You can access your profile from the user menu top right. It’s where you see your name and an arrow. Click there (1) to open up the menu (2) Clicking the Profile link will then display other options, such as a list of your courses, any forum and blog entries and a link to edit your profile (3).
Clicking the Edit profile link will allow you to change certain information such as your correct timezone, add an avatar, description and, optionally, extra contact details. You cannot normally change your username and your admin might have restricted other changes too.
When you upload an image, it will appear in the user menu by your name and also on your Dashboard page.
You can get alert when you have new messages from your teacher and other participants. You can receive alerts about new forum posts or graded assignments and more.
You can receive these alerts via email or pop up, and you can control how you receive them from Preferences > Message preferences in the user menu.
How you find courses depends on how the administrator has set up the site.
Site front page – You can view the list of courses on the front page or you can click courses link at the top navigation.
You can access your dashboard quickly, from the user menu top right and your site may redirect you automatically to your dashboard once you are logged in.
Every user has their own dashboard which they can customise. The screencast Dashboard gives a brief introduction to this, and the documentation on Dashboard gives further information.