OWL: a teacher’s and medical
educator’s guide
Welcome to OWL
OWL (Online Website Learning) is the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioner’s
Learning Management System (LMS). It is used to support your learning and help you
connect online with your peers, registrars and other online learning resources. This is also
where you can find information regarding scaffolds, regional seminars for GPEP Year 1 and
learning groups for GPEP Year 2 and 3.
Tip
OWL works on Internet Explorer 8 and above, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.
However, some activities do not load in Internet Explorer so it is recommended that
you use other browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox etc.
Online activity
Take the time to explore OWL.
Questions?
[email protected]
Contents
How to log in to OWL .............................................................................................................................. 2
Navigating OWL ...................................................................................................................................... 3
GPEP Page ............................................................................................................................................... 3
GPEP Year 1 Region Pages ...................................................................................................................... 3
Scaffolds .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Medical Educator’s and Teacher’s Page ................................................................................................. 5
Online Forums ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Updating your Profile and Changing your Password .............................................................................. 6
Frequently Asked Questions… ................................................................................................................ 7
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 1 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
How to log in to OWL
Your access details will be emailed to you by a programme advisor.
Open a browser and type http://owl.rnzcgp.org.nz.
Type your username (firstname.surname) and
password in to the login fields which are found on
the left hand side of the screen.
Tip
If you have any spaces in your name, you will need to remove them.
Dr John Watson- username john.watson
Dr Sonny Bill Williams- username sonnybill.williams
Dr Dick Van Dyke- username dick.vandyke
If you have forgotten your password, please use the “lost password” link to reset. If you have
forgotten your username, please contact [email protected]
Warning!
If you see the error message “ADONewConnection: Unable to load database driver ''
after you log in, check the spelling of your username and password. If you are still
getting the error message, please email [email protected] to reset your
password.
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 2 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
Navigating OWL
Use the Navigation Bar at the top to explore the menus in OWL. The bar will always be available to
allow you to allow quick navigation between pages.
Tip
Text in orange is a link to another page within the site, a resource or an external
website. If a link isn’t working, it could be because an external server is down.
If the link is taking you to the wrong page, please contact [email protected] to
get this fixed.
GPEP Page
The GPEP page is your go-to page for information related to the GPEP programme. You will find all
the forms you need here, as well as discussion and learning group forums, examples of good practice
and answers to your burning questions in the FAQ section.
GPEP Year 1 Region Pages
Each region has its own page which contains information related to your seminars. You will find the
seminar timetable, speaker resources and forums on these pages.
Scaffolds
Scaffolds are where you will find information directly related to the topics which are covered as part
of the GPEP curriculum. Look out for ideas for learning activities which you can do with your
registrar.
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 3 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
Encourage your registrar to prepare
ahead for their seminars by reading the
pre-reading and seminar requirements.
The teaching and learning activities
section suggests specialist people and
places that your registrar could visit in
your community. There are also ideas for
protected teaching time and topics to
discuss with your registrar
Further websites and journal articles can
be found in the additional learning
resources section.
“Check your knowledge gaps” contains
quizzes with immediate feedback to help
keep track of your learning.
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 4 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
Medical Educator’s and Teacher’s Page
There is a page on OWL dedicated to Medical Educators and Teachers. This page contains
information regarding the programme, resources on medical education, tips to help you develop
your teaching skills, forums for discussions with fellow teachers and minutes of teachers meetings.
You will also find claim forms and information on what you are allowed to claim for.
Online Forums
Online forums are used to provide you with programme related news and are also great for
discussions between fellow teachers around the country
Take some time to familiarise yourself with the layout and set it up to receive the information you
want to see. The following information will help you post new messages, reply to conversations and
set your email preferences.
Viewing forum posts
There are two ways you can view a forum post, either via OWL or your email inbox.
If you are logged in to OWL, navigate to the forum and click on the titles of the posts. You will see
the original post, and any replies. To take part in a conversation, click on reply.
Forum posts are delivered to your email inbox if you have this option selected. You can choose to
receive an email for each post that is made, or to have a “daily digest” where you will receive one
email per day, regardless of how many posts have been made. This option can be changed in your
profile.
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 5 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
Posting messages
If you want to start a new conversation, navigate
to the appropriate forum and click on “add a
new discussion topic”. You can then enter your
comment and add an attachment if apropriate.
You can also choose whether you want to receive
email updates from the forum.
If you wish to continue a discussion started by a
colleague, click on the title of the discussion and
click reply. A screen will appear which will allow
you to post your reply.
If you wish to reply to a post which you have
been notified of by email, make sure you click the
reply button within the email. This will take you
to the OWL log in page and allow you to post a
reply. Try not to use the reply function in your
email software as this will not reply to the whole
group, just the original poster.
Updating your Profile and Changing your Password
On the far right of the navigation bar, you will see “My Profile”. This enables you to edit your profile
and change your password. Simply click on the required link and enter the information.
A short biography in your profile will help you get to know your colleagues
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 6 of 7
Objective ID: A334878
Frequently Asked Questions…
I have forgotten my password, how do I reset it?
Click on the “reset password” link and enter your username or email address and a temporary
password will be sent to you. If the link doesn’t work, please email [email protected]
I have forgotten my username.
Your username is usually firstname.lastname. If you have any spaces in your name, you will need to
remove them.
If you can’t log on, email [email protected].
I am having trouble changing my password
OWL password policy requires that a password must be at least 8 characters in length and a
combination of letters, number and upper/lowercase, for example OWLgpep12
I get the error message ''ADONewConnection: Unable to load database driver ''when I
try to log in. What does that mean?
OWL is not recognising the details you have entered in to the log in screen. Please check you are
spelling your username correctly.
I have changed my email address, can I update it myself?
Access your profile to update your contact details
Why is this link not working?
Sometimes servers are down which is beyond the control of OWL. If the problem persists, or the link
is directing to the wrong page, please email [email protected].
Document Owner:
OWL Administrator
May 2015
Page 7 of 7
Objective ID: A334878