Student Support FAQs

Student ID cards will be issued to students once 50 per cent of course fees are paid. Replacement student cards are available during office hours. 

If you require a replacement card, there is a charge of €50 for a replacement card, or €20 if you can provide a Garda report.

For more information on obtaining or replacing your student ID card, contact stephen.corkery@smsi.ie.

The student handbooks are accessible via Moodle. Each programme has a Student Info category in Moodle.

• BA Hons students can access the Handbooks and Study Guides module here.
• B Ed and Psychology students: Once you’re already logged into OpenSis, you can access the Handbooks and Study Guides module here.

In the event that you can’t log into your Moodle account, you can reset your password using the “Forgotten your username or password” feature (see screenshot below).

If you continue to experience difficulty with your Moodle account, please contact itsupport@smsi.ie with the subject “Moodle Account Support”.

As a B.Ed, Psychology, or MED student, you should have received your login details from IT support early in the semester.

Once you have your login details, to access your Moodle modules, you must log into the OpenSIS Portal.

You can find the OpenSIS Portal from MySMSI.

• Click the OpenSIS Portal icon.
• Enter your username and password.
• Once you log in, on the lower left side of the page, you will see the Moodle icon. Click the icon once to expand the menu.
• Once the menu has been expanded, click on the Moodle button at the bottom of the menu.

If the Moodle window does not open, make sure you have enabled pop-up windows in your browser. (See this article for more info on enabling pop-ups in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari)

How do I reset my OpenSIS password?

If you are uncertain of your password, you can click “Forgot Username/Password?” and attempt a reset (see screenshot below).

If you have continued difficulty accessing your account, contact itsupport@smsi.ie with the subject “OpenSIS Access”.

Note: to access your Moodle modules on mobile, you do not need to install an app from the iOS or Android app store. Instead, you will simply use your browser, following the directions below.

From your mobile device, you’ll log in the same way as you would in your computer’s browser, but you’ll need to navigate the OpenSIS menu to access your modules. This looks slightly different on mobile than in a full-size browser.

• Access OpenSIS at myportal.smsi.ie
• Log in with your OpenSIS user name and password.
• Once logged in, click the menu icon in the upper right corner of the window.
• Scroll down to Moodle, and expand the Moodle menu.
• Click Moodle to launch your modules. (Note: pop-ups must be enabled in your browser.)

See the video below for a clear walkthrough of launching your modules on your mobile device (iPhone, Android phone, iPad).

Important Note about Pop-Ups on your Mobile Device

Pop-ups must be enabled for your Moodle modules to open in your mobile browser. Please see the following resources for info on enabling pop-ups on your device:

• How to enable pop-ups in iOS (iPhone and iPad)
• How to enable pop-ups in Android (Chrome Browser)

You can find the Google Calendar for your Programme and stage in the following places:

• Moodle Modules: Once you’ve logged into your Moodle modules, you’ll see your Programme Timetable and Zoom links at the top of your module. You can click the calendar link to open your Google Calendar and add the programme timetable.
• Timetable Pages: You can find each programme’s timetable at http://smsi.ie/timetables

The following video walks through how to add your Programme Timetable to your SMSI Google Calendar. (Note: The process of adding a calendar is far easier when using a web browser on a computer rather than a smartphone. Please log in using a computer when adding your programme timetable.)

You’ll have to be logged into your SMSI Google account to view the timetables. Please see this article for switching from your personal Google account to your SMSI Google account in your web browser:
Google Support: Sign in to multiple accounts at once

Your Programme Directors kindly request that you add your signature to your SMSI Gmail indicating your name, your Programme/Stage, and for BA Hons students, your campus location (i.e. Dublin or Cork).

Example signature:

Brid Finnegan
B.Ed Stage 1

How do I create my Gmail signature?

You can follow the directions indicated in this Google support article: Create a Gmail Signature.

1. Open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings   See all settings.
3. In the “Signature” section, add your signature text in the box. If you want, you can format your message by adding an image or changing the text style.
4. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.
5. You should then adjust your signature defaults so that your signature is added automatically to any message you send or reply to.

In the event that you can’t log into your Google account and need your password reset, please contact edris@smsi.ie with the subject “Google Password Reset Request”.

See the video below for a walkthrough of these settings.

Zoom is a free application for video conferencing. We use Zoom to connect our virtual classrooms.

To download and install Zoom on your computer, tablet, or mobile device, see this page: zoom.us/download#client_4meeting

As a student, you will not need to log into a licensed account to access your lectures.

You can find the Zoom sessions for your Programme and stage in the following places:

• Moodle Modules: Once you’ve logged into your Moodle modules, you’ll see your Programme Timetable and Zoom links at the top of your module.
• Zoom Portal: You can find each programme’s Zoom links at smsi.ie/zoom_portal

For further assistance with Zoom, reach out to the Instructional Designer, Steve Welsh.

