFAC), IBS records the student s score on the Lesson Self Check. Students may complete the LSC as many times as they like; only the most recent score is recorded. Unit Exam (UE): A more comprehensive, system-graded test that may appear at the end of each unit. For online courses (package types ONIS and ONFAC), IBS records the student s score on the Unit Exam. The student may complete each Unit Exam only once. Class discussions (forums): A class discussions environment (also known as a "forum") is available only in online facilitated classes. It provides a way for facilitators and students to interact and share their thoughts and questions. More information about class discussions can be found in the Online Student Orientation Course. Asynchronous Interaction: Facilitated online classes use asynchronous interactions, meaning that the timing of the interaction is not tightly defined. Facilitators and students post their Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 12

13 thoughts and assignments in the Class Discussion forums, and others in the class respond to those postings at their own convenience. The asynchronous mode of teaching does not demand that all students be available for class at the same time. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 13

14 Get started in IBS Register In order to take classes on the Internet Biblical Seminary, you must first register and create your login credentials (username and password). To register: 1. Access the IBS home page at 2. From the Register/Login link, located in the upper right corner of the IBS home page, click Register a new Account. This will take you to the Registration page. 3. Enter the requested information. Note: It is very helpful for the IBS system to have your current address; however, if you choose not to provide it you will still receive IBS notices on your My IBS Portal page. If you provide an address, you can indicate whether you would like to receive an when a new notice is posted to your portal. Please check your address to be sure it is accurate. 4. Read the IBS Privacy Policy and check the box to indicate that you have done so, then click Register. My IBS Portal When you have completed your registration, the My IBS Portal page will appear. There are several things you can do from the Portal page, but as a first-time user of IBS, you will do one or more of the following: It s a good idea to check My User Profile to ensure that the information you have entered is correct. You can add additional information here if you like. Refer to the My User Profile section of this guide for complete instructions. If you have joined IBS solely for the purpose of starting a new Group, you should choose Start a New Group on IBS. Refer to the Start a new Group section of this guide. You are automatically admitted to the BEE World Group. If you would like to take courses from BEE World, you may click enter BEE s campus by clicking its name in the Portal. Otherwise, as a new IBS student, your next step will be to Explore Groups and apply for admission to the one(s) you are interested in. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 14

15 Explore Groups Before you can purchase or enroll in IBS courses, you must be admitted to one or more Groups. You are automatically admitted to BEE World, but you may also apply for admission to other Group(s). To begin the admission process: 1. On the My IBS Portal page, or in the sidebar menu, click Explore Groups. The IBS Groups page will appear. 2. Click the Group you would like to explore. You will see the Group s Group Details page, which contains: a. Group Description: This contains a brief description of the Group s ministry, as well as a link to its website, if available. b. Course Catalog: This is the master list of courses offered by the Group. It is a list of courses, not a list of items available for sale. It may even contain coming attractions that is, courses that the Group intends to offer in the future that may not yet exist as a product that can be sold. c. Study Programs (optional): Groups may choose to define one or more study programs. A study program is a set of courses recommended by a Group Administrator to meet specific educational goals or criteria for his/her Group. You may decide to follow a particular study program for your personal growth or to earn a certification or diploma within the Group. d. Partner Contact Information (optional): Each Group decides whether to display its contact information in IBS; for security reasons, some Groups may opt not to show it. If the contact information is displayed, you may use the link provided to the Group Administrator. 3. After reviewing a Group s information, if you wish to join the Group, click Apply for Admission to this Group (located on the right side of the Group Details page), then click Apply for Admission. Your application will be sent to the Group. a. Some Groups have an open admission policy, which means you will be admitted to the Group automatically. b. Other Groups have managed admission. When you apply to a Group with managed admission, a Group representative will review your application. He or she may begin a dialog with you before deciding whether to admit you to the Group. When a decision has been reached, you will be notified on your My IBS Portal page. 4. If you decide to withdraw your application from a Group before the Group has admitted you, follow these steps: a. On the My IBS Portal page, click Explore Groups. The IBS Groups page will appear. b. Click the Group from which you would like to withdraw. c. Click Apply for Admission to this Group. You will see a note indicating that you have already applied for admission and your application is pending. d. To withdraw your application, click Withdraw Application near the bottom of the page. Your application will be withdrawn. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 15

