Guide to WebCT

1) Login to myWebCT

2) myWebCT and Course Homepage

3) Navigation in WebCT - MyWebCT Menu Bar, Homepage Icons, Course Menu, Breadcrumbs, Action Menu

4) Most Frequently used WebCT Tools

A. Content Tools - Calendar, Compile, Glossary, Index, Course Map, Resume Course

B. Communication Tools - Mail ( HTML editor, Equation editor), Discussions, Chat, Whiteboard

C. Evaluation Tools - Quiz, My Grades, Assignments

D. Study Tools - Bookmarks, My Progress, Search, Take Notes, Student Homepages

5) Supported Browsers

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1) Login to myWebCT  

A. Connect to the Internet, open your browser, and type in the URL sent to you by your instructor.

It may be http://elearn.oakton.edu:8900/ but you must confirm this.

You may also be able to link to WebCT through the "My Courses" channel in myOakton.

B. If your instructor has given you a WebCT ID and Password, click "Log in to myWebCT."

(Figure 1: Welcome to WebCT)

C. When you click on "Log in to my WebCT," you will see a screen like the following for your WebCT ID and Password.

(Figure 2: WebCT ID and password)

Type your WebCT ID in the WebCT ID field. Your WebCT ID will be:

<first initial><up to first seven letters of the last name><last four digits of your Oakstar ID*>

For example, if a student was named George Washington with student ID: B1234567, his WebCT ID would be gwashing4567. 

* Your student ID number is assigned by the College. It will appear on your bill and your instructor's class roster.

Type your password in the Password field.

Student passwords consist of their 6-digit birth dates (no dashes or spaces). 

For example, a birth date of December 17, 2002 would create the password 121702.

Click on the Log in button.

If you are unable to log in to myWebCT:

Note that when you enter your WebCT ID and password correctly, WebCT will present you with your myWebCT page (Figure 3). If you get a message like "Authorization failed" instead of myWebCT page, either you typed incorrectly or your WebCT ID has not been set up yet.

• Recheck your WebCT ID and Password. Make sure you are entering it in lower case with no spaces.
• Make sure you went to the URL given to you by your instructor (not necessarily online.oakton.edu:8900)
• Contact your instructor for assistance if the problem persists or call Alternative Education, 847-635-1971.

D. You will now be at your personal myWebCT page. MyWebCT is the first page you see after you enter your WebCT ID and password.

(Figure 3: Sample my WebCT-http://online.oakton.edu:8900/)

MyWebCT Menu Bar

A. Bookmarks 

Your myWebCT displays two types of bookmarked URLs: 

• Institutional bookmarks are created by your school's WebCT administrator. You can organize, hide, or reveal institutional bookmarks. 
• You can add your favorite URLs to the Personal Bookmarks area. You can also edit, organize, hide, reveal, or delete your personal bookmarks.

B. Global calendar

The global calendar provides you with centralized access to entries from your private myWebCT calendar, from the calendar for an individual course, and from the calendars for multiple courses. You can also post entries to your course calendars, compile entries from course calendars, and download entries to your Palm™ Date Book. 

C. Password settings

You only can change your password with your instructor's permission.

D. Preferences

In compliance with the US Rehabilitation Act, Section 508, WebCT offers a color scheme that provides high contrast between background and foreground elements on myWebCT pages. This high contrast color scheme allows users who have difficulty distinguishing colors to use WebCT.

E. Check Browser 

WebCT 4.0 automatically checks whether your browser is validated for use with WebCT in the login screen, in myWebCT, and in course homepages. However, you may also want to check if your browser is non-validated using Check Browser. Check Browser also gives you access to WebCT's Browser Tune-up page where there is up-to-date information about all classifications of browsers. 

A validated browser is one that is compatible with WebCT. A non-validated browser is one that is not fully tested or has known minor issues with WebCT. An unsupported browser is one that is incompatible with WebCT.

Note: WebCT 4.0 does not check the compatibility of service packs and software updates. Check WebCT's Browser Tune-up for the most up-to-date information. Also see 5) Supported Browsers below.

F. Logout

You can logout without exiting your browser when you would like to leave the WebCT.