Live class sessions are facilitated remotely by Zoom in several programmes. It is so helpful to your other classmates and your lecturers to be able to see you and maintain engagement throughout the class session. Whenever possible, we fully encourage you to attend with your camera on.

You may find that it’s more comfortable to participate in a Zoom session if you can obscure the rest of the environment. Using the “virtual background” feature, you can display your face while obscuring any other distractions in your background.

To enable your virtual backgrounds in Zoom, follow the directions here: How to turn on virtual backgrounds in Zoom.

If you’d like to upload the custom SMSI virtual backgrounds, you can find them in this Google Drive folder.

My Programme Director has sent me a Word Doc, and asked me to return it as a signed PDF. How should I do that?

There are several ways to save a signed PDF and return it to staff. Here is one method, using free software. If you have another preferred method, that’s fine as well.

1. Save Word Doc as PDF

• Microsoft Word: If you use Microsoft Word, you can save a doc as a PDF. Follow the steps in this article: How to save a Microsoft Word document as a PDF file
• Google Docs: If you open the doc in Google Docs, you can then download it as a PDF.

  • Open the document you wish to convert to PDF.
    Select File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf).

2. Sign PDF using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

• You can download the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC here: get.adobe.com/reader
• Follow the steps in this article for signing a PDF in Acrobat Reader DC: Sign a PDF

3. Return PDF via email or Moodle, as indicated by your Programme Director or lecturer.

There are several easy ways to share a JPEG as a PDF. You can see this Adobe Acrobat support doc for more info. Below are the two easiest ways to save a JPEG/JPG as a PDF.

1. Use the Adobe Acrobat online services to convert JPG to PDF

When trying to convert one file type to the other, you can use Adobe Acrobat online services to convert JPG to PDF.

This online conversion tool is fast and easy to use. You only need to go to Acrobat online services and use the Convert JPG to PDF tool following these instructions:

1. Use the Convert JPG to PDF tool online. After you reach the site, you will need to select an image file (such as JPG, PNG, or BMP).
2. Drag and drop or upload an image file to convert it to the PDF file format in seconds.
3. This online tool will convert your image to a PDF file.
4. You can download and save the converted file to your device.

2. Windows “Print to PDF” feature

If you want to convert file types in Windows without going online, you can also follow these steps:

• Open the JPG file you want to convert. Your computer will open it with its default viewer. (With Windows, this should be the Photos app.) 
• Click CTRL+P to bring up the Print dialog box. 
• Click the Printer icon to open a drop-down list. 
• Select Microsoft Print to PDF. 
• Click Print. (This won’t actually print your document, but instead prompt the File Explorer dialog box to open.) 
• In the new dialog box, your document now has the PDF file extension. Choose where you want to save this file as a PDF and click Save to finalize.

In short, no. Some people prefer to use the Microsoft Office productivity suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel). However, there are several free alternatives to Microsoft Office worth considering. SNMCI supports the Google Workspace Suite, which makes it easy to import and edit Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents seamlessly.

See this page for more info on free alternatives to Microsoft Office.

For many assignments in Moodle, you’ll be asked to upload a PDF for your submission. Sometimes, you will be expected to convert a Word document to a PDF to do so. There are several ways to save a Word doc as a PDF, but here are two.

1. Google Docs: Download Doc as PDF 
   Even if you don’t have Microsoft Word on your computer, you can always import a Word document into Google Docs, and then export it as a PDF from there. See this article for step-by-step instructions for importing a Word doc into Google Drive.Once you have the document open in Google Docs:
   – At the top, click File > Download.
   – Choose the file type: PDF. The file will download onto your computer.
2. Microsoft Word: Save as PDF
   If you’re working from Microsoft Word, you can export any Word document as a PDF.
   You can see the step-by-step instructions for saving as a PDF here.
   – If the file was previously saved, select File > Save a Copy. If the file is unsaved, select File > Save As.
   – Select Browse to choose the location on your computer where you want to save the file.
   – In the drop-down list, select PDF.
   – Select Save.

For some assignments and assessments, you’ll be asked to compile several documents into a single file for submission. There are many ways to do this. What follows is one way that’s free and relatively simple on any Windows or Mac computer.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a free application. You don’t need to subscribe to any Adobe service to use the free version of Acrobat Reader.

1. Download and Install Acrobat Reader (Free version)

You can download Acrobat Reader for free here: get.adobe.com/reader

2. Merge your documents into a single PDF file 

Once you’ve downloaded Acrobat Reader, you can follow the instructions here to merge any number of files into a single PDF that you can then upload to Moodle: helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/combine-files-into-pdf.html