WebCT news at SFU

I’ve updated the blog, and moved the postings and the feed to:

http://blogs.sfu.ca/services/webct/

The most common question we get at this time of the semester is how to add Teaching Assistants to WebCT course containers. You must have access to the Teach Tab (and the instructor role) to do so. There are two ways:

1. You can use the Enroll Members button in the Gradebook to quickly add co-designers and TAs. There are more detailed instructions here.
2. Or, you can add the Course Tools function to your course, which will also allow you to add co-instructors, and to change the dates when your students can access the course container. Students are automatically given access to WebCT course containers on the first day of the new semester at 12:01am, and have access until the beginning of the next semester.

The University of Carleton has a teaching and learning blog, with some postings on WebCT use.

This postings discusses the use of educational technology as a means of acheiving (or at least approaching) a paperless classroom.  Instructors at the University of Carleton and at SFU post classroom materials online: syllabus, lecture outlines, links to readings and weblinks and assignment descriptions and guidelines online. This gives the student just one place to look for these materials (instead of coming through past emails, or stacks of paper). Online quizzes can also be a means of implementing regular assessment (graded or self-testing) and feedback into the course without contending with mountains of paperwork.

Another posting is more general, talking about creating learning opportunites using technology.  This is an opportunity to look at three different courses who use the WebCT online environment to:

• create long term resources
• reducing trivial emailed students from students
• fostering an online learning community
• create a common look and feel for the course
• using images on the course content home to reinforce key ideas and concepts from the course
• importing other tools (Google Calendar or Picasa photo management) into WebCT, to combine those tools ease of use with a central online location for the course materials and community.

We are planning on having some SFU faculty demonstrate their use of WebCT in the new year. Keep an eye on the LIDC calendar of events for dates and times.

I was talking to someone about the assignment tool the other day who didn’t understand why assignments were downloaded the way they were.

All I could do was explain the steps required according to how the tool was designed. We lease this software from a company called Blackboard.  If you have ideas that you’d like implemented (like drag and drop file management?) or design changes that would make your users experience better, then you should tell them! They have a suggestion drop-box that anyone can contribute to. It’s a big bit of software, so changes won’t occur overnight, but the more suggestions they get, the more likely the software will meet your needs.

If you are a student, you can use the link to Ask Dr.C on the right side of the student support page.  If you are faculty, teaching staff or a TA, you also have a link to Ask Cr. C on the instructors and designers support page.

Currently, all regularly scheduled courses that are over four semesters old (courses from Spring 2007 and Winter 2006) have been hidden. This will help your MyWebCT homepage load quicker.

You can modify the look of your MyWebCT page, and hide any inactive courses. For details, click here: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Navigate_and_customize   You can backup an old course using the instructions found here: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Request#Creating_and_using_Backups

To access courses that are hidden (Spring 2007 and earlier), please contact the SFU WebCT administrators at webct@sfu.ca

Wikis are online, editable pages that you and your students can use to collaborate on group projects or the development of course notes.

We are currently piloting a means of adding wiki functionality to WebCT. If you would like to add a wiki to your course container, please email instructional_support@sfu.ca and we will be happy to set it up and discuss it’s implementation and management.

This would act as a “plug-in”, much like the integration of Elluminate Live! software and Turnitin software. SFU currently uses the MediaWiki platform, and this plug-in allows you to have a wiki in WebCT. Currently, you would not be able to access the wiki outside of WebCT (that will require further work), wiki pages would be editable to all persons registered in the WebCT course and you can only have one wiki (put multiple pages in that wiki) per course.

WebCT at SFU is currently undergoing maintenance, but should be up again by noon (Monday, April 28th, 2008).

We will be installing some updates for WebCT this weekend. To accommodate these updates, WebCT at SFU is expected to be off line from 12:01AM, Saturday April 26th, until 11:59PM, Sunday, April 27th (48 hours).

You may notice some changes to some of the WebCT tools, and some previously reported issues are now resolved.

Enhancements
Import and export library items
The media library tools can be used to create glossaries or collections of images. In the BUILD tab, you can now open individual collections and import or export them. For information on formatting glossary entries in an Excel spreadsheet, use the internal Help function in WebCT and search for “Formatting Entries for Import”

Individual language settings
All WebCT users at SFU will now be able to set their language settings to either English or French. This will change only WebCT generated text.

Resolved issues
Mail forwarding
If you have set the WebCT mail tool to forward to your external email account, it will now do so consistently.

Resource item in Syllabus Tool
Items that are added to the “Resources” area can be noted as either “recommended” or “required.”

Course menu truncated titles
In the drop-down course menu, titles are no longer truncated.

Search tool
The search tool is reported to work in this new upgrade. SFU requires a patch to make this work, and the WebCT administrators here are actively working with Blackboard to implement a fix prior to our summer semester.

