University of Phoenix Student Web Portal User Manual
Learning Team ‘D'
ENG 221 Technical Writing
University of Phoenix

Abstract
Write a 15- to 20-page user manual for your selected tool. Provide effective, clear, concise, accurate, and coherent written communication that introduces first-time students to your tool. Include the following items in your manual: * Table of contents * Headers and footers that include page numbers, copyright information, and other necessary information * Headings * Appropriate font * Written instructions for accessing, navigating, and using the selected tool * Visual elements, such as images, flowcharts, tables, and screenshots * Effective page layout, including the order of information, use of whitespace, and highlighting * Terminology definitions, a key to define any symbols or diagrams used, and any other necessary information to help the user navigate the manual
Finalize and submit the user manual.

University of Phoenix Student Web Portal User Manual
Introduction
The University of Phoenix Portal is a brand new environment for students to participate in online classes and collaborate with in residence courses. The Web Portal allows faculty and students to come together along with University assisted career enhancement tools. Students can access any University supplied materials from the Web Portal, and online students can come together in the virtual classroom environment.
Log In and Home Screen The University of Phoenix has standard authentication for users. This should be set up for users prior to use in the scope of this documentation. Standard authentication is as follows: username and password.
Classroom
The classroom page will allow you to choose which class presently on your schedule to access. If there is only one class on a student's schedule, the student portal will automatically access that class.
Class Home Once a student has accessed the desired class. The student can work on assignments and read materials specific to that class.
Weeks
University of Phoenix classes run in five (5) week intervals. Students can access each week’s materials by selecting the specifics week(s) tab and working from within each. Within each week(s) tab, the following areas are then available.
Objectives/Competencies
Objectives and competencies are that week’s materials goals.
Learning Activities
Learning activities are that weeks are reading materials and recommended study materials. Required. Current weeks required reading material Recommended. Current weeks recommended reading material and or papers.
Assignments
The assignments section is where a student can find the current week’s assignments, participation and associated points for each. Within each assignment, the student can find the following sections: Instructions. A description of the assigned materials.
Assignment Files. Select the files you want to submit for the assignment, and click
Submit Assignment button to start the submission process. Grading. Submitted student materials from the assignment files section and faculty feedback.
Class Activity Class activity if a forum style chat that students can actively participate. Faculty post updates and news about class information and materials. Students also ask questions to the facilitator and other students in this area. Private messaging is also available.
Syllabus
The full syllabus view allows a student to view all the weeks’ views in succession. A high-level overview is useful when looking at the class as a whole. A student may then drill down into each class individually and conduct the coursework specific to that week. eBooks In this section, students have online access to all textbooks that will be needed to help with completing each course. The areas of study at the University of Phoenix include Business Management, Education, General Studies, Health and Human Services, Information Technology and Doctoral. By simply clicking on the eBooks link, you are redirected to a page displaying the links for all sections. Under each link is a complete list of the eBooks that are available for each. Now for you to better understand what it is that you are looking for click on the link that is specific to the course you are taking. This will bring you to a page that displays the title of all of the books, the author and publisher, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and an image of the book’s cover.

After the book in question has been located, the user can click on the link and be redirected to another page displaying the author, ISBN and copyright at the top of the page, followed by the table of contents. From the table of the content page, the user clicks the links to bring up the copyright information or preface. The most useful feature, however, is the ability to click on the link for any available chapter and automatically be redirected to that chapter in the book. On the upper left hand side of the page is a navigation table that allows users to return to the main page for eBooks, read the book online, buy the book, download the book, get help and download adobe reader.

