Getting started guide for learners

Getting started guide for learners

Introduction

Welcome to your new learning platform! The platform is easy-to-use, intuitive, and powered by advanced AI. 

This guide is designed to help you get started on your learning journey. It highlights the most common tasks learners encounter when they are new to the platform. Use the table of contents on the right to navigate to specific topics. For additional support or to explore more features, visit the Knowledge Base.

Creating an account

Your company portal is the front page to the learning platform. Your company portal may include lists to the course catalog, contact information, a calendar, and more.

Logging into your portal requires a user ID and password. Depending on the setup of your platform, you will be provided with log-in information by an administrator, or you will visit the company portal and create an account.

To log-in:
  1. Click Log in on the company portal front page.
Company portal front page with the Log in button highlighted

The Log in pop-up displays.

If your user ID and password were provided by an administrator or instructor:
  1. Enter your User ID and Password.
  2. Click Log in.
If you were provided with an access code:
  1. Click Or sign up with an access code.
  2. Enter your Access code.
  3. Click Sign up.
Log in pop-up on the company portal front page

If you entered an access code:
  1. Enter your account details.
  2. If provided, read the Policy statement.
    1. If you accept the terms of the statement, click to agree to the Policy statement.
  3. Click Submit.
Sign up page for users without an account

Dashboard

The learner dashboard is the first page you see when you log in to your account. Here you will find an overview of your courses and groups. You can also see your calendar, to-do list, announcements, and more.
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Please note the specific design and options available varies from platform to platform.

Home page dashboard for a learner

Primary navigation menu (left bar)

The left bar displays buttons that allow you to quickly navigate to the main areas of the site, such as the Home page, Catalog, Users and Resources.

The left bar allows you to access these areas no matter where you are in the site. If you hover over a button, a fly-out menu will appear with the most important options for that area. 

In the example below, the Courses fly-out menu displays. This menu displays your Enrolled and Completed courses.
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Please note, if you are using a CYPHER for academia platform, you will see Classes on the navigation menu instead of Courses.

Courses fly-out menu active on the primary navigation menu

Top menu

The top right bar displays multiple icons including:
  1. Search: Enter keywords to search for courses, keywords, or resources.
  2. Messages: Quickly access messages sent to you from instructors and other learners.
    1. A notification badge with a number will display if you have unread messages.
  3. Notifications: Click the icon to view course, group, and account notifications.
    1. A notification badge with a number will display if you have unread notifications
  4. Calendar: Click the calendar icon to view your site calendar.
  5. Profile: Click your profile picture to view your profile and access various settings (covered in more detail later in the guide).

Top menu, with an indicator the learner has two current notifications


Additional options are available in the drop-down menu next to your profile picture. Click the arrow to access:
  1. Toggle dark mode: This setting allows you to enable dark mode on your platform.
  2. Help: Access the Help center to view the Knowledge base and Learner help desk.
  3. Print this page: Print the current page or save it to PDF.
  4. Language setting: Your current language displays. Click the language to change the language setting for your view.
  5. Log-out: Log out of the platform.
Learner profile drop-down menu active

Right panel

The right panel contains widgets that vary based on your enrolled courses and the setup of your platform. Widgets can include game progress and leaderboards, a calendar, to-do list, announcements, upcoming items, awards, and a list of any minimized windows. To see more details, click on the links within a widget.

Right panel widgets including the calendar, to-do list, compliance, and a site-wide game

News feed

To access the News feed:
  1. Click News at the top of the home page.
The home page news feed aggregates news items from your friends, courses, groups and company. By default, a news feed only shows the latest items. If you scroll down the page, it automatically shows more news items.