Non-supported browsers
Users who are on non-supported browsers or java versions should only get the warning pop-up window once (instead of each time they move to a new page in WebCT).

Request new course container
Get ready for the new semester planning: beat the early semester rush and request your Summer 2008 WebCT course container now. Use the course request form found at: http://webct.sfu.ca - please check that you have the correct section number (for example, D100, D200…) as this will ensure that your students are automatically enrolled in your WebCT course container.

A few basics
Start by uploading your syllabus into the course container so that your students have something to to refer to if they lose their paper copy. If you are going to use the Grade Book, then create the appropriate columns. As the semester unfolds, you can either enter the grades in WebCT or export the Grade Book to a spreadsheet format, and import grades as needed. You can add lecture recordings, RSS feeds and You Tube videos as well. There are instructions in SFUs wiki.

Help with WebCT tools and development
The LIDC will be hosting some WebCT workshops in early May. These are suitable for faculty, sessional instructors and TAs. Keep an eye on the LIDC calendar (http://www.lidc.sfu.ca/) and your email in box for the schedule. There are also self-help materials at http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct or you can email instructional_support@sfu.ca with specific questions or for a quick introduction to the WebCT software.

How did the semester go?
Take a moment to consider how the previous semester went. Is there anything you’d like to streamline? Use more frequently? Are there any in-class activities or information that can be transferred to the online environment? Did you link to or upload sufficient content for the students?

Use the Date rollover
Do you use the calendar tool, the assessment or assignment tools? All WebCT tools that have dates can be easily updated all at once using the date rollover function. In your new course container, go to the TEACH tab. Click on the Instructor Tool “Manage Course” and choose the option “Date Rollover.” Follow the instructions there to adjust either all dates or individual dates. Note that if you have old calendar items (from previous semesters) it can impact the calculations.

Course planning
You may wish to try something new this semester.

• Reflective practice: a “journal” topic (found in the discussion tool) may enable you to encourage weekly reflection.
• Group Work: The “group manager” tool can create custom or automatic groups, and provide a private group forum in the discussion or chat area for group members.
• Self-tests: The “assessments” tool can be used to create either quizzes or self-tests (ungraded, and for immediate feedback).
• Surveys: Why wait until the end of the semester? The “assessments” tool can also be used to survey your students at the beginning of the semester to assess their prior knowledge, or mid-semester to find out what they are thinking and for some formative feedback.

I attended the CanBug online conference on Friday and for one of the 45 minute sessions, three students were invited to share their perspective on using Blackboard/ WebCT to support their classroom learning. It was a very interesting session, with three different perspectives.

I am going to summarize my notes, and ask SFU students to comment on this posting. I’ll post some of the questions asked during the session (Please note that this blog gets lots of “comment spam” on this blog, so you have to register to comment, and then I have to “accept” your comment. This is not to stymie your comments, but to keep out the pharmaceutical offers!). Please be polite and respectful in your comments - we’re all learning how best to use these tools effectively. This isn’t a formal poll or needs analysis, just an informal discussion.

A few questions that some colleagues came up with:

• What are the most useful tools in WebCT? Outside WebCT?
• Do you read/ participate in the discussion area? Why or when?
• Do you print what is posted online?
• What are your pet peeves with the blended courses?
• What should instructors know if they are going to use WebCT to support the face to face classroom?
• Do you build connections with other students online? Do those disappear at the end of a course?

Session notes:

• The usefulness of WebCT to support face to face classroom depends on the instructor and how they use the tool
  • Things (grades, assignments, content) should be easy to find, with logical structure
  • Tools make sense with course structure
  • Needs reward system to use the tools (ie, grades for the discussion tool).

• Useful when things are posted and easy to find – students don’t have to worry about losing things.
• When it’s useful: When syllabus and course outline (students doing several courses – easy to keep things straight).
• Pet peeve: wrong due dates, mostly due to recycling of old course material.
• Sometimes there are links or documents, but just put up there with no context. Needs some context or instructions on what do with it? (read carefully, scan, use to answer specific questions or just for broader and optional context.)
• Sometimes the assignment setup is unclear: the technical communication needs to be clear (what exactly ARE the steps to submitting my assignment? do I click save, or submit?) plus a practice/ test assignment or quiz.
• Useful tools: discussion tool (only if their being graded on it). Assignment submission. Information storage.
• Students print most things that are stored online. Or all, even. More cost effective to have a course pack for students, instead of asking them to print out all their readings. If you hand out the hardcopy, and put it online, then if changes are made to the online version, make sure you tell the students!

• Lots of group work and communications happen outside of WebCT/Blackboard.
• ePortfolios – get students job, but most of the content came from a work term/ coop placement. No employers will look at my 40 page paper!
• Do you want to connect Facebook to your coursework? – a resounding NO! It’s a place for fun and friends, don’t need the education in there.