Help

Screen Layout

MSG-CAL Support Tools
Module Support Tools
			Content appears here

The screen is divided up into two main areas:

1. On the left-hand side are a number of icons which provide various support tools for the MSG-CAL materials including navigation. These icons can be split into two categories: MSG-CAL Tools and Module Tools which are described below.
2. The right-hand side contains the contents of the modules

MSG-CAL Tools
	Help. Help with using the MSG-CAL modules. This is the what you are reading right now! Specific subject-related help can often be found in feedback to questions or in the reference library (see below)
	Glossary. Some short explanations of technical words and acronyms are given here.
	Communication Tools. Supporting communication tools are accessible via this link. These tools may take the form of email addresses for tutors are link to chat rooms and discussion groups.
	Change Language. At any point in the materials you may switch language. When clicking on this button you will be taken to the equivalent page in French.
	Module Index. This takes you to the front page of the MSG-CAL materials which contains links to all available modules. Clicking on this button also means you will exit the module you are in.

Module Tools
	Reference Library. Some supplementary materials are available for certain parts of the course. These can take the form of reference library entries or links to external web pages both of which are made available by clicking this icon. If using the materials offline the external links will not work. This icon only appears when there are reference materials relevant to the section of the module you are in.
	Module Structure. At any point in a module you can jump to a different section of the module by clicking on this icon. The diagram behaves in the same way as the one described in "Navigating Through a Module"
	Forward and Back Buttons. Each section of the module is made up of a number of pages. You should navigate between these pages using the forward and back buttons at the bottom-left of the page. The numbers below the back and forward arrows (x / y) tells you that you are currently on page x and there are y pages in that section.

Navigating Through a Module

The first page of every module gives some information about the module:

	Learning Objectives The learning objectives which are addressed by the module are listed here. You may not cover all the learning objectives if you do not tackle all the sections of the module.
	Prerequisites The prior knowledge that the student should have before tackling this module

In addition to the information described above, a diagram representing the structure of the module is given. This diagram appears often throughout the module (also available from the and is the interface for navigating around the different sections of a module.

Module Structure Diagram

Each square in the diagram represents a distinct section of the module. As the arrow indicates in the diagram above, the sections are in a general order and you are expected to start at the left-hand side and work your way right. You are free to tackle the sections in any order you like though. Information about a section and how it fits into the rest of the module is displayed if you put your mouse over its square. By clicking on the square (or by clicking on the link in the section info box) you will be taken to the first page of that section. Once in a section you can navigate between pages using the back and forward buttons in the left-hand navigation panel.

Once you leave the last page of a section you will be presented with the module structure diagram again. You need to choose which section you would like to tackle next. To help you choose, the diagram will highlight recommended sections in white with a thick black border. These recommendations are based on the section you visited last (highlighted in green) and the module structure as determined by the module author. If you have already visited a section (highlighted in grey) it will not be recommended again. Sections highlighted in orange are deemed as optional and contain materials related to the module, but doesn't directly address the learning objectives listed on the first page of the module.

You can exit a module at any time by clicking on the icon shown on the right. This icon can be found in the navigation panel on the left-hand side of the screen and upon clicking on it you take you to the MSG-CAL index.

Using the Interactive Elements

There are various standard interactions to be found in the MSG-CAL materials. The following is a brief guide to each type of interaction.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ's)

In a multiple choice question you are presented with a question with a numbe of possible answers. You have to identify the correct option(s). To do this click on beside the option you think is a correct answer. This icon will turn in to a tick () if correct or a cross () if wrong. Feedback will be provided whether you have correctly identified the answer or not. This feedback can be closed, or you can drag it to a convenient place in your browser by holding your left mouse button down over the black bar and moving your mouse. Subsequent feedback for the multiple choice quiz will appear where you have dragged the current feedback.

There is usually more than one MCQ in an exercise, in which case a "Next" icon appears to the left of the question. Just click on this button to take you to the next question. Similarly, you can move to a previous question by clicking on the "Previous" icon. The figures, x / y, tell you that you are on question x and there are y questions in the quiz.

Matrix MCQ

There is a special type of MCQ which for every question there are a number of stems and for every stem there are a number of options, one of which is correct for that stem. These options are the same for every question stem and so are labeled only once at the top of the column of icons. Otherwise, this question behaves in the same way as a normal MCQ. Click on the which you think is the correct answer for a question stem. This icon will turn in to a tick () if correct or a cross () if wrong. Feedback will be provided whether you have correctly identified the answer or not. This feedback can be closed, or you can drag it to a convenient place in your browser by holding your left mouse button down over the black bar and moving your mouse. Subsequent feedback for the multiple choice quiz will appear where you have dragged the current feedback.

There is usually more than one MCQ in an exercise, in which case a "Next" icon appears to the left of the question. Just click on this button to take you to the next question. Similarly, you can move to a previous question by clicking on the "Previous" icon. The figures, x / y, tell you that you are on question x and there are y questions in the quiz.

Drag and Drop Exercises

There are two different types of drag and drop exercises. In one type it is images that are being dragged and in the other it is text.

Image Drag and Drop
The image drag and drops are usually fairly intuitive. Drag the images by holding the left mouse button over the image and moving the mouse. To drop the image, release the mouse button when the image is over the desired target. If the target is a correct one then the image will "snap" into placewhere you dropped it and some feedback will be provided. If where you drop the image is not a correct target (or a target at all) then the image will "snap" back to it's original starting position and some feedback will appear which describes why this was not a correct choice.

Text Drag and Drop
The text drag and drops ar enot quite as intuitive. To drag the text across the screen, instead of clicking on the text, you need to click on the hand icon ()sitting beside it. Click on this icon and hold your mouse button down while moving your mouse in order to drag the icon and associated text. Drop the icon over one of the targets (). If the answer is correct the hand icon will stay over the target. If you have dropped the hand icon over an incorrect target (or if you drop it when its not over any target), the hand icon will snap back to its original position.

Hotspot Exercises

In these exercises you are required to identify certain areas on images. These areas can be rectangles, circles or even irregular polygons. Identify the areas by clicking on the image. Upon clicking the image feedback will be given. If you have correctly identified the area then the feedback will appear in a green box - if it is incorrect then the feedback will appear in a red box. The content of the feedback should give a good indication of why your choice was right or wrong. The feedback can be closed, or you can drag it to a convenient place in your browser by holding your left mouse button down over the black bar and moving your mouse. Subsequent feedback for the multiple choice quiz will appear where you have dragged the current feedback.

In some of the hotspot exercises there is more than one image to aid you in identifying the appropriate areas. To change the image you are looking at you can click on the "Toggle Image" icon. Repeatedly clicking on the "Toggle Image" icon will cycle through the different images available for the exercise. Even if there is more than one image in a hotspot exercise, the areas you are trying to identify remain the same. The numbers below the toggle icon, x / y, indicate you are on image x out of a total y images.

Animation Player

The animation player allows you to control the animation of a sequence of images. The controls can be found underneath the images to be played. Starting from the top left of the control panel, the controls are as follows:

	This button takes you to the first frame of the animation (the nth frame)
	takes you to the previous frame in the sequence
	play the animation backwards
	stop the animation
	play the animation
	takes you to the next frame in the sequence
	This button takes you to the last frame of the animation (the nth frame)
	Decreases the speed of the animation
	Increases the speed of the animation

The functions in the bottom row of the navigation change the way that the animation plays and are as follows (from left to right):