WebCT Vista Orientation for Faculty
Microsoft Word (.doc) version of Faculty Quick Reference
Adobe (.pdf) version of Faculty Quick Reference

Logging in to WebCT Vista
Running a Browser Check
Accessing Help
Accessing a Course Section
Adding Tools to the Course Toolbar
Removing Tools from the Course Toolbar
Returning to the My WebCT Home Page
Returning to Build>Basic View
Locating Online Resources
Adding Headers and/or Footers to the Course Section Homepage
Editing Headers or Footers
Adding an Image to a Course Section Header or Footer
Creating and Adding a URL
Removing a URL
Creating and Adding a Discussion Topic
Removing a Discussion Topic
Posting a New Message
Replying to a Message
Locking a Discussion Topic
Locking a Discussion Thread
Grading a Discussion Topic
Moving Components on the Course Section Homepage
Adding a Content File
Removing a Content File
Adding the Syllabus to the Course Section Homepage
Removing the Syllabus from the Course Section Homepage
Accessing the Calendar
Adding an Entry to the Calendar
Editing an Entry in the Calendar
Deleting an Entry in the Calendar
Creating Recurring Entries
Deleting Recurring Entries
Creating a Linked Entry
Creating an Announcement
Creating an Organizer Page
Adding Descriptive Information to an Organizer Page
Creating a Learning Module
Adding a Component to a Learning Module
Moving Components in a Learning Module
Adding a Heading to a Learning Module
Making Components Available or Unavailable
Setting Release Criteria from a Component List
Creating an Assessment
Creating Assessment Questions
Assigning Points to Questions
Editing Assessment Settings
Adding Parts to an Assessment
Grading Assessments by Student
Grading Assessments by Question
Modifying Grades
Resetting Attempts
Viewing Survey Submissions
Creating a Column in the Gradebook
Editing a Column in the Gradebook
Modifying Column Settings
Setting the Number of Members per Page
Freezing and Unfreezing Columns
Reordering Columns
Hiding Columns
Showing Columns
Adding Members
Managing Multiple Members
Finding Members
Entering a Grade for a Single Student
Entering Grades for Multiple Students
Releasing a Single Grade to Students
Releasing Multiple Grades to Students
Viewing Column Statistics
Viewing Audit History for a Single Student
Viewing Audit History for Multiple Students
Exporting Student Records
Opening an Exported File
Importing Student Records
Exporting Midterm and Final Grades to SIS-Compliant Files
Backing Up a Section
Linking to a College Logo File in a Sharable Content Folder at the Group Level
Downloading the Backup File to an Alternate Location
Preparing Your Syllabus File for Upload into Vista
Saving Documents in Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Accessing Mail from My WebCT
Creating a Message
Adding an Attachment to a Message
Creating a Collection
Creating a Collection Entry
Importing "Student Orientation to WebCT Vista Learning Module" into your Section
Moving or Copying Items
Generating Reports
Installing Java
Logging in to WebCT Vista
- Launch Browser (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Type http://vista.ctdlc.org in address bar
Note: No www
- Click Connecticut Community Colleges System link
- Click log in button
- Enter user name
Note: Banner ID
- Enter password
Note: Banner password
- Click OK
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Running a Browser Check
- Launch Browser (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Log in to WebCT Vista
- Click Check Browser link in WebCT Vista logo bar (upper right-hand corner)
- If necessary, follow instructions to properly configure browser
- Click "X" in upper right-hand corner to close message box
Note: Contact DL if issues arise
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Accessing Help
- Launch Browser (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Log in to WebCT Vista
- Click Help link in WebCT Vista logo bar (upper right-hand corner)
- Enter keyword in Search field
- Click green arrow to search Help database
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Accessing a Course Section
- Click course section link on My WebCT Vista homepage
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Adding Tools to the Course Toolbar
- In the Build>Basic View, click the tool to be added in the Add to Course toolbar
Note: Click the drop-down arrow next to More Tools to add tools not currently visible
*Adding tools to the course toolbar enables the student to view all available components, e.g., all quizzes, all discussion topics
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Removing Tools from the Course Toolbar
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the tool to be removed from the Course toolbar
- Select Remove from the drop-down list
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Returning to the My WebCT Home Page
- Click the My WebCT link in WebCT Vista logo bar
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Returning to Build>Basic View
- If no navigation buttons are visible in a given screen, click the Basic View tab to return to Basic View
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Locating Online Resources
- Launch Browser (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Type http://www.commnet.edu/academics/webct/vista_courses.asp in address bar
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Adding Headers and/or Footers to the Course Section Homepage
- Click course section link on My WebCT Vista homepage
- Click Header link ("Click here to add header to page") OR
- Click Footer link ("Click here to add footer to page")
- Enter text to appear in header or footer
Note: Set HTML creator to on if using HTML (click "Always" in message box to launch HTML creator)
- Click Save button
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Editing Headers or Footers
- Click course section link on My WebCT Vista homepage
- Click Edit Header/Footer icon to immediate right of header or footer
- Make changes, as appropriate
- Click Save button
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Adding an Image to a Course Section Header or Footer
- Click course section link on My WebCT Vista homepage
- Click Header link ("Click here to add header to page") OR
- Click Footer link ("Click here to add footer to page")