16 My IBS Portal also contains options you will use after you are an established student in IBS. These are described below. Notices From time to time, you may receive notices from your Group Administrator, your Facilitator (if you have enrolled in any facilitated classes), or from IBS system management. You will be alerted to these notices on the welcome page and in My IBS Portal. (If you have enabled alerts in your profile, you will also receive an when a new notice is posted in your portal.) Some notes about the Notices feature: The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of unread and total notices in your notice box. For example, (2/6) indicates that you have a total of 6 notices, and 2 of them are unread. Bold print within your notice box indicates an unread notice. Plain (not bold) text indicates that you have read the notice. To open your notice box, from the welcome page or My IBS Portal: o Click System Notices to see only notices from IBS system management. o Click the entry in the Group Notices column to see only notices from a specific Group. To read a notice from your notice box, click the subject line of the notice you wish to read. Once you are in your notice box, you can use the dropdown menu to switch to a different set of notices (for example, from a different Group) or to view all of your notices at the same time. My Courses My Courses is the quickest way to access materials you have purchased. Until you have ordered at least one item, My Courses is empty. The functionality of My Courses is discussed in detail in the Shop and Learn sections of this guide. My Personal Growth IBS provides three surveys to help you assess your spiritual knowledge, maturity and growth. They are: The Christian Experience Survey: This survey is a tool to help you to evaluate your own spiritual development. We recommend taking this survey once each year and comparing your results from the previous year in order to thank the Lord for growth and to realize areas of difficulty needing increased focus. The Spiritual Gifts Survey: This list of 96 statements will help you identify the types of spiritual gifts enumerated in the New Testament as they relate to you. At the end of the statements a summary is provided to total the results of your responses and identify those spiritual gifts best suited to you at this time. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 16

17 The Bible and Theology Assessment Survey: Greater Europe Mission uses this survey to evaluate the biblical knowledge of those who apply for their staff. By taking it now and again in a year or so, you can get a picture of how well you are progressing in your knowledge of the Scriptures. To take any of these surveys, click My Personal Growth on the My IBS Portal page. My User Profile Updating your contact information After you have registered, you may add additional demographic or contact information. Click My User Profile to display the Edit Profile page. It is especially important to keep your address up to date (if you have entered one), so that we may contact you by if necessary. Providing alternate contact options It is also helpful for us to have additional contact information, such as your phone number or Skype name. To provide alternate contact options: 1. On the Edit Profile screen, scroll down to Alternate Contact Options. 2. Select the Type of contact you wish to add. 3. Enter the appropriate information under Value, and click Add. 4. When you are finished, click Update to leave this screen. Changing your password You may also use the Edit Profile page to change your password. Simply click to select the Change Password box, then enter and confirm your new password. Click Update when finished. Enter a Campus After you have applied to join a Group, the Group will be listed on your My IBS Portal page under My Group Admission Status. If the Group has not yet admitted you, your status will be listed as Pending. Once you have been admitted, your status will change to Admitted, and you may enter the Group s campus by clicking on the Group s name. When you enter a Group s campus, several things will happen. The masthead will now display the name of the Group. You can always tell what campus you are in by checking the masthead. The Group s welcome page will appear. You will see additional options in the sidebar navigation. o My IBS Portal remains near the top of the sidebar menu. You can access the portal and its functions at any time. o Since you have been admitted to the Group, you have Student privileges in its campus and will see the Students menu. From this menu you can shop for new courses, access courses you have already purchased, or apply to become a facilitator within the Group. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 17

