COMPETENCY TEST FOR ONLINE
STUDENTS
Testing Out of ICT 095
In order to ensure that students taking online courses have the basic skills
necessary to complete coursework delivered this way, NPC offers a half-credit
class (ICT 095) that must be taken prior to registering for classes online.
We recognize, however, that many students won't need this class to succeed.
Therefore, we've constructed this short test/project as an opt-out. If you are able
to complete the project competently, and send it to the email address below,
you'll be cleared to take online classes at NPC without taking ICT 095.
Because the test is designed to measure your familiarity and skill with online
environments, the instructions given will not be detailed step by step as they
would be in the class. If you encounter difficulties, try using a search engine to
find information on how to complete the step that is giving you trouble. For
example, if you don't know how to take a screen shot, you might search on
"screen shot windows" and figuring it out from one of the many links returned in
the search.
If you're still having trouble, consider taking ICT 095 instead. The class has been
designed to quickly get you up to speed with skills you will use every day as an
online student.
Please do NOT contact college support services or help desks for assistance in
completing the project. We're measuring your already-existing abilities here, and
if you need that level of help, taking the class is a much better option.
The Project (Competency Test)
1) Using your browser of choice, navigate to the NPC Moodle site at
moodle.npc.edu If you already have a username and password for the site, log in
normally. If you don't, sign up for one ("create new account"). Once logged in,
you'll see that your username appears as a link at the top of the page ("You are
logged in as ..."). Click this link.
2) You'll see a page that details your user information, such as the City/town
information you used when you signed up, and the date of last access. Take a
screen shot of this page. Paste the screen shot into a word processing program,
such as Microsoft Word or Open Office. Please make sure the text in the picture
is readable--resize the graphic, or take another shot if necessary to make it so.
3) Save the word processing document as "095project". Acceptable formats
include Word document (.doc, .docx), .odt, and .rtf. Unacceptable formats include
.wps (very few instructors will be able to read WordPerfect files). If your format of
choice is not listed here, you can either switch to one of these common formats
for purposes of the test, or you can use something else and roll the dice on your
evaluator being able to read it anyway. This mirrors the situation in classes, and
the rest of the real world. You want your document to have a good chance of
being opened and readable by your intended recipient.
4) Place your cursor above the screen shot, at the top of the page, and type the
following information: Your name, your NPC student ID number, your email
address, the NPC campus or center closest to you (for example, "Kayenta" or
"WMC" or "Painted Desert"), and the date. If you don’t yet have your student ID,
please register for one here. If you have an NPC student ID number but you don’t
know what it is, please contact the Support Center through MyNPC. If you submit
your test project without an NPC student ID number, you won’t pass.
5) Return your cursor to a point below the screen shot and then add three blank
lines below it.
6) Open a new browser window and access any search engine. Search on the
words: NPC, moodle, welcome. (All three words in one search) Take a second
screen shot of the search results, and paste it into your 095project document.
Legibility is not quite as critical here as in the first screen capture, but the picture
should at least be recognizable as a page of search results.
7) Examine the search results and find one near the top that references Moodle,
but does NOT point to a page on an npc.edu server. This might be another
school's Moodle installation, or refer to something else entirely, such as "NonPlayer Character". Click on the link you've chosen and navigate to the linked
page.
8) Take a third screen shot of the resulting page, and paste that into your
document.
9) At the bottom of your document, after the three screen shots, type the words
"NPC 095 opt-out" and then save the document one last time.
10) Send your completed document as an attachment to ict@npc.edu. In the
subject line of your email, put your name and NPC ID.
Your submission will be evaluated within 72 hours, and a notification of success
(or not) will be sent to the same address you used when sending in the
document. If successful, your name and student ID will be send to the Registrar's
Office and you'll be cleared to sign up for online classes. If not, you'll be advised
on what steps to take next--most likely meaning how to sign up for ICT 095 to
learn the skills not demonstrated via your document.
You can try this test as many times as you want.
If you don’t hear from us within 72 hours, it is very likely that your email didn’t go
through (check your email Sent box) or you have sent it to a wrong email
address. In that case, you’ll need to resubmit your opt-out test.
Thanks very much. Questions on the procedure outlined here can be directed to
ICT@npc.edu.
How to Sign Up for ICT 095?
If you are not able to receive a passing grade after several attempts taking the
opt-out test, you might want to consider taking ICT 095. Email ICT@npc.edu with
your name, NPC student ID, contact information, your availabilities, and the NPC
campus/center that is the nearest to you. One of our ICT instructors will contact
you shortly.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON COMMUNICATION
Please do NOT call the ICT staff (even someone tells you to do so) because
there are more than one ICT staff monitoring the ICT program. Calling them will
cause confusion and slow down the process because the person you call might
not be the one who is on duty that day. To ensure a timely and accurate
response please email ict@npc.edu - that’s the best and the only communication
method we recommend for any ICT-related business.