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Managing Your Windows and Screens
Using several programs at once
In the past, you may have only used one program at a time. Do you open your word processor, do you work, close it, then go to your email, using each separately? Or do you use several programs at once? If you usually use just one program at a time, you may want to read these instructions on Switching Between Programs. When working with an online class, you may have your email program, your web browser, your word processor, and even your web editor open at the same time. So it is useful to know how to switch between programs.WebCT Screen Terminology
Depending on how you’ve accessed the course, when you first log on you may be presented with either the course Homepage, or the WebCourse Builder, which is a tool for course creation. For our purposes, we assume that you are at the course Homepage, and that you have not added tools, items, or content.
Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the screen elements, as we’ll use this terminology throughout the Tutorial.
The Menu Bar contains links to myWebCT, Resume Course, Course Map, and Help. It also shows your current location and indicates whether you’re in View or Designer Options. Each of these items is described below. The colors may be different depending on your setup.
myWebCT Contains links to all the courses that you are teaching, along with announcements, bookmarks, and a link to WebCT’s e-Learning hub. Resume Course Allows students to resume their place in the Content Module (course content). Course Map Allows you and your students to see the course structure on one page. The course elements are hyperlinks, enabling you to go directly to any place in the course. Help Links you to context-sensitive online help. View Allows you to see how the course will appear to a student. On some screens, View only approximates what a student sees. To see the actual student view, log on to your course as a student. Designer Options Allows you to make modifications to tools, pages, or content.
The Navigation Bar contains a Show/Hide Navigation toggle, a Control Panel, and a Course Menu section.
Show/Hide Navigation toggle Allows you to hide the Navigation Bar and expand the Content Area. Control Panel Provides central access to course creation and management functions. It is visible only to designers. Course Menu Provides access to course elements. It is visible to designers and students. Note: since we haven’t started building a course, the Course Menu section is blank.
The breadcrumbs list the path of screens that a user has visited.
The Content Area is where the actual course material is displayed.
Course Design Basics
The general procedure for adding any element to your course is to first add the element, and then to go to the element itself and customize it for your course. For example, to add an internal email feature to your course, you first add the Mail tool, and then you go to Mail and set preferences, such as creating mail folders.The Designer Map
The starting point for adding any item to your course is the Designer Map. Let's go to the Designer Map now. From the Navigation Bar, click View Designer Map. The Designer Map appears below.
Let's focus on the Add Page Or Tool section of the Designer Map. Notice how tools and pages are grouped by function. For example, Mail is grouped under Communication Tools, along with Discussions, Chat, and Whiteboard. Spend some time examining the Designer Map. You'll return to it as y ou continue to work on your course.
© 2000 Instructions on this page adapted from the WebCT's documentation. Compiled and Presented by Janine Lim and Shirley Freed
