eLearning Orientation Guide
A.
Introduction
Course layout



A course is typically made up of a number of units.
Access the first unit and then complete the units in the sequence they are presented.
Once logged in, you will find learning materials, other resource materials and assessment
activities displayed on the screen.
o Review the materials provided and complete the assessment activities.
o Submit your work for assessment and feedback.
Downloading and
printing


Create a folder on your computer for all your course related documents.
Download the Learner Guide, relevant resources and assessment templates for each unit to this
folder for offline study.
All resources are printable. Open a document and select Print from the menu.

Submitting assessment
activities and accessing
feedback





You will be required to complete different types of online assessment activities during the
course.
Knowledge checks assess knowledge about course materials.
Hand-in activities assess your ability to apply new knowledge, skills and values.
Online discussion allows you to find and share course related information.
Later in this document, you will find step-by-step instructions on how to submit your work and
find feedback.
NOTE:
Keep all course related documentation (especially assessment activities) until you have received your
certificate from the NSG.
Technical support to
complete online
activities


This eLearning Orientation Guide provides easy to follow instructions to complete the tasks you
are required to perform in the online learning environment as outlined below:
Section B
Log in
Access the Learner Guide and other resources
Section C
Complete a knowledge check (quiz) and see your results
Section D
Participate in an online discussion
Section E
Submit assessment activity templates for feedback
Section F
Request a new password
Section G
NSG eLearning environment Code of Honour
Section H
In addition, you can contact the eLearning Helpdesk for technical support:
 eLearning@thensg.gov.za
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B.
Log in
Enrolment notification

On registration you will receive an email with your username, password and login instructions.
Step 1

Open an Internet Browser (e.g. Google Chrome) and go to the NSG website
(www.thensg.gov.za). Click on the relevant link under the “eLearning” tab on the page.
TIP:
If you get a warning bar at the top of your screen, stating that pop-ups were blocked, please select
“Always allow pop-ups from this site”.
Step 2


A new page will open up.
Enter your username and password as indicated in the notification email you received.
TIP:
Remember that both your username and password are case sensitive.
Step 3


Once you are logged in you will see the NSG eLearning landing page. All the courses that you
are registered for will be listed under My courses.
Click on the name of the course you wish to access.
Course name 1
Course name 2
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C.
Access the learner resources
Read the welcome message


Follow the learning path



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Once you have accessed a course, you will see a welcome message at the top of the screen
with detailed instructions on how the course activities are set out and what will be expected
from you.
Read the welcome message carefully.
Once you have accessed a course, you will see that the course resources and activities are
placed in a specific order.
Work through the course sequentially; completion of the first task will automatically open
the second task, and so on.
Incomplete activities are indicated by a . The block changes to once the activity has been
successfully completed.
The computer will also give you a hint on what needs to be done first – look for “Not available
unless…” for a hint on what needs to be completed first.
Step 1
Learning materials and resources are available for download. These documents are usually stored
in MS Word or PDF format – if you cannot open any of the documents ask your IT department for
help.
Step 2
Click on a resource file name to open or save the resource. We suggest that you save the
resources to your computer for offline viewing.
TIP:
Remember to save resources to a folder on your computer. Resources are printable.
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D.
Complete a knowledge check and see your results
Knowledge checks

Knowledge checks (also referred to as online quizzes) are automatically assessed by the
computer. You will receive your results and feedback as soon as you have submitted your
answers for marking.
Step 1

Knowledge checks are indicated by a
.
TIP:
Although these are open-book quizzes, we suggest you work through the learning materials before
attempting the quizzes. Aim to achieve at least 75% for each quiz before progressing to the next
activity.
Step 2


Click on the name of the quiz to see the quiz instructions and then click on the Attempt quiz
now button.
Select the correct answers and click on the Finish attempt button to finish.
Click on a question
number to jump to that
question.
Click on Finish
attempt to submit your
answers for marking.
Step 3

Once you have clicked on the Finish attempt button you will move to the quiz summary page.
Here you will be able to see if you have skipped a question by mistake. If you are ready to
submit your answers, click the Submit all and finish button.
Step 4

