My e-learning

• Basics

  • The Hub is a Learning Management System (LMS) specifically designed and built for the health and social care workforce. It allows users to find e-learning content that is relevant to them, learn at their own pace, at any time and in any place. The Hub also stores all users’ learning activity so that it can be reported on to provide evidence of your learning.

    The learning content within the Hub is organised hierarchically across three main levels:

    Programme > Course > Session

    This allows the various programmes to organise their learning content how they see fit. This will often be in line with their professional body’s curriculum.

    A programme is the highest level of the content hierarchy. It contains courses and may also contain learning paths. In turn, courses and learning paths contain sessions.

    A session which solely comprises of questions and answers usually results in a score being recorded in the LMS. The introductory first page of these sessions will clearly tell you if a score will be recorded at the end, so you should read this page carefully before deciding to proceed. 

    Any score recorded in the Hub will be reported in your activity reports. 

    Find out more about reporting activity.

• What is an application?

  • Most of the e-learning content that you can access from the Hub is contained on the Hub itself. However, there is some content that is hosted elsewhere and this is what we call an application.

    Examples of applications are:

    • Prescribing Simulator (an online resource designed to enable medical students and other trainees to practice their prescribing skills)
    • Pathopedia (an online encyclopaedia of pathology)

    e-LfH provide a link from your account on the Hub to the external content so that you have fewer usernames and passwords to remember. Where appropriate, we also bring in your learning activity on the external system to create a unified training record.

• What is a programme?

  • A programme is a structured collection of learning content which is organised into courses and learning paths. A course or learning path contains sessions, which are the actual units of learning content.

    You can choose which programmes you want to enrol on by selecting My Account > Enrolment.

    Learn more about adding programmes to your account.

    You can access the programmes you have enrolled on in the My e-learning section of the Hub.

• What is a course?

  • A course is a collection of sessions which are grouped together. Courses can also be grouped together to form a programme.

    You can access your courses by exploring the programmes in the My e-learning section of the Hub.

    Learn more about navigating the Hub.

• What is a learning path?

  • A learning path is a special type of course that is tailored to a specific user audience, condition, treatment or investigation. This means they could contain the same sessions as a normal course but in a different order. Also, learning paths could combine additional content from other programmes. Learning paths are a good way to target content to achieve a specific learning outcome.

    You can access your learning paths by exploring the programmes in the My e-learning section of the Hub.

    Learn more about navigating the Hub.

• What is a folder?

  • A folder is simply a means of organising content. It is not an educational unit in the same way that a course or learning path is, so you cannot search for folders and they do not have an information page.

• What is a session?

  • A session represents a single learning object within a course. This is the actual learning content that you complete.

    

    Different programmes use different session types depending on the learning objective of the programme.

• Accessing the e-learning content

• How do I access the e-learning?

  • 1. Register with e-LfH

    2. Log in to the Hub

    3. Either search for content, or go to the My e-learning section in the Hub and browse for content that you are already enrolled on.

     

• How do I find out more information about something on the Hub?

  • Every programme, course, learning path, session and application has an information page that gives you more information about that component.  You can access this by clicking on the blue information button.

    

    The information page contains information such as description, the author’s name and a record of your past activity on the component.

    

• Adding new e-learning content to your account

• Do I need to add programmes to my account?

  • Yes. To do this you should use the Enrolment option on the My Account menu in the Hub. By selecting a programme it will instantly add the programme and all its content to your account.

    Find out more about adding programmes to your account.

• Do I need to add courses to my account?

  • No. All courses within your programme(s) will be made available to you automatically when you enrol for the programme.

• Do I need to add learning paths to my account?

  • No. All learning paths within your programme(s) will be made available to you automatically when you enrol on the programme.

• How does a learning path differ from a course?

  • Each programme is divided into courses and each session in the programme can normally be found once within those courses. If you work through every session in every course in turn, then you will eventually complete the whole programme. Courses can be organised in many ways, such as along anatomical lines (e.g. Muscular & Skeletal, Gastro-Intestinal etc), by level (e.g. Introduction, Advanced, etc) or by patient (e.g. Geriatric, Neo-natal, etc).

    A learning path suggests an alternative route through the learning content that runs in parallel to the courses. For example, if the courses are organised along anatomical lines, then there may be a series of learning paths based on investigation (e.g. Ultrasound, MRI, etc).

    Local organisations can also create their own learning paths (e.g. University College London Year 1 Radiology) inside a programme. These local learning paths will be available to all users, not just the institution that created it.

• If I complete a session from a learning path, will I have to complete it again from another part of the system (e.g. from a course)?

  • No. The list of content shown in the learning path is another view of content that you have access to elsewhere in the system. So if you start or complete a session from anywhere in the system (including Favourites) then the status of that session remains the same regardless of where you are viewing it from.

• Sessions

• Do I need to add sessions to my account?

  • No. As all courses are automatically made available to you when you enrol on the programme so inherently are all the sessions in each course automatically available.

• What types of sessions are available through the Hub?

  • Different programmes use different session types depending on the learning objective of the programme.