Home page, News feed with three items in the feed

Goals

The Goals area contains any goals that have been assigned to you, and also allows you to set your own goals. To view more information about goals:
  1. Hover over the Goals button on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Existing goals display in the fly-out menu.
  3. Click Add to create a new goal.
Goals fly-out menu active on the primary navigation menu

Groups

Groups are a place for members to collaborate and share resources on the platform. To view your groups or join one:
  1. Hover over the Groups button on the primary navigation menu.
  2. A list of groups you belong to will display in the fly-out menu.
  3. Click Catalog to view existing groups.
  4. Click Join if you have an access code to directly join a group.
Groups fly-out menu active from the primary navigation menu

Catalog

Click the Catalog button on the primary navigation menu to view published courses or classes on your platform. Courses can be categorized into groups, and additional catalogs may be listed as horizontal tabs, depending on the setup of your platform's catalog.

Catalog page, CYPHER tab with eight categories displayed

Users

The users catalog is where you can see your friends and instructors. To view users:
  1. Hover over the Users button on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Click Friends, My instructors, or My mentors to view a specific group of users.  
  3. Click My circle to view a page that displays the groups of users connected to you in the platform.
Users page, My circle tab

Resources

In the Resources area you can add all of your learning resources such as files, pages, and web resources. To view resources:
  1. Hover over the Resources button on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Click Uploaded files to view files you have directly uploaded to the platform.
  3. Click Catalog to view shared and personal resources.
Resources page, Catalog tab

Help center

This getting started guide is a great place to begin learning about the platform, but another great resource is the Help center. To access the Help center:
  1. Click the Help icon in the lower left corner.
The Help center pop-up displays. The available options in the Help center pop-up depend on the configuration of your platform, but can include:
  1. Online help: Clicking Online help displays help articles in the General tab. Browse the topics in the General and Learner tabs or use the search bar to find relevant articles quickly.
    1. Note: In the near future, Online help will launch the new Knowledge base, which includes updated articles featuring the new UI.
  2. Learner help desk: If available, the Learner help desk allows you to post questions to the help desk for your site.
  3. Product news: Product news is a great way to learn about the latest platform features and updates.
  4. Product demos: Product demos provide step by step walk throughs of common features on the platform.
  5. Getting started guides: Getting started guides present the basics of the platform for learners, instructors, and administrators.
Help center pop-up, Overview tab

Profile

Your profile page contains your basic information, account details, friends, photos, awards, and more. The information that is visible depends on your account type and the platform's security settings. To access your profile:
  1. Click your profile picture in the top right menu.

Top menu with the learner profile picture highlighted

Your profile page displays, and defaults to the About tab. To edit your profile:
  1. Click Edit.
User Profile page with the Edit button highlighted


The Edit pop-up displays. Here you can edit your profile picture, description, password, account info, and social media links.

The Edit profile pop-up
Additionally, you can adjust options for your profile in the Settings tab. To access your profile Settings:
  1. Click your profile picture.
  2. Click Settings on the profile navigation menu.
User Profile page with the Settings tab highlighted on the profile navigation menu

In the Settings tab, you can enable/disable different options for your profile such as enabling audio notifications, displaying shortcuts, and displaying online users. You can also edit your Social media links, and set up integrations with external accounts (depending on the configuration of your platform).

User profile Settings page


Enrolling in courses and classes

Enrolling in courses with an account

If you have a platform account, there are several ways to enroll in a course or class.
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Please note business platforms default to the term Course, and academia platforms default to the term Class. The terms Course and Class are interchangeable in this guide.
To enroll through the catalog:
  1. Log-in to the platform.
  2. Click Catalog on the primary navigation menu.
  3. Browse the course catalog and select a course tile.
  4. Click Enroll.
    1. Note that some courses require an access code, which is indicated next to the Enroll button.
Course overview page with the Enroll button highlighted

If you know the courses's access code, you can also enroll from the Courses fly-out menu:
  1. Click or hover on Courses in the primary navigation menu.
  2. Click Enroll.
  3. Enter the access code.
  4. Click Enroll.
Courses fly-out menu active on the primary navigation menu with the Enroll button highlighted

Enrolling without an account

If you don’t have a platform account, you can create one when enrolling in your first course from the visitor portal. 