18 o If you have been assigned an additional role in the Group, such as Facilitator or Group Administrator, you will also see the appropriate menu(s) for those roles. The functions on those menus are described in the orientation guide for each role. Remember, you may be admitted to more than Group, and you may have different roles in each Group. The menus you see in the sidebar may change as you move from one campus to another, depending on your role in each Group. Start a new Group We welcome new partnerships with schools, churches or mission groups who want to join IBS for the purpose of providing courses to the IBS inventory and/or offering courses to students. If you are a member of such an organization, you can apply to become a Group in IBS. By applying from your IBS account, you will automatically become the Group Administrator (GA) for the Group when the Group is approved. GAs have several responsibilities in IBS; you can learn more about them in the Group Administrator Orientation Guide and the IBS Concepts slide show, available from the IBS Help page. Refer to the Group Administrator Orientation Guide for detailed instructions on how to start a new Group. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 18

19 Shop You will purchase products and enroll in classes within the campus of a Group to you which you have been admitted. From My IBS Portal, click the Group s name to enter its campus and display the Students menu. The options under the Shop section of the Students menu are described below. Group Details This option displays the same Group Details page described in the Explore Groups section above. Course Catalog When you click Course Catalog under Students > Shop, you will see the same view of the course catalog that you saw from the Group Details page when you were exploring Groups. Remember, the course catalog is the master list of courses offered by the Group. It is a list of courses, not a list of items available for sale, and you cannot purchase products directly from this page. However, now that you have been admitted to the Group, the names of the courses in the catalog may appear as active links. Clicking any of these links will take you to the sales catalog, where you may purchase any items that are available. (Note: if a course name is not an active link, the course is not yet available as a product for sale.) Study Programs If your Group has defined one or more study programs, you may view them by clicking Study Programs. Click the title of the study program to see information about the program (such as type, description, language, and number of required and elective courses), followed by a list of courses that are included in the program. Under each course, the products (that is, formats) that are acceptable for the study program are listed. For example, a course may be offered in facilitated, independent study, and PDF formats, but if only the facilitated format is accepted for credit in the study program, it will be the only one listed. Just as with the course catalog, courses (and products) may appear in the study program even if they are not yet available for purchase. Click any course in the study program to go to the sales catalog, where you may purchase any items that are available. Sales Catalog The sales catalog is a list of all the sales items that are currently available for students in a Group to purchase. Viewing the Sales Catalog By default, the sales catalog is displayed in a collapsed view, that is, only course-level information is displayed. To see additional information, such as the sales item(s) that are available for a particular course, you must expand the view. You may click on the plus sign (+) next to the course name to expand the entry for a single course, or click Expand All at the top of the table to expand all entries in the table. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 19

20 To collapse a single entry, click the minus sign (-) next to the course name; to collapse the entire table, click Collapse All. Since the sales catalog can be quite lengthy, you may wish to reduce the number of items displayed. Near the top of the screen are three filters that you can use to narrow the list. You may filter by: Publisher: Your Group may offer courses from a number of different publishers. If you know which Group publishes the course you are interested in, you may choose to display only the courses from that publisher. Language: If you are interested only in courses in a particular language, you may display only the courses in that language. Available Sales Items only or Full Sales Catalog: By default, the sales catalog displays only courses that have at least one sales item currently available. If you wish to also see courses that are not yet available, you may change the filter to Full Sales Catalog. This will result in a list of all the courses in the Group s course catalog, whether or not they currently have sales items available. Click the Search button after selecting the filter(s) you wish to use. The Sales Catalog page also displays the financial aid factor and country factor that apply to you. Remember, each of these factors is expressed as a percentage which is multiplied by the full price. So a factor of zero would reduce the price to $0, while a factor of 100% has no effect on the price. If you feel that your financial aid factor should be changed, please contact your Academic Dean or Group Administrator. You can view the current refund schedule by clicking the link above the table of sales items on the Sales Catalog page. For more information about refunds in IBS, refer to the Refunds section of this guide. Purchasing a Sales Item When you expand an entry in the sales catalog, you will see: The product(s) that are currently available for sale for each course. The full price of the item, as well as your price (that is, the result of applying your country factor and financial aid to the full price). An Action column. If you have already purchased the item, this will be indicated in the Action column. Otherwise, you may purchase the item by clicking Add to cart. For facilitated classes, you will see additional information, such as the enrollment deadline and how many seats are still available in the class. In some facilitated classes, the facilitator must approve your enrollment before you can complete your purchase. If that is the case, the Action for that item will be Request Enrollment. Clicking this link sends a message to the facilitator. When your enrollment is approved, you will be notified in the IBS notice system. You should then return to this Sales Catalog page to complete your purchase and enrollment. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 20

