LOGGING IN AND MANAGING YOUR ACCOUNT
Do I need a password to access the Learning Platform?
No, you will just need to login on the main CBC homepage with the email you enrolled on the course.
Can I change my username before the course starts?
Yes, you can do this in your Account area by clicking 'Edit' under your username.
Can I change my username after the course starts?
If you wish to change your username after your course has started please contact students@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk.
How do I access the Curtis Brown Creative Learning Platform?
You can access the Learning Platform by following the link in your confirmation email or via the 'Learning Platform' button in your Account area.
You can also access the Learning Platform dashboard via [URL]
How do I access the course I have enrolled on?
The course in which you are enrolled will appear on the main Learning Platform dashboard and under the 'Your Courses' tab.
When does my course start?
Your course start dates will appear on both your confirmation email and on the course listing on the Learn homepage. The course should appear as 'Starting Soon' and you will not be able to click into it until the course begins.
ACCESSING COURSE MATERIAL
How do I access my course content?
Once your course starts it will be listed as 'Running' and you will be able to click through to the main course homepage.
- Modules: Each module the course will be listed in the left hand side of your course homepage. A new module opens on a specified day each week - giving you access to that week’s teaching videos, notes on the topic being covered and writing exercises. An open module will have a 'View' button which you can click to access that module's content.
- Resources & Tasks: If you’re looking for a specific resource or task, you can find it by clicking ‘Resources’ or 'Tasks' on the main courses homepage or left hand navigation. These pages will list all available materials, grouped by module. Resources and tasks also appear as you work through each module's content throughout the course.Use the 'Download' button below each resource or task to save them to your device (these will normally save into your device's ‘Downloads’ folder – unless otherwise specified)
- Videos: Videos will appear in the left-hand side of each module alongside the course material. You can play and pause videos using the control at the bottom of the video screen and make the video full-screen by clicking on the four-arrowed icon in the bottom-right of the screen. Videos in the platform will not be available for download.
ACCESSING THE ONLINE FORUM
How do I access the forum?
You can access the discussion forums by clicking ‘Forum’ on the main courses homepage or within each module using the Forum button in the left hand navigation. This will take you through to the general discussion area of the forum.
How do I personalise and update my forum profile?
The first thing to do once you have entered the forum area is to personalise your profile. Click on the top-right icon (which will likely be your first initial at this point, eg. ‘J’), and then your click name: this will take you to your profile page.
You will see something saying ‘preferences’, click here. Click here and you can upload a photograph of yourself. Please do – so we’re not staring at your initials for the duration of the course! To upload an image of yourself, click the pencil icon next to your picture button, then click the ‘upload picture’ button. Select a file from your computer.
You can also add a short bio in this section: you might want to have a paragraph or two about yourself or perhaps include the pitch of your novel in progress. Click the ‘Profile’ button to do this.
How do I leave the forum?
You can leave the forum discussion area and return to the module notes and videos at any time by clicking the ‘back ’ button of your browser.
How do I navigate to sections of the forum?
Categories and subcategories
In the main forum discussion area, from the top left of the screen, you will see a number of drop-down ‘category’ markers. The furthest to the left is the most basic – it names the course you are currently enrolled in (eg. Edit and Pitch Your Novel).
The second breaks things down in terms of the course modules, in the order in which they appear on the site (eg.‘Reviewing Your Novel’).
If you click this second drop-down menu and click ‘All categories’ it will bring up every single discussion thread for the course as a whole. But by clicking individual modules on this drop-down list will bring only the discussion threads for the relevant module.
You can also filter each topic discussion into ‘latest’ (the most recent active topic) and ‘top’ (which means the most discussed).
How do I take part in a forum discussion?
To view a discussion simply click on it to open it out. To add your comment to a thread you can either click the ‘reply’ to the post at the top of the page. Two text boxes will open out at the bottom of your screen. The one on the right is your ‘preview window’ which is handily telling you what your post will look like once you have posted it.
This is useful if you are looking to format your work in particular ways. Once you are happy with what you’ve written, click submit and your work will be posted up. If you decide to leave the page without submitting, your work will be saved as a draft.
You will see a number of options in terms of adding formatting, emojis, links above the text box. You can also attach word docs, images and PDFs.
How do I reply to specific posts in the forum?
If you want to reply to a specific post, click the reply icon on the top right of the post. This will open up a text box. Once you’ve submitted, your reply will come out in TWO places, first, it will sit ‘chronologically’, second it will be ‘nested’ underneath the post it is replying to.
You’ll be able to recognise when a post is in reply to another post by the fact that a ‘reply icon’ will sit on the right-hand corner of the post in question.
If you click this it will usefully bring up the post which is being replied to.
How do I start my own topic discussion?
For all tasks, we’d like you to start your own topic discussion, as this will make it easier for everyone to access and comment on each others’ work. We will be telling you on the forum when and where we’d like you to post different tasks as we go through the different weeks of the course.
When making your own topic, press the ‘make new topic’ button at the top right of the ‘main forum’ area.
This will bring up a text box. Please title your topic clearly (ie. Joe’s attempt at week 1: task 1). You can then choose which module category you would like to put it in: pick the module from the drop-down list.
How do I delete and edit posts?
You can easily edit your post by clicking the ‘edit’ icon.
How do I tag other students?
When making a topic or responding within a discussion you can ‘tag’ other students if you want to draw their attention to something or bring them into a discussion. For anyone familiar with Facebook or Twitter, it is very much the same idea, press the @ button and it will bring up a drop-down list of students.
Once a student is tagged, they will receive a notification letting them know.
How do I adjust my notifications on different discussion threads?
On each topic discussion thread, at the bottom of the thread, you are able to adjust how you are notified about a thread using the ‘Tracking’ icon. If you would prefer not to be notified at all you can ‘mute’ a thread, similarly if you want to keep a particularly close eye on one discussion, you can adjust so you are notified about every single response.
How do I filter discussions?
You can filter which parts of the discussion you see by going to the top of a discussion thread. Under the first post, you will see is information on the thread (how many replies, frequent posters, etc). Click the arrow to the right of this and it will bring up all the students involved in this particular discussion. Click on the ‘icon’ of an individual student and it will filter the topic so only that student’s posts will be visible.