G. Help

Help button links you to context-sensitive online help. You can get most useful information from this link.

MyWebCT contains links to all of the courses that you are taking along with announcements, bookmarks, and other information. If you do not see any courses on your myWebCT, contact your instructor for each class and ask them to add you to the class. If you see a course on your myWebCT for which you aren't registered, contact the instructor of that course to remove your name from their student roster.

To enter a class, such as "IT Sample Course," click on the link to that course. You can also click on the icons next to News to see a new quiz, a new assignment, new discussion postings, or new grades since you last looked at the course.

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2) myWebCT and Course Homepage  

MyWebCT is a central location where students can see a list of courses in which they are registered (Figure 3). The myWebCT area allows you to access all of your courses from one page. In this example, clicking on "IT Sample Course" would allow you to access that course without reentering your username and password (Figure 4).

(Figure 4: Sample Course Homepage)

Note that this is just an example of a home page; you may have more or fewer links.

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3) Navigation in WebCT  

Homepage Icons

A homepage (Figure 4) is the center of all WebCT course modules and contains the learning materials and support tools. The homepage is accessible from every other page in the course.

The page displayed above has icons showing some of the most popular features of WebCT. The icons on the homepage can link to :

• learning pathway or contents page (learning materials, module guide)
• WebCT tools (Mail, Discussion, Chat)
• toolpage (student support tools—similar design to a homepage)
• a URL (links to a page outside the WebCT module)
• a single page (assessment)

Each of these options presents a slightly different way of navigating.

Course Menu

On the left hand side of the Home Page you may see a menu of available items. You can click on these links to go to different parts of your course.

(Figure 5: Sample Course Menu)

You will note that these links may be the same as the icons on the home page (Figure 5). The difference is that the Course menu can be visible throughout the course.

If you want to see more of your course content, you can temporarily click on Collapse/Expand Course Menu Toggle to Convert Course Menu into a drop-down list and expands the Content area.

Trail of Links (breadcrumbs)

Underneath the course title you will see a trail of links showing where you have come from. These are called 'breadcrumbs'. Here is an example:

(Figure 6: Table of Contents)

This 'trail of breadcrumbs' below shows that you are currently looking at the "Welcome" page (Figure 7). You got to this page from the Course Units (Figure 6) which you got to from the Homepage (Figure 5). You can click on any of the links to go back.

(Figure 7: Trail of Links)

Action Menu

(Figure 8: Action Menu in the Learning Material)

Button	Action
	Takes you to the Table of Contents.
	Takes you to the previous page of content.
	Takes you to the next page of content.
	Takes you back along the path he or she has visited in the pages of content.
	Refreshes the screen.

When you click on the Contents link in the Action Menu you will see a listing of all the files. A sample learning pathway is displayed below :

(Figure 9: Table of Contents)

The files are organized in different levels. Note the small triangle next to item 9. This means that the item can be expanded. For example, clicking on the triangle next to item 9 will expand the section to show sub -sections, 9.1 and 9.2. Clicking on any of the links will take you directly to the page.

More about the Action Menu

(Figure 10: Action Menu with Extra Links)

The Action Menu shown above contains extra links to the right of the navigation links. There are links to Glossary | Take Notes | Search | Discussions. These items can vary depending on the support tools provided by your instructor for each page.

Useful tips

• Use WebCT's course menu to navigate where possible.
• Use the 'breadcrumbs' to return to a previous section.
• Use the Action Menu when you are working in a learning pathway.
• If the above fails and you get lost, use the back button on your browser.
• If you are still lost after trying the above, go back to Homepage or Contents and reselect the page.   

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4) Frequently used WebCT Tools 

A. Content tools (Calendar, Compile, Glossary, Index, Course Map, Resume Course) 

a. Calendar:

With the Calendar tool you can view any scheduled events. You can add private entries to the calendar (visible only to yourself) and, if the instructor has allowed it, public ones (visible to everyone in the course). A list of new events pops up when you access the calendar.

b. Compile:

The Compile tool enables you to compile a collection of course content pages that can be printed or viewed online. You may select "Select all" to compile all of the pages listed, or select any number of pages by clicking each check box (Figure 11). Click "Select none" if you want to clear all the selected boxes. Click "Finish compile" to compile. Use the print function of your Web browser to print the compiled notes.