From the visitor portal:
  1. Click Catalog.
  2. Browse the course catalog and select a course tile.
Company portal visitor Catalog, Management training category

To enroll in a course:
  1. Click Enroll.
    1. Note that the course may require an access code.
Company portal visitor view, example course overview page

The Enroll pop-up displays.
  1. Click Create an account.
  2. Fill in your account details.
Enroll pop-up for a user without an account

Purchasing training 

Depending on the setup of your platform, you may have the option of purchasing training items, such as an individual course, a bundle, digital media, or a subscription. You can also receive a coupon code for discounts from the portal administrator or instructors.

Purchase a course, digital media, or a course bundle

From the catalog, you can purchase a standalone course, digital media (such as e-books, videos, or documents), or a course bundle:
  1. Click the name of the training asset.
  2. Click Purchase on the overview page. 
    1. If you don’t have an account, you will need to create one before finishing the purchase. 
Company portal visitor view, example of a course overview page for a course that must be purchased


Subscription plans

If available, you can also choose to purchase a monthly or yearly subscription to courses.

Example of a course tile for a course bundle with a subscription plan
With courses, there are multiple elements to navigate and explore. This section will help familiarize you with a typical course.  

Course navigation menu

When you access a course, a secondary course navigation menu displays on the left.
  1. Note that the primary navigation menu is still available, but is condensed.
The default landing page of a course is Modules, which provides an overview of the modules in a course.
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Please note business platforms default to the term Module, and academia platforms default to the term Lesson. The terms Module and Lesson are interchangeable in this guide.

Course, Modules page with Modules highlighted on the course navigation menu

It’s easy to access all the important course sections using the course navigation menu. Depending on the setup of your course, the course navigation menu can include buttons for the following areas:
  1. Dashboard: A splash page that displays a course overview and widgets available in the course.
  2. Modules: The modules and sections that make up the course content.
    1. Note that this section is called Lessons for academia platforms.
  3. News: The course news feed displays course announcements, posts from instructors and learners, posts about new assessments, modules, events and more.
  4. Calendar: The course calendar displays important course events such as web conference sessions and assessment dates.
  5. Assessments: Details of your assessment submissions, scores, analytics and the associated grading scale.
    1. Note that this section is called Assignments for academia platforms.
  6. Mastery: A breakdown of your mastery ratings for the competencies and skills associated with the course.
  7. Resources: Documents and videos that support the course.
  8. Learners: A list of learners along with messaging functionality.
    1. Note that this section is called Students for academia platforms.
  9. Instructors: A list of course instructors along with messaging functionality.
    1. Note that this section is called Teachers for academia platforms.
  10. Games: A breakdown of your progress and awards through the levels of the course. Course badges and points are also displayed on this page.
  11. Attendance: A list of your attendance records.
  12. Forums: Course specific forums for discussions between course members.
  13. Chat: A chat room for learners and instructors of the course.
  14. Wiki: A page for collaborative Wiki creation and editing for learners and instructors.
  15. Blogs: A page dedicated to learner and instructor blogs associated with the course.
  16. Syllabus: A page that provides an overview of the course.
  17. Portfolio: A place to store and showcase your work.
Example of a course navigation menu with all course features enabled

Right panel

In the right panel of a course, you can find widgets which display a variety of real-time information. Depending on the setup of the course, you can find widgets on your course activity, course progress and skills mastery, compliance status, games progress and leaderboards, a to-do list, announcements, upcoming events, a list of course awards, and more.

For more details, click on any interactive component within a widget. 
Example of course widgets in the right panel

Modules and lessons

The Modules area of a course is where its primary content is located. If enabled, you can view modules in Tile view or List view.
  1. Click Modules from the course navigation menu.
    1. Academia users will click Lessons.
  2. Click the List view icon to view modules in list view.
Course, Modules page with the List view button highlighted


In list view, you can choose to show or hide the sections in the module. In the example below, the sections of the first module are shown.