- Set HTML creator to on (click "Always" in message box to launch HTML creator)
- Click ADDIMAGE icon in toolbar
- Click Browse button
- Click Upload file button
- Locate file and click Open button
- Click Save
- Click Add Selected button
- Click OK
- Click Save
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Creating and Adding a URL
- Click URL link in Add to Homepage component list
- Click Create URL button
- Enter title
- Enter URL
- Click Save
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Removing a URL
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the discussion topic to be removed from the drop-down list
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Creating and Adding a Discussion Topic
- Click Discussion link in Add to Homepage component list
- Click Create Discussion Topic button
- Enter title
- Enter description
- Click Save
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Removing a Discussion Topic
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the discussion topic to be removed
- Click Remove from the drop-down list
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Posting a New Message
- On the Teach tab, click the Discussions link on the toolbar
- Click topic link
- Click Create Message button
- Enter subject
- Enter message
- Click Post button
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Replying to a Message
- On the Teach tab, click the Discussions link on the toolbar
- Click topic link
- Click on message to be responded to
- Click Reply button
- Click Post
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Locking a Discussion Topic
- On the Teach tab, click the Discussions link on the toolbar
- Click the Edit Settings icon for the topic
- Place a checkmark next to Locked
- Click Save
Note: Students can read postings already in the topic but cannot add new ones
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Locking a Discussion Thread
- On the Teach tab, click the Discussions link on the toolbar
- Click the Edit Settings icon for the thread
- Place a checkmark next to Locked
- Click Save
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Grading a Discussion Topic
- On the Teach tab, click the Discussions link on the toolbar
- Click the Grade Discussion icon for the discussion message to be graded
- Click student's name
- Select View Student Posts from drop-down list
- Enter grade in Grade text box
- Click Save Grades
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Moving Components on the Course Section Homepage
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the component to be moved
- Click Move from the drop-down list
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Adding a Content File
- Click Content File link in Add to Homepage component list
- Click Select File button
- Click Upload File button
- Click Browse button
- Locate file and click Open button
- Click Save
- Click Add Selected button
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Removing a Content File
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the content file to be removed
- Click Remove from the drop-down list
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Adding the Syllabus to the Course Section Homepage
- Click Syllabus link in Add to Homepage component list
- Click Select File button
- Click Upload File button
- Click Browse button
- Locate file and click Open button
- Click Save
- Click Add Selected button
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Removing the Syllabus from the Course Section Homepage
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the discussion topic to be removed
- Click Remove from the drop-down list
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Accessing the Calendar
- Click the drop-down arrow next to Calendar component on Course toolbar
- Select Go to Calendar tool
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Adding an Entry to the Calendar
- Click Add Entry button
- Enter brief description in Summary field
- Select start and end dates
- Enter details in Detail field
- Click Save
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Editing an Entry in the Calendar
- Click date of entry to be edited
- Click Edit icon
- Make changes, as necessary
- Click Save
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Deleting an Entry in the Calendar
- Click date of entry to be deleted
- Click Delete icon
- Click OK
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Creating Recurring Entries
- Click Add Entry button
- Enter summary, type, and details
- Enter same dates for start and end dates
- Enter time duration
- Click More Options drop-down button
- Select "This entry repeats"
- Choose frequency
- Enter "until" date
- Click Save
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Deleting Recurring Entries
- Click date of entry/entries to be deleted
- Click Delete icon Click "Delete this Occurrence Only" OR "Delete All"
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Creating a Linked Entry
- Click Add Entry button
- Enter summary, type, details, date, & time
- Click More Options drop-down button
- Enter web address in Internet URL field OR select component from Internal Link drop-down list>click Go icon>select component>click Add Selected
- Click Save
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Creating an Announcement
- Click the drop-down arrow next to Announcements component on Course toolbar
- Select Go to Announcements tool
- Click Create Announcements button
- Enter title
- Enter message
- Place checkmarks next to section levels to receive announcement
- Click Send button
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Creating an Organizer Page
- Click Organizer Page link in Add to Homepage component list
- Enter title in text box
- Click Create button
Note: Organizer page is added to Home Page
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Adding Descriptive Information to an Organizer Page
- Click the Organizer Page's Add/Edit description icon
- Enter text
- Click Save
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Creating a Learning Module
- Click Learning Module link in Add to Homepage component list
- Click Create Learning Module button
- Enter title
- Click Save
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Adding a Component to a Learning Module
