We’ve got general resources on the WebCT gradebook that offer PDF downloads and instructions on the many functions of the gradebook. The gradebook is an efficient way of letting students know how they are doing in the course. Most instructors use it to deliver numeric or letter grades, but there are a few other options as well.

1. The calculated column: you can create a calculated column that will automatically add up the student grades to give them (or yourself) their final grade. Download the gradebook manual for more information on creating these calculated columns (note: the link is to a PDF which requires an SFU login).

2. Import/ Export: If you are comfortable with Excel and the calculating functions within, then you can still take advantage of the benefits of both Excel and WebCT. Use the Import and Export Gradebook buttons in the gradebook to keep an offline copy of your grades, and update the gradebook by periodically uploading an updated gradebook. I recommend that you export the gradebook first, so that you have a spreadsheet in a format that WebCT understands and can import. Remember also that anything you upload will over-write anything in the online gradebook, so if you or a TA have modified grades online, they’ll be over-written by an uploaded file. You can modify your spreadsheet to have a custom spreadsheet for each tutorial, or only uploading the current gradebook column on which you are working.

3. SIMS uploads: You can also use WebCT to create a file that is ready-made to upload into SIMS, which should make your end of semester housekeeping just a bit more streamlined. The link provided has instructions on how to set this WebCT -> SIMS communications. .

What are some of the other end of semester teaching tasks that take up time? Are you using the journal tool for formative feedback? Did you you deliver a mid-semester survey to track student perceptions of the learning environment? Do you use the assessment tool to deliver practice quizzes so students can prepare for their finals? Are students using the discussion or blog tool for peer discussion or evaluation on their final papers?

Please use the comments function below, and perhaps we can brainstorm ways of streamlining the end of the semester for your time management and for student learning.

I started by saying that once we put items online, there is no 100% way of making sure that people don’t take and repost our materials. That being said, there are a few approaches to reduce it, or to make it more difficult.

1. Save as HTML: in either PowerPoint or Word, you can save items as a web page or HTM file. Since students are viewing the items on the screen, instead of downloading a PDF, it means there are a few more steps. It also means that you don’t have to worry about students finding their downloaded items, versioning (if you repost an updated PDF), or the correct software (.doc vs .docx).

2. Don’t post all the lecture slides: why are students asking for the slides? Are there a few key diagrams that are too complex to copy during class? Do they want an outline and key questions from the lecture so that they can follow the flow of the lecture and class activities?

What other methods have you tried or heard of? Would using Google Docs or Presentation help?

Student access to WebCT
By default, your students will be able to access your requested WebCT course container the first day of the semester at 12:01 AM. To change access dates, use the Course Tools: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Start_here#Change_access_dates_and_add_instructors.

Upload and organize content
Content doesn’t mean just your PowerPoint slides – you can choose to shelve the slides, and instead add lecture notes or outlines, links to journal articles in the library databases, images and graphs to illustrate key concepts, content from external websites using links or RSS feeds, and encourage students to upload their own diagrams, research or questions. For more information on the tools available, browse some of the resources here: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Load_and_display_content

Deliver quizzes or surveys
You can create short quizzes to test student comprehension, encourage critical thinking, or self-assessment. Some of the benefits that quizzes can offer are automatic grades and mark release, ungraded self-tests, selective release of materials, and repeat quizzing for mastery learning (is that your final answer?). For more information on creating, viewing and marking assessments, browse the resources available here: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Quizzes%2C_self-tests_and_surveys

Request new 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 the 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.

Online and individual resources for instructors, TAs and students

* Troubleshooting: http://toolkit.sfu.ca/webct/browser/
* Send students to: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Student_FAQ
* Online tutorials, pdf downloads and quick answers for faculty, instructors and TAs: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/
* Information sessions for faculty, instructors and TAs : https://webserver.lidc.sfu.ca/tep/summer-10/calendar.php
* If you have any questions, or would like to schedule some one on one help, please email instructional_support@sfu.ca

When emailing us, please give us plenty of detail: tell us what kind of error message you got, which tool you were using or trying to use when you ran into a road block. Tell us what you did to try an get around the issue, and what happened. Sometimes, it’s as simple as trying a different browser (check here for browser-related suggestions).

And finally, we love getting screenshots! It’s truly worth a thousand words. A screenshot of what WebCT looked like when you ran into a roadblock can help us narrow down our suggestions.