21 Checkout procedure When you have selected the item(s) you want to purchase, they will appear in your shopping cart. To continue with the checkout procedure, click the shopping cart link in the upper right corner of the Sales Catalog page. Review your cart to make sure all items are correct. If you need to remove an item from your cart, click Remove. If you want to place additional items in your cart, click Continue Shopping When your cart is correct, click Continue Checkout. Next, you will enter your credit card information and billing address. An estimate of your total payment, in US dollars, is displayed. This estimate includes the price of the items you are purchasing, as well as the fee charged by the payment vendor (PayPal) for the transaction. Depending on your currency and the country of your billing address, additional fees may appear on your credit card statement. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 21

22 When you are ready to complete your purchase, click Make Payment. A summary of your transaction will appear. You may click Click here to check your orders to go to My Courses, where you may review your orders and purchases, request a refund, or begin studying the courses you have purchased. My Courses My Courses is a shortcut to all the items you have purchased. You can view a history of every order you have placed and see which of your purchases are still eligible for refunds. You don t have to enter a Group s campus to get to My Courses. You may enter it directly from IBS sidebar navigation, or from the My IBS Portal page. My Orders Clicking My Orders (found in the sidebar menu under Students > Shop) will take you directly to the My Orders tab in My Courses. The My Orders tab displays a record of each order you have placed. If you are a member of more than one Group, you can use the dropdown menu near the top to display items from all Groups to which you have been admitted, or to limit the display to items from a single Group s campus. (Note: If you limit the view to a single Group, you may enter that Group s Sales Catalog by clicking the Sales Catalog link. This link does not appear in the All Campuses view of My Courses.) Each order may contain one or more sales items. You may click the Details link in the Action column to see exactly which sales item(s) were included in each order. The Details link will take you to the Order Details tab, and the item(s) from the selected order will be highlighted. The Order Details tab displays the items you have purchased, the campus (Group) from which you purchased them, the class ID number for each online class, and your current class completion status. If you would like to see additional fields, you may click on the small grey column picker button, located near the Search field, and select the fields you would like to display. The Order Details tab also shows which of your purchased items are still eligible for refunds, and you can initiate a refund request from this page. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 22

23 Refunds Refunds are allowed in IBS; however, when you request a refund, you may not receive the full amount you originally paid. The following factors affect the amount of the refund: Product type: For example, refund policies for a downloaded PDF are different from policies for a facilitated course. Date of refund request: Generally, the longer you wait to request a refund, the lower the refund will be. Payment vendor restrictions: Due to PayPal policies, we cannot provide any refund after 60 days from date of purchase. You may view the refund schedule from the Sales Catalog page by clicking View Current Refund Schedule (located above the table of sales items). For each product type, the refund schedule indicates the percentage of the sale price that is refundable for up to 60 days following the purchase date. This schedule is subject to change; however, when you request a refund, the schedule that was in effect at the time of your purchase will be followed. To initiate a request for a refund, go to My Courses > Order Details. Locate the item you wish to return and click Refund in the Action column. A popup display will show the refund factor (which may be less than 100%, depending on how long ago you purchased the item) and the amount of the refund in US dollars. If you decide not to proceed with the refund, click the X in the upper right corner to close the popup. Otherwise, click Refund Sales Item. The appropriate amount will be returned to your credit card. If the item is a facilitated class, your name will be removed from the class roster. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 23

