Integrating the Internet
into the Classroom
Facilitator: Michael
Krauss, AES,
Lewis
& Clark College
How to Use the Workshop
Discussion Page
Please print out these
instructions for reference.
To create an account (you
only need to do this once):
- Login to the Workshop
Discussion Page.
- Click on "Create Account". You will see
"Welcome to WebCT."
- Click on "Create myWebCT".
- Type the information in the spaces
provided. NOTE:
When you create your account,
in the WebCT ID
box, append your teaching area
to your last name. Ex.: joneshistory or smithscience or
harrisesl. When you post comments, others will be able to see
your teaching area. If we have a large group, you may want to
prioritize which discussion comments you read. Knowing a person's
content area may help you decide which comments to read first.
Let's try this and see if it helps make discussions more
efficient!
- **Right now, write
down your WebCT ID and your password**.
You will need it for the next step. You will also need it each
time you log in to the Discussion Page.
- Click "Continue". A dialogue box will
come up, asking for your "name" (this is your WebCT ID, for
example, joneshistory or harrisesl) and your password. Enter the
information and click "OK."
- You will see "Course Added." Click on "Go
to course." You should arrive at the "Workshop Discussion
Page."
If you forget and don't add your ending, e.g. "esl" "science" etc,
when creating your WebCT ID, just begin the process again and
create a new account for yourself. It doesn't matter if you have
more than one account---just be sure and remember the WebCT ID and
password of the account you intend to use.
WebCT ID and password are "case sensitive". For example, if I log
in with "Joneshistory" rather than "joneshistory", it won't
work.
To access the Discussion
Page after you already have an account:
- Go to the Workshop
Discussion Page. Click the "Login"
button. Enter your <name> (your WebCT ID) and
<password>.
- Click on the "Bulletin Board"
icon.
- You will see a list of Topics. Click on
the topic you want to see.
To read the instructor's
assignment and post an answer:
- Click on the Topic you want from the
Topic list.
- Click on the bold link at the top of the
list with "instructor" underneath. This will be the initial
question to be answered for that particular Topic.
- To write your response, click on "Reply"
or "Quote" ("Quote" will include the text to which you are
responding; "Reply" will not). You may delete part of the quote.
You may also type responses between lines of the quoted
message.
- Click in the "message" box. Type your
response (sorry, there is no spellcheck).
- When you have finished, click on "Post".
To see your posting, click on "Update the listing" under the
"Compose Message" button located in the tan bar. Your response
will be marked "New".
To read comments by other
participants and to post an answer:
- Click on "All Messages" to see both old
and new messages. To see just the messages which have been posted
since the last time you accessed the Discussion Page, click on
"Show Unread".
- Choose a Topic from the pull-down menu
(or click the "Discussions" link and then choose your Topic).
Click on the message link you want to read.
- To write your response, click on "Reply"
or "Quote".
- Click in the "message" box. Type your
response (sorry, there is no spellcheck).
- When you have finished, click on "Post".
To see your posting, click on "Update the listing" under the
"Compose Message" button located in the tan bar. Your response
will be marked "New".
To start a new subject (thread)
within an existing "Topic":
(Note: The terminology
used by WebCT can be confusing. "Topic" refers to the broad category,
e.g. "How I Use Computers" or "Sites to Share" and corresponds to my
assignments. "Subject" refers to something you choose to talk about
within a given "Topic". Participants can create new "subjects," but
only the instructor has the ability to add a "Topic." Clear as
mud?!)
- To begin a discussion on a new subject
within an existing "Topic" use the "Compose Message" button
located in the tan bar. Be *sure* you are in the correct "Topic"
(you can change Topics from the pull-down menu at any time before
you post).
- You *must* enter a subject and message
before posting.
- Type your comment in the box, click
"Post" when done. (You can "Preview" and then click "Edit" to
revise your comment before posting.
To move among messages, there
are two methods:
- To read messages in random order: click
on the name of the poster.
- To move sequentially through "threads" (a
message and all of its responses--these are indented), use the
"Previous Thread" "Next Thread" to move between threads and
"Previous Message" and "Next Message" (to progress through the
messages in a single thread).
NOTE:
DON'T type lengthy postings directly into the Discussion Page. If you
happen to move off the page or have a computer glitch, your work will
be lost. If you are going to invest substantial time in a post, type
it in Word and copy/paste to the Discussion Page.
To get help, click on "Help" in blue bar
at the top of the page.
If you have problems with the Discussion
Page, or if any of these instructions are not clear, please Email me
at krauss@lclark.edu
so we can resolve the problems and I can edit these instructions.
Thanks!
©1998-2002 All Rights Reserved
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Page.
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Syllabus-at-a-Glance.
Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 6/30/02