Murdoch
WebCT Newsletter - January 2005WebCT Newsletter - January 2005
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2005!
As you prepare for semester 1 we would like to notify you about some changes and also remind you about preparing your WebCT unit for teaching.
- Requesting a WebCT unit
- 2004 WebCT units
- Preparing your WebCT unit for teaching
- Need to learn more about the features of WebCT?
- WebCT Quiz
- Study Help
- Unwanted WebCT units
- Assessment Policy
- WebCT system upgrade
- Contacting the WebCT team
You can now request your WebCT units using a new online request system. Each unit which will run on WebCT in an upcoming teaching period must be requested online to ensure it will be available for students. After specifying the unit code and teaching period you can choose to have a new WebCT unit created or use an existing unit. You will also need to select all the student cohorts which will access the WebCT unit.
A link to the online WebCT Unit request system can be found on the WebCT login page at http://online.murdoch.edu.au or go directly to http://online-admin.murdoch.edu.au/newunitrequest
Semester 2 and Trimester 3 units from 2004 will be deactivated on Monday 31st January 2005. Students will no longer be able to access the units but staff will still have access.
Preparing your WebCT unit for teaching
Hide tools/icons in the template which you do not want to use
If there are items which you are not using (eg link to Lecture Material) it is best to hide them so that students cannot view them. The links need to be hidden on both the Home Page and the Course Menu.
To hide tools/items on the Home Page
- Select tool/icon
- Select Hide from the Action Menu
To hide an item on the Course Menu
- Select Course settings
- Select Edit Course Menu
- Select item to hide
- Select Hide link
If you used iLecture in a previous teaching period and are not using it in the current period the iLecture link on your unit's Home Page needs to be hidden to ensure students do not try to access non-existent recordings.
Are you using a WebCT unit from a previous teaching period?
If yes, then some 'spring cleaning' of the unit is needed.
1. Remove the previous student data
The user data in a course needs to be reset ready for the next teaching period. Resetting a section
of a course clears ALL user data from that section.
eg: Discussions
Before resetting you need to Backup the course. When the Calendar is reset both public and private calendar entries for all users in the course are removed.
If you want to keep an archived copy of user data before resetting the item see http://help-online.murdoch.edu.au/designerhelp/reset.html.
To reset a unit
- In Designer view select Manage Course
- Select Reset Course
- Select the checkbox beside the items you want to reset (you can choose multiple items) or
•Click the Select All button to select all items in the list - Click the Reset button
2. Delete columns in the student database which are not needed
- Select Manage Course
- Select Manage Students
- Select Manage Columns and click Go
- Select the checkbox above the column(s) to be deleted
- Click Delete columns button
3. Delete files in the My-Files area which are no longer needed
- From Designer Links select Manage Files
- Select files which are no longer needed (especially .zip files or documents from previous teaching periods)
- Click the Delete button
Need to learn more about the features of WebCT?
Some workshops have been scheduled and more will be held during semester 1.
A workshop can also be arranged for a group of staff (minimum 5 people) and tailored to their specific needs. Please contact Rhondda Tilbrook for more details.
WebCT Staff Help at http://help-online.murdoch.edu.au/ provides advice on going online, developing your WebCT unit and how to administer your unit. Icons, which have been added to the Murdoch template, can be accessed from the Designer Help section.
The context specific help in WebCT, which is accessed from the Help link on a page is also useful.
Do you want to use the quiz tool in your WebCT unit in 2005?
We have a 12 month trial of a PC based product Respondus which can be used for creating and managing quizzes. The questions can be created offline using a familiar Windows environment, and then Respondus is used to create the quiz and publish directly to the WebCT unit.
If you would like to use Respondus please contact Rhondda Tilbrook
This resource, which can be accessed from a Unit Welcome Page, the WebCT Login page or at http://help-online.murdoch.edu.au/students/studyhelp/studyhelp.html, should be recommended to students to assist them with online study and also with their general study skills.
Are there old units listed on your MyWebCT page which are no longer needed?
Email webct@murdoch.edu.au listing the units which can be deleted or which you no longer need to access.
The Murdoch Assessment Policy came into effect on 1 January 2005. TLC staff have updated the assessment files in the WebCT templates and will copy the updated files to semester 1 WebCT units. All new WebCT units contain the links to the Assessment Policy.
The template for the Unit Information and Learning Guide has also been updated with the links to the policy. If you provide an electronic version of the complete guide in your WebCT unit could you please ensure you have updated the information about the Assessment Policy.
A copy of the updated template can be downloaded from http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/cttees/flic/templates/info.html
A hardware upgrade has been scheduled for Friday 4th February 2005. The WebCT system will be unavailable from 9 am until 9 pm.
A note will be placed on the WebCT login page advising users of the unavailability.
If you need assistance with using WebCT please email webct@murdoch.edu.au
with your request.
