Shawnee Community College

Introduction To Online Learning Using WebCT

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WebCT Basics

To take full advantage of WebCT you will need the following tools and skills:

Logging In

To Login to your WebCT Course go the http:online.shawnee.cc.il.us:8900 page and find your course listed under Web-based courses. Go to the welcome page for your course by clicking on the link. Click on Login to enter your course.

Type the user name and password you were issued and click on OK.

All the courses that you are registered for will be available here for you to access. Just click on the course link to enter your course.

The main course page contains all materials for the course, communications tools, and assignments. Just click on the Icons to access the course materials.

Using Web Browsers

To be able to work with WebCT your web browser has to be configured properly. Use the link on the left to view the setting for you browser.  Browser Settings

You can use this site to check your browser version for proper operation.  WebCT Browser Tuneup

This tutorial "Getting Started on the Web" will help you understand the workings of the World Wide Web and your web browser.  Getting Started on the Web

Introduction to the Internet Tutorial  Introduction to the Internet

Introduction to Web Browsers  Introduction to Web Browsers

WebCT Navigation

WebCT uses Icons just like all other Windows based programs to access a tool just double click the Icon.

Tools are broken in groups to make it easier to find what you need.

Course materials, syllabus and assignments are also accessed through Icons.

Course lessons can be accessed through the links in the table of contents. Just click on the unit or assignment to access it.

Lesson navigation is simple, all materials can be accessed through the Action Menu, Toolbar, or the Navigation Bar.

Reminder: Don't use the browser navigation (Forward / Back) buttons use the WebCT navigation.

Using WebCT E-mail

Locate the Communications Tools icon and double click to open the folder.

Double click on the Private Mail icon. This will open the WebCT mail program.

From this opening window you can read and delete messages as well as send a new messages. You can start or compose a new message by clicking on Compose Mail Message.

This is where you will compose your message. 

(1) Type in the User Name of the student or instructor that you want to send a message to.  Note: You can only send mail to students and instructors registered in this course, not to the general public or students registered in other courses.

(2) Type in a subject for your message. 

(3) Now you can type your message in the message window. 

(4) If you want to attach a file use the attach file tools on the lower right side of the page. 

(5) To send the completed message just click on send.

Tutorial on using E-mail  Using E-mail

Using WebCT Chat

The WebCT Chat rooms are very easy to use just click on the communications tools Icon in the main WebCT window and then click on the chat tool Icon.

You will see that there are 6 chat rooms available for your use. You can access any room and participate in any chat that is going on by just clicking on the button for that chat room. The chat software will start and after a few minutes you will see the chat window.

The chat window is a pretty simple communications interface with just two windows and a box to type in your chat questions, comments, etc. The larger of the two windows is the conversation text box which is where you will see all the conversation taking place in the chat. The smaller box contains the list of everyone participating in the current chat session. All you need to do to contribute a comment to the group is type your text into the message box and press enter. To leave the chat room just click on the "QUIT" button in the lower right corner.

Using WebCT Discussion

You can access the WebCT Discussion tool by clicking on the Communications Tools Icon in the main WebCT window and then click on the Discussion tool Icon.

The first widow that opens after clicking on Discussion allows you to view all messages in the discussion area by topic or you may view all available messages in the discussion area. By clicking on "Compose Message" you can add a new message or reply to an existing message.

Clicking on "Compose Message" will bring up the compose discussion message window which is much like the compose e-mail window you viewed earlier in the e-mail tutorial. Here you can compose a new discussion message or reply to an existing message. The compose process is very simple, just choose a topic or type in the subject at the left top of the window, and then type your message in the large composer box in the center of the window. After you have entered your message you can attach a file to your message by browsing or typing the file name in the lower right corner of the window. You can preview your message and then send it by clicking on post in the lower left corner of the discussion window.

Using WebCT Assignment Tools

Click on the WebCT Assignment Tools icon to view the assignments available in your course.

The assignment page has a list of available assignments, when and how long each assignment will be available, the status for each assignment, and your grades. To enter any assignment click on the hyperlinked name in the list of assignments.

The assignment area has three parts, at the top of the page are the student files and submit assignments buttons. The center page area contains the due date, grade, and instructions for the assignment. The lower portion of the page contains the assignment related files that you can download and edit using word-processing software. To download an assignment file double-click on the hyperlinked file name and follow the instructions in the next tutorial section.

The assignment file download area has two sections, a list of available files on the left and the file display area on the right. To view a file before downloading click on the hyperlinked filename in the list and the file will open for viewing in the display area on the right. If you want to download the file choose the radio button (the one with the dot in it) to the left of the filename and click the download button. A dialog box will appear asking where on your computer do you want to copy the file, once you choose the download location the process will complete automatically and the file will be downloaded to your computer.

The student files area allows you to manage and upload homework assignments to be submitted to your instructor for grading. The top of the page contains upload and delete buttons and the bottom has a list of uploaded files. To upload an assignment file to your student file area in go to the student files area and click on the upload button. The upload process is continued in the next tutorial section.

To upload an assignment to WebCT after clicking on the upload button you will go to the upload page. Click on the browse button, a dialog box will appear that will allow to find the file that you want to upload on the computer you are using. When you locate the file double-click on it, this will put the file name and location in the box on the WebCT upload window. Click on the upload button to complete the process or cancel to stop it.

Taking a Test in WebCT

To Take a quiz or test in WebCT first click on the quiz icon to go to the "Quiz and Survey" page.

The Quiz page will show the quiz names, when the quiz will be a available and for how long, how much time you have to take the quiz once you start, if the quiz has been completed, and your quiz grades. To take a quiz just click on the name of the quiz you want to take. This will take you to the "Quiz Introduction Page".

The quiz introduction page has detailed information on how to take a WebCT quiz and also what to do if you have any problems during the quiz. Just click on the "Begin Quiz" button to start the process.

The quiz window has two basic components the question and answer section and the answer sheet. In the question section the questions and answers are listed. To choose the correct answer just click on you answer choice and click on the save answer button. The answer sheet which is located in the upper right hand corner will show the answered and unanswered questions. When  you have completed the quiz click on finish to submit your quiz answers.

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