(Figure 11: Compiling Course Notes)

c. Glossary:

This tool presents a glossary of terms and definitions. There may be an icon on the homepage or a link from within the learning material.

(Figure 12: Glossary Tool)

By Starting Letter
Click on one of the letters from A - Z to view only those glossary keywords beginning with that letter.

View All
Click on the words "View All" to show the complete glossary in alphabetical order.

Search
Click on "Search" to bring up a text-entry field into which a search-word can be typed. Both the glossary keywords and definitions are searched to find a match for the word.

 

d. Index:

The Index tool lists the index entries. This is similar to an index in a book where keywords are listed along with the page references.

e. Course Map:

When you click the Course Map icon or a link from within the learning material, WebCT displays a new window that enables you to view the structure of the entire course on one page. The course elements are hyperlinked, enabling you to go to any place in the course from a single page.

f. Resume Course

Resume Course provides a quick method for you to resume studying content pages where you left off. When you leave your course after studying your content pages, you can return to the last content page read by choosing Resume Course from the Menu Bar.

B. Communication Tools ( Mail, Discussions, Chat, Whiteboard) 

a. Mail:

The Mail tool allows you to send a private message to one or more course participants. Unlike Discussions messages, which are readable by everyone, mail is only visible to the originator and recipient(s) of the message. The layout and functionality is very similar to the Discussions.

Viewing Folders

When you have new mail, click on the mail icon (or the Mail in the course menu item). You will see a page showing your mail folders. Select the folder you wish to view by clicking on the folder link.

(Figure 13: WebCT Mail: Viewing Folders)

The menu icons on this page perform the following actions:

	Compose a new message
	Search for text in a message
	Change the length of subject in Message Listing.

(Table 1: WebCT Mail Icons)

Read /Reply Message

When you choose a mailbox (Inbox) to view, you will see the e-mail page, which contains:

 

• some buttons for working with messages (A),
• a listing of the emails in the selected folder (B)
• a message organizer section and (C).

 

( Figure 14: WebCT Mail Message: Inbox)

The first line of the message is the Subject of the message/s. The second line contains:

• an open envelope (read) or closed envelope (unread) to display if the message has not been read. 
• a paperclip indicator if the message includes an attachment (i),
• a check box where you can select a message when you want to do something with it (ii),
• the subject (iii),
• the name of the sender (iv),
• the time and date the message was sent (v).

The command options you have in the mail tool are:

Select Folder	Lets you choose the message folder
Display All/ Unread	Show all messages or only those that haven't been read yet
Threaded/ Unthreaded	Sort messages by topic or list them individually
Compile	Create a file for downloading containing selected messages
Mark Read /Unread	Mark the selected messages as having been read, or make them appear as unread

(Table 2: WebCT Mail Commands)

To read a message, click on the blue underlined text (Figure 14) "Hello," the text of the message will appear, just as below (Figure 15).

(Figure 15: WebCT Mail: Read a Message Window)

The buttons on the top of the message window give you several options. You can:

• Forward the message to another WebCT mail user
• Reply to the sender of the message
• Quote the message in a reply to the sender
• Download the message to your own machine in a text file.

If you click on the Reply button, you will see a screen similar to the one below (Figure 16). Click on the box under Subject and type in your reply. When you click on the Send button, your reply will be automatically sent.

(Figure 16: WebCT Mail: Replying a Message Window)

The next time you come into WebCT mail the messages you have already read will not appear on your screen. Only unread messages appear by default. Click on the All button to see both old and new messages.

Sending a New Message

Open up WebCT Mail and click on the Compose button . WebCT will open up a new window like the one below.

(Figure 17: Composing a New Message)

You type the subject of your message in the box to the right of "Subject" and your message in the text box below (Figure 17). To select the recipient or recipients of your message, click on "Browse (D in Figure 17)" and you will see a listing of all students in the class (Figure 18).

(Figure 18: WebCT Mail: Selecting Recipients)

Select a recipient's name by clicking on it. To select multiple recipients, on a PC hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the Option key on a Mac. When you have selected all your recipients, click "Select." The browse window will close and the names you chose will appear in the Send To field. When your message is complete, click the Send button (E in Figure 17).

