Institute of Technology Tallaght.Copyright © 2004

Quick Start Manual

The Institute of Technology’s Pharma Web Campus e-Learning Portal


Student’s User Manual
Guide to using the Pharma Web Campus of the Institute of Technology Tallaght powered by

The Skillpad NET System of CompuPharma

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1 Introduction

This document will guide you through how to access and use SkillPad Net which is the software used to deliver your course material over the internet. To access this system you will need a URL (click on the web campus icon), a username and a password. Your Lecturer or Trainer will provide these details. To login to the system follow these instructions:


Figure 1: The Login Screen /
  1. Open a web browser and navigate to the URL by clicking on the icon located in the web page.
  1. Enter your username and password in the provided fields and click the 'Login' button. (Note: usernames and passwords are not case sensitive).

  1. For security purposes, the first time you log into Skillpad, you will be asked to change your password. Click ‘OK’ when the warning message appears. Type in your existing password, your new password and confirm this new password. Click ‘Save’ and then ‘OK’ to complete this step.
  1. Once the password has been successfully changed, the ‘My Courseware’ screen will appear.
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Figure 2: Change Password

2. Launching Lessons In Skillpad NET

CompuPharma’s courseware is broken down into interactive Lessons. Each Lesson contains learning objectives, media-rich content screens and a summary screen. CompuPharma also provides an assessment with each Lesson. Lessons can be grouped together to create Courses and Courses are assigned to Trainees. You can also download lecture notes that can be saved on your computer.

Figure 3: Courseware Structure


Figure 4: My Courseware List / After you have logged in to Skillpad NET, a list of Courses you have been assigned will be displayed (see Figure 4). Click on the relevant Course Title to view the Lessons in that Course.
Once you have selected a Course Title, the Lessons in that Course will appear as follows: /
Figure 5: Lesson List

To launch a Lesson’s Content, click on the relevant Lesson Title and click the ‘Launch Content’ button (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Lesson Details

3. Navigating Through a Lesson

After the ‘Launch Content’ button has been clicked, a new window containing the Lesson will appear. The first screen contains the Keywords and Learning Objectives associated with that Lesson (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: Keywords and Learning Objectives


Figure 8: Navigation Buttons / The Lessons are comprised of multiple screens containing audio, graphics, animations and interactions. To navigate through the Lesson click the Next Screen and Previous Screen buttons located at the bottom right-hand corner of the window (see Figure 8).
The Quit Lesson button is also located here and will exit the Lesson and return to Skillpad NET. After quitting the Lesson you can go back and launch additional Lessons.

Below is a sample screen displaying typical components in a Lesson (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Lesson Interface

4. Lesson Media & Interactions

Each screen within a Lesson contains one or more interactions or animations. To view an interaction or animation, roll over a colored Activity button using the mouse pointer (see Figure 9). Each colored button triggers a different Activity (Figure 10).

/ View text definitions or additional information.
/ View still images.
/ Play animations.
/ Show interactions - instructions will appear for what to do next.
/ View an industry reference.

Figure 10: Activity Buttons

5. Taking an Assessment

Each Lesson comes with a multiple-choice Assessment containing 16 questions.
To take an Assessment, click the ‘Take Assessment’ button located on the Skillpad Lesson Details screen (see Figure 6).
Before starting the assessment, you will be required to enter your password (see Figure 11). Type in your password and click ‘Submit’ /
Figure 11: Take Assessment Screen

Figure 12: Assessment Sign-Off / Once the password has been correctly entered, the first question will appear. Answer each question by checking the appropriate option and clicking ‘Submit’.
When all questions have been answered, the overall result will appear.

The assessment will be submitted to the online training database. Click the ‘OK’ button and you will return to the Lesson Details screen (see Figure 6). Should you wish to take another Lesson, click ‘Back’.

6. Exiting Skillpad

To exit Skillpad, simply click the ‘Logout’ icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen and close the Internet browser.

Figure 13: Logout Icon

7. System Requirements

Below are the minimum computer specifications required to access our online courseware. You will require a Flash 6 plug in to be able to run all the

  • Microsoft Windows ‘95/’98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
  • 56K or higher Internet Connection
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
  • Macromedia Flash version 6 Plug-in
  • Intel Pentium 300MHz Processor
  • 64 MB RAM (128MB Recommended)
  • SVGA Monitor & Graphics Adapter (capable of 800x600 resolution)
  • Sound Card and Speakers or Headphones
  • Compatible Mouse and Keyboard

8. Further Information

Further information contact the Pharma Web Master Dr Ed Carey at

Revision: 24thAugust 2004 Ed CareyPage 1