UWG is migrating from our current WebCT Campus Edition version to the state's central server and newer version of WebCT known as WebCT Vista 3.0. WebCT Vista 3.0 adds new capabilities and makes course preparation and management more efficient. See http://www.westga.edu/~training/ for upcoming group workshops or contact jgubbins@westga.edu to set up an appointment to migrate your course.
TOP NEW FUNCTIONALITY:
- You'll no longer need to 'Update Student View' or login as a fake student to test quizzes. In Vista there is a "Student View" tab that you can use and changes are instant.
- Class rosters will be loaded for you on the first day or class.
- If you teach multiple sections of the same course, you can design the course at the 'course template' level and then all changes (but not new files) added there throughout the term will propagate down to the multiple sections - you only have to edit one place!
- Faculty have the ability to see and access all of their files in all of their courses at once, in their personal "My-files" area.
- Dates you post to the Syllabus are automatically posted to the Calendar.
- New tools like: Group Assignments; Group sign-up sheets; the ability to allow students to Publish their Assignments for peers to review; multiple Chat & Discussion Board instances; an Announcements tool; an integrated Who's Online Instant Messaging system; students can view Chat logs themselves; and more...
- Shared designers have their own/ different identities now and their own mailboxes.
Read on, to view other changes, more new functionality, and view Flash training movies that show you how... (Flash movies courtesy of Weber State University)
important changes you should note, THOUGH
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Students who login to myUWG and click on courses, will no longer be able to go straight into their WebCT course. They will be directed to a webpage that tells them where and how to re-login to the Vista server instead. (This how eCore works now.) Faculty will be responsible for editing the myUWG link to refer it to the Vista info page. (Don't worry, it's easy!)
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Vista requires more stringent browser/computer settings, because of its higher level of tools. Use the browser-tuneup at: http://www.webct.com/tuneup - see option 2 until you have a Vista account.
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Under our current set-up faculty can combine sections and teach multiple sections as one course; under Vista it becomes absolutely imperative that the instructor let the DE Department know all related sections & CRNs - and that all related sections & CRNs are cross-listed in Banner before the term begins. The latter would mean that instructors are responsible for letting whomever turns in the course offerings for their department also know to cross-list the courses for their report to the Registrar's office.
- Instructors should not ever delete a student. If a student is deleted then so is all of his/her work and tracking and we cannot get it back if the student is reinstated into the course. Also, any work that is accidentally deleted can no longer be retrieved.
More Efficient Course Management
Gradable Discussions
WebCT Vista 3.0 adds a central grading area to the discussions tool, allowing instructors to efficiently evaluate and grade student participation in class discussions. Instructors can assemble and review a student's posted messages, review a student's total participation versus the class average, and assign a grade to each student that is automatically recorded in the gradebook, saving instructors time and allowing them to focus on the quality of student contributions rather than the mechanics of grading. Discussion & Mail messages have a PRINT button now. Links to specific Discussions can be placed, along with directions and other relevant handouts, directly with in a Table of Contents known as a "Learning Module" (student no longer have to go to one big Discussion Board; alleviates the possibility of students posting to the wrong Topic.)View Online Training
- How to create a gradable discussion (1:19 sec, 800 KB)
- How to convert a nongradable discussion into a gradable discussion (49 sec, 400 KB)
- How to grade a gradable discussion (4:36 sec, 950 KB)
New Assessment Grading Options
WebCT Vista 3.0 provides two new assessment grading options that significantly improve grading efficiency, especially for essay questions.- Grade by Question: With the Grade-by-Question option, instructors can quickly see every student response to a particular question, allowing them to efficiently evaluate the content of specific responses in the context of those provided by other students.
- Grade Anonymously: Graders can now elect to evaluate student responses within WebCT Vista anonymously - making grading more efficient while helping to minimize the chance of bias.