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the Learning Module on the Homepage
- Click Edit from the drop-down list
- Click link in Add to Homepage component list
- Add components
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Moving Components in a Learning Module
- Select the checkbox next to the component to be moved
- Click the Move icon next to the row above which you want the item to appear, e.g., if you want an item to appear 4th in a list, click the Move icon next to the 5th row
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Adding a Heading to a Learning Module
- In the Build>Basic View, click the drop-down arrow next to the Learning Module on the Homepage
- Click Edit from the drop-down list
- Click Heading link in Add to Homepage component list
- Enter title
- Click Create button
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Making Components Available or Unavailable
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Selective Release Map link in the lower left-hand corner OR on the Teach tab, click drop-down arrow, click Selective Release Map, and click Go icon
- Click the "Yes" or "No" link in the Available column
Note: The link toggles between "Yes" and "No"
Note: Unavailable components appear to designers and instructors but the component is labeled hidden and its icon is greyed out
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Setting Release Criteria from a Component List
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Selective Release Map link in the lower left-hand corner
- Click the Set Release Criteria icon next to the component to be modified
- Select criteria to add, e.g., date, member, group, gradebook
- Enter criteria
- Click Save
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Creating an Assessment
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Discussions link on the Course toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click Create Assessment button
- Enter assessment title
- Select type, e.g., quiz, survey, or self-test
- Click Save
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Creating Assessment Questions
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Discussions link on the Course toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the assessment link to which questions will be added
- Select question type from Create Questions list by clicking corresponding link
- Enter title
- Enter question text
- Enter correct response
- Click Save
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Assigning Points to Questions
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Discussions link on the Course toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Select assessment
All questions for this assessment will be displayed
- Edit points, as necessary
- Click Update Total button
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Editing Assessment Settings
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Discussions link on the Course toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Locate assessment
- Click Edit Settings icon
- Edit settings, as necessary
- Click Save
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Adding Parts to an Assessment
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Discussions link on the Course toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Select assessment
- Click Add a Part link under Add to Assessment section
- Enter Part title
- Click Create
- Move questions under corresponding part, as appropriate
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Grading Assessments by Student
- On the Teach tab, click the Assessments link on the toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the Not Graded tab
Note: Click Graded tab to re-grade assessment
- Click attempt link to be graded
- Grade assessment
- Enter score
- Click Update Grade button
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Grading Assessments by Question
- On the Teach tab, click the Assessments link on the toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the Not Graded tab
- Click the assessment title
- Locate question
- Click Grade all attempts icon
- Click attempt link for first student
- Grade assessment
- Enter score
- Click Save and View Next Attempt
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Modifying Grades
- On the Teach tab, click the Assessments link on the toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the Graded tab
- Click Expand icon next to assessment to be modified
- Enter new grade
- Enter comments in Audit Log Comments text box (optional but suggested)
- Click Save
Note: The old grade is displayed in parentheses
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Resetting Attempts
- On the Teach tab, click the Assessments link on the toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the tab that contains the assessment to be reset
- Click Expand icon next to assessment name
- Click Reset Attempt icon for a specific student attempt OR click Reset Entire Submission to reset all attempts
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Viewing Survey Submissions
- On the Teach tab, click the Assessments link on the toolbar
- Select Go to Assessments tool from the drop-down list
- Click the All tab
- Click Expand icon next to survey title
Note: To reset a student submission, locate row for the student and click Reset; to reset entire section's submissions, click Reset Entire Submission
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Creating a Column in the Gradebook
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- From the Create column drop-down list, select column type and click Go icon
- Enter column label
- Select column alignment
- Enter maximum value
- Click Save
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Editing a Column in the Gradebook
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the View Options icon for the column to be edited
- Select Edit Values or Edit Column Select List
- Make changes
- Click Save
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Modifying Column Settings
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Column Settings button
- Make changes
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Setting the Number of Members per Page
