How to use SparkED

New to SparkED? These six short steps take you from a new account to your certificate. Each one takes a minute or two.

Your SparkED account (also called your SparkED ID) is one sign-in for everything: this website, your courses in the LMS platform, and your certificates.

1. Create your SparkED account

  1. Select My account at the bottom of any page, then Sign in or create your SparkED ID. (Buying a course takes you there too.)
  2. On the SparkED sign-in page, select Create account (under the Sign in button).
  3. Fill in a username, a password (twice), your email address, and your first and last name. Then select Create account.
The Create your SparkED account form, with fields for username, password, confirm password, email address, first name and last name, and a Create account button.

2. Confirm your email

  1. We send an email to the address you gave. Open it and select the link to confirm your email address.
  2. The link works for a limited time. No email after a few minutes? Check your spam or junk folder.
The confirmation email from SparkED: Welcome to SparkED. Please confirm that this is your email address. A Confirm my email address button, and a note that the link works for 1 day.

3. Sign in

  1. Select My account at the bottom of any page, then Sign in or create your SparkED ID.
  2. Enter your email (or username) and your password, then select Sign in. You come back to the website, signed in.
  3. Forgot your password? Select Forgot Password? on the same page and we email you a link to choose a new one.
The Sign in to SparkED page, with fields for email or username and password, a Forgot Password? link, a Sign in button, and a Create account link for new learners.

4. Find and buy a course

  1. Select Browse courses at the top of the page, or open the Course Catalog. Search by name, or use Filters to narrow the list.
  2. Teaching in New York? Use the New York course catalog: it lists the courses made for New York educators.
  3. Select Explore on a course to read about it, then select Add to cart.
  4. Open your cart and select Proceed to Checkout. Sign in (or create your account) when you are asked to, fill in your details, and pay. We email you a receipt.
The Course Catalog: Filters down the left (who it is for, topic, format, experience level, length), a Search courses box, and course cards showing each course's format, length, certificate, title, a short description, its price and an Explore button.
The New York courses page: the same Filters and Search courses box, with cards for the New York courses, each with its price and an Explore button.
A course page: the course's title, description, format, time commitment, experience level, topic and certificate, and beside them its price with an Add to cart button and a note that you sign in or create your SparkED account before paying.
The cart: the course with its price, and the cart totals with a Proceed to Checkout button.

5. Open your course in the LMS platform

  1. After you pay, your course is ready in the LMS platform, where you take it.
  2. Go to My account (at the bottom of any page) and select the My Courses tab. You go straight to your courses: you are already signed in with the same SparkED account.
  3. Taking courses on more than one SparkED learning site (New York's, for example)? Each site has its own My Courses tab, named for that site.
  4. Select a course to open it, and work through it in order. You can stop and come back at any time: the LMS platform remembers where you were.
A course in the LMS platform: the course name at the top, the course index down the left with its sections and activities, and the same sections and activities in the middle of the page.

6. Find your certificate

  1. Your certificate is the last step of your course. It opens once you have finished the course.
  2. Select it to view it, then download it as a PDF to save or print.
  3. All your certificates are kept in the LMS platform: open the menu under your name and select Certificates.
A certificate in the LMS platform: the page Your New York certificate, the last item in the course index, with a View certificate button, and a note that New York certificates are not emailed but downloaded from the site.

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We are happy to help. Contact us and tell us what you were trying to do.

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