If you are interested in seeing if others have run into similar questions, you can always browse the Ask Dr.C discussion forum, hosted by WebCT, and with participants from many different universities (we use the Vista version).

In general, we have a pretty reliable system, but sometimes there are traffic accidents. So, this is how planning ahead helps keep me calm:

1. Export your gradebook: this is good practice: if your internet is down, or the system is sluggish, you can still calculate final grades, and you have the grades at hand, which is a great comfort.

2. Use the “cut-off” function in the assignment tool: If an assignment is due at 11pm, and there is a system hiccup at the same time, if you have a cut-off time of say 8am, then students can still submit their assignments. You’ll be able to see when students submitted, and if there was a system hiccup, you can give them a grace period to submit. This keeps assignments out of your inbox, and in the assignment dropbox, for easier house-keeping.

3. If you are delivering exams using the Quiz tool, have a backup plan. Know how to reset the date available or the time allowed to complete the quiz. Have a paper backup copy just in case.

In sum, plan ahead and have a backup plan. Know what you can export, how the access times and dates work, and what you can replicate outside the system. Most of the time, you won’t need it, but when you do? It’s a relief.

However, you can’t export and import links, which is an unfortunate lapse. My workaround is to use the online bookmark repository Delicious. We already keep some links in our LIDC account, and it is a simple step to showcase specific links on a webpage.

You can contact us at instructional_support [at] sfu [dot] ca for some advice on setting up and sharing links using Delicious.

Classes start next week – I know that many have already requested Fall 2009 course containers in WebCT, and are updating syallbi, quizzes, and assignment descriptions.

Have you considered what you will tell your students about your use of WebCT? Will you explain to them why you have chosen to post items online, or how they can derive benefit from reviewing lecture outlines or re-reading assignment descriptions carefully? If you use the discussion forum for Frequently Asked Questions, have you told your students that this should be their first stop with questions? Have you set expectations by explaining when you will be online answer questions (once a day? every two days? twice a day?), and have you developed techniques for keeping questions suited for the online discussion forum out of your email inbox?

Good luck in the upcoming semester!

1. My students can’t access my Summer ‘09 course: can you open for them for a bit longer?
The WebCT administrators at SFU have developed a nifty tool, so instructors can modify on their own when students can first access their WebCT course container, and when they’re denied access. It’s called Course Tools, and can also be used to add instructors to a course. To add and use Course Tools, follow the instructions here.

2. How do I add my TA to my Fall ‘09 course?
There are two ways of adding TAs to your WebCT course container. You can either add them through the Grade Book tools, or you can use the Course Tools. You’ll need your TAs Computing ID (their log-in to WebCT, MySFU, MyInfo, etc). More detailed instructions on both of these options are available by clicking here.

For more information or help you can email instructional_support@sfu.ca or you can download very detailed print guides on the Gradebook, Assignment tool, Assessment tool, Discussion tool and more on this page.

https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Start_here#Change_access_dates_and_add_instructors

Uploading and organizing content
Content doesn’t mean just your PowerPoint slides – you can choose to shelve the slides, and instead add lecture notes or outlines, images and graphs to illustrate key concepts, content from external websites using links or RSS feeds, and encourage students to upload their own diagrams, research or questions.

For more information on the tools available, browse some of the resources here: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Load_and_display_content

Quizzes and Surveys
Create short quizzes to test student comprehension, encourage critical thinking, or self-assessment. Some of the benefits that quizzes can offer are automatic grades and mark release, ungraded self-tests, selective release of materials, and repeat quizzing for mastery learning.

For more information on creating, viewing and marking assessments, browse the resources available here: https://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Quizzes%2C_self-tests_and_surveys

Request new 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 the 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.

Face to face workshops and consultations for Instructors

* Upcoming workshops, drop-ins and information sessions http://www.lidc.sfu.ca/whatsup/calendar/
* If you have any questions, or would like to schedule a one on one consultation, please sign up here.

Online and individual resources for Instructors and Students

* Troubleshooting hints for instructors and students: http://toolkit.sfu.ca/webct/browser/
* Student help: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/index.php/Student_FAQ
* Online tutorials, pdf downloads and quick answers for faculty, instructors and teaching assistants: http://wiki.sfu.ca/webct/

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.