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Edit Paging link
- Enter the number of records per page
- Click Save
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Freezing and Unfreezing Columns
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Unfreeze Columns icon
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Reordering Columns
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Select the checkbox next to the column to be moved
- Click the Move icon next to the location before which you want the item to appear, e.g., if you want an item to appear in the 4th column, click the Move icon next to the 5th column
Note: The Last Name and First Name columns cannot be reordered
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Hiding Columns
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the View Options icon for the column to be hidden
- Select Hide Column from the drop-down list
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Showing Columns
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Reorder Columns button
- Click the Yes/No toggle for the column to be visible
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Adding Members
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Add Members button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen
- Enter user name
- Add user as student or auditor
- Click Add button
- Click Save
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Managing Multiple Members
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Place a checkmark next to the members to be managed
Note: Place a checkmark next to the Last Name column header to select all members
- Select action to be performed, i.e., Grant Access, Deny Access, Send Mail, or Remove (contact Administrator before removing students from your section)
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Finding Members
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the Find Members button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen
- Enter search criteria
- Click Run Query button
Note: Click Show All Members button to clear query
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Entering a Grade for a Single Student
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- In the student row, click the lower right-hand corner of the cell where the grade will be added
- Enter or edit a value in the Change To: text box
- Enter comment (optional; comment will be added to Audit History)
- Click Save
Note: Grades for individual students can also be edited by clicking the student's name and selecting Edit Member from the drop-down list
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Entering Grades for Multiple Students
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the drop-down arrow for the column and select Edit Values from the drop-down list
- Enter grade
- Add comment (optional; comment will be added to Audit History)
- Click Save
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Releasing a Single Grade to Students
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click Column Settings button in upper right-hand corner of the screen
- Toggle the Released to Students setting to Yes
Note: My Grades tool must be added to Course Toolbar for students to access their grades
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Releasing Multiple Grades to Students
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click Column Settings button in upper right-hand corner of the screen
- Select the columns and click Release button
Note: My Grades tool must be added to Course Toolbar for students to access their grades
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Viewing Column Statistics
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the drop-down arrow for the column and select Column Statistics from the drop-down list
- Click OK when done viewing statistics
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Viewing Audit History for a Single Student
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click student name link
- Select Edit Member from the drop-down list
- Click View Audit History button
- Click Done button to exit audit history
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Viewing Audit History for Multiple Students
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Place checkmark next to student names to be audited
- Click View Audit History button at bottom of screen
- Click Done button to exit audit history
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Exporting Student Records
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click Export to Spreadsheet button
- Select columns and format for exporting
Note: A comma-delimited format will save the file with a .csv extension; a tab-delimited format will save the file as text (.txt)
- Click Export button
Note: A file download screen appears
- Enter a filename
- Click Save
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Opening an Exported File
- Launch Microsoft Excel (or other spreadsheet software)
- Open file you exported
Note: The Text Import Wizard appears
- Click radio button for "delimited" file
- Click Next button
- Specify "tab" and "comma" as delimiters
- Click Next button
Note: New file will preview with information in appropriate columns
- Click Finish button
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Importing Student Records
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click Import from Spreadsheet button at bottom of screen
Note: The Import File screen appears
- Click Browse button
- Select file to import
- Specify whether file is "comma" or "tab" separated
- Click Upload button
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Exporting Midterm and Final Grades to SIS-Compliant Files
- On the Teach tab, click the Grade Book link on the toolbar
- Click the drop-down arrow next to Export to SIS
- Select Midterm or Final and click Go
The Export Grade screen appears
- Place checkmarks next to the student names to be exported
- Click Export Grade button
Note: Midterm or final grades can only be exported once
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Backing Up a Section
- From My WebCT, click on the section to be backed up
- In Build>Basic View, click the