Once you have submitted your answers, you will receive your results and feedback instantly.
Details of the attempt, your
score and feedback on whether
you need to redo the quiz.
Correct and incorrect responses
are indicated per question.
Detailed feedback is provided on each
question. Read this carefully to determine
where you made mistakes.
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Step 5

Review the feedback for each question as it contains valuable information on the question
and its correct answer.
Step 6

Once you have reviewed your quiz responses, click on Finish review to exit the quiz.
Step 7


If you did not meet the minimum requirements for the quiz, retake the quiz.
You can open and retake the quiz at any time when you are ready, simply click on the Reattempt quiz button.
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E.
Participate in online discussion
Online discussion


Online discussion forums provide a space for you to connect with your facilitator and fellow
learners.
Follow the steps below to participate in online discussions.
Step 1

Discussion forums are indicated by a
Step 2

To add a new message to the group, open the discussion forum and click on the Add a new
discussion topic button. Type your message to the group in the space provided. Remember
to add a meaningful subject line. You can also add attachments to your message.
Type your message to the group in the space
provided. You have the standard text
formatting tools available
Add attachments by dragging and dropping them in
this space. Alternatively you can use the upload
button and browse to the document.
Click on Post to forum to
send your message.
Step 3

Click on Post to forum to send your message to the group.
Step 4

Click on the Reply button in a message to reply to that specific message.
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F.
Submit assessment activity templates for feedback
Hand-in activities


These activities require you to upload and submit work to the online learning environment.
If you are required to work in a given template, you will open the template as a resource and
save it to your computer (see section C).
Once you have completed a given activity, you will submit the document that you worked on
to your online facilitator. Your online facilitator will assess your work and provide feedback,
which you can find in the online learning environment.
TIP:
Always use meaningful file names when you save your work.
If you need more time to complete an assignment, you may request an extension by contacting
Technical Support (see Section A).

You will not receive a mark out of 100 for your work. The following codes are used to grade
your work:
o Competent:
2
o Not yet competent:
1
o Assessment not submitted:
0

Hand-in activities are indicated by a
Step 1




Open the activity by clicking on the activity name.
Read the activity instructions carefully.
Download the assessment template and save it to your computer.
Complete the assessment template. Follow the steps below to submit your work to your
online facilitator.
Step 2

Open the activity by clicking on the activity name.
Step 3

Click on the Add submission button to open the submission page and submit one or more
documents to your online facilitator for feedback.
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Step 4


Use the file submission tool to upload your submission to the online learning environment.
You can add more than one document to your submission.
To remove a file, click on the file and select the Delete option from the pop-up menu.

Once all your documents are displayed in the file area, click on the Save changes button to
submit the documents to your online facilitator for feedback.
Step 5

A confirmation screen will open – verify that you have submitted the correct documents.
Click on Edit submission if you need to change any of the documents in your submission.
Step 6

You will receive an email alert when your submission has been graded. Log in to view the
feedback.
The feedback column is situated below your original submission. The feedback column will
indicate the following:
o Grade – the grade will indicate whether you have been found competent for a
specific activity.
o Feedback comments – your online facilitator will leave specific comments in this
area.
You have two attempts at each activity. If you need to resubmit your activity, click on Edit
submission to update your original activity with the suggestions for your facilitator.


TIP:
You can access all your grades at once by clicking on the Grades link on the course page.
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G.
Request a new password
Password reset

You can request a new password from the NSG eLearning login screen, without having to
phone the Helpdesk.
Step 1


Open the NSG eLearning login screen.
Click on the Forgot your username or password? link above the Login button.
Step 2


Enter your username OR password in one of the spaces provided.
Click on the Search button.
Step 3

A notification page will appear, indicating that an email with a new temporary password has
been sent to your email address.
Step 4

Follow the instructions in the email to set up a new password.
TIP
You can also use this functionality if you forgot your username.
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H.
NSG eLearning online environment Code of Honour
All learners are expected to agree to the Code of Honour before gaining access to the online environment.
Code of honour
By participating in NSG eLearning activities, I agree to the National School of Government Code of
Honour. I will:




Complete all assignments with my own work. I will not submit the work of any other person.
Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use my username and/or password.
Respect the diversity of participants and will avoid making any statements that would be
considered insensitive or inappropriate in the discussions.
Agree not to engage in any practice that may be considered dishonest in any context.
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