navigating SFU’s learning management system
I’ve suggested in the past, and someone just reminded me, that it would be useful to be able to disable file upload for the assignments tool. Many of our faculty at SFU use the assignment tool to deliver and describe classroom assignments, but don’t necessarily want to collect the assignments online.
You can also make this suggestion (or any of your own!) at: http://www.blackboard.com/products/suggest.bb
Enclosed is some information for setting up your Spring 2008 WebCT container.
Adding lecture recordings to WebCT
Create a seamless link between large class lectures and your WebCT course container to provide learning opportunities for students outside the classroom. If your lecture hall lectures are recorded, you can now place a quick link to the recording in your WebCT course. Check here for instructions: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/External#adding_SFU_lecture_recordings
Add your Teaching Assistants to WebCT
Your Teaching Assistant can use WebCT to administer and deliver grades, review completed quizzes or surveys, or moderate online questions and answers in the discussions tool. You will need your Teaching Assistants’ computing IDs (the login name they use to login to WebCT, for example) to add your TAs or colleagues to the WebCT course container.
Open the Teach Tab in your WebCT course, click on “Grade Book” under the header “Instructor Tools”. Once in the Grade Book, click on the button “Enroll Members” (found above the Grade Book spreadsheet). Enter in the computing ID for your TA, and check next to Teaching Assistant (this will give them access to the Teach Tab. To give them access to the Build Tab, select Section Designer as well). Click on the “Enroll” button, and remember to click “Save” before exiting this page.
Request your Spring 2008 WebCT course container
Use the course request form found at: http://webct.sfu.ca The course request form has options to add your Teaching Assistants, copy course content from a previous WebCT course, and modify the dates that students will be able to access WebCT (by default, students have access from the first day of the semester to the last). It will take one to two working days for your course container to appear in WebCT.
Student access to WebCT
By default, your students will be able to access your requested WebCT course container on January 7th, 12:01 AM. For more information on adds and drops, click here: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Start_here#Student_access_and_enrollment
Review new course container
Look at your course container with fresh eyes, or ask a colleague to look at it. Are the posted dates correct? Is the course homepage clearly organized – will students know where to access course notes and other resources?
Hide Fall 2007 courses from your course list
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
Weekly WebCT Office Hours
We are holding weekly WebCT Office hours on Thursdays, between 12:30 and 1:30pm at the LIDC (EDB 7560). Please drop in with questions, to get resources or to discuss your plans.
Online Resources for Instructors and Students
When creating an announcement, there are two items that are worth noting.
1. You cannot edit an existing announcement. If you make a spelling mistake, your only option it to delete the offending announcement and post it again.
2. Later announcements appear at the bottom of the announcements list, not at the top, in reverse chronological order (which would make more sense).
Both of these observations have been sent to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard. They are aware of the issues, and the development team is looking at them.
Today’s suggestion to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard:
I’d like to be able to add announcement text on the front page. Faculty are instead using the headers to make sure that students see the announcements (users don’t always remember to click on the announcements tool!).
Today’s suggestion to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard:
The grading forms are a nice addition, but they do take some time to build - I’d like to be able to import and export them.
Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement it!
Today’s suggestion to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard:
I’d like to be easily track and see responses to my postings in the discussion area or blog. For example, in Facebook, if someone writes on my wall, or comments on a photo of mine, or comments after I’ve made a comment on someone else’s photo, I get an email notification of that, and I can go check this new activity. In Flickr, there is a link to instantly track who’s made comments on your photos, and another to instantly review who’s made comments after comments you’ve made on other people’s photos.
How this could work in the discussion area is: one link to track new responses in a thread that you’ve started, and another link to track new comments in a thread you’ve already contributed to. This should also include comments made on a blog posting, or comments made after your comment on a blog posting.
Today I had to go through several threads to remember which ones I’d contributed to, and which ones had responses, which is what had prompted this suggestion.
Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement it!
Today’s suggestion to the developers of WebCT/Blackboard:
Currently, I have to create my grading form first, and then create a new assignment and add the grading form. I don’t always think that far ahead. I’d like to be able to add a GradeForm to a previously created assignment or graded discussion.
Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement them.
Suggestion sent to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard
I’d like to be able to “preview” an anncouncement before I send it. Oftentimes, the message looks completely different once I’ve sent it due to HTML coding.
Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement them.
Today’s suggestion sent to WebCT/Blackboard:
When creating a new announcement in a class, currently I can either sent a pre-determined end-date or it can be an ongoing announcement. Once I’ve created an announcement without and end date, however, I cannot remove it from the announcements without deleting it. I’d like to be able to “expire” an existing announcement - that way the students don’t see it any more, but I can still see it as an expired announcement.
Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement them.
My latest suggestion to WebCT/Blackboard :
“Several users have complained of the pop-up window that informs them that their browser is not valid. Some browsers work “pretty well” with WebCT before being validated, and users prefer to use them.
I would like to see the pop-up window present a tickbox option to turn off the validation/reminders.”