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Carolinas
Online
Social
Work Continuing Education
WebCT Information
Deciding
to take an online course
If
you are considering enrolling for a WebCT course,
there are several important factors to consider.
First and foremost, do you have access to the
required technology and do you have enough computer
experience to be able to use the equipment and
software? Other questions you need to ask yourself
include:
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Will
you be able to motivate yourself to complete
readings and assignments on schedule without the
structure of a traditional classroom or the
presence of the instructor?
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Will
you be able to devote blocks of your time during
the week to the course?
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Do
you enjoy reading, writing and researching
information on your own?
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Are
you able to follow a written set of
instructions?
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Do
you feel comfortable contacting the professor
and/or the technical support staff when you have
questions or problems?
If
you answered "No" to any of the above
questions, then an online course is probably not for
you.
Online
courses can offer flexibility and convenience;
however, you should expect to put at least as much
time and effort into an online course as you would a
traditional classroom course. There are many issues
to consider when deciding if an online course is
right for you. If you are unsure, contact the
professor of the course you are considering.
If
you are considering taking an online course using
public computer equipment, for example, in a public
library, you may have a hard time getting enough
access time to get your course work done. The supply
of computers with internet access in public
libraries is often far less than the demand. Please
check the situation at your local library before
deciding to take an online course.
Hardware
and Software Requirements
If
you are an on-campus student, you have access
to computer labs throughout campus, as well as
high-speed Internet access in your residence hall
room. For a list of open computer labs operated by
the Academic Computing Center, as well as hours, go
to http://www.winthrop.edu/acc/docs/lab_info.asp.
The computers in all campus labs are high quality
machines with a very fast connection to the
Internet. For help or information on connecting your
personal computer in a residence hall to the
network, contact Telecommunications at (803) 323-1000. Much
helpful information regarding Internet access in
residence halls is available at http://www.winthrop.edu/acc/dormnet.htm.
If
you are off-campus, you need to have a
computer, a web browser, and a reliable Internet
service provider. If you have a PC, you should have
at least a Pentium® processor, 32 MB of RAM,
Windows® 95 or later operating system, a color
monitor, and, for some courses with multimedia
components, you will need speakers. You should also
have enough free hard disk space to allow your
computer to operate smoothly. If you have a Mac, you
will need a PowerPC or better.
Whether
you have a PC or a Mac, you will need a web browser
and an Internet connection. For the web browser, you
should have Internet Explorer version 4 or later, or
Netscape version 4 or later but not Netscape 6,
which is not supported by WebCT at this time. You
must configure a few settings on your browser to
make it work with WebCT;
click
here for instructions. If you use a standard
modem, it should be 56K or faster. If you have a
cable modem or DSL access, you should have no
worries about the speed of your connection.
ALL
Winthrop students are strongly encouraged to
activate and regularly check their Winthrop e-mail
account. This is MANDATORY for students enrolled in
WebCT courses. All information relating to the
course will be sent out via Winthrop e-mail. No
exceptions will be made.
STUDENTS
ENROLLED IN WEBCT COURSES MAY NOT SET WINTHROP
E-MAIL TO FORWARD TO OTHER E-MAIL ACCOUNTS.
Once
you are enrolled in a WebCT course
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You
will be issued a WebCT ID (username) and initial
password. Your WebCT username is the same
as your winthrop.edu e-mail alias (your e-mail
address minus "@winthrop.edu"). Your initial
password is your Student ID Number with no
spaces or dashes. It is strongly recommended
that you change your password the first time you
log in to WebCT. It
is a good idea to set your WebCT password to be
the same as your Winthrop e-mail password.
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To
log on to WebCT, go to http://www.winthrop.edu/webct
and click "Login". In the box
that appears, enter your user name and password.
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To
change your password, click the "Change
Password" link in the top right corner of
the myWebCT screen.
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Protect
your password and do not share it with anyone.
Before using your WebCT account, read the Winthrop
University Policy on the Appropriate Use of
Information Technology Resources. You are
responsible for all activity on your Winthrop
accounts.
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You
are expected to log in to the course on the
first day of the semester. Assignments and
material will be distributed throughout the
semester, beginning with the first day of class.
If you do not log on and begin completing
assignments within a reasonable period of time,
you will be dropped from the course for
non-participation.
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Before
you try to log on to your WebCT course, you
should make sure that the computer you will be
using meets the minimum requirements specified
in the Hardware
and Software Requirements section
above, and be sure that you have taken the steps
outlined at http://www.winthrop.edu/webct/browsersettings.htm
to enable your browser to work with WebCT.
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When
you are working in WebCT, remember to always use
the links in the WebCT window itself and do not
use your browser's Back and Forward buttons. The
links provided in WebCT are called breadcrumbs;
you use them to backtrack and navigate through
the particular section of the course you are
working in.
The picture below shows the breadcrumbs you
would see if you were working in the Discussion
section of the course (breadcrumbs always appear
underneath the title of the course, near the top
of the window).
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If
you have questions or encounter difficulties
while working in WebCT, help is available. There
is an extensive library of online support at http://www.webct.com/support
and resources for students at http://www.webct.com/students.
Your professor is available to help you through
the course and will be able to answer many of
the technical questions you may have. At the
beginning of your course, your instructor will
let you know when and how to contact them for
assistance. For technical questions, you may
also contact the WebCT Administrator, Keoni
Everington, at (803) 323-4551.
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Remember
that comments you make in a chat room, post
to a discussion group, or send in an e-mail in a
WebCT course will be read by the instructor,
and may be read by any or all students in the
class. Please be courteous, respectful, and use
good judgment when composing your comments.
Enabling
your browser to work with WebCT!!
WebCT
relies on JavaScript to work with your browser.
To enable
JavaScript in Microsoft Internet Explorer:
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From
the Tools menu, choose Internet
Options...
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Click
the Advanced tab and scroll down the list
to the section labeled Microsoft VM (or Java
VM)
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Make
sure all three boxes in this section are
checked, and then restart your computer if
necessary.
To enable
JavaScript in Netscape:
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From
the Edit menu, choose Preferences...
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Click
Advanced in the left column, and make
sure Enable Java and Enable JavaScript
boxes are checked.
Also,
your browser needs to be set to reload a particular
web page every time you access that page. In other
words, you want to make sure that the web page you
are viewing is the same as the actual page on the
server, rather than an outdated version of the page
that has been stored in the cache of your computer.
To turn off
caching in Microsoft Internet Explorer:
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From
the Tools menu, choose Internet
Options...
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Click
the General tab and click the Settings
button under Temporary Internet Files
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Select
the Every Visit to the Page radio button
and click OK.
To turn off
caching in Netscape:
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From
the Edit menu, choose Preferences...
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Click
the + sign next to Advanced in the left
column, and select Cache
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Select
the Every Time radio button and click OK.
For
more information, visit the Browser
Tune Up page at webct.com, or contact Keoni
Everington
Adding
a Course (for courses that use e-Packs only)
When
you log into WebCT, you will see a list of the
online courses in which you are enrolled. You will
not need to click Add
course, unless
you are taking a course which uses an e-Pack from
the publisher of the textbook. In that case, you
will click Add course on
your myWebCT screen, choose the course from list,
and click Register to self-register for the course.
You will then be prompted for the Access Code that
comes with the textbook. This code is inside the
textbook and should not be confused with the ISBN
number on the back of the book.
WebCT
Contact Information
Keoni Everington, WebCT Administrator | 803.323.4551 |
everingtonk@winthrop.edu
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