New Student Portal with Updated User Interface – 2.15.14

#instructors #new-features #release-notes

NOTE: This release has been rescheduled from Friday the 14th to Saturday the 15th due to technical issues with the deployment process of the latest Student Portal build. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

On Saturday, February 15, 2014 a new version of the SIMnet Student Portal will be released to all users. It may be necessary to clear your local browser cache to ensure no stale files exist. The primary feature being released with this version is fully searchable SIMbook content. This release also includes numerous user interface and experience refinements.

SIMsearch – Searchable SIMbook Content

SIMsearch allows users to search the full content of all licensed SIMbooks in their library. SIMsearch has been on a temporary hiatus since the full release of SIMnet for Office 2013 release on July 21, 2013. Stay tuned for another post later this week with more details on SIMsearch.

Library Tutorial

The library tutorial is designed to walk the user through all relevant steps of the library interface, live in their account. There is no need to consult Instant Help when the tutorial has been integrated into the user experience. Look for more integrated tutorials on how to use the student portal in the future. To launch the library tutorial:

1. Click the LIBRARY link in the top navigation bar and select a book from the bookshelf.

2. Click the red Take the library tour button.

3. Click the next button to continue to the next step.

4. Click the X button or elsewhere on the interface to end the tutorial.

Refined User Interface & Experience

We have refined the user interface in many aspects of the Student Portal. The primary goal of this iteration was to enhance the experience of mobile users. Below you will find a number of before and after screenshots of the primary Student Portal screens. This list is not all inclusive, but outlines the type and location of the improvements.

Previous Version	New Version
Sign In	Sign In – Optimized for Mobile
Top Navigation Bar	Top Navigation Bar – Refined Icons
Left Navigation Filters	Left Navigation Filters – Refined Icons & Layout
User Profile	User Profile – Improved Layout + Mobile Support
Lesson Assignment Details	Lesson Assignment Details – Improved Layout + Mobile Support
SIMpath Assignment Details	SIMpath Assignment Details – Refined Layout, Added Dates

Delete Results with SIMstudent

When taking an assignment with the SIMstudent feature there wasn’t a way to clear your results in order to retake an assignment. Users can now clear previous results on the assignment details screen. Note: this feature does not exist for regular student accounts. For example to delete a lesson result:

1. View the assignment details from either the ASSIGNMENTS or GRADES top navigation bar.

2. Click Rest Progress to clear your results for the assignment.