User Guide

1. Text size

Text size can be altered to your requirements - see changing text size

2. Menu and location

The left hand menu and top bar are available within each session to enable you to go direct to the start of a session or to one of the tools shown below the 8 sessions. The top bar shows the current session. The up arrow at top right takes you to the start of a session, or from the start of a session to the main contents screen.

3. Browser tools

You Browser has navigational tools including a 'Back' button (Left arrow). Also the text box showing the current web address (url) has a drop menu showing a list of all the pages you have visited in your current session. You can click on any page listed to return to it. This menu is accessed via the down arrow at the right pf the address text box. In Netscape it can also be accessed by clicking on the Go button.

4. External web sites

The session menu at left shows that you are in the Child Welfare Across Border's website. However the course has links to over 80 external websites, throughout the world. When you go to a different site the menu bar disappears. The best way to return to Child Welfare Across Borders is to use your browser's 'Back' button. Sometime another site will open a second browser window and when this happens the Back button is not operative. In this case just close the second browser window by clicking on the close button at top left.

5. Session maps

Each session starts with a session map showing the main topic areas. These are colour coded and supplemented by three types of materials with their own icons as below: The session maps provide a guide for students to choose how they will use the materials rather than a single required pathway.

	Links to external websites .				Resource information. Eg Key reading or websites
	1.1 Main topic areas		1.2 Main topic areas		1.3 Main topic areas .
	a. Exercise		b. Exercise .

6. Exercises

Each session includes one or more exercises for you to undertake which are to help you develop your understanding and awareness of the issues for that session. Most have an indication of the time we suggest that you spend on them but this is a guide only and there is no checking of how long you actually take.

Exercises can involve going to other websites and writing on screen about your ideas, feeling and views. The information is confidential to you but can be printed out if you wish or it is required for assessment locally. We do recommend keeping a record of your work. The only exception to confidentiality is if you choose to put information into a chat room or other electronic discussion forum, but that always involves a clearly labelled decision by the you to do so.

7. Resouce information

Sessions include resource information that is frequently in the form of key websites or key reading that is relevant for the session. For copyright and practical reasons it is not possible to include full texts of articles other than the four core texts identified in the Key reading page in Session 1. Websites are listed with brief details of what they contain and links to them.

8. Resource tools

In addition to resource information is specific to the session and part of each session map, there are five resource tools available at any stage. These are:

• User Guide - this document giving guidance on using the course.
• Chat room - this is a holding page explaining that chat facilities will be added both for exchanging views with students locally and with those at other partner universities in the project.
• Websites - a list in alphabetical order of all of the key websites included in the course, with brief details and links to them.
• References - a reference list for articles, books etc that are quoted in the texts.
• Key reading - This identifies four core texts for the course. For three of these, the text is available for downloading as a Microsft Word 7 .Doc file or as a .RTF (Rich Text Format whihc should load on any word-processor). We recommend that you download these and print them rather than reading them on screen. The fourth core text is a collection of .TXT than can be downloaded from the website shown and opened in any word-processor, although it may be necessary to identify the type of document as a .TXT file in the 'Open file' facility

9. Link rot

Some external websites may not be available as a temporary problem with the site server. However web addresses can also be changed with no automatic forwarding from the original site. This is known as 'link rot'. If you encounter this problem then please notify your local course adminstrator.

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