NFSMI's Online Course System User Guide - National Food Service ...

NSFMI’s Online Course System User Guide
VISIT WWW.NFSMI.ORG TO VIEW CURRENT AND UP-COMING COURSES
You can now learn online in the convenience
of your workplace or any other location
with Internet connectivity.
NFSMI offers a variety of online courses to meet the
professional development needs of child nutrition
professionals and staff. Online courses are categorized
into the child nutrition areas of child care, food safety,
school nutrition, and wellness.
National Food Service Management Institute
The University of Mississippi
An effective solution for school nutrition programs’
professional development needs.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Features of the Online Course System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Quick Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Course Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
When Should You Work on the Course?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Make a Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Creating an Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
General Account Registration (Non-State Agency) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
State Agency Account Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Logging Into Your Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Registering for a Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Online Course Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Introduction to the Online Course Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Course Outline Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Help Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Course Documents Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Navigating the Online Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Moving Between Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using Multimedia Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Listening to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Viewing Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Viewing and Printing a Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
NFSMI Help Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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Forward
Thank you for using the online course system at the National Food Service Management Institute
(NFSMI). Continuing education courses offered online at NFSMI support the professional
development and training of child nutrition program personnel at all levels of responsibility. The
NFSMI’s online course system supports the research-based competencies, knowledge, and skills
needed for excellence in child nutrition program management.
This online course user guide was created to ensure participants receive the maximum benefi t from
NFSMI’s online course system. NFSMI’s online courses use the latest Internet technology to make
professional development easy and convenient for you. To refl ect the busy lives of many of our
users, you can take each course over multiple sessions and computers, ideal for those who need to
access courses from work, school, or home.
Features of the Online Course System
• Instructional hours that can be used to apply for continuing education units (CEU) meeting
certifi cation and credentialing requirements with the School Nutrition Association and other
organizations
• Technical and instructional support available
• No cost to the user employed in child nutrition programs
• System for tracking learner’s progress
• Self-paced, easy to follow lessons
• Automated feedback on lesson activities
• Pre- and post-training assessments that guide the learning experience
• Application of content learned
• Multi-media elements in each lesson
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Quick Tips
Course Guidelines
• You will need note paper and a pen or pencil.
• NFSMI recommends a folder or notebook to organize all your course materials.
• Many courses provide a downloadable course workbook containing a checklist and other
handouts for the course.
• Use the assignment Check List that is provided in most courses to keep you on track.
• Plan a time of day to work on the course when you are most focused and able to concentrate.
• You may stop at any point during a lesson and then resume the course later by logging back
in. The course will take you back to the point where you stopped.
• You will receive a certifi cate upon completion of the course and the course evaluation (See
Page 18 of this user guide).
• If you are required to complete this course by your school district, be sure to keep all quizzes,
handouts, and a copy of your certifi cate to submit to your manager or director after completing
the course.
When Should You Work on the Course?
• Decide what time of day is best for you.
• Your learning will be most effective if you can fi nd uninterrupted blocks of time to work, even if
it is only blocks of 10–15 minutes.
Make a Schedule
• Plan a tentative schedule for when you will work on the course. For example, you may plan for
every day, 2 days a week, or only on Saturdays.
• Set a realistic goal for when you plan to complete the course. Consider your job, your family
activities, and holidays in setting a completion date, but don’t plan a date so far off that you
are more likely to procrastinate.
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Creating an Account
Step 1.
Visit www.nfsmi.org
Step 2.
Click on the “My Profile” button on the top right of the page.
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Step 3. Register by clicking on the link “Not yet registered on the NFSMI Web site? Register
and create your profile now.”
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General Account Registration (Non-State Agency)
Step 4. Completely fi ll out the Account Registration form to establish an account.
If you are associated with a state agency skip to step 5.
NOTE: A valid e-mail account is required to register. Also, your password must be fi ve
characters long and contain a capital letter, lower case letter, number, or symbol.
State Agency
Click Here to
Register
See Step 5
Click the “Save Profile” button at the bottom of the page.
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State Agency Account Registration
Step 5. Use this option to register if you are employed by a state agency such as the Department
of Education.
Completely fi ll out the Account Registration form to establish an account.
NOTE: A valid e-mail account is required to register. Also, your password must be fi ve
characters long and contain a capital letter, lower case letter, number, or symbol.
Click the “Save Profile” button at the bottom of the page.
Step 6.
Once you have successfully registered, return to the login page by clicking on
“My Profile”.
Login
• Use the e-mail address you registered with as your username and
• Use the registered password.