Sections can be pages, assessments, tools, or other resources that make up the content of the module. Note that this view also displays the status of each section, as well as the submission status, score and due date for assessments.

To view a specific section:
  1. Click the section name. 
Course, Modules page in list view with all sections shown for Module 1

The section displays. This is an example of a content page. To move through sections:
  1. Click Continue to move forward to the next section.
  2. Click Previous to move back to the previous section. 
Course, Module, Content page example


Each page can also have its own resources area, where instructors can add resources for learners related to the section's topic.

Course, Module, Content page example with Resources

You can also see a list of all course resources shared by your instructor. To view all course resources:
  1. Click Resources on the course navigation menu.
Course, Resources page

Assessments and assignments

An assessment can be associated with a module or a standalone task. If it is linked to a module, it counts towards module completion.
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Please note business platforms default to the term Assessment, and academia platforms default to the term Assignment. The terms Assessment and Assignment are interchangeable in this guide.
To see a list of the assessments in a course:
  1. Click Assessments on the course navigation menu.
    1. Academia users will click Assignments on the navigation menu.
Course, Assessments page, All tab

The platform supports many different kinds of assessments:
  1. Quiz: A set of questions that you can answer online.
  2. Essay: An assessment that requires you to submit an essay using the HTML editor tool.
  3. Offline: A traditional assessment such as a paper-based test or reading a book. There is no online submission for this kind of assessment and the instructor is expected to enter the grades for each learner based on the results of the offline work.
  4. Survey: A set of survey questions that you can answer online.
  5. Discussion: An assessment in which you earn points by participating in a thread of discussions started by the instructor.
  6. Debate: An assessment in which you add arguments for or against a proposition that is supplied by the instructor.
  7. Team: An assessment where you work together with other learners and enter your joint submission. The instructor organizes the learners into teams and your team is provided a private group.
  8. Dropbox: An assessment that requires you to upload one or more files as your assessment submission.
  9. Attendance: An assessment that awards points based on your attendance record.
Below is an example of an essay assessment. On the assessment page, you will find instructions for submitting an answer, the maximum score, the number of attempts allowed, and the due date.

Course, Assessments, Essay assessment example

Submitting assessments and assignments

When you visit your dashboard or a course landing page, assessments that are due will appear in the to-do list.
  1. Click directly on an assessment to access the applicable course assessment page.
Learner right panel, To-do list with four assessments due

On the course Assessments page, you can see which assessments have been submitted as they include a check mark. Assessments without a checkmark have not yet been submitted. To access an assessment:
  1. Click directly on the assessment name.
Course, Assessments, All tab with the Submitted column highlighted

The way you submit an assessment varies based on the type of assessment. 

Dropbox or Essay
To submit a Dropbox or Essay assessment:
  1. Click Assessments from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the Dropbox or Essay assignment.
  3. Read the instructions and click Prepare Answer.
  4. Use the editor to enter an answer. 
    1. Note that the editor allows you to include files, images, videos, and more.
  5. Click Save and submit for grading to submit the assessment.
  6. Click Save but don't submit yet if you would like to save your work and edit it before submission.
Course, Assessments, Essay assessment learner answer page

Quiz or Survey
To submit a Quiz or Survey assessment:
  1. Click Assessments from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the Quiz or Survey assignment.
  3. Click Take quiz or Take survey.
  4. Answer all quiz or survey questions.
  5. Click Finished once all questions have been answered.
Course, Assessments, Quiz, End of quiz page

Debate or Discussion
To submit a Debate or Discussion assessment:
  1. Click Assessments from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the Debate or Discussion assignment.
  3. Participating in the Debate or Discussion is considered a submission.
Course, Assessments, Debate assessment, Instructions tab

Viewing scores 

Scores for individual assessments are displayed in the Assessments tab of a course.