24 Learn The options under the Learn section of the Students sidebar menu allow you to access and manage the items you have purchased. Clicking these options will take you to the appropriate section of the My Courses page. My Courses is a shortcut to all the items you have purchased both online classes and downloadable files. You don t have to enter a Group s campus to get to My Courses. You may enter it directly from IBS sidebar navigation, or from the My IBS Portal page. If you are a member of more than one Group, you can use the dropdown menu near the top of My Courses to display items from all Groups to which you have been admitted, or to limit the display to a single Group s campus. Download My Files The Download My Files link under Students > Learn will take you to the My Files tab in My Courses. This page displays any items you have purchased that are downloadable files, such as offline interactive (OFIS) courses and PDFs. To initiate the download process, click Download in the Action column. Downloading a PDF When you click Download for a PDF course, the requested file will be downloaded to your hard drive. If you wish, you may move it from your Downloads folder to any convenient location on your computer. To read or print the course, simply double-click to open it. You will need the free Adobe reader; if you do not already have it, you can get it here: Downloading an offline interactive course (OFIS) Clicking Download for an OFIS course will display a list of items that you can download. These may include: Offline Installation Instructions: A file containing complete instructions for downloading your course. IBS Offline Main App: The application that allows you to open and enter the offline classroom. Resource materials for the class you are downloading. These may vary by course and language. They may include a Bible you can access from within the classroom, a Bible encyclopedia, a concordance, and other supplemental material. <Your purchased course>: The content of the course you have purchased. Please click the Offline Installation Instructions to view and/or print complete, current instructions on how to download your interactive course. Using your downloaded interactive course After you have successfully installed IBS Offline and at least one OFIS course, you may use the course on your computer anywhere, without an internet connection. Follow these instructions each time you want to enter the offline classroom. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 24

25 1. Double-click the shortcut to IBS Offline, which the installer placed on your desktop. The offline version of IBS appears. This is an abbreviated version of IBS and looks somewhat different from IBS 2.7. Note: you may need to run this from an account with administrator privileges on your computer. 2. The user name and password are filled in for you. Click Submit Login. Note: If other students will also use IBS Offline on your computer, each of you can have your own User Name. IBS Offline will then track certain items separately for each student. These include: Courses installed by each student Life notebooks Scores on assessments (Lesson Self Checks and Unit Exams) To add a second user, click Register with IBS and complete the required information. You do NOT need to complete this registration process if you are the ONLY student using IBS Offline on this computer. 3. Click Enter Classrooms. A list of your installed OFIS classes appears. 4. Click the name of the class you want to enter. Your offline classroom appears. 5. To open the NET Bible (if installed), click a Scripture link within the text of the course, or click The Bible in the top panel of the classroom. 6. To open additional resource materials (if installed), click Study Resources in the top panel, then click the appropriate resource. (Note: some links shown in Study Resources may not be available in the offline classroom.) For additional information about using the IBS classroom, refer to The Classroom section of this guide. Enter My Classes The Enter My Classes link under Students > Learn will take you to the My Classes tab in My Courses. This page is your entry point to the online classroom. It lists the online interactive (ONIS and ONFAC) classes you have enrolled in. Each time you want to enter your classroom, you will come through this tab in My Courses. There are three buttons in the Action column on this tab: The Enter Classroom button takes you directly into the classroom for this class. For information about using the IBS classroom, refer to The Classroom section of this guide. The Class Discussions button takes you to the class discussion (forum) for this class. Class discussions are available only in facilitated classes and are covered in detail in the Online Student Orientation class, available in your Group s sales catalog or from IBS Learning Services. The More Info button displays information about the class, such as the Group and facilitator name, enrollment date, beginning and ending dates, and the grade weighting specified by the facilitator. The More Info page also contains links that allow you to enter the classroom or class discussions, view your scores on Lesson Self Checks (LSCs) and Unit Exams (UEs), or view (but not edit) your Life Notebook. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 25

26 Check My Scores As mentioned above, you may view your scores on LSCs and UEs from the More Info button on My Courses > My Classes. You may also use the Check My Scores link under Students > Learn to view several parameters relating to your progress in a class: Your system scores for Lesson Self Checks and Unit Exams Your class completion status Your scores for additional assessments defined by your facilitator (facilitated classes only) To view this information: 1. Select Students > Learn > Check My Scores. 2. On the Check Scores page, select the class you want to view. You will see your class completion status. Click the indicated link to View System Scores for Lesson Self Check and Unit Exams. They will be displayed in a separate window. Click Close Window when finished. If your facilitator has finalized your scores on class assessments, you will see a table displaying these scores. This table does not appear until the facilitator has finalized the scores. The Classroom The IBS classroom is the environment in which you will view materials and answer questions for interactive classes. The environment is similar for both online and offline interactive classes, but since IBS Offline does not share information with the online version of IBS 2.7, some functionality (such as Help and Class Completion Tracking) is not available in OFIS classes. To enter the classroom: For online classes (ONIS or ONFAC), select My Courses > My Classes and click the Enter Classrooms button in the Action column. IBS will open a new browser window to display the online classroom. For offline classes (OFIS), launch IBS Offline. Click Enter Classrooms and select your offline course. (See the Download My Files section for complete instructions on downloading and using OFIS courses.) Classroom Layout A typical view of the online classroom is shown below: Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 26

