FAQ English

av | jun 26, 2017

About iKomp

1: What is iKomp?

iKomp is a free, open and flexible online course that provides an introduction to information literacy. The intended audience is anyone interested in learning more about learning strategies, how to identify, obtain and evaluate scholarly sources, and how to use sources in your own academic work. The course is comprised of text, videos, activities and quizzes.

The purpose of the course is to help you meet the demands and expectations of higher education. Taking the course should also help you start to build the kinds of skills that future employers find attractive: Being able to quickly find and acquire information, judging information relevance and quality, and using information constructively and ethically.

It should take you about 4-8 hours to go through the course, depending on what you already know. If you pass the course exam, you will be issued a course certificate.

The intended learning outcomes of the course are:
– Being able to plan your study activities
– How to study smart and maximise your learning
– Evaluate various sources in relation to your information needs
– Understanding the most important principles of information search and using sources
– Finding relevant information from various types of sources
– Understanding principles of academic integrity, and why they are worthwhile
– Using sources correctly in scholarly writing

2: Who is behind iKomp?

The online course iKomp is developed at the University Library at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, by a group of people with a diverse background and various disciplines. All have experience from teaching and instruction, and most of them are doctorates in their field of study. Look at the about page at iKomp.no for more information.

Design, implementation, technical assistance and all communication with platform provider Bibsys and their Open edX team is handled by the University Libraries Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, Result at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

3: Who can make use of the iKomp course?
iKomp is available to everyone, no matter your institutional connection. Just register yourself in the course and you will be able to access all the content and tests whenever you need to. You can take the course in its entirety, including the final exam, or you can use it as an information literacy reference resource.
4: Is there an English version of iKomp?
There is a Norwegian and an English version of iKomp available to all. All content is identical with just a few exceptions within the reference examples.
5: Does iKomp give any course credits? (Studiepoeng)
iKomp does not give you any course credits/points as such, but it can be integrated as a course requirement or as a supplement to existing course materials in a course.

Registration and completion

6: How to register to take iKomp?

Go to ikomp.no and click on the version you prefer (bokmål, nynorsk, English). This will take you to the UiT Open edX platform open.uit.no. If you are a student or employee with a FEIDE user we recommend that you sign in directly using that account.

If you do not have a FEIDE-account, you need to register manually. You do this by clicking on Register (top right of page). Fill in the registration form. Remember to double check your email address as you will receive a confirmation mail to that account. When you have filled in all the information and accepted the Terms of Service, click on Create My UIT OpenEdX Account. You will then be sent to a page confirming your registration. An email should have been sent to your registered email account with a confirmation link – follow this link by clicking on it. 

7: How much time will it take to complete the course?
Depending on your existing familiarity with information literacy, the course is expected to take somewhere between 4 and 8 hours to complete.
8: Do I have to complete the entire course in one session or can I take it at my own pace?
In order to take iKomp you have to register an account at openedx.mooc.no. In doing so you are given a profile in iKomp as well, and this is used to map your progress. So all your scores from iKomp activities including the exam are stored–so yes, you can take the course at your own leisure. Be sure to finish in time for deadline if you are taking it as a course requirement.

The exam

9: What are the requirements for a passing grade?
The final exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions with reference to all four modules. To receive a passing grade you have to achieve a minimum of 80 % correct answers (32 out of 40).
10: How many attempts do I have on the iKomp exam?

You have four (4) attempts to pass the exam. When you have answered all the questions, and clicked Submit, the system will indicate (scroll upwards) how many correct/false answers you have. Under each wrong answer you will find a hint telling you what part of the course content you should look at in order to find the right answer.

11: What do I do if I am not able to complete the course due to technical problems?
If there are technical issues that hinders you from taking the exam you should contact the course staff at ikomp@hjelp.uit.no
12: How do I get my course certificate?

When you have passed the exam you should go to your “Progress”-page (top navigation). There you will find a button indicating that you can generate your course certificate. A short while after pressing the button, it changes its wording to Get Certificate. Click on that and you are taken to a page with your certificate.

To download a PDF-version of the certificate – chose to Print it. Then change printer to “Save as PDF”. That will create a PDF of your certificate that you can save to where you need/want it.

iKomp as a course requirement

13: How is iKomp related to the courses I’m taking at my institution?

All students in Norwegian higher education, whatever the discipline, should be able to find, evaluate and cite scholarly sources, and use them to shed light on a research problem. They should also be able to update and renew their own knowledge and skills. These intended learning outcomes are incorporated in the Norwegian national qualifications framework for higher education.

iKomp offers and introduction to information literacy and learning strategies, and is therefore designed to contribute to the attainment of these outcomes. For the best possible value of iKomp in that regard, we recommend that iKomp is integrated well with teaching and learning in one or more suitable institutional courses. If you are a teacher and/or responsible for such a course, you should take iKomp yourself, in order to help your students use iKomp in a targeted and course relevant way.

 

14: I am taking iKomp as a course requirement, but how do I hand in the course certificate?
There is no built-in way of saving, handing in or registering your iKomp course certificate directly from iKomp. Your course directors are responsible for organising and informing you about where this should be done. If such directions have not been made available or informed about–we would suggest the use of a dedicated Hand-in folder in your LMS (Fronter, Canvas, itslearning etc.) For questions about generating your course certificate–see question no 12.
15: I am taking iKomp as a course requirement–so what can I do if I failed to pass the exam after my fourth (4th) attempt?
Taking iKomp as a course requirement is regulated by the same rules as any other course requirement in your course. You have to pass the iKomp exam in order to be allowed to take your final course exam (see: Regulations for examinations at the UiT, §3 and §9). If you did not pass the iKomp exam you will not have passed the course requirement.
16: What if iKomp is a course requirement and it is handed in after published deadline?
iKomp is an open course without a fixed start or end date. However, if iKomp is a course requirement at your institution, there will be a deadline for turning in the iKomp course certificate. The consequences of failing to turn in the certificate within the deadline are determined by your institution’s regulations and the professors responsible for that course.

Technical problems

17: I have created a user account on iKomp, but I am unable to login. What do I do?
If you are unable to login check the following:

1) Are you using a FEIDE-account to sign in, but can not gain access? Contact support@sikt.no and ask for help regarding your FEIDE-account.

2) Did you register manually? Make sure you are trying to login with the same email address you used to register. Have you got other email accounts – try one of them. If you can not remember the password click on forgot password to reset it.

3) Have you received the activation mail, and followed the instructions therein in order to activate your account?

4) If you have not received the mail – check your spam (søppelpost) folder in your mail application (Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail etc.)

5) Contact support@sikt.no and ask for assistance.

18: I am trying to work on iKomp, but keep getting an error message – what do I do?
If you are encountering a page that will not open, or that gives you an error message, double check your internet access. You may also want to try a different internet browser. If the problem persists, check to see if there has been given any information about the problem by going to the Hjem page inside iKomp. You can also check to see if there are any updates about issues at ikomp.no. If there are no updates/information about existing problems with the course you should send a mail requesting assistance to ikomp@ub.uit.no
19: I am trying to reset my password, but get no mail with further instructions?
Your email might have been sent to your spam-folder so check that first. If that is not the case then send a request to support@sikt.no