HTML editor

You can enter text in the HTML editor the same way you enter text in a word processor. In the tool, click HTML editor (A in Figure 17). The HTML editor appears below. In the editing area, enter your text.

(Figure 19: WebCT Mail: Using HTML editor)

A. About the different views in HTML editor

The HTML editor allows you to work on your content in two different ways—using WYSIWYG view (i), which displays text and graphics as they will appear in a browser, or using HTML View (ii), which displays the HTML code. To change the view in which you're working, on the HTML editor status bar, click WYSIWYG or HTML View.

B. Expanding or shrinking the toolbar

If you want to expand or shrink the toolbar in the HTML editor, click Shrink (iii) the toolbar or Expand the toolbar. The toolbar shrinks or expands.

C. Inserting Hyperlink

Select the text or image you want to represent the hyperlink. From the toolbar, click Insert Hyperlink (iv). The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears. If you want to insert a link to a web site, enter the full address of the web site, including the protocol http:// or https://. To the right of the Target text box, click and select the location in which you want the link to appear. Click OK. The hyperlink is inserted.

D. Checking Spelling

From the toolbar, click Spelling Check (v). If the HTML editor finds a possible spelling error, the Check Spelling dialog box appears. Make your changes. When the spell check is complete, click OK

E. Help

Click Help (vi) to get more information about using HTML Editor.

WebCT Equation editor

The WebEQ Equation Editor allows you to create, view, and edit complex mathematical equations. The equations are encoded in a mark-up language known as MathML (.mml) which can be displayed on the Web. The WebEQ Equation Editor is available from Discussions, Mail, Quiz, and Student Presentations. To improve response time when using the WebEQ Equation Editor, we recommend that you download the WebEQ Equation Editor plug-in. For more information on the WebEQ Equation editor, go to the Design Science, Inc. website.

Note that IT has to install plugins on-campus.

Using Equation editor in Private Mail

You can create an equation and insert it into the following: a Mail message, a Discussions message, your answer to a Quiz question, or a file created in Student Presentations. Each equation is assigned an ID reference, such as {Equation:id=1, title=eqn_1}. On the WebCT tool screen, the equation is displayed as its ID reference.

(Figure 20: WebCT Mail: Using Equation editor)

a. Creating an equation

In the WebCT tool, click Equation editor (B in Figure 17). The Equation editor screen appears ( Figure 20). In the Title text box, enter a title for the equation. Create an equation by clicking the icons on the toolbar and entering numerals and operators from your keyboard.

Note: To advance the cursor, use the Tab key or your mouse. Do not use the spacebar. Click Insert. The equation is created and the WebCT tool screen appears, displaying the equation as its ID reference.

Click Preview to view the message and equation, or click Send to send the messages as Mail.

b. Edit an equation

Equations are never actually edited. Each time you access an equation and save changes made to it, a new equation is created, and the Equation editor assigns it a new Equation id number {Equation:id=2, title=eqn_2}. You will need to remove the reference to the original equation, or viewers will see two equations, the original and the edited.

c. Deleting an equation

In the WebCT content, locate and select the ID reference for the equation, such as, {Equation:id=1, title=eqn_1}. On your keyboard, press Delete. The equation is deleted.

Attaching Files

If you want to attach a file: Next to Attachments, click Browse. Your computer's file browser appears. Locate and select the file you want to upload (Figure 21). Click on the file you want and then click on the Open button.

(Figure 21: WebCT Mail: Browsing a File from Your Computer)

The path and filename of your attachment appears in the Attachments text box (Figure 22). Click Attach file.

(Figure 22: WebCT Mail: Selecting a File)

The filename appears as a hyperlink (Figure 23), and the file is attached to your message.

(Figure 23: WebCT Mail: Attached File)

The attachment can now be sent with your message. You can attach further files or remove the attachments if you change your mind. If you want to preview your message before sending, Click Preview. A preview of your message appears in a new browser window. Click Close. The Compose Mail Message screen appears. Click Send. The message is sent and a copy is placed in the Outbox folder.