Keep in mind that the books needed to complete all of your courses are provided free and the links to these books are located in the classroom of the course the user is taking. Users may choose to download or read their material online; however, downloading is an option for users that might want to read in places that may not have a connection to the internet. In order to view the books you will need adobe reader. Unfortunately, at this time, users are unable to read any university books on mobile devices that do not support adobe reader.
Center for Writing Excellence
Being able to write papers is essential to the success of all students at university of phoenix, and the center for writing excellence portion of the university library can be very helpful in writing those papers and ensuring they meet the APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines. On the university library page under the heading center for writing excellence there are several links such as plagiarism checker, WritePoint, Live Assistance, Step-by-Step Grammar Review and Tutorials and Guides which all have the purpose of helping with structure. One of the most common issues when a student submits a paper is plagiarism. The University of Phoenix policy states that students must submit their own work and properly cite all third party sources or receive the harshest sanctions that include a failing grade for that course, suspension or expulsion. It is possible to write a paper using one’s own words and have that paper turn out to be similar enough to another’s paper that it can cause some major issue, or be slightly off when citing the sources used in the construction of the paper. So, how would one determine if their paper is acceptable to be submitted? By clicking on the plagiarism checker link students are able to not only find out the amount of clusters in their document that match other documents, they are also shown a list of all potential sentences that need to be changed in order to make the document acceptable. The plagiarism checker does this by searching the internet for databases and periodicals for similar content matching the phrasing of specific groups of words. The next link RiverPoint Writer will take the user to a page where they can copy and paste their paper and get a review of all mistakes they have made such as grammatical or spelling. Most writing programs would have these functions but River point is specifically geared towards the format that is considered acceptable at the University of Phoenix. It is possible to download the program and set it up with most word document programs; however, there is a fully functional version online that is much easier to use. The get live assistance link will take the user to a page where they can get help from university faculty members with writing paper. This is a great way to find out the information you need to know about how to get your assignments done while using proper guidelines. This feature, however, is only available during certain times and days. Next the Step-by-Step Grammar Review brings the user to a list of sections, much like sections in a book that are designed to help with different areas of grammar. 12 sections are in the form of islands you can click on.

By clicking on an island, the user is taken to a review page where they can read about each specific grammar topic. After each section, the user can complete an exercise to apply their knowledge of that discipline. There is a video to the right of the grammar topics that goes over the process in detail. Finally, there is the Tutorials and Guides, which provides the user with a list of all possible guidelines they will need to know in order to submit assignments in proper format such as, information on avoiding plagiarism or APA samples. The tutorials and guides also have a tool for generating thesis statements for those who have difficulty in that area.
Skillsoft
The Skillsoft section located under the eBooks section is designed to give the user access to a database of tutorials for any topic in business and technology. The tutorials provide different activities to help strengthen the user's knowledge in that particular area. Upon clicking the link to Skillsoft, the user will arrive at a loading page that says skillport in the upper left hand corner. The user is instructed to click the click here link if the page fails to load in under 40 seconds. This brings the user to the Skillport customer support page that has several suggestions for why the page may not be able to load. There are also several tabs in the navigation bar that provide a list of instructions for fixes that are specific to the web browser being used. Once the user successfully reaches the Skillport page, they are provided with a brief summary of what the page is for and a brief description of what each tab does.

At the top of the page is a search bar for those who already know what topic they are searching for. In the cases of class assignments or homework, the specific tutorials names should be provided. Next to the search field is a category drop down menu that allows the user to search for specific material such as books, simulations or videos. The user can also choose between English, Spanish and French in the language drop down menu. On the side, navigation bar is four tabs for catalog, my progress, my plan, and support. By clicking the "catalog" tab, the user is brought to a page that displays main folders for specific languages that each contains all of the activities from the database. The student is able to search for any material available in the database in any of the previously mentioned languages. The next tab in the sidebar is the "my progress" tab which displays all activities completed by the student. The activities are displayed by title, and times accessed, completion, current score, and the highest score. There is also a drop down menu allowing the user to display activities done over the course of 30 days, 90 days, 12 months, all and custom. Finally, there is the "my plan" tab which shows all future activities in two folders, which are assigned and personal. These are for assignments that need to be completed or are for personal development. Additionally, there is a “create folder” tab for users that want their work to be more organized. There is several drop down menus for language activity type, and a search bar to narrow the search for a specific activity. Last in this section is a help link that provides support for the users in the form of contacting technical support, live time help and general background information on the Skillsoft portion of the student library.
Virtual Organizations
In the University of Phoenix library lies this great tool known as the Virtual Organization. This tool is used by students to simulate real life data that they may potentially encounter in the real world. Luckily, the University provides the students with several different types organizations to choose from. The types of organizations to pick are business, education, healthcare, government and service request. It was important to create all of these different options to cater to the variety of students phoenix has. Accessing a Virtual Organizations fairly easy and can be followed by these steps: * · Log onto the University of Phoenix website using your username and password * Click on the Library tab located under the red Phoenix banner * Once you are on this page you will find the Virtual Organizations hyperlink, click that to open up that page. * You are now on the Virtual Organizations page, once you are here you can choose the organization that best suits your requirements to complete your assignment * The Virtual Organization page will look like the picture illustrated below.

