As of July 31st 2009 WebCT was no longer be available at Brock University. Learn more about Isaak, Brock University's Sakai-Based LMS here. This wiki is available for others using WebCT Vista & CE versions 6 through 8 but is not maintained by Brock University.

From WebCT Wiki

[edit] Everyone: Students and Instructors

[edit] Reading Messages

WebCT Discussion board in Ce6.1

• Become familiar with the breadcrumbs on the top of your screen (Home->CyberCafe)

Notice that the upper thread is collapsed but the lower thread has been expanded

• Select a subject or thread you wish to follow. You can either expand the whole thread and click each message's title to read it or press the magnify button to compile that thread in to one window.
• To read a number of threads in one window select the check boxes beside each post and press 'Create Printable View' found at the bottom of the screen.

[edit] Composing Messages

• When composing, look for the topic this message belongs in (Chitchat/Book Suggestions, etc) Participants cannot move/edit/delete messages once posted.only instructors can. Filing to the right topic or thread will allow everyone to manage messages effectively.
• Know which subject you are following or initiating.
• Do you want to COMPOSE (new message, new thought, subject etc) or REPLY? (building on a discussion or thread). If replying to a message, would it be helpful to quote a portion of the message? (QUOTE)

[edit] Managing Messages

• Checking WebCT- how much is too much?: Like e-mail, you can become overwhelmed by the number of messages. Checking regularly and then marking the messages as READ will help organize your reading.
• Read Vs. Unread: Once you have opened a message in a thread, WebCT automatically marks them as READ. By default, when you log in again, only unread messages appear.
• You can also click on 'Mark As Read'. Doing this each time you visit the discussion board will keep things "filed".
• Please note that if you click on the "NEW" link in the main discussion page it will be unreliable in providing up to date new messages. This is a bug. The most reliable method of getting new messages is as above.

[edit] Searching Messages

If you know you want to find a message you read three weeks ago, click 'Search' to conduct a search by name, subject, date etc. The search box remains in front of your screen; so make sure you minimize it or move it to see your results.

[edit] Saving Messages

• To save a whole topic select the 'select-all-box' at the top beside the word 'subject'. Next press 'Printable View' found at the bottom of the screen. This compiles messages into a text file. Click 'Download' to save the discussion to your computer in a plain text file.
• You can download single messages, compiled threads/subjects and/or compiled topics (all threaded subjects in that topic). For instructors wishing to save a record of all course discussion this methods allows you save a copy independent of WebCT and current course offerings.

[edit] Instructors Only

[edit] Creating Topics

As a designer in the Build Tab, you can create topics for your course discussion board. This provides a separate space for students to post messages. Some instructors create topics based on sessions, modules, themes or chronology. You can use the Selective Release tool to specify who can see a particular topic.

Topic types include:

Discussion topics types

1. Threaded topic (the most common)
   • Create a threaded topic for a more traditional online discussion. Users post and reply to messages. Replies that are associated with the same post are grouped together, creating message threads that can be expanded and collapsed.
2. Blog topic
   • Create a collaborative blog (weblog) space by allowing participants to post a chronological series of entries on a particular topic. Participants can then add comments to any blog entry. Authors can be anonymous to students and peer review can be initiated.
3. Journal topic
   • Create a journal topic to give Students a place for their own writing. The journals can be kept private between the Student and the Section Instructor or shared with the class including via peer review and/or anonymously.

[edit] Creating Categories

Please see Discussions: Managing Topics

[edit] Moving & Copying Topics

To move or copy a topic, select the box next to topic you would like to move or copy. Then click the yellow rectangle next to the selection box of another topic where you would like this one to move to. A context menu will pop up asking if you would like to move or copy the selected topic above or below. Choose one of these and the topic you had selected will move.