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User guide - How to book a course [download PDF]
Contents
1 Accessing to the portal
1.1 How to choose another language?
1.2 How to browse the portal contents?
1.3 How to search for offers?
2 Joining the portal
2.1 How to register at the portal?
2.2 How to log onto the portal?
2.3 How to modify account at the portal?
1 Accessing to the portal
The starting page of the Columbus portal is available in three languages.
For those accessing the portal, the following facilities are available:
• General information about the project as well as an imprint and contact information are provided.
• Offers are presented that have been ranked best by the portal's users as well as those ones recommended by the Quality Assurance staff.
• Current news provided by the administrators are displayed (also available via RSS feed).
• Offers can be retrieved from the web shop by a content catalogue or by a search function.
• You can register a new account.
• Offers are presented that have been ranked best by the portal's users as well as those ones recommended by the Quality Assurance staff.
• Current news provided by the administrators are displayed (also available via RSS feed).
• Offers can be retrieved from the web shop by a content catalogue or by a search function.
• The offer presentation includes title, description, price and VAT.
• If provided by the author:
• You can tell a friend about an offer.
• You can call a helpdesk offering FAQs.• If provided by the author:
• Screenshots from the user interface of the offers can be viewed.
• HTML-based demo versions of the offers can be viewed.
• "Special Hints" like learning objective, (estimated) learning duration, severity are provided.
• Comparable offers which were bought by other customers are displayed.• HTML-based demo versions of the offers can be viewed.
• "Special Hints" like learning objective, (estimated) learning duration, severity are provided.
• You can tell a friend about an offer.
• You can register a new account.
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1.1 How to choose another language?
You want to choose another language than English.
How to proceed?
1. Click one of the flag icons below the Columbus icon.
2. The starting page of the portal is displayed in the chosen language.
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1.2 How to browse the portal contents?
You want to view information on offers in order to get an impression of their contents.
How to proceed?
1. Call the Columbus portal.
2. The starting page is displayed with the default language English.
3. Browse the content catalogue and chooses a category.
4. The category is displayed showing several offers in any language.
The offer presentation includes:
• Title
• Description
• Price and VAT
• Facility to "Add [the offer] to [the] shopping cart"
However, in order to purchase an offer, you have to register!
If provided:
• Screenshot
• Access to HTML-based demo
5. Click the title of one of the offers.• Description
• Price and VAT
• Facility to "Add [the offer] to [the] shopping cart"
However, in order to purchase an offer, you have to register!
If provided:
• Screenshot
• Access to HTML-based demo
6. The offer displayed with additional information and facilities:
• "Special Hints" like learning objective, (estimated) learning duration, severity
• "Comparable offers, which were bought by our customers."
• Facility to "Tell A friend About This Product"
• "Comparable offers, which were bought by our customers."
• Facility to "Tell A friend About This Product"
Where things might take a different turn:
3. You choose another language (de, pl) before going on.
► The registration area is displayed with the chosen language.
► Go on from step 3.
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1.3 How to search for offers?
You want to search for available offers on the Columbus portal.
How to proceed?
1. Enter reasonable metadata (e.g., title) into the search mask on top of the starting page.
2. The portal searches within its database for metadata of the corresponding courses.
The results are displayed showing several offers in any language (not only the one you chose). The result presentation includes:
• Title
• Description
• Price and VAT
• Facility to "Add [the offer] to [the] shopping cart"
However, in order to purchase an offer, you have to register!
If provided, offers also feature:
• Screenshot
• Access to HTML-based demo
3. Click the title of one of the offers.• Description
• Price and VAT
• Facility to "Add [the offer] to [the] shopping cart"
However, in order to purchase an offer, you have to register!
If provided, offers also feature:
• Screenshot
• Access to HTML-based demo
4. The offer is displayed with additional information and facilities:
• "Special Hints" the author provided like learning objective(s), (estimated) learning duration, difficulty.
• "Comparable offers which were bought by our customers."
• A facility to "Tell A friend About This Product".
• "Comparable offers which were bought by our customers."
• A facility to "Tell A friend About This Product".
Where things might take a different turn:
1. In case you are searching based on more special metadata, hit the "Detail Search" link below the search mask.
► The "Detail Search" mask is displayed offering entry fields for any metadata type required from suppliers.
► Enter or choose the regarding metadata (e.g., a degree of difficulty) into the search mask.
► The results are displayed showing several offers in any language (not only the one you chose).
► Enter or choose the regarding metadata (e.g., a degree of difficulty) into the search mask.
► The results are displayed showing several offers in any language (not only the one you chose).
