toprate user guide

Toprate is a software that enables online teaching and learning to take place seamlessly. The motivation for this software development is to have a common and independent platform so that teaching and learning can take place among participants from various institutions. The main target participants are newly appointed heads of academic departments at institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Toprate allows instructor to upload content which can be accessed easily by learners by just a mouse click. It also allows for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction.

How to install the application

As a Desktop application

Toprate learning plartform can be used as a web application and also be used as a Desktop application. Below are instarction on how to get the web app as a Desktop

1. Open the web app with the link provided and click the button on the right side using the browser of your choice.
2. Once the button is clicked the app will be accessible as Desktop application.
3. Search for the app in your PC using the key word toprate and click it to start the application

As a web application

For users comfortable with a web application, click the link provided to access the platform.

How to use the platform

Authentication

• Once the application is lauched for the first time the user is able to see an initalisation screen indicating that the application is loading. The image below indicates what the user will see.

• The application loads and you are pushed to the login or the SignIn page for Authentication.

• Enter your email and the password to logIn.Below is the login form.

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• If you happen to forget your password, click forgot password? where you will be pushed to a page that prompts your email which will then send you an link in the email provided. Click the link and enter your new password. Below is the page.

If you don'nt have an account click don't have an account? Sign up. This will move the user to the registration screen for platform registration. Below is an image for the registration page.

For the registration page, Enter your username, email and desired password and click sign up.The application will send an email to the user's mail for verification process.

The Home page

After a succesfull authentication process the user will have access to the application's Home page as shown below:

It has a Bottom navigation bar for navigating different pages for specific services.The navigation bar has :

1. Home
2. Modules
3. Submit Assignments
4. My assignments Below is a screen shot for the bottom navigation bar.

How to view your profile

At the top which is the Appbar for the platform has an hambuger button that has a side bar. In the side bar the user can check his profile, and logout from the application. Below is a screen shot.

Click profile to view your email and your role in the platform.A user is either a Student or an Admin. Students will consume the content posted by the admins in the platform while the admins will post and view content sbmitted by the learners or the students.Below is a screenshot.

How to navigate the platform

• To navigate the pages, use the bottom navigation bar, always click home to move to the Home page. Click modules to view the course modules being offered in the platform.Click any of them to view the content posted and also discuss with other users using a group chat functionality. -module view screen shot

content posted are view as shown below

chat room

Click button Discussion to join the group chat with other users. Below is a screenshot for the chat room

How to submit assignments

• Assignments provided by the facilitator will be submitted through the navigation button Submit Assignments. In that page users will be able to choose the module part they are submitting the assignments, this depends with what the assignment was covering. For example if the assignment was covreing about a module concept like Leadership and governance , select that from the dropdown list and click submit, the button will allow you to pick a file to upload for the facilitator to be able to view. below are screen shots for the operation.

Dropdown list to choose from.

How to view assignments posted by facilitator or Admin

To view the assignments posted by the facilitator or the admin, click My Assignments this will list all the assignments with their names and the module in which they reside.For example a finance management assignment will have the module name when listed to help the learner know where the assignment resides since the user has to choose the module name while submitting.

Admin or Facilitator Guide

The application has an admin button that is available only to the users that are authorised to be course facilitators. Through this button the admins can be able to post assignments for the students, update module content, and also view and get the submitted assignments.Below is a screen shot to the admin button. The admin button is on the bottom right of the home page

Once the button above is clicked, the admin is provided with options eg either to upload module content, upload assignment for students or view the assignments submitted by the students.

if one of the icons are clicked, the admin will be pushed to the three specific pages with screen shots as shown below.

1. Upload Assignment

2. Upload Module Material

3. View Submitted Assignments

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