If you ever receive a message with an attachment, you will see the paperclip icon next to your message (Figure 24). Click on it to see a list of the attachments and then click on the file you want to view.

(Figure 24: WebCT Mail: View Attached Files)

 

b. Discussions:

"Discussions" is a place where public messages are posted. Unlike Mail messages, which are only visible to the originator and recipient(s) of the message, Discussion messages are readable by everyone in your course. On the Internet, and in some of the online modules, a Discussion may also be called a bulletin board or a forum.

In WebCT, Discussions is the main tool and topics are the items to be discussed.

A Discussion can be used :

•  as a place where students can discuss general issues
• to discuss case studies or learning material with lecturer
• by a group of students to discuss or present an assignment
• to post general messages from the lecturer
• to organize related discussions

The Discussions layout is very similar to that of the Mail window. The main difference between the Discussions tool and Mail is that when you post a message in a topic, everyone sees the posted messages.

Bulletin boards are used to ask questions about the course. The questions can be general or specific. They are open to all readers and can be answered by students or instructors. You are also encouraged to answer questions that other students have posted.

When you select the Discussions tool, by clicking on the menu link or on a Discussions icon, you will be taken to a topic listing window.

(Figure 25: Discussions: Topic Listing Window)

Click on the Topic (example here: Main) to see the postings. If you click on All you will see all postings for all available topics.

(Figure 26: Discussions: Discussions Interface)

Topics may be set up for particular subjects. Click on the Select topic dropdown box to see the different topics that are available (Figure 26) and Click Go. As in the e-mail, messages can be sorted, and you can display All, Read or Unread messages by using the Display option.

To read a message, click the hyperlink (Subject) to the message that you want to read.

Notes: Only unread messages are listed; to view all messages, click All next to Display. Messages are presented by threads; to view in chronological order.

(Figure 27: Discussions: Read a Message)

To reply to this message, click on the Reply button (Figure 27) and type your message in the text box. Click Post. Your reply is posted to the discussion topic. Click on Reply privately if do not want to post your message in public. In this case, the recipient can find your reply message in the WebCT Mail. To include the original message in your reply to all topic members, click Quote. The Compose Message screen appears with the original message in the Message text box and at the bottom of the screen.

To post a new message, click on Compose Message (Figure 26), enter the text, and then click the Send button.

If the message includes a file attachment you'll see a paper clip icon. To download the file attachment, click the paper clip icon, and then follow the instructions for downloading from your browser. When the download is complete, click Done.

Be sure to press "Update Listing" (Figure 26) after reading/composing messages so that the latest information is displayed. Check also that the Topic list is showing the correct topic for your message(s).

c. Chat:

The Chat tool allows you to have real-time conversations with users of this or all other courses. Click on the Chat tool and you will see the following screen with 4 special-purpose rooms, one general forum for the course and one room for all Oakton WebCT courses. To enter a room, simply click on it.

The chat program displays who is in a room at the present time.

(Figure 28: WebCT Chat)

d. Whiteboard:

Whiteboard allows groups of users to dynamically share a common graphical palette in real time.

 

C. Evaluation Tools (Quiz, My Grades, Assignments) 

a. Quiz:

Clicking on the Quiz icon will take you to the quiz homepage. All the quizzes are listed. For each quiz, the following information is given:

(Figure 29: Quiz Module)

Title: Click on the title to access the quiz. If the quiz is not available or has already been attempted the maximum number of times, the title will not be hyperlinked.

Availability: This shows the time period in which the quiz may be accessed. If the designer has not specified an expiration date for the quiz, this column shows as "(Unlimited)."

Duration: If the screen displays a time in the duration column, then you have that amount of time to compete the quiz. If there is no information displayed in this column, then you have unlimited time.

Grade: The grade you received for the quiz. For example, 15/20 indicates that you received 15 out of 20 points.

Attempts: This column displays the number of times a quiz has been attempted and the number of attempts remaining ( 2 completed, 1 remaining).

View Scores: Click View scores for the quiz you want to view. The Scores screen appears.

You click on the name of the quiz to take it (Figure 29). Read the instructions carefully below before taking a quiz. When you are ready to begin the quiz, press the "Begin quiz" button (Figure 30). The Quiz Screen appears (Figure 31).