Course, Assessments, All tab with the Score column highlighted


The score of an assessment is also displayed on the individual Assessment overview page.

Course, Assessments, example of an offline assessment with the score highlighted in the Score widget

Compliance

Depending on your organization, you may have required compliance training.

If you are enrolled in at least one course that is required for compliance, your dashboard will include a Compliance widget in the right panel that indicates your compliance status per course.

You can also access your compliance courses on your dashboard by clicking the Compliance tab in the Courses widget. 

Learner home page, Dashboard with the Compliance tab active and highlighted in the Courses widget and the Compliance widget highlighted in the right panel

Paths

Paths are a set of courses, course goals, and certificate goals that help you achieve your learning objectives. A course section requires you to complete a specified course in order to complete a section. A certificate section is considered completed when you earn a specific certificate. 

Enrolling in a path is similar to enrolling in courses:
  1. Click Catalog on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Browse the course catalog.
    1. Paths are indicated with the Path tag on the Path tile.
  3. Click the Path tile.
  4. Click Enroll.
    1. Note that some paths require an access code.
Catalog page, CYPHER tab with the Path tag highlighted on a Path tile

You can access Paths you are enrolled in from the Courses fly-out menu on the main navigation menu.
  1. Click or hover over Courses on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Paths are indicated by the  Path icon.
Courses fly-out menu active on the primary navigation menu with the Path icon highlighted


As you move through a path, course goal sections and certificate goal sections will display the Enroll button if you aren't enrolled in the course.
  1. Click Enroll to enroll in the course needed for the course goal or certificate goal.
Path, Course goal page with the Enroll button highlighted

When you access a course within a path, a Path widget displays in the right panel.
  1. Click the Path name when you are ready to navigate back to the path. 
Path widget as it would display in a course that is a part of a Path

Notifications

To view your notifications:
  1. Click the Notifications icon in the top right menu.
A drop-down menu will appear that lists your most recent notifications. Notifications include course-related notifications, enrollments, and assessment grading. If your course has games, you will receive a notification each time you earn points, a new badge, or are awarded a certificate.
  1. To view a notification, click the specific notification from the list.
  2. To adjust notification settings, click Configure.
Notifications menu active with the Notifications icon and Configure button highlighted

Communicating with users

Sending messages

You can communicate with instructors and colleagues by using the messaging system in the platform. To view your most recent messages:
  1. Click the Messages icon in the top right menu
A drop-down menu will appear that lists the most recent messages.
  1. To read a message, click a specific message from the list.
  2. To view all of your messages, click See all.
  3. To send a new message, click + New Message.
  4. To change your message settings, click Configure.
Message menu active with the Message icon highlighted

You can also send a message directly to other users anytime you see their profile image, such as the Online widget, from a forum, or the Learners tab in a course. To send a message:
  1. Hover over the user's name.
  2. Click Message.
Example of hovering over a user's name in the Course game widget with a User pop-up open and the Message button highlighted

To send a group message:
  1. Select multiple users from a list.
  2. Click Message.
Users page, Friends tab with two users selected and the Message button highlighted

Adding friends

You can connect with other users as friends to message and exchange resources. To add a friend:
  1. Click a user's profile picture to access their profile page.
  2. Click Add friend.
  3. You will receive a message when the user has accepted your friend request.
User profile page with the Add friend button highlighted

Chatting with users

If a user is online, you can chat with them directly from the platform. To chat with a user:
  1. Click the user's profile picture to access their profile page.
  2. Click Chat.
  3. The Chat window opens in the lower right corner of the screen. 
User profile page with the Chat button highlighted and a Chat window open

Summary

This guide was designed to introduce you to the platform. Now you know the basics of navigating the platform, enrolling in courses, viewing modules, submitting assessments, and collaborating with other users.

If you have additional questions, the Knowledge base is a great place to start. The Knowledge base allows you to browse topics and search for specific keywords to find answers to your questions.

Happy Learning!