Center for Mathematics Excellence Math, the word alone can strike fear, anxiety, and even stress in some students. The very reason the Center for Mathematics Excellence was created was to calm some of those fears. Daniel Willingham of The Washington Post states, “Math like reading is not natural human activity. It is a cultural contrivance, and the cognitive apparatus to support it must be hijacked form mental systems meant to support other activities.” Just like math is a contrivance, the Center for Mathematics Excellence is the contrivance created to counteract the shortcomings some students may have when trying to solve a particular problem. There are different options to choose from once you have accessed the site which is very helpful. If you are a student that has an extreme case of anxiety, there is a section of the site that gives you tips on how to overcome it. There is also a variety of classes the student can choose from which includes Algebra 1A, Algebra 1B, College Algebra and Discrete Math just to name a few. If the student wants to contact CME, there are instructions to do so. Some students need hands on help and thats where the live tutoring comes into play. Instructions to access the Center For Mathematics Excellence are as follows * Log onto the University of Phoenix website your username and password * Click on the library tab located under the red Phoenix banner * Click on the Center for Mathematics Excellence tab located at the just at the bottom of the page. * Once you have reached this page navigate to the page that best suites your needs by hovering your cursor over the link and left clicking * The Center for Mathematics excellence looks like the example below.

Student Labs The two labs that are offered in the Student Labs portion of the University Library are SQL/Database Concepts Lab and Student Java Programming Lab. If a student is having problems in his or her Database Concept/SQL class, the lab offers a forum to post questions and get them answered. When the student arrives on the first page of the website, displayed is the first forum entry, which is usually an announcement from a facilitator. Facilitators and students are available to help you solve any issues you may have which is extremely helpful. The last lab available in the University Library is the Java Programming Lab. This lab is similar to the first one, in which students can ask and receive help from facilitators and fellow students. Steps to access these labs are as follows: * Log onto the site using your assigned username and password * Click on the Library tab located below the red Phoenix banner * Once you are at the University of Phoenix Library, locate the SQL/Database Concepts hyperlink or the Java Programming Lab. Click the link that applies to your coursework. * An example of the page, you will see if you click either SQL/Database Concepts or Java Programming Lab is located below.

Program and Account Section
The Program Section of the web page is used for students to examine and view their degree progress, and contains useful links and information regarding the University’s policies and main online resources.
Let us look at the Program page in detail:
UoPX Contacts
On the right hand column, each student will find the contact information for two of the most important people you will need to get a hold of during your time at The University of Phoenix, their academic representative and financial advisor.

Alerts
Alerts are displayed at the top of the Program page, informing you of any critical or pertinent information regarding the university and your account.

Degree Progress
The Degree Progress display shows your progress on your degree plan and displays the progress graphically. It also contains vital information about your degree, including: * GPA * Total Credits Required * Completed Credits * Transfer, Waived, and Assessed Credits * Remaining Credits

My Program
The My Program

Services

Credit Assessment Services

Publications

About University of Phoenix

Account

PhoenixConnect™ PhoenixConnect is an academically focused social network serving the University of Phoenix community. This place is designed for personal use of students, faculty and staff for academic and professional interest. If you are a new student of the University of Phoenix, this is the place where you can meet and make friends. There are different communities, groups and blogs that you can access to go and meet other students.
To access PhoenixConnect * Log in to your University of Phoenix Student Portal * Click PhoenixConnect tab * From there, you can access Communities, Groups, and Blogs