27 The classroom display is divided into four sections: 1. The left panel contains the course outline, which is a table of contents for the entire course. You may click on the plus sign (+) next to each entry to expand that entry, or click Expand All at the top of the table to expand all entries in the outline. To collapse a single entry, click the minus sign (-) next to it; to collapse the entire outline, click Collapse All. You can navigate to any section of the course by clicking its link. IBS will automatically place a bookmark (a small red asterisk) to indicate the last page you viewed. If you leave the classroom and reenter at a later time, the course will open to this page. This panel is also used to display materials associated with the course, such as Scripture references and articles related to the course material. 2. The right panel contains the actual course material. To move page by page through the course, click the Previous Page or Next Page button at the bottom of the page. Do not use your browser s navigation controls when in the classroom. You will find several useful features in this frame, including: Live links to Scripture passages. When a Scripture verse is listed within the text, for example, John 3:16, you can click the link and IBS will automatically display the verse, in a version of the Bible that is in your selected language--very helpful! Links to videos that aid in visualizing the lesson. For example, a lesson may include a link to a snippet of the Jesus video. Interactive questions. These are interspersed throughout the material so that you can check and reinforce your grasp of the concepts as you study. When you answer the questions, you can press the Check Answer button to receive immediate feedback for your answer. In most cases, you will be given three attempts to get the correct answer. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 27

28 On the third attempt, IBS will display the correct answer and, in some cases, direct you to the section of the course material that explains the answer. Lesson Self Checks (LSC). These are quizzes at the end of each lesson. You may repeat a LSC as many times as you like. Only your most recent score for each LSC is recorded; this score is part of the criteria used by IBS to determine if you have successfully completed the class. The minimum score required is set by the Academic Group Administrator for the class. Unit Exams. Some courses may also include Unit Exams at the end of a unit. You may take each Unit Exam only once. Your score is recorded and is part of the class completion criteria. 3. The top panel contains links to useful tools to assist you in the classroom environment. These include: Course Outline. Displays the course table of contents. Use this to return to the course outline after other information has been displayed in the left panel. Life Notebook. Most courses have Life Notebook questions that direct the student to areas for reflection. The Life Notebook has two purposes: It is a place where you will record your answers to essay-type questions which are reflective in nature. These questions will relate to practical application issues such as your walk with God, teaching this material to others by leading your own group, and practical character lessons you learn through studying the lesson. It is a personal spiritual life journal that you will maintain and add to as you go through the course. In this Life Notebook, you should enter what you are learning, how it is impacting your life and, perhaps, questions you have. A separate Life Notebook will be available to you in each of your IBS classes. You should be aware that in facilitated classes, your facilitator is able to read your Life Notebook entries. The Bible. Available in the language of the course. Study Resources. A list of links to various online study resources, including a concordance, a Bible encyclopedia, Dr. Constable s commentary on all sixty-six books of the Bible, and a link to Bible.org, which contains many insightful articles about the Bible. These resources are available only in English. Class Discussions. Opens a new browser window that displays the IBS Forum for your class. (This feature is available only in facilitated classes.) Print Page. Prompts you to send the current course content page to your printer. Previous Page. Directs you to the previous page of the course. Next Page. Directs you to the next page of the course. Help. Opens a new window to display the IBS Knowledgebase, where you can browse helpful articles or submit a question to IBS staff. Exit Class. Closes the browser window for this online classroom. Internet Biblical Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado Page 28