August 2006

Please contact Pauline Clifford to reserve a space in a class.

Course Descriptions

Getting Started in WebCT Vista: Exploring/Designing (3 hours)

Pre-requisite: None. However, this course is a pre-requisite to the other three system-presented classroom sessions. Alternatively, an online version of this class is available.

Learning objectives:

-Describe the differences between the three main tabs in the Vista interface: Build, Teach, Student View tabs.
-Demonstrate how to add, move, and remove tools on the Course Toolbar.
-Add/edit a header or footer to the Home Page.
-Convert a Syllabus file in Word format to HTML and upload it into Vista.
-Upload a content file into File Manager from a PC.
-Create an Organizer page.
-Add a link (such as to a content file, discussion, or webpage/URL) to the Home Page or to an Organizer page.
-Create a Learning Module (time permitting).

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Managing & Presenting Content in WebCT Vista (3 hours)

Pre-requisites:

1. “Getting Started with Vista” or comparable introductory hands-on Vista training, either classroom-based or online.
2. The ability to create and organize folders and subfolders in Windows, as well the ability to copy/paste/drag/move files and folders are considered pre-requisite skills for those planning to use WebCT Vista.

This session goes into more detail about using Vista’s File Manager, and provides more in-depth information about the how to provide various kinds of content in your Vista course sections.

Learning Objectives:

-Explain the importance of organizing course content in folders on your PC to prepare for your Vista course (even if unable to actually accomplish this—for those who are unfamiliar with these skills, recommend that they attend "Organizing Your Course for WebCT Vista: File & Folder Management".)
-Upload, move, and copy files and folders within File Manager; explain why folders must be "zipped" to upload (i.e., that only files, not folders, can be uploaded).
-Navigate to public sharable content in File Manager, such as a college logo.
-Create Organizer pages and add components to them.
-Create and add components to a Learning Module, add headings and indents, re-order components, and (time permitting) export a learning module.
-Import the “Student Orientation to WebCT Vista” learning module into a section.
-Understand the need to decide whether Selective Release should be used to release components to students during the two weeks prior to the start date of the class; describe at least one other way that Selective Release can be used.
-Time permitting: "Zipping" course content files or folders and uploading the zip file into Vista.
-Time permitting: Demonstration/discussion of WebDAV (faculty should work with their local DL staff to walk through the process if they wish to use it, or follow the tutorial and documentation provided.)

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Teaching Tools in WebCT Vista (3 hours)

Pre-requisite: “Getting Started with Vista” or comparable introductory hands-on Vista training, either classroom-based or online.

This session explores Vista tools that can enhance interaction and communication among instructors and students, allow students to work together on group projects, and encourage students to be more actively engaged with the course content.

Learning Objectives:
-Use the Mail tool to send a message, reply to a message, move a message.
-Create an entry in Calendar—generally to an internal link such as an assessment or discussion.
-Create discussion topics and manage discussion settings.
-Create groups with Group Manager, and create a related group activity (discussion topic or chat room).
-Create an assignment with the Assignment tool and edit assignment settings.
-Grade and publish an assignment.
-Review student activity using Reports and Tracking (time permitting).

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Creating & Managing Assessments Using Respondus & WebCT Vista
(3 hours)

Pre-requisite: “Getting Started with Vista” or comparable introductory hands-on Vista training, either classroom-based or online.

This session explores how Vista’s assessments tool can help you test students’ knowledge of the course material, allow students to check their own knowledge, and enable you to survey students anonymously.

Learning Objectives:

-Create multiple choice, true/false, and paragraph questions in a text file formatted for Respondus; importing the Respondus file into Vista's Question Database.
-Utilize test bank questions imported from a publisher's website by importing them into WebCT Vista.
-Create an assessment and edit assessment settings with Vista's Assessment tool.
-Reset an assessment attempt.

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Using WebCT Vista Grade Book with Excel (2 hours)

Pre-requisite: “Getting Started with Vista” or comparable introductory hands-on Vista training, either classroom-based or online.

This session explores how to use Vista’s Grade Book, and also provides some examples of how to export Vista's Grade Book and use it in conjunction with Excel.

Learning Objectives:

-Create a (calculated and alphanumeric) column in Grade Book, edit Column Settings in Grade Book, and manually add grades in Grade Book.
-Export Vista's Grade Book and open it in Excel.
-Create some sample formulas in Excel (i.e., to calculate weighted averages for quiz and test grades, and/or drop the lowest quiz grade) and then import the values created by the formulas back into Vista Grade Book.
-Release grades to students so they can review them using the My Grades tool.

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Organizing Your Course for WebCT Vista: File and Folder Management
(2 hours)

Pre-requisite: None.

To successfully plan, prepare, and organize your course content for upload into WebCT Vista, you must have a good understanding of how to use Windows to create and name new folders and subfolders on your own PC, copy/paste, move, or drag/drop files from one location to another, know how to use “Save As” to navigate to and save files to a different location or a different file format, and possess other related Windows navigational skills.

Those who will be uploading Word and PowerPoint files into Vista must also understand issues associated with different file formats, such as HTML, PDF, etc. and how images embedded in files (such as Word and PowerPoint) must be taken into account when planning how to upload those files into Vista's File Manager.
In order to assist faculty who need an introduction (or brush-up) in these topics, we have created this hands-on training course that is specifically geared to faculty who plan to use WebCT Vista to make their course content available online.

Learning Objectives:

-Navigate in Windows Explorer.
-Create and name a folder and subfolders.
-Copy, move, rename, delete files and folders.
-Search for files and folders on a PC.
-Understand "relative paths" between images and HTML files, and the issues associated with retaining these path relationships when uploading Word files that contain images, and PowerPoint files, into Vista.
-Explain the differences between a .doc file, and HTML file, and a PDF file and the issues associated with deciding which format will be used.
-Demonstrate how to "zip" course content files or folders and upload the zipped file archives into Vista.
-Create a WebDAV connection from a user's PC to a Vista section, in order to copy/move files from the user's PC into Vista's File Manager.

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Camtasia Studio Introduction: Creating Your First Multimedia Tutorial
(3 hours)

Pre-requisite: None.

Learn to use this powerful, yet easy to learn screen recording software to record, edit, and share video tutorials, software demonstrations, and presentations, which can then be made available through your WebCT Vista course or via any website. The software provides full-motion recording capability, and narration can be recorded along with your screen capture or added later. It can also be used to easily record narration with your PowerPoint presentations and publish it in Flash format, which displays directly in any java-enabled Web browser. Callouts, slides, picture-in-picture embedding, quizzing, interactivity, and SCORM-compliant modules are all additional features of this application.

Learning Objectives:

-Record a simple, narrated tutorial using Camtasia Recorder.
-Edit the tutorial and synced narration track in Camtasia Studio.
-Perform some simple editing functions such as adding slides, creating "callouts" to prompt the user or point out specific items in the tutorial, etc.
-Do a simple overdub to add narration after recording the initial video.
-Publish the tutorial and (time permitting) import it into WebCT Vista and provide a link to it from the Home Page or an Organizer page.

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Contact us

Pauline Clifford, Ph.D.
Director of Educational Technology
Quinebaug Valley Community College
742 Upper Maple Street
Danielson, CT 06239
Telephone: (860) 412-7298
FAX: (860) 412-7222
Email: pclifford@qvcc.commnet.edu