(Figure 30: Quiz Instructions)

When taking a quiz, remember to Save each answer before continuing to the next question. If you want to change an answer, you can change it and save it again. Click the "Finish" button to submit your answers. If you click on "Finish," a confirmation box appears asking the student to confirm the procedure. If you click "OK," the submission page appears (Figure 31). Once you submit your quiz for grading, you cannot make any more changes.

(Figure 31 : Quiz Screen)

(Figure 32: Submission Confirmation Screen)

Click the View results button (Figure 32) to see your quiz results (Figure 33).

(Figure 33: View results)

Click "Homepage" on this screen to return to your homepage and click "Quiz" to return to the quiz module.

b. My Grades:

The My Grades tool allows you to view your grades that the instructor has released.

(Figure 34: Student Record for Scott Foster)

c. Assignments:

The Assignments tool allows the instructor to distribute course assignments to students. Features include assignment description, maximum grade value, a utility for attaching files that are related to the assignment and student submission of completed assignments.

D. Study Tools (Bookmarks, My Progress, Search, Take Notes, Student Homepages) 

a. Bookmarks:

Enables the course designer and students to make bookmarks to pages of content within a course.

b. My Progress:

Allows students to view a history of which pages they have visited and the number of times visited.

c. Search:

Allows student and designer to explore a course for specific information within the index, titles, headings, or all text.

(Figure 35: Search Window)

d. Take Notes:

Take Notes allows a student to write individual notes or make a journal entry on a specific page. The student is the only one who can view the annotations. From the Action Menu, click Take Notes. The Notes screen appears which contains five options (Figure 36).

(Figure 36: Take Notes Feature of WebCT)

To annotate the page of content currently on display, click "Add." A text entry box appears in which you can type your notes. When you finish entering your notes, you click "Update" (Figure 36).

(Figure 37: Adding Notes)

(Figure 38: Editing Notes)

By clicking "Edit" (Figure 38), you can edit your notes. By clicking "View All," you can see all the notes which you have entered (Figure 39).

(Figure 39: Complete List of Notes )

e. Student Homepages:

Student Homepages allows you to create a personalized Homepage that contains information about yourself, the projects you are working on and links to your favorite websites. You can click the hyperlinked names of other students in your course to view their Homepage. If the name of a student in the class listing is followed by the word "blank," that student has not created a Homepage.

Some of the options you can add to your Student Homepages are:

•  links to your favorite websites
• your choice of display colors and layout
• background image
• banner, header, and footer
• hit counter

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5) Supported Browsers  

Supported browsers are subject to change. For the latest information, click the "browser check" link on the WebCT login page.

WebCT 4.0

Browsers Note: For all browsers, JavaScript must be enabled. To use Chat and Whiteboard, Java must also be enabled.

Supported Browsers for Windows

WebCT Version	Browsers	Browser versions
		Validated	Non-Validated	Unsupported
WebCT 4.0	Microsoft I.E.	5.0, 5.5, 6.0	---	4.0 and 5.5 SP1 see notes
	Netscape	6.2.x see notes and 7.0	---	4.7x to 4.8, 6.0 and 6.1 see notes
	AOL	7.0 and 8.0	4.0	3.0 and earlier

Notes:

• Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 is not supported.
• Netscape 4.78 and 4.79 are not supported.
• Netscape 6.0 and 6.1 are not supported.
• Netscape 6.2.x may require an updated Java plug-in for use with WebCT 3.7 and higher.

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Supported Browsers for Mac

WebCT Version	Browsers	Browser versions
		Validated	Non-Validated	Unsupported
WebCT 4.0	Microsoft I.E.	5.1 (OS 9.x and OS X.1) and 5.2 (OS X.2)	---	---
	Netscape	6.2.x. See notes	---	4.7x to 4.8 and 6.1 see notes
	AOL	OS X	---	---

Notes:

• Netscape 4.78 and 4.79 are not supported.
• Netscape 6.0 and 6.1 are not supported.
• Netscape 6.2.x may require an updated Java plug-in for use with WebCT 3.7 and higher.

More information about supported browsers for Windows and Macs.