The result presentation includes fields for any metadata type required from suppliers (even if they are empty).
2. There aren't any offer available featuring the desired metadata.► The result presentation is displayed featuring a message:
"There aren't any offers complying with your search data."
"There aren't any offers complying with your search data."
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2 Joining the portal
In case you are interested in the Columbus portal, do not hesitate to register and become a user:
• You have a personal user account you can modify arbitrarily.
• At the helpdesk, additional FAQs are visible. Moreover, you can write to or phone a helpdesk.
And, most important of course, you can now purchase and use offers provided in the portal (s. chap. Consuming contents from the portal).• At the helpdesk, additional FAQs are visible. Moreover, you can write to or phone a helpdesk.
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2.1 How to register at the portal?
Still being a prospect, you now want to get a user account for the Columbus portal.
How to proceed?
1. Call the Columbus portal.
2. The starting page is displayed with the default language English.
3. Call the registration area (next to the login box).
4. The registration area is displayed showing the following input fields:
• necessary naming items
• necessary contact information
• username and password
• facility to apply for supplier status (optional)
• CAPTCHA verification
5. Complete any obligatory entries and save.• necessary contact information
• username and password
• facility to apply for supplier status (optional)
• CAPTCHA verification
6. The portal displays the starting page of the portal. Now, you are already logged in.
Where things might take a different turn:
4. You choose another language (de, pl) before going on.
► The registration area is displayed with the chosen language.
► Go on from step 5.
5. You omitted obligatory entries.► Go on from step 5.
► The registration area is displayed maintaining the entries made up to now and showing a message:
"There are required elements missing in this application."
"There are required elements missing in this application."
► Go on from step 5.
5. You enter an already existing user name.► The registration area is displayed maintaining the entries made up to now and showing a message:
"The user name you chose already exists. Please choose another one."
► Go on from step 5.
5. You additionally apply for supplier status."The user name you chose already exists. Please choose another one."
► Go on from step 5.
► The registration area is displayed maintaining the entries made up to now and showing a message:
"You already have registered to the Columbus portal. You will receive an e-Mail including your automatically generated password shortly. Your account still has to be activated by an administrator."
► Go on from step 5.
► You are notified by e-Mail by an administrator as soon as the supplier application is approved.
"You already have registered to the Columbus portal. You will receive an e-Mail including your automatically generated password shortly. Your account still has to be activated by an administrator."
► Go on from step 5.
► You are notified by e-Mail by an administrator as soon as the supplier application is approved.
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2.2 How to log onto the portal?
Having already registered before, you want to enter the password-protected area of the Columbus portal again.
Precondition:
You have got a user account incl. password for the Columbus portal at your disposal.
How to proceed?
1. Call the Columbus portal and state your login ID and password.
2. The starting page of the user's web shop account displayed with the chosen language.
Where things might take a different turn:
1. You state a wrong login ID and/or password.
► The registration area is displayed showing a message:
"The password [username] you entered is wrong! Please use the password assistance".
Two links "Forgot password?" and "Forgot username?" are provided.
► Click "Forgot password?" (or "Forgot username?").
► In the following view, you can enter (your user name and) the e-mail address you specified when you registered.
► An e-mail will be sent to the stated address. The message contains an address for a web page, where you can enter a new password for the user account (or resp., it contains all usernames assigned to the stated e-mail address: In this case, choose a suitable username and use the password service described above to retrieve a new password).
In case you are unable to assign a password to your user account using these facilities, please send an e-mail to the administrator specified there.
"The password [username] you entered is wrong! Please use the password assistance".
Two links "Forgot password?" and "Forgot username?" are provided.
► Click "Forgot password?" (or "Forgot username?").
► In the following view, you can enter (your user name and) the e-mail address you specified when you registered.
► An e-mail will be sent to the stated address. The message contains an address for a web page, where you can enter a new password for the user account (or resp., it contains all usernames assigned to the stated e-mail address: In this case, choose a suitable username and use the password service described above to retrieve a new password).
In case you are unable to assign a password to your user account using these facilities, please send an e-mail to the administrator specified there.
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2.3 How to modify account at the portal?
You want to make arbitrary changes to the data your user account.
Preconditions:
• You have got a user account incl. password for the Columbus portal at your disposal.
• You have logged onto the portal.
How to proceed?
1. Call your user account via the "Main Menu" ("My Columbus" > "Personal Profile").
2. The user account is displayed including the entries valid up to now.
3. Make the desired changes and save.
4. The registration area is displayed showing a message:
"Your changes have been saved."
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