WebCT Vista Manuals

Staff can access a collection of supporting resources to provide detailed instructions on operating all of the tools within WebCT from a designing and teaching perspective. The materials include operation manuals on; Course design, content delivery, activating assessment, collaboration tools and course management tools.

WebCT Vista : An Introduction

A guide to all WebCT tools

• My WebCT - The My WebCT area is the central screen that is accessed once you have logged into WebCT. This chapter covers the options a designer has in the My WebCT area.
• Calendar - The calendar tool is a calendar that is shared by all that has access to the module area. Important entries like lectures, tutorials, test dates or assignment dates can be placed in the calendar as reminders.
• Announcements - The Announcement tool is a virtual messenger in the module. You can deliver pop up messages to students that are enrolled in your module.
• Discussions - The Discussion Tool is an electronic area for posting, displaying and receiving information. Discussions can serve as general notice boards, i.e. for Frequently Asked Questions, or they can be used to strategically, securely and confidentially link a group of students studying a particular subject.
• Mail - The Mail tool is essential for private communication within the module. The designer is able to read and send messages to all users in their module using the Mail tool.
• Chat & Whiteboard - The Chat and Whiteboard Tool have been integrated so that you may have a chat room with the facility of a whiteboard.
• Who's online - The Who's Online tool is an instant message tool that allows you to see the other users that are online at the same time and invite users for a spontaneous chat.
• HTML creator - The HTML creator enables you to change font size, font colour, font style, insert images, insert links and create bulleted lists in your document without the ability to write HTML code.
• Syllabus - A syllabus is a programme or outline of a module of study.

Getting started in using WebCT

• Organising your Home Page - The Course Content Home page is usually the first page to display when the user accesses the module. The designer can customise the Course Content Home page by organising it with folders and by adding content links or files to it.
• Uploading Files - The File Manager is a tool that allows designers to manage course files and folders.
• Web Links - The designer can create links to websites that are relevant to the course. Once a Web Link is added the students click on the link and the relevant website opens for them to explore.

WebCT Vista: Building your Course

Course settings and course home page

• Course Settings - Manage Course is a central place in WebCT containing features that allow you to customise your course.
• Course Content Customisation - The Course Content Home page displays by default when you log in and access the course. The designer can format the appearance of the Content Home page.
• Organising your homepage - The Course Content Home page is usually the first page to display when the user accesses the module. The designer can customise the Course Content Home page by organising it with folders and by adding content links or files to it.

Uploading and presenting content

• File Manager - The File Manager is a tool that allows designers to manage course files and folders.
• Learning module - A Learning Module enables the designer to create a path for students to work through that can contain the following: Content files, Assessments, Assignments, Media Library Collections, Web Links, SCORM Modules, Chat rooms, Discussion Topics.
• Selective Release - The Selective Release option allows the designer to customise the learning paths for students. If selective release criteria is placed on an item, only students that meet the conditions of the selective release criteria will be able to see and access that item.

Supporting content tools

• Web Links - The designer can create links to websites that are relevant to the course. Once a Web Link is added the students click on the link and the relevant website opens for them to explore.
• Media Library - The Media Library tool enables a designer to create collections of pictures, video files, audio files and glossary entries. Media Library items can be hyperlinked to terms found inside the html content files.
• Local Content - The Local Content tool allows you to make reference in your module to media that is distributed for local access on a student.s computer rather than over the internet. This is useful because you can create links to multimedia files without slowing down the student.s online activities.
• Scorm tool - The SCORM tool enables designers to import content packages created outside of WebCT. These content packages can contain course content, quizzes and assignments.

Administrative Tools for Teaching Online

• Group Manager - The Group Manager in WebCT enables the instructor to effectively manage the creation, editing and management of groups in the course. Discussion topics and chat topics can be created for groups in an easy and efficient manner. Mail can be sent to groups by accessing the group send mail function.
• Tracking - Tracking enables the instructor to run a number of different reports to gather information regarding student activity.
• Notes tool - The Notes tool allows the instructor to create private general notes for the course as well as notes on pages in the learning module. The instructor can print, view, edit and delete the notes.
• Selective Release - The Selective Release option allows the instructor to customise the learning paths for students. If selective release criteria is placed on an item, only students that meet the conditions of the selective release criteria will be able to see and access that item.

eAssessment using quizzes in WebCT Vista

How to create and manage online assessments (quizzes)

• Creating online quizzes - How to build online quizzes designed to test students. knowledge and record marks awarded.
• Going live with online quizzes - An instructor.s guide to administering online quizzes. Topics includes how to: test a quiz before going live, edit assessment properties, hide and reveal assessments, view submissions, view reports, view links to assessments and set release criteria.
• Assessment manager tool - The assessment manager enables the instructor to manage the survey and quiz assessments that students complete. The instructor can easily view the status of an assessment using the assessment manager tool.

How to create and manage online assignments

• Creating online assessments - In the Assignments tool, the designer can create assignments for students to complete that contain the detail that the tasks require. The student then will create the assignment response and submit it in the Assignments tool
• Going live with the online assignments - An instructor.s guide to administering online assignments. Topics include, how to: preview an assignment as a student, edit assignment properties, hide and reveal assignments, view submissions, view links to assignments and set release criteria.
• Assignment dropbox - The Assignment Dropbox allows the instructor to manage assignments in the module.

Survey and Self test tools

• Surveys/Evaluation tool - A survey is a group of questions designed to gather feedback and information from the student. All surveys are anonymous. The instructor can only see who has or has not submitted the survey.
• Self test formative assessment - A self-test is designed to test students. knowledge and although marks or grades display for the self-test, they are not recorded in the grade book. Self-tests are for the students. benefit to see if they understand the module content.

Support Assessment Tools - Grade Book

• Grade Book (Communicating grades to Students) - The WebCT Grade Book enables the instructor to manage student grades effectively. If an instructor uses the quiz and assignment tool in WebCT, these marks are automatically transferred to the Grade Book.