Please click on the link above and it will take you to the related category of questions.

 

Learning platform related questions

Why do I need to register myself?
Before you can enroll in a specific online course, you need to register at our Digital Learning for Sustainability programme (DL4SD): It is like going to university where you first enroll at the institution and then choose a course.

How do I register myself on the learning platform?
Go to dl4sd.org to register yourself on the learning platform. Click on the „Register“ button in the upper right corner or on the course title, then the registration form opens. Then enter your personal data to complete the registration process (learn more about our data protection standards). Once you have completed the registration process, you receive a verification e-mail which you will need to confirm.

I do not receive any registration/confirmation mails when I try to register
Please check your spam/junk folder of your mail account. Sometimes the confirmation mail is marked as spam. Additionally please mark the sender noreply@dl4sd.org as "no spam" on your mail white list, if possible. If you still do not receive any mail, please write to contact(at)dl4sd.org.

Who has developed this learning platform?
Who owns this learning platform?
This online learning platform has been developed and is operated by the Digital Learning Unit of the Research and Transfer Center „Sustainability and Climate Change“ (FTZ-NK) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

What is offered on this learning platform?
Promoting sustainable practices and offering access to state-of-the-art knowledge will be a distinctive feature of the online projects developed by our team in collaboration with international partners. In this respect, FTZ-NK generally seeks to pursue an open access approach and using open educational resources whenever possible.

Where can I find your data protection standards?
Our course environment takes good care of your data in line with German data protection law. Learn more about our data protection standards here.

I want to unsubscribe from the platform. How does this work?
No problem: Simply send us an e-mail to dataprivacy(at)dl4sd.org and we’ll unsubscribe you.

 

Course related questions

Where and when do courses take place?
Everything happens online on the online learning platform „Digital Learning for Sustainable Development“ (dl4sd.org), hosted by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. A normal course weeks start at midnight (00:00 UTC) on the day indicated on the course page. Once a course has started, you will be able to access the course material and study at any time that suits you.

How do I enroll in a course?
First, you will need to register yourself on the learning platform. Once you have completed the registration process, log on to the platform and simply click on the course title to enroll. Scroll down to the bottom of the page "Self enrolment (Student)" and click the button "Enrol me".

Do I have to be online all the time?
No, you don’t: This course allows you to learn at the pace and at times that suit YOU. However, during certain days, there may be special events that take place only then. In this case, the course facilitators will inform you in due time.

Can I join a course that has already started?
Yes, you can, but it is recommended to join the course at the very start, so that you can get involved with discussions and have your questions answered by other learners and course facilitators. Please note that the bulk of conversations around weekly course topics may have already taken place if you join late. Some parts of the course need an activity to be delivered to a certain date (assignments, quizzes).

Can I leave the course?
Can I rejoin a course that I previously left?
Can international students participate in this courses?
Yes, absolutely.

Are there any charges or costs?
No, all our courses are open access and free of charge.

In which language is the course taught?
Generally, the course language is English.

Do I get a certificate to show my participation in this course?
This depends on the course. In some courses you will have the opportunity to earn a certificate, in others not.

What are „mandatory items“ required for the certificate?
Mandatory items (for example, quizzes, assignments) show us that you have gained a solid understanding of the weekly course content and are able to recall and apply key learnings. So if you do a good job, we then award you with a certificate of participation.

Can I hand in assignments at any point of time?
No, all assignments generally have deadlines which need to be respected.

Do I get a certificate only if I did all the mandatory assignments?
Yes, you will need to have mastered all mandatory assignments. But don’t be afraid: If you encounter any difficulties, simply ask your peers and course facilitators who will have an answer for you. Quizzes can generally be repeated as many times as you want, and if you fulfil the course requirements, then you will be able to do the assignments.

I cannot enrol even though I have a user name and password from the previous course
Please go to https://dl4sd.org/course/, select your course by clicking and enrol yourself to the course.

Oh no, I missed to join the course, and now it is over already! Is there any possibility to catch up?
Oh dear, we are sorry that you missed this opportunity! The courses generally have a distinctive starting and ending date, and during that time, you can interact with your teachers and peers. This is not possible after course end.
But don‘t worry: As our courses are generally open access, you can still enroll and go through the learning content and read what your peers posted and worked on. The only thing that won’t work are the discussion boards, and you cannot submit an assignment anymore.

 

Technical questions

I cannot login into the system / I cannot log in even though I have a user name and password from the previous course
Please be sure that you confirm your email address when you register.
If you lost your password/username please use the password recovery function of the system.

I am not able to see a captcha code or a registration button.
If you are using any ad blocker plugin or do-not-track plugin, please deactivate these plugins for the domain https://dl4sd.org and dl4sd.org.
If that doesn't help, please try another browser.

I am receiving many mails per day with forum postings and news. I only want one daily reminder mail.
Log in and go to your user profile > preferences > forum preferences.
Set "Email digest type" to "Complete (daily email with full posts)" > save changes.
New forum posts or replies will be sent daily to you.

I want to see new forum entries marked as "new".
Log in and go to your user profile > preferences > forum preferences.
Set "Forum tracking" to "Yes: highlight new posts for me" > save changes.

I registered, why can’t I see the course?
If the course has a specific starting date, the course content will be accessible from this specific date onwards. Please see the course description. Up until then, you might want to introduce yourself in the learner forum, update your profile page, tell a bit about yourself or add a picture.

How do I upload a profile picture?

  1. Click on your name menu in the top right corner.
  2. Click "Preferences" (a new page will open).
  3. Click "Edit profile".
  4. Scroll down the site, drag a picture from your computer and drop it into the dotted area (the frame should be blue, not red). The upload starts automatically. Please wait until the bar is complete and you can see the picture.
  5. Finally, click "Update profile" to save the change.



More answers can be found in the "Technical troubleshooting" forum inside the learning course ennvironment.