View Online Training
- Adding questions to an assessment (1:24 sec, 750 KB)
- Navigating in "Teach" mode for assessments (44 sec, 400 KB)
- How assessment settings work (1:47 sec, 1.7 MB)
- How assessments are graded in Vista 3.0 (3:09 sec, 2 MB)
- How assessment reporting works (48 sec, 550 KB)
- Grade by question and grade anonymously (2:12 sec, 1 MB)
Easier-to-Manage Gradebook
The intuitive WebCT Vista 3.0 gradebook significantly streamlines analysis of student performance. In the Vista 3.0 gradebook, students' first and last names are locked into place as an instructor scrolls through the gradebook, making it easier to locate and view specific grades. The Vista 3.0 gradebook also provides access to key statistics for each column in the gradebook - including average, median, maximum, minimum, and standard deviation - giving instructors a quick snapshot of class performance on a particular item.View Online Training
- Formulas and manually created columns stored in the template (59 sec, 895 KB)
- How to highlight a row (42 sec, 1.08 MB)
- How to freeze columns in the gradebook (42 sec, 1.99 MB)
- How to view statistical data on a grade column (34 sec, 821 KB)
- How to give multiple gradable item a zero decimal in the "Column Settings" area (45 sec, 1.09 MB)
- How to managing member under each tab (1:13 sec, 664.40 KB)
- How denied students appear in the gradebook (35 sec, 493.54)
- How to export and send e-mail in the gradebook (36 sec, 476.9 KB)
- How to reorder columns in the gradebook (30 sec, 433.19)
Streamlined Group Management
WebCT Vista 3.0 simplifies the management of student learning groups, - allowing instructors to more efficiently create groups and associated activities. Instructors now have easy access to the Group Manager to create groups and can set up private group discussion boards and chat rooms in one step - allowing instructors to efficiently provide their students the tools they need for collaborative activities. Faculty can allow students to sign-up for their own desired group.View Online Training
- Creating Groups and Managing them (3:17 sec, 1.59 MB)
PeopleLinks
With PeopleLinks, instructors can access student performance statistics by simply clicking on a student's name wherever it appears. For example, while reading a discussion posting, an instructor can instantly access student grade information or tracking data. PeopleLinks also enable communication among users by allowing for instant access to the e-mail tool, facilitating a more collaborative online environment for instructors and students alike.View Online Training
- How People Links works (1:20 sec, 1.15 MB)
Uploading Files
The uploading process with WebCT Vista is a lot smoother. Below is a review demonstration on how to upload your course content into the file manager.
View Online Training
- Uploading a File into the File Manager. (2:05 sec, 982 KB)
ENHANCED STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Group Sign-Up Sheets
With the addition of group sign-up sheets in WebCT Vista 3.0, instructors can give students the option of joining their own class groups. Group sign-up sheets enhance WebCT Vista's market-leading collaborative functionality, offering instructors yet another option for engaging their students in a dynamic, interactive learning process.View Online Training
- How to create a sign-up sheet for groups (2:09 sec, 1.59 MB)
Offline Learning Modules
WebCT Vista 3.0 allows students to print or save the contents of a learning module, facilitating offline studying and archival of important class material. Students can easily click on the "Printable View" button to save or print the content of any learning module for offline review.View Online Training
- How Printable view and Save File works in learning modules (3:08 sec, 2.36 MB)
EASIER COURSE PREPARATION
Link Annotations
With WebCT Vista 3.0, instructors can annotate links on course organizer pages, providing students with instructional information such as what to expect or do when they access content or tools. For example, an instructor could annotate the icons and links on the course homepage to give students a better sense of what is available in each of the associated areas.View Online Training
- How Icon, Organizer, Learning Modules, and content file descriptions work (1:56 sec, 939 KB)
More Powerful Course Templates
Instructional designers can create powerful course templates in WebCT Vista 3.0 that incorporate, advanced functionality including personalized learning paths and custom gradebook columns. Instructional designers can set-up selective release criteria in course templates that can be applied to create customized learning paths for students - eliminating the need for instructors to create these parameters each time the template is used. Designers can also construct custom gradebook columns and groups within the course template so that every course generated from that template will automatically include these items, eliminating duplicate effort by instructors to create these every time they set up their courses.View Online Training
- How to Assign your template at the beginning of the semester (1:23 sec, 498.35 KB)
ADDITIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING ENHANCEMENTS:
Enhanced Discussions Tool: WebCT Vista 3.0 adds several enhancements to the discussions tool, including the ability to add instructions for each topic, optional editing of one's own postings, quick-links to view all new postings, and the ability for the instructor to easily re-order discussion topics and categories.New Chat Interface: The WebCT Vista 3.0 chat tool has an updated look-and-feel that makes it easier and more intuitive to accompany real-time chat sessions with simultaneous white-board or slide-show presentations. Faculty can allow students to view the chat logs, without having to re-post them.
View Online Training
- How the new chat interface works (2:04 sec, 1.39 MB)
Improved HTML Creator: The HTML creator has been improved to make the creation of content within the WebCT Vista 3.0 environment even easier. New features include a full-screen mode that provides more space to create content, a "find" feature to quickly locate key words within course content, and the ability to access the WebCT file browser when inserting images. Instructors and designers also have the option of using the HTML creator when creating assessments and assignments.
View Online Training
- How the improved HTML creator works (2:09 sec, 1.22 MB)
Learning Object Export: WebCT Vista 3.0 allows designers to package learning objects for import to and export from the WebCT Vista e-learning platform. Faculty can easily extract their content and assessments from WebCT Vista for archival, share that content with other courses or instructors, or use it in another WebCT Vista system.
ADDITIONAL USER ENHANCEMENTS:
Automatic Browser Checker: WebCT Vista 3.0 includes a browser checker that automatically detects whether or not a user's browser is supported by WebCT. The browser checker also validates that the appropriate Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is installed on the user's computer, ensuring that the user has all the necessary components to experience WebCT Vista's rich learning environment. WebCT Vista's automatic browser checker provides automated troubleshooting, resulting in an enhanced user experience and reduced support call volume on campus.