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PEP Certificates - Updated Dec.15, 2009

Generating a Certificate

Once you have finished viewing a module, you can generate a certificate for this module. The certificate is simply a PDF file that shows a summary of the module sections, the total time you spent in this module since your first login, and the reflective note you entered (if any). You can print this PDF certificate file, save it to disk, or e-mail it to someone as an attachment. These tasks can be accomplished by clicking the small icons at the top of the certificate PDF display.

1. Module Completion (Generating the Certificate Link):

   In each module, there is a link called "Mn - Completion" in the Table of Contents at the left (Mn is the number of the module, such as M3). This is the last link at the bottom. Click on the link.

   After you have finished (saved and submitted) the Completion assessment, a certificate link for this module will appear in a separate module called Certificates.  The certificate link will be called "Mn- Certificate".

   If you entered a reflective note (i.e.in the section "Mn - Reflective Note" in the Table of Contents), the note will be displayed on the second page of your certificate. Currently, you are allowed only one reflective note entry.

   You only need to complete this Completion assessment once per module to generate the Certificate link. After you have the link in the Certificates module, you can click on it anytime to display it.

   NOTE: If you have just gone through this module and have spent less than an hour viewing it during this session, the tracking information will not be available yet for this session and the certificate will either not be displayed or an innacurate "time spent in module" will be shown. To be certain that the tracking information has been updated, it is best to click on the certrificate link an hour after submitting the Completion assessment, or the next day.

2. Display the Certificate:

   a)  If you have just finished the Completion assessment as above, the certificate (PDF file) will be found in the Certificates module.  Go to the PEP Home Page and click on the Certificates button.  You will see icons for of all the certificates that you have generated (i.e. all the modules that you have completed).
   
   b)  You can click on a "Mn- CERTIFICATE"  link in this module anytime, to display the certificate with the latest timing information. The certificate is dynamically generated and displayed when you click on this link.  Make sure that either your current session has lasted over an hour, or do this the next day after completing the module, to make sure the tracking information has been updated.

   PLEASE BE PATIENT! The system is querying large volumes of tracking data, and depending on the server load it may take some time before results are returned and the PDF certificate file is displayed.

   You need to have an Acrobat Reader installed on your system.  Clicking on the certificate icon will bring up a dialog box asking you to Open or Save the PDF file.  If you choose Open, then your Acrobat Reader application will start and will display the certificate PDF file.   The PEP certificates web page will remain blank - this is normal.

   Each time you click on the certificate link, a new PDF is generated with the most up-to date timing information available at that time.
   
   

   NOTE:  If you do not get the Open/Save As dialog box, make sure your browser is not blocking the downloading of files.  In Internet Explorer, you will see a yellow bar at the top, saying :"To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked this site from downloading files to your computer.  Click here for options..."  See http://webct.uwo.ca/cp_viewopen.html for instructions to resolve this.

Troubleshooting Certificate Problems

Unable to display certificate:

There are several reasons why the certificate links may not work. Please make sure that all the browser requirements have been safisfied.

1. Internet Explorer security bar
   

   If you are using Internet Explorer, you may get the yellow IE Security Bar popping up at the top of the browser. Here is what this looks like: http://webct.uwo.ca/cp_viewopen.html. Follow the instructions in the link to allow automatic downloading of files.

2. Internet Explorer security bar - Download File
   

   If you got the yellow IE security bar as above, clicked on the bar and chose "Download File...",  you will be taken to the "My PEP" page.

   1. You will need to click the "Preceptor Education Program - PEP" link in the Course List section to take you to the PEP home page.
   2. Then go to the Certificates module again and click on the certificate you want to display. You should now get the Open/Save File Download dialog box.
      
      
3. PDF Reader
   

   In order to be able to view the certificate (which is a PDF file), you need to have a PDF reader installed. For example, Preview on the Mac and Adobe Reader for PCs.

4. Browser Settings
   

   Make sure you have clicked the "Check Browser" button on the PEP login page . This will check your browser to determine whether you have all the necessary settings. If any of the checks did not pass, please correct the problem and try again.

5. Slowness
   

   Each time you click on the certificate link, the system is querying large volumes of tracking data. Depending on the server load it may take a minute or longer before results are returned and the PDF certificate file is generated and displayed.

6. Tracking Data
   

   The tracking table is updated once an hour (sometimes once a day if there are WebCT problems). This data is not meant to be used in real-time or on-demand. Therefore, it may be necessary to wait until the next day to display the certificate PDF file. If tracking data has not been updated at the time the certificate link is clicked, an error or inaccurate time display may result.

7. Try a browser other than IE
   

   If you use IE , you can try displaying the certificate in another web browser such as Firefox. This is sometimes successful in another browser, when IE fails to display the certificate the first time.

8. Access behind Firewalls
   

   If you are accessing PEP behind a Firewall, it may be that your Firewall settings only allow HTTPS (SSL) over port 443. This appears to be a default setting in Microsoft's ISA firewall. WebCT is running SSL over port 8081 - a non-standard port. If this is the case, you can try running PEP from another computer not behind a Firewall, or ask the IT department to create a rule to allow SSL over port 8081 for servlet.uwo.ca.

If the problems persist, please contact the Customer Support Centre, phone: 519 661-3800 or Ext. 83800. Mention that this is a PEP problem and describe the error message or symptoms and which web browser you are using.

Timing discrepancies:

Sometimes the times reported on the certificate do not seem correspond to the real time you have spent in a module. Here are some things to keep in mind that may affect the "time spent in the modules" display.

• Tracking views are refreshed every hour. The time shown on the certificate will not include the time spent during this session/day if it was less than an hour (i.e. before the time has been refreshed at the top of the hour).  After an hour, the time will be updated and should show the correct total time in this module. Click on the certificate link and print it later in the day or the next day. It should then display the correct timing information.

• The certificate will show your total time you spent in that module since the first time you logged in.

• The time tracking is cumulative.  For example, if you view a module several times, the time shown will be the sum of all these times.

• The time spent in a popup window (e.g. Learning Activity) is not counted.  The tracking system only captures activities generated explicitly by WebCT tools.  In this case, the popup window is JavaScript opening a file - which wouldn't be captured by the tracking system.

• The time spent in quizzes is not currently being counted.

• The time spent reading PDF files (links) is not counted.

• If you are connected longer than a pre-specified "cap" time, then the tracking does not continue above this time (i.e. this is the maximum time recorded).  This was meant to handle cases where people left their session logged in and left, etc.