- I am a registered UMCOM Online Training Ministry user. What is my login and password to my online course?
- The log in protocol for your account is what is specified by you, the user, when you register/enroll in your course. You will receive a confirmation email with the course link, username and password to enter the course.
- If you do not know your Moodle username or password, please use the Forgotten your username or password link.
- What can I do when I cannot log in to my account/course?
- Here are some tips that might help you:
- Make sure your keyboard’s Caps Lock is off.
- Your username and password should be typed exactly as it has been given to you in your confirmation email.
- Make sure you didn’t use spaces, hyphens, or apostrophes when typing in your username. If you have a hyphenated last name, you must type in both last names without the hyphen.
- Try closing your internet browser and restarting it.
- If restarting your browser does not work, please email training@umcom.org for assistance.
- Why can't I access my course after I registered? I do not see my course(s) under "My Courses" what should I do?
- There are two possible answers:
- If you have registered for a scheduled course, the course instructor has not made the course available to students yet.
- You have not been enrolled in the course.
- You should be able to see your ongoing course immediately after registration.
- If you registered for an ongoing course and don’t see it under “My Courses”, please send an email to training@umcom.org with a copy of your receipt to help resolve the issue.
- What courses are currently being offered?
- Please check our United Methodist Communications Training Center website for courses and course topics being offered (open enrollment courses; regular session courses). However, courses are always being updated so it is beneficial to check back in at https://www.umctraining.org for new offerings.
- How many hours per course?
- All of our online training courses will vary with hours. Online course hours can range from a quick 20-minute micro training to three hours or a maximum up to 20 hours depending on your level of involvement and participation.
- While the training courses offered generally take 2-3 hours to complete, the application of the courses may require more time. For example, you may need to meet with other leaders in your church, take time to evaluate your current communication strategies, or make plans for implementing the new skills you’ve learned.
- Micro-trainings take about 15-20 minutes to complete.
- Are there scheduled days that you have to be available to take a course or is it open to my schedule?
- Access to ongoing courses will start immediately from the day you register. Ongoing courses have a set duration from the day you register. Starting from three months, six months or a full year depending on the course you choose. Note: The ongoing course(s) will not take three months, six months nor a full year to complete. See # 5
- How are the online courses structured?
- The self-directed ongoing courses require no grading or assignments to submit. The entire course content is contained in an interactive module with videos, screen captures and voiceover instead of heavy text. When you have completed the course, you will be able to download your certificate.
- Note: United Methodist Communications official online courses are self-directed with no moderator/faciliator with exception to our Launching Your Church Website course.
- Can I transfer my enrollment to another session if I do not complete the course?
- No. We do not transfer or extend online courses.
- I would like to receive my previous course history and certificate(s). Do you still have my course records on file?
- Due to server space restrictions, we store course records three months from the day your session ends.
- What is the refund policy for the Training Courses?
- For both open enrollment and regular session courses, refunds can be granted for up to 7 days from when the course session begins. Regarding ongoing courses, the “7 day refund window” will start the day the student registers for the course. Please send refund inquiries to training@umcom.org
- Where do I direct my support questions?
- Questions or issues with the course content and other technical support inquiries can be sent to training@umcom.org
- Can I access Moodle on my smartphone or tablet?
- Yes! Moodle has recently become much more user friendly to work with directly through a Mobile device’s native web browser. Using the web browser, the users are able to retain full site functionality, while using a newly incorporated ‘Responsive’ Theme Design, which allows for a comfortable look and feel on any native mobile device (e.g mobile phone, tablet, and computer)
Note: Some of our ongoing courses use another type of instructional design software with Moodle and it does not respond well on smart phones or tablets. This issue is currently improving.
Course of Study Curriculum Requirements.
- Although United Methodist Communications courses are very good continuing education courses, they do not fulfill the requirements of the Course of Study curriculum.
The Course of Study program through the General Board of Higher Education, developed for clergy seeking continuing ed, is a separate program from the courses we provide here at UMCom, developed for clergy, lay, and seeker audiences.
For more information on lay servant ministries, please go to Discipleship Ministries by clicking this link https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/lay-servant-ministries-catalog
- How can I test my computer pop-up blocker?
- Why am I being bounced back to the log in screen after entering my information?
- In order to access your courses, your browser must allow cookies from this website. A cookie is a piece of information sent by the Web server that stores data for customized settings and pages that have been displayed. To enable cookies you will need to adjust your browser’s security settings.
- For Mozilla Firefox:
- Click “Tools” at the top of the browser window.
- Click “Options”.
- Click on the “Privacy” icon.
- Next, click “Accept cookies from sites”.
- From the “Keep Until:’ drop down menu choose “they expire”.
- Click “Ok”.
- For Internet Explorer:
- Click “Tools” at the top of your browser window.
- From the drop down menu choose “Internet Options”.
- Click the “Security” tab
- Next click “Custom level”
- From the drop down menu choose “Medium”, then click “Reset”.
- Lastly, click "Yes", "Apply", and then "Ok".
- Can I access Moodle from my work or home computer?
- Yes. However, there are some considerations to be aware of:
- You will need a web browser that is Java and JavaScript enabled.
- The browser will need to accept cookies.
- You will also need to be aware of possible firewall issues when accessing from work or home.
- Minimum Requirements for Computer Software
- Web browser such as:
- Mozilla Firefox – recent version
- Google Chrome – recent version
- Safari 6 or later (Safari 5 and earlier is not fully supported)
- Internet Explorer 9 or later (earlier versions are not supported; IE 10 is required for drag and drop of files from outside the browser into Moodle)
- An email account for sending and receiving electronic mail via the Internet, including attachments.
- Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, OpenOffice or another word processing program capable of saving files in PDF format
- Microsoft PowerPoint, OpenOffice Presentation, Keynote or similar presentation software
- Adobe Acrobat Reader for downloading, view, saving and printing PDF files
- Flash Player for audio and video clips
- Windows Media Player or QuickTime for audio and video clips
- Antivirus software
- Minimum requirements for computer hardware
- Computer with a current Windows, Linux, or Apple operating system
- Sound card and speakers or earphone/headset
- Internet service. A broadband or high-speed connection is strongly recommended. Some features and functions may take a long time to download when using dial-up.
- Access to the online environment (the Online Learning Center Moodle site) at least 10 hours per week.
- What browser should I use?
- Mozilla Firefox is the recommended Internet browser for Moodle, but Google Chrome is also a good choice. In older versions of Moodle, you may have encountered problems using Internet Explorer or Safari, but the latest versions are compatible across all devices and browser types.
- In any browser, you may occasionally notice problems such as embedded videos not loading. This could be due to an outdated browser version or plug-in that needs to be updated.
You can download and install Firefox by visiting this link: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
- Google Chrome is another compatible browser that has the added benefit of a built-in spellcheck function. You can download and install the Chrome web browser by going to the following link: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95346?hl=en
- Minimum Skills Required for Online Learning Using Moodle
- Basic keyboarding competence
- Basic understanding of using the computer's operating system
- Basic knowledge of using software and tools such as:
- Web browser
- Email
- Word processing
- Search engines (such as Google)