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Logging Into Your Account
Step 1. Visit www.nfsmi.org
Step 2. Click on the “My Profile” button on the top right of the page.
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Step 3. Login
• Use the e-mail address you registered with as your username and
• Use the registered password.
NOTE: Type your complete e-mail address: Example: yourname@domain.com. You
may click on “Forgot Your Password?” to have your password mailed to you if you
have trouble logging in.
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Registering for a Course
Step 1. Once you have logged in to NFSMI’s Web site you will see your profi le page.
On the Toolbox, click on “Online Course Catalog” to view a list of NFSMI’s available
online courses on these topics: Child Care, Food Safety, Child Nutrition, Special
Needs, Wellness, and Webinar.
Step 2. The course catalog is divided into 6 categories. Clicking on the category name will bring
you to a list of courses that fall under that category. Courses with In Progress icons are
not yet available.
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Step 3. Once you have found a course, click on the “Register Here” link located to the right of
the chosen course to register for the online course.
NOTE: Some course descriptions include a link for (more…). By clicking on the (more…)
link, you will receive a detailed description of the course.
Step 4. On the Registration Page, choose to register for the course for your own use.
Step 5. Once you have successfully registered, return to your list of registered courses.
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Step 6. Click the “My Courses” option in the Toolbox for a list of registered online courses.
• On your list of online courses, you will see the course title, registration date, and
completion date of the courses you have registered for.
• Click on the course title of the course that you would like to work on.
You are now ready to begin your online course.
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Online Course Menu
Introduction to the Online Course Menu Options
The Online Course Menu is located at the top right of each NFSMI online course.
The menu includes a link to
• the NFSMI main menu,
• the course outline tool,
• the help tool, and
• the course documents tool.
Course Outline Tool
The Course Outline tool is useful as you complete the course. It allows you to revisit material that
you have covered.
• The course outline is divided into lessons. Clicking the to the left of each lesson reveals a
list of the screens for that lesson.
• Choose the screen that you would like to revisit.
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Help Tool
• The Help tool will reveal a list of computer system requirements for the online course.
• The Help tool also provides a list of frequently asked questions about
online course elements.
Course Documents Tool
The Course Documents tool will reveal a list of documents used in the online course.
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Navigating the Online Course
Title Bar
Course
Name
Screen
Name
NOTE: It is helpful to write down this information so you can review the material after the course
has been completed.
Moving Between Screens
A navigation button is located at the bottom right of every screen in each NFSMI course.
• The navigation buttons include a print, previous, next, and stop option.
• The stop navigation button completely stops the course and returns you to the main menu.
• The print button produces a PDF fi le of the entire course for you to print or save.
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Using Multimedia Elements
Listening to Audio
Audio elements are available throughout the online courses. To activate these elements you will
need to be sure
• Adobe Flash is installed. (Visit http://www.adobe.com to download).
• Your computer speakers or headphones are turned to a comfortable volume.
• Player controls for audio must be activated by clicking on the arrow shown below.
Viewing Video
Video elements are available throughout the online courses. To activate these elements you will
need to be sure
• Adobe Flash is installed. (Visit http://www.adobe.com to download).
• Your computer speakers or headphones are turned to a comfortable volume.
• Player controls for audio must be activated by clicking on the arrow shown below.
Click here to play
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Viewing and Printing a Certificate
Step 1. Once the course evaluation has been completed, you may view and print your certifi cate.
• Click on “NFSMI Main Menu” to return to the Main Menu.
Step 2. On the left Toolbox click on “My Certificates.”
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Step 3. Under “My Course Certificates” you will see a list of registered online courses.
• Courses with a Completion Date have been completed and can be printed.
• Click on the course title to receive your certifi cate for printing. You may also export
your certifi cate to a PDF and save it to your computer.
NOTE: If you believe you have completed a course and there is no completion date, you
should click on “My Courses” and return to the course. You may have not completed
the evaluation. You will need to complete the course evaluation before you can receive a
certifi cate with a date and time stamp.
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NFSMI Help Desk
The National Food Service Management Institute’s experienced School Meals Specialists are on
call to answer questions and provide information or referrals related to serving healthy, safe meals
in schools and child care settings.
NFSMI staff is available Monday through Friday during the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST).
Call toll free at 800-321-3054 to speak with our staff or e-mail your question to
helpdesk@nfsmi.org. We will respond to your questions as soon as possible.
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National Food Service Management Institute
The University of Mississippi
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service and through an
agreement with The University of Mississippi. The contents of this program do not necessarily refl ect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The University of
Mississippi is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA Employer.