Using myitlab™

Getting Started in myitlab™

myitlab™ is a centrally hosted application that allows you to deliver online assessment and training, assign projects from the book that can be auto-graded, use study plans, and access detailed reporting across students and activities. myitlab also provides basic course management capabilities in the area of course organization, grades, communication, and personalization. In myitlab, you and your student will find:

realistic, open simulations of Microsoft Office 2007 and Office 2010 that allow students to explore the Office applications without being penalized;
exam and training questions that match your textbook, so students can review the skills learned in class online, on your own time;
training that adapts to your skill level so you won’t waste time re-learning skills students already know;
projects that can be completed live in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, and then submitted for immediate grading by the myitlab grading engine; and
a gradebook that allows you to view grades and reports showing student progress.

Contacting myitlab Instructor Support

myitlab Instructor Support specialists are available to assist you on the phone, via email, or online. If you need technical assistance, or if you would like to ask a question or submit feedback about myitlab, please visit http://www.myitlab.com and then click the Instructor Support link for phone numbers and an online support form.

For more information on getting started in myitlab, additional help and user guides, and information on feature updates, visit our Web site at http://www.myitlab.com and look for FAQs, documentation, support information and more.

myitlab System Requirements

For information on system requirements, refer to System Requirements.

Logging in to myitlab

To log in to myitlab, complete the following steps:

From myitlab.com, click the Login Students or Instructors button.
When prompted, type the login name and password you created during registration in the respective text boxes.
Click Login. If prompted, click the OK button.
The My Courses page displays.

Note: Only one user can log in into one account. If a second user tries to log in using the same account while the first user is already logged in, a message will display to the second user, indicating that the other user is logged in. If the second user proceeds with the login, the first user will be logged out of myitlab.

Note: If your session is inactive for an extended period of time, an alert message displays. If you do not respond to the alert within two minutes, the session automatically ends and you are redirected to the login screen.

Enrolling in a myitlab Course

After you successfully register for myitlab, you can add a course to your account, using a Course ID provided by the Program Admin at your school. To enroll in a course in myitlab, complete the following steps:

After you log in to myitlab, your personalized My Courses page displays. The first time you log in, no courses will display. Click the Enroll in a Course button.
Type the Course ID in the Course ID box and click Submit. If you haven’t received the Course ID yet, contact the Program Admin at your school.
On the Confirm Course screen, verify that the Course ID you entered matches the appropriate course. Click the Confirm button. If the course name shown on screen is incorrect, confirm the Course ID with the Program Admin and then click the Back button to change your Course ID.
On the Summary screen, confirm the information is correct and then click the Enter Course Now button to enter the new course.

Accessing your myitlab Course

After you have enrolled in a course, each time you log in to myitlab, your personalized My Courses page will display. To enter your myitlab course, click your myitlab course from the list of course names.

Using the myitlab Setup Wizard

The myitlab Setup Wizard will help you install the plugins and players you need to take exams and trainings in your course.

Inside your myitlab course, on the Course Content tab, click the button to access student view.
The Start Here: Getting Started with myitlab folder appears in the course content. Follow the onscreen instructions to check your browser settings and install the myitlab ActiveX control, the Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader. Note that some of these items may require several minutes to download, depending on your connection speed.
When the wizard is complete, click the Back button to return to your Course Content, if necessary. Click the button to return to the instructor view of the course.

Note: The Setup Wizard may be located elsewhere if your Program Admin has chosen to move it. If you cannot find a link to the Setup Wizard from inside your course, point your browser to http://www.prenhall.com/myitlab/start and follow the on-screen instructions.

myitlab Tools

Note that some of the options covered in Help may not be available in your specific course section. The Program Administrator of that course section (and the Program Administrator at your school) can set permissions to grant or deny instructors permission to complete a function or task. If you need to complete a task and the tools are not available to complete that task, contact the Program Administrator for that course to ask for permission to those myitlab tools and functions.

After you have enrolled in a course, you can begin exploring the contents of the course. To navigate through your course, use the buttons in the horizontal toolbar across the top of the course. By default, myitlab has six main tools (or tabs) for instructors and TAs:

The Today's View tool helps you organize and manage your course information. It contains a Notifications list that displays new messages and announcements, as well as alerts for overdue work, late submissions, idle students, and more.
The Course Content tool provides access to four key subtools related to managing course content, your content library, and more. The four subtools include:

Add Content from Library allows you to view content available in the Content Library, create folders to organize your course, assign content to students in your course.
Organize Content allows you to view your course just as your students will; from this view you also can create folders to organize your course, assign content to students in your course.
Assign Content allows you to schedule activities on the Course Calendar.
Organize Calendar allows you to view assignments on the Course Calendar, set the order of assignments, and change due dates.
Manage Question Library allows you to view and manage the questions used in your course. With the Question Library tool, you can add, delete, copy and paste, edit, preview, or try out course questions.

If you click the Course Content tool button, it defaults to the Add Content from Library view.

The Gradebook tool provides access to three key subtools that allow you to view student grades and submission, manage the student roster, and run reports. The three subtools include:

Grades allows you to view the grades for the assignments students have submitted. From the Grades tool, you can view student submissions, generate reports, or send a message to one or more students.
Custom View allows you to create a unique Gradebook view with only those grade columns you specify.
Manage Roster allows you to view a list of students in a course, download rosters, and more.
Reports allows you to generate a number of different reports for activities and study plans, so you can track and review student performance.

If you click the Gradebook tool button, it defaults to the Grades view.

The Communicate tool provides access to subtools that allow you to send, receive, and manage mail messages to and from students and instructors, instant message other course users, and create announcements to be viewed by students in your course. The subtools include:

Mail allows you to create and send messages to instructors and students, receive and read mail and announcements, and draft messages to send at a later date or time.
Announcements allows you to manage course announcements.
Chat provides a link to download Wimba Pronto, which is an instant messaging application that enables course instructors and students to communicate via voice or text instant message with other users enrolled in the course.

If you click the Communicate tool button, it defaults to the Mail view.

The Preferences tool provides features to customize myitlab features to best match your course needs.
The Search tool allows you to search for course content like questions, activities, and resources within the current course.

If one of these myitlab tools has a submenu (or subnavigation), a drop-down menu will display when you point to the main button in the horizontal toolbar across the top of the course. For example, pointing to the Course Content button also provides access to the Content Library, Course Content, Question Library via a submenu. Pointing to the Gradebook tool provides access to Reports via a submenu.

Using the Content Editor in myitlab

The Content Editor provides basic formatting and editing tools, so that you can customize the look of items you create in myitlab. The Content Editor is available when creating and editing objective-based questions in the Question Library, adding HTML pages to the Course Content, adding start and end messages for activities, composing mail and announcements, and more. For information on the Content Editor, refer to Content Editor.

Using Options Menus in myitlab

Throughout myitlab, you will note contextual option menus that display when you move the mouse pointer over items such as assignments, folders, grades, and so on. Clicking an options menu icon will display a small menu, with options specific to the item. Clicking the desired option will perform the associated function. Additional information on options menus is available in the Help topics associated with specific functions or pages in myitlab.

myitlab Icons

Throughout myitlab, icons are used to communicate information visually. To learn more about the icons used in the myitlab system, refer to myitlab Icons.