StudentHome virtual tour

StudentHome virtual tour introduction

Welcome to this virtual tour of the key areas of StudentHome. You can move forwards and backwards by using the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons. The activity will show a new page automatically every 60 seconds. You can select the 'Stop Animation' button to stop this animation at any time. If you hover over the activity or use the paginated navigation to move to one of the pages the animation will also stop.

StudentHome - Prompts and alerts

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the 'Prompts and alerts' section highlighted. The heading 'Welcome to the OU' is followed by the text 'Get your study off to a good start by working through our welcome materials' and the button 'How do I get started?'.

In the central panel you'll find prompts and alerts. These are under the heading for your module or qualification. Check if there's anything for you to do here.

StudentHome - Study record

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the link 'Study record, funding and advice for BA/BSc/ (Honours) Open Degree' highlighted.

After your prompts you'll find some useful links - starting with your 'Study record' link.

Study record page

The screenshot shows the 'Study record' page. The heading 'BA/BSc (Honours) Open degree (in progress)' is followed by the text 'Code: QD' and the button 'Choose next modules'. The next level heading 'Enrolled modules' is followed by two module links 'Voices, texts, and material culture (A105)' and 'The arts past and present (AA100)'.

On your study record you'll find a list of all the qualifications and courses you've studied or are studying.

StudentHome - Your tutorials and study events

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the link 'Your tutorials and study events' highlighted.

The 'Your tutorials and study events' link shows the online and face-to-face events that are available to you for your current module (or modules).

Your tutorials and study events page

The screenshot shows the 'Your tutorials and study events' page. The heading 'Book a tutorial' is followed by a link to the module 'AA100'.

The 'Your tutorials and study events' page is where you'll book your place at these events using the online booking system. You'll find out more about how to do this and what happens at tutorials later in this course.

StudentHome - Choose your modules

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the link 'Choose your modules' highlighted.

The 'Choose your modules' link is where you'll go to register on your next module. You'll be prompted to do this as soon as you come to the end of your current module (or modules).

StudentHome - Your student loan

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the link 'Your student loan' highlighted.

The 'Your student loan' link will only appear if you've going to pay with a loan (students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have this option). This link takes you to a page detailing the status of you're loan.

StudentHome - Module

The screenshot shows the 'StudentHome' page with the 'Module' section highlighted. The heading 'AA100 The arts past and present' is followed by the links 'Track your application progress', 'Module website and record', 'Assessment', 'Tutorial dates', 'Study materials despatch dates', 'Set books', 'Student Support Team', 'Module description', and 'Quality assurance'.

Under your module heading there are a number of module related links. If your module start is still a few weeks away most of these links go to your module record page. When your module website opens these links take you straight into it - we'll explore the module website later on.

Your module record page

The screenshot shows the 'Your module record' page. The main heading 'A100 The arts past and present' is followed by the sub headings are 'Module website', 'Module status', and 'Assessment'.

Your module record gives you the administrative details about your module. You can check the following details about your module here now:

the date your module website opens
the deadline dates for the assignments you'll need to complete
information about any exam or end-of-module assignment (the OU calls this an EMA)

Once you start your module, you'll also be able to use this page to:

submit and collect your assignments
find contact details for your module tutor or study adviser (if you have one on your module)
use the assessment calculator - this is a tool that is available on some modules to help you predict the overall mark for your module and qualification
check your final result - when you get it.

StudentHome - Profile

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'Profile' section highlighted. The heading 'Profile' is followed by the text 'Your personal identifier: A1234567 (example)' and the links 'student@gmail.com', 'View emails sent by us recently', 'Update personal details', and 'Study record'.

Under the heading 'Profile' you'll find your Personal Identifier (PI) - you'll need this for all correspondence with the Open University (OU). You must include it in the header of your assignments.

Your registered email address is where you'll receive all communications from the OU by default. It should be an email address that you access regularly so that you don't miss anything. You can change it by this link if you need to.

Here you'll find the most recent emails that the OU sent to your registered email address. Bear in mind that these are the general emails sent centrally and will not include contact from your tutor.

The 'Update personal details' link takes you to your profile screen where you can make changes to how you are contacted, the information the OU holds about you and the information you share with other people.

Your profile page

The screenshot shows the 'Your Profile' page with three headings 'Study record', 'About you', and 'Settings'. The heading 'Study record' is followed by the links 'Study record' and 'Your student loan'.

The links under the 'Settings' heading allow you to:

change your password
edit your online appearance (what others in the OU can read about you)

You can use the links under the 'About you' heading to change your:

contact details
occupation and study motivation
any specific needs or circumstances you want the Open University (OU) to be aware of
previous education information

StudentHome - Tools

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'Tools' section highlighted. The heading 'Tools' is followed by the links 'Office 365', 'Access to your personal blog', 'Access to your personal calendar', 'Access to OU Annotate', 'Choose next module', 'Your student loan', and 'Your tutorials and study events'.

The links under the 'Tools' heading provide access to a number of tools you might want to use while studying.

StudentHome - Services

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'Services' section highlighted. The heading 'Services' is followed by the links 'Help Centre', 'Services for disabled students', 'Careers and Employability Services', 'Library Services', and 'Computing Guide'.

The links under the 'Services' heading provide access to a number of services that can support you - we'll explore these later in the course

StudentHome - Links

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'Links' section highlighted. The heading 'Links' is followed by the links 'Change my password', 'Remove my account', 'Change my details', 'OpenLearn', 'Terms and Conditions PDF' and 'Student Association forums'.

The links under the 'Links' heading provide access to key tasks quickly. The links shown here depend on the module you're studying.

Navigation - StudentHome

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the Open University (OU) top navigation highlighted. The first link 'StudentHome' is highlighted and is followed by the links 'Profile', 'Study', 'Library', 'Careers', 'Community' and 'Help Centre'.

The top navigation links (located just before the main heading and page content) are shown on most pages you'll visit within the Open University (OU). They provide links to key pages and information wherever you are.

Navigation - Profile

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Profile' highlighted.

The 'Profile' link takes you to the page where you find your personal details and select your preferences. This link takes you to the same destination as the 'Update personal details' link on this page.

Navigation - Study

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Study' highlighted.

The 'Study' link takes you to your Study website where you'll find useful resources related to your qualification or subject area. If you're not studying towards a qualification, this will take you to a dashboard of useful links.

Navigation - Library

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Library' highlighted.

The 'Library' link takes you to the library home page.

Navigation - Careers

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Careers' highlighted.

The 'Careers' link takes you to the Careers and Employability Services section of the Help Centre.

Navigation - Community

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Community' highlighted.

The 'Community' link takes you to the central page for the Open University (OU) community. This is the social side of the University where you can engage with the whole University, not just your fellow students on your module. You'll find links to the Students Association here and details of OU news and upcoming events.

Navigation - Help Centre

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the link 'Help Centre' highlighted.

The 'Help Centre' link is your access point to answers and advice about your study. We'll explore this further later on in this session.

Studenthome - How do I?

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'How do I?' section highlighted. The heading 'How do I?' is followed by the links 'Prepare for exams?', 'Get help studying with a disability', 'Get an official record of my studies?' and 'Change my password?'.

Under the heading 'How do I?' you'll find shortcuts into the Help Centre.

StudentHome - Bulletin board

The screenshot shows the 'Studenthome' page with the 'Bulletin board' section highlighted. There are three bulletin board messages followed by a link to 'Remove' each message.

Finally, keep an eye on the bulletin board, this is where messages and events get posted.

Once you’ve finished exploring StudentHome, return to 'Being an OU student'.