Section: Using PropaGate Learning | Help and support for online learning | PropaGate Learning

Main course page
  • Help and support for online learning


    Image by Lukas from Pixabay

    Everyone who studies on our courses has different levels of knowledge and skills when it comes to the digital world. Brushing up on your digital skills will help you to get the most from your course here on PropaGate Learning.

    Scroll down the page and you will see a list of digital skills/topics. You will also see a section on using PropaGate Learning, our online learning platform. 

    Please ensure your browser is up-to-date; always use the latest version of Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari. An out of date browser or browser settings are the most common reasons for users experiencing problems using the site.

Using PropaGate Learning

  • Using PropaGate Learning

    This section addresses the common questions we get asked about using PropaGate Learning and helps with troubleshooting issues.

    • Common questions about PropaGate Learning

      Log in your account by entering you username and password at the trop right of the PropaGate home page. Your username is not your email address!

      If you forget your username or password, you can click on 'Forgotten your username or password' at the top right of the home page. Type in EITHER your username OR email address and an email will be sent to you with instructions on how to access your account. If you still have problems with access, email us at propagate@rbge.org.uk and we will do our best to help.

      For all courses on PropaGate Learning you will need:

      • A computer with reliable online access. Most resources will be compatible with a tablet.
      • An up-to-date browser. Please make sure that your browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome) is updated to the latest version to ensure all features of PropaGate Learning work (see the section on browsers below).
      • A PDF reader so that you can read PDF documents
      • Speakers/headphones

      In addition, some courses will require extra software/hardware such as a scanner or digital camera for the Botanical Illustration course. In the Diploma courses, you will need a Word Processor so you can type up your assignments.  The course handbook will give you more information about this.

      The default time zone on your account is the UK. If you wish to change your time zone, go to your Profile (found in the drop-down under your name at the top right of the page). select 'Edit profile' and scroll to to find 'Timezone'. You can select the appropriate time zone from the drop-down options.

      To check or adjust your forum notification settings, go to your Preferences (found in the drop-down under your name at the top right of the page). Select Forum preferences. Here you can choose whether to get a daily email digest of new posts, and what format you want it in. You can also choose whether new posts in the forums are highlighted or not.

      You can subscribe or unsubscribe for particular forums using the collapsible menu on the left of the screen. Whilst in a forum, go to Administration, forum administration and select 'Subscribe/Unsubscribe from this forum.' Note that there may be some forums, like Latest News forums, that you cannot unsubscribe from. Forums you are subscribed to will be included in the daily digest.

      Individual discussions can also be subscribed or unsubscribed to. This can be done using the checkbox on the right of the forum thread.

      In Notification preferences you can select which other parts of the course can give you notifications.

      In order to view the interactive lesson on your course, you may need to enable pop-ups on your browser for the PropaGate Learning site. If these are turned off, your browser (the program you use to view the internet) may not be able to open the interactive lessons properly.

      Your browser settings will enable you to allow pop-ups for this site. Depending on what browser you are using, the way to do this will be slightly different. Below are instructions for how to do this in Chrome on a Windows PC and Safari on a Mac. If you use another browser, there will be a similar set of options to choose from. Chrome (PC):

      • Open Chrome
      • Go to the three dots at the top right of the screen
      • Select Settings
      • Scroll down to Privacy and Security and select Site settings
      • Go to Content, then Pop-ups and redirects
      • Click 'Add' and paste in https://propagatelearning.rbge.ac.uk
      This should let the PropaGate site open pop-ups so you can view the course.Safari (Mac):
      • Open Safari and go to PropaGate Learning
      • Go to Safari's preferences and click on Websites.
      • The settings you can customise are listed on the left
      • Select Pop-up Windows
      • Set it to Allow
      This should tell Safari to let this site open pop-ups so you can view the course.

      Lessons, quizzes and other resources on your course will show as 'Done' when you have completed them. You will see this as a green label alongside the resources - such as shown next to 'Resource example 3' on the screenshot below.

      You can mark some resources as done yourself. These resources have a 'Mark as done' button alongside them that you can click on to show the activity is complete - such as shown next to 'Resource example 2' in the below screenshot.

      Others will mark themselves as complete automatically when you have worked though the activity. When these automatically-marked resources are still to be completed, a red 'to do' label will show alongside them - examples of different 'to do' labels are shown next to 'Resource example 1' in the screenshot below. If you work through an activity and it does not show as 'Done', the most likely cause is that there are still some slides to view in it. Check that you have looked through all the slides/pages in the activity.

      Screenshot showing red to do, white mark as done and green done boxes alongside course resources

      These labels will help you keep track of your progress and let your tutor know how you are getting on.