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Your instructors are aware of this issue. The way you will access your WebCT courses  will change, so please check back for further information. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Guide to Using WebCT

Note: This Student Guide was created as a single document in case you wish to print it as a handy "paper" reference to using WebCT. The guide gives a basic overview of the concepts associated with the use of WebCT and explains the various tools your instructor may choose to use to deliver course information and to communicate with you.

Introduction to WebCT
WebCT means Web Course Tools. It is a home site for your online course and has tools on it that allow you to access course information, communicate with your instructor and other students, and complete and submit assignments.

Work Offline
If you are required to submit assignments by WebCT's Mail or Discussion features, you should always create the documents offline. This will ensure that you don't lose your work if the network experiences technical problems. Create the documents using your own word processor and save the document to your hard drive. You may either attach your document to a mail or discussion message, or copy your document and then paste it into your mail or discussion message. Please note that some instructors prefer that you NOT use the attached file function; check with your instructor before sending documents as attachments.

To copy and paste your document: Select the entire document, and copy it. Go to your WebCT Mail or Discussion, create a new message and paste your document into your new message or discussion.

Chat Sessions
In order to use the Chat features you must have a 32-bit operating system (i.e. Windows95 or higher).

Firewalls when using company or public access areas
If you are accessing WebCT from your office or from another college, you may run into problems with your their network. If you have difficulty logging into your course, contact your information technology office at work or the information technology person for the public access area at which you are working and discuss the issue with them. Eastern Oklahoma State College has no control over the way another network is configured; it's important to deal directly with the information technology staff at location from which you are working when not working at the Wilburton campus or any Eastern extension campus to resolve problems.

What is "myWebCT"?
MyWebCT is your personal homepage from which you can access all of your online courses from Eastern that are taught in WebCT.

Logoff
When you have finished working on your course, you must Close or Exit your browser so that no one else can get into your class. If you are working on a computer that is used by others, it is CRITICAL that you exit the browser each time you finish using WebCT. If you don't exit, a person using that machine after you will have access to your course materials, could send email in your name, and could view your confidential student record.

Getting Help
If you have questions about your course (assignments, due dates, problems completing assignments, how to submit assignment or navigate the WebCT course site, etc.), you should contact your online course Instructor by WebCt email or by phone.

How to Navigate WebCT
Do NOT use the Home button in your browser, as this will take you out of your course.
Do NOT use the Back button in your browser because this will slow down the server.
Use ONLY the navigation tools within your course to get around in your course.

If your instructor has enabled the drop-down "Course Menu" option on the left of your course screen, you can get around in your course by clicking on those links as shown in the graphic example below.

Also from your home page, you can click on any of the available icons to navigate the course. See the icons below.

Another way to navigate the course is by using the WebCT “breadcrumb” feature. When you click on an icon on the home page, the name of that icon appears after “home” in the line under your course title at the top of the screen. Just click on any of the appropriate words within the breadcrumb to return to that page.

E-mail

If your class uses WebCT Mail, you will find on your course Web site an icon similar to the one on the left called Mail or Private Mail. Mail is a private email feature built into WebCT. This means that the WebCT Mail functions only within your WebCT course. (You cannot send regular email across the Internet using the mail function in WebCT.) You can communicate ONLY with classmates or your instructor.

WebCT Mail allows you to send and receive messages, with or without attachments.

Folders within your e-mail

The messages are stored in Folders and are available for reading anytime you wish. If you need to find a message you read awhile ago, you can Search for that message. For a listing of ALL messages you have received (read or unread), click on the folder named All.

There are four default folders within your WebCT e-mail:
All, displays the contents of all folders;
Draft, displays any messages you may have saved as drafts before sending;
Inbox, displays all messages received from other users;
Outbox, displays all messages sent to other users.

Composing an e-mail message

When you click on the Compose Message button a window opens in which you may create new messages. To complete the Send To field with the name of the person you are emailing, click the Browse button to see a listing of available recipients. The instructor for the course is always the first person on the list. Click on the person(s) to whom you are sending your message and then click Select. Enter a description of your message in the Subject field--this is important, because your recipient will see his or her new messages with the Subject field showing. Type or *copy and paste* text into your message box and click the Send button.