People Directory This is the place where you can search anyone in the school by name, professional goals, hobbies and activities, academic history, or personal bio. You can stay connected with the people you meet through group chat and email.
Communities
There are five major communities on this page. Learning Communities, Career and Professional Development, Military, Campus Life and Support Communities.
Learning Communities
This is where you can go and find some information about your classes or maybe post some questions about your academic interests. You can also participate in on-going conversation and answer some questions that other students have.
Career and Professional Development
This place is usually used by the students that are going to graduate soon. From job hunting in a particular place to interview tips and internship tips that will help those students to move on after graduation. Writing resumes is sometime challenging to some students, and this is the place that you can post and ask help or just click on one of the categories about resumes.
Military
A lot of students that just either veterans or separated from the military take advantage of their military education benefits. If you have any questions about your military benefits, this is the first place that you can go and read some information that other ex militaries might already have. Even active military and their spouses have a place here to get some information and share experiences for everyone to read.
Campus Life In this place place, you can connect with other students that have similar after class interests. There are different categories that you can find in this place from politics, religion and volunteering and community services to name a few. Some students post and tell everyone that they are a new student on the campus to meet friends.
Support Communities
Students come here who needs some kind of support while attending classes here in the University of Phoenix. Support areas have different types of categories of financial and student services to help desk and tech support. You can also get academic support here like writing, math and research help.
Groups
On this part of PhoenixConnect, students can create their own group or join other groups that were already created by students. When creating a group, you can set your accessibility to open group, private group or members only group. This will control all who wanted to access the group that you created.
Blogs
This part of PhoenixConnect is where you can start a blog that interest you. You can start any blogs, or you can read blogs that are already started. Blogs are listed here in alphabetical order, the most current or newest, and by the most active blogs. If you are interested in particular blogs, you can use the search tool above the blog space.
Guidelines and Tips
On this section of the PhoenixConnect, students, faculty and staff can access on how to learn the best way to use PhoenixConnect and eCampus. You can also read the PhoenixConnect community guidelines, Student Code of Conduct and eCampus Terms and Use in this section. This section is important because it tells everybody what policies and guidelines to follow and set expectations in terms of being a member of PhoenixConnect.
To access Guidelines and Tips. * Log in to your University of Phoenix Student Portal * Click PhoenixConnect tab * Click Guidelines and Tips * On the right side, click “Familiarize yourself with PhoenixConnect Community Guidelines” with the blue background. * From here, you can read all the guidelines, rules, and how to act on the Phoenix Community

Career Guidance Dashboard When starting out on the dashboard, it will ask you a few questions before you begin. Answering these questions will allow the program to understand your career goals and abilities better. Here are a few sample questions below. Once you answer the questions, you will be brought to the next screen. Here you will be able to access the options that are listed below.
Career Exploration. In this option, you will be able to "set a career goal". you can explore careers that may interest you, and you can set them as goals. This program gives you job ideas for your degree and will allow you to view those certain jobs in more detail.
Skill Builder. This option will help you focus on the skills you will need to achieve your goals. you will answer a few questions to identify your skills better, and then the program will give you an assessment of what you need to work on. You can also make a plan to help your self achieve these goals and better organize your skill set.
Resume Builder. Next will be helping you adjust your resume. with this option you can create a new resume or upload an existing one. If you upload an existing one, it will give you pointers on how to make your existing resume more effective.
Interview Preparation. Once you have your resume tailored, next you can use the Interview Preparation Tool. Here you will be able to practice taking an interview and receive real coaching tips from the University of Phoenix experts. They have videos so you can have someone ask you the question, and you can hear someone give the optimal answer. With each video, you can view coaching tips and search for specific interview questions. This tool will help you be better prepared for any interview you will take in the future.
Job Search. Now that you are fully prepared you can now begin your job search. This tool will search the web for all jobs related to your field of interest. you can save job searches and mark off ones that may not be as relevant as you need them to be. you can apply for the job straight from the program. The program also gives you enough information about the job itself such as location, category, salary (if available), and a detailed description
Military Hub. This option is for veterans and active duty members. With this option, you can see how your current field in the military translates over to the civilian world. There is also a resume builder here to better help you translate the skills you learned in the military to the real world. Also, you can use the career coaching tool to help you use your experience from the military.
Conclusion
You have been shown how to use the University of Phoenix Web Portal. In addition to these instructions, you can visit the ‘Works Cited' page and further read on the features provided by the Web Portal. You may also contact the University of Phoenix Technical Support at (877) 832-4867.

Works Cited
Dobrin, Sidney I., Christopher J. Keller, and Christian R. Weisser. Technical Communication in the Twenty-first Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
"Student and Faculty Portal." ECampus: Login. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <https://portal.phoenix.edu/social/community/support/new_classroom>.
"Student and Faculty Portal." ECampus: Login. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. <https://portal.phoenix.edu/newclassroomwalkthrough/ClassHomeFull.htm>.