    Knowledge sessions:

    Aiming to equip you with specific knowledge and skills including practical clinical skills and general professional and communication skills.

    Scenario sessions:

    Simulating a particular clinical situation and you have to work your way through the scenario deciding what actions to take.

    Assessment & Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) sessions:

    Testing your understanding of a particular subject area.

    eLibrary sessions:

    Supporting resources, typically taken from medical journals that have been selected by a project’s editorial team.

• Quick start guide

  • We have produced a two page quick start guide which provides the key information you need to get started with e-LfH’s e-learning resources.

• Starting my learning

• How do I get started?

  • 1. Login to the Hub

    2. Select the ‘My e-learning’ menu option

    

    3. After choosing a specific course, your available programme(s) will be listed

    4. Select the arrow next to your programme in the left hand panel to display its contents 

    

    5. Select a title to view the contents in the right hand panel and locate your learning. Click on the relevant modules until you have reached the session listings 

    

    6. To open your session and start learning, select the ‘Play’ button. A new window will be launched containing the learning material. When you have completed a session, close that browser window in the normal manner.

    Find out more about finding your way around in the Hub.

    Download our quick start guide.

    By visiting the parent project web pages on the e-LfH website, you will also find a variety of additional resources such as the curriculum which will help you find and navigate the learning content on the Hub.

• How do I navigate around the Hub?

  • In order to help you find your way around the Hub we have produced the Navigation Guide (PDF).

     

• Can I start multiple sessions?

  • No. If you try to launch a second session, the system will warn you that you already have a session underway, and once you clear the warning, the first session will be brought to the front of your screen.

    Each session you have started but not completed will have a status of ‘Started’ indicated by this icon: 

    

• How can I see which programmes, courses, learning paths and sessions I have started?

  • There are three ways you can check which content you have accessed:

    1. You can run a report from the 'My activity' section.

    Find out more about reporting.

    2. Every piece of content in the 'My e-learning' section has an icon which shows your status on that piece of learning.

    Find out more about status icons.

    3. You can filter your search by just looking for content with a 'Not Started' status.

    Find out more about filtered search.

• How can I check on my progress?

  • There are two ways you can check on your progress:

    1. You can run a report from the ‘My activity’ section which will show your progress on a given programme or course, or across all programmes.
    
    Find out more about reporting. 

    2. Every piece of content in the ‘My e-learning’ section has an icon with shows your status on that piece of learning. The status of programmes, courses and learning paths is determined by your activity on the sessions underneath that component. If you access a session in a course, then that course is marked as ‘in progress’. If you complete all the sessions in a course, then the course is also marked as ‘completed’.

    Find out more about status icons.

    Click here for further information about obtaining certificates of your activity.

• How do I know which session I last accessed?

  • Use the 'Recent Activity' panel on the Hub home page. It shows the last 15 sessions you accessed so that you can easily return to your recent learning.

    

• Can I stop my session at any point and get back to the same page later on?

  • Yes. To exit the session, simply close the browser window in the normal manner. The system will remember the last page you viewed and next time you access the session it will open on this page.

    Note: This does not apply to multiple choice questions (MCQ), scenario or assessment sessions as these are designed to be completed in one sitting.

• What do the status icons mean?

  • Look for these icons to identify the status of your sessions and programmes.

     Not attempted

     Started/incomplete

     Completed

     Failed

     Passed

     

• Completing my learning

• How do I finish a session?

  • This depends on the type of session you are using. Each programme uses one or more different types of session depending on the nature of the e-learning content.

    View the session guide to see all the different types of sessions, and the different ways they are navigated and completed in order for the completion to be recorded correctly on your account.

    Once completed, the session will continue to appear in the 'My e-learning' listings. Once all the sessions in a folder, course or learning path have been completed, the status of those components will update to reflect that.

    Learn more about the different types of sessions.

• How do I find my 'completed' sessions?

  • 1. Select the arrow to the right of the search field 

    

    2. Use the status filter to select a status

    

    3. Select the 'search' button

    4. The listing will only show sessions matching the status you have selected

• How do I find content I might be interested in?

  • The best way to find content is to use the search facility, which is always available at the top of the Hub screen.

    

    Find out more about how search works.

     

• How does search work?

  • There are three types of search in the Hub:

    Simple search
    
    This is where you enter a search term into the search field at the top of the screen and press enter. The system will search all the content for you.
    
    If you enter two terms into the search field, then the search will only return components where both search terms are present. For example, entering 'MRI CT' will return a session that has both 'MRI' and 'CT' as keywords but will not return a session that just has 'MRI' as a keyword.

     

    Simple search with filters
    
    If you select the arrow to the right of the search field, then some filters will be displayed to you.

    

    These allow you to: 

    • Search all content in the system, or just search the content on which you are enrolled
    • Search within a particular programme or programmes
    • Search for a particular type of component (e.g. just search for sessions)
    • Search for content with a particular status (e.g. just search for content that you have not started yet)

     

    Advanced search

    Select advanced search from the simple search with filters box to go to the advanced search.

     

    You still have the same filters but can also exclude search terms (e.g. search for "melanoma" but not "malignant") and search for content which you have accessed within a particular date range.

     

• What is the difference between search when I am logged in or not logged in?

  • In the Hub, you can search for content whether you are logged in or not.

    However, until you log in, the system does not know who you are. This means that the actions you can carry out in the search results are different.

    For example, if you are not logged in, then you will not be able to enrol on a programme. You also cannot use the filter to only search enrolled content. You may be able to launch a session from a programme which is available without logging on, however we would recommend that you register for an account if you wish to retain and report on your learning activity.

    Find out more about the catalogue.

     

• Can I filter my search results?

  • Yes, you can.

    Select the arrow to the right of the search field.

    

    The following filters will be displayed which you can use to narrow your search:

    • The content you are enrolled on
    • Specific programmes
    • Specific component types
    • Specific statuses
• What is the advanced search option?

  • In the Advanced Search, you still have the same filters as are available on the filtered search but can also exclude search terms (e.g. search for “melanoma” but not “malignant”) and search within a particular date range.

    

• What do the stars mean?

  • The stars indicate your favourite content. You can mark any component, from a session to a programme, as a favourite. You do this by clicking the star alongside the component in any location that star is displayed.

    You can mark a session as a favourite if it is something you access regularly or if it has some key information that you know you will need to access quickly at some point in the future.

• How do I access my favourites?

  • Select the magenta star on the main menu. This will provide a list of your favourites.

    

• Is there a restriction on how many items can be added to my favourites?

  • No, there are no restrictions but bear in mind it may be difficult to find items if you have added a lot of content.

• If I complete a session in my favourites, does it show as completed elsewhere in the system?

  • Yes. Marking something as a ‘favourite’ just makes it easier to find in the future. It does not create a second version of the session.

• What is available in the recent activity panel and where can I find it?

  • The 'recent activity' panel is on the home page of the Hub. It allows you to view and open sessions that you have recently launched.

    

    Learn more about navigating the Hub.

• What do the component icons mean?

  • 	Programme	Programmes have an icon which reflects their branding to make them easily recognisable.
    	Course	Courses are indicated by a yellow folder with a small blue box.
    	Learning path	Learning paths are indicated by a yellow folder with a blue arrow.
    	Folder	Folders are indicated by a plain yellow folder.
    	Session	Sessions are indicated by a blue box.

    

     All the icons also include your status in the top right hand corner.

• I clicked the link to launch the session and I received an error message.
  • 1. Try launching the session again
    2. If that fails, log out of the Hub, close all browser windows, then log back in and try the session again
    3. If it still fails, then visit the Technical Checker to give your system a quick once over to see that it is set up correctly for accessing our content
    4. If the Technical Checker gives your system a clean bill of health, then contact the Support Team

    
    If you received an error message, then it would help the Support Team to know what the error says. Please take a screenshot of the message or copy and include it when you report the problem. 

• How do I report an error in a session?

  • The best way to report an error is through the feedback option on the Hub.

    There is a checkbox on the feedback form, which indicates that you are reporting an error as opposed to just leaving feedback. This alerts the relevant project team and they will consult with a subject matter expert before deciding what course of action to take.

    You can access the feedback button from the session’s information page or from the ‘My e-learning’ section.

    

    See more about My e-learning.

    See more about the information page.

    Please note that you can’t leave feedback for a session until you have accessed it at least once.

• How do I provide feedback on a session?

  • The best way to provide feedback on a session is to use the feedback option on the Hub.

    You can access the feedback button from the session’s information page or from the 'My e-learning' section.

    

    See more about My e-learning.

    Please note that you can’t leave feedback for a session until you have accessed it at least once.

• Why are there three different ways to navigate around My e-learning?

  • Different people use the Hub in different ways, so we have three alternative ways of navigating around the My e-learning section. 

    Panel view

    This is the default view for My e-learning. It allows you to navigate the programme hierarchies by displaying the contents of a programme, course, learning path or folder one at a time.

    

    Expanded view

    This view allows you to view the contents of several courses, learning paths or folders at the same time.

    

    Tile view

    This view allows you to view the contents of a programme, course or learning path in large format. 

    

    You can switch between the views via the buttons on the My e-learning screen. The system remembers the last type of view used.

• How can I share e-learning material with my colleagues?

  • All the e-learning sessions, courses, learning paths and programmes on the Hub have information pages which can be accessed from the information icon.

    

    At the bottom of the information page there are a series of buttons allowing you to share the URL for that e-learning component.

    

• Quicklinks

• What are Quicklinks?

  • Each session has a unique code called a Quicklink. You can find the Quicklink in the session keywords, which are displayed on the information page.

    Learn how to find the Quicklink for a session.

    Because the code for each session is unique, you can use the Quicklink to find a particular session quickly and easily by entering the Quicklink in the search field.

• How do I find the Quicklink for a particular session?

  • Select the 'information icon' for the session.  

    The Quicklink will be listed under the ‘session information’.

    Find out more on how to navigate to a particular session.

• Can I get a list of the Quicklinks used in my programme(s)?

  • Some programmes have included the session Quicklinks in the supporting material they provide. An example of this can be found on the Anaesthesia programme pages on the e-LfH website.