Discussion postings

Messages or other written documents posted to the Discussions may or may not be PUBLIC. Your instructor and every student in your class may be able to read postings to the Discussions. Your instructor may setup some PRIVATE Discussions for small groups and assign you to work within a small group as well as within a discussion for the entire class. If Discussions are part of your online course, then you will find an icon or link labeled Discussions within your class. To ensure that you can see all of the messages as you work in the Discussions, click on Refresh (in Microsoft Internet Explorer) or Reload (in Netscape) to update your display of the list of messages.

Chat

Chat sessions allow you to communicate real-time with your instructor and with other members of the class. Some instructors will use the Chat feature to hold virtual office hours. To access Chat, click on the Chat icon or link in your course. After your computer loads in the chat applet (this may take a minute), a screen appears showing 6 possible rooms for chat sessions. To join or initiate a Chat Session, simply click ONCE on the appropriate room button.

A chat room has a large Output Interaction Box which displays all the messages posted during the current chat session. The Users Logged On shows you who is in the chat room with you. To enter into the conversation, simply type your message in the text box on the bottom of the screen, and press the Enter key. Your message will appear in the Output screen, along with your name so people know who posted the message. To log off a conversation, simply click the Quit button.

Whiteboard

Your instructor may choose to use the Whiteboard. This tool allows you to exchange drawings, graphs, pictures, text, etc. Please check with your instructor whether your class will be using the whiteboard and for how to use the whiteboard feature.

Calendar

WebCT has a built-in calendar which your instructor may use to post due dates for assignments, projects, examinations, holidays, etc. Your instructor may setup your class so that you can also use the calendar to track personal dates and deadlines (these will be italicized on your calendar and will not be visible to others in the class). Your instructor may also post important deadlines and assignments on the calendar. These are non-italicized and visible to the entire class.

To Use the Calendar:
1. Go to your Course Content and Related Materials icon, click on the Calendar icon.
2. Select the month you wish to edit and click on View button.
3. Click on the date you wish to edit.
4. Click on New Entry button.
5. Fill in ALL required boxes and optional boxes as needed.
6. Click on the Add button to add your entry to your calendar.

Self test and quizzes icon

Your instructor may choose to have you take Self Tests or Quizzes online in WebCT. If your instructor is using either of these features you can access them by clicking on the appropriate icon or link within your course menu or home page. You must check with your instructor for requirements before taking any tests or quizzes.

Checking your grades

After each assignment, quiz, or project has been graded, you can click on this icon to see your grades. You will see only your grades. No one can see anyone else’s grades; each student can only see his/her own grades. Grades are only available after the instructor has finished grading and has posted the grades for each student to view.

PowerPoints

Your instructor may have PowerPoint presentations as part of the course content. These presentations may appear under a separate icon on your course site or may be part of a Course Content tool.

Tip: You should be able to open and view PowerPoints on the course site; however, you might find that you have to download them to your hard drive or disc. (This has to do with what is enabled on your browser.)

Tip: If you download the PowerPoint you may need a PowerPoint Viewer to see the slides which you saved. Depending on the design choice of the instructor, you will view the slides directly from the WebCT Internet or from your own saved file. If the PowerPoint program is not on the computer you are using, you will need the PowerPoint Viewer.

Tip: When viewing a PowerPoint on the course Web site, you can see it full screen by right-clicking on the PowerPoint itself. A menu will pop up. Select Full Screen. To end a PowerPoint, right-click and select End Show.

Viewing Course Content

Many of your instructors will list the syllabus, weekly assignments, lessons and activities within the course content. The instructor may design your course by chapters or weeks and arrange the information within learning modules listed within the course content page. Materials from this page may be released to you all at once or by module depending on the instructor’s preference. Therefore, it is vital that you check this area often.

Help Within WebCT

To get help within WebCT, click on the HELP link in the upper right hand corner of the page. The HELP links are page sensitive so the HELP files that are displayed are based on the current page you are viewing.

Other Helpful Things to Know

Click on Refresh or Reload (on one of the top toolbars) if you want to view the latest information posted on the Internet page you are viewing. It occasionally happens that a posting does not appear despite clicking on Refresh or Reload. In this case, try exiting your browser and re-entering a few seconds later.

If you are unable to access your WebCT course listings page, it is possible that the WebCT server is down. This is usually the case if you are able to access other pages on the Internet, but not the WebCT pages (unless you have typed in the wrong address or the computer you are using has a firewall). Always check whether or not you can access other pages on the Internet before reporting this to your instructor because the problem with access could be on your side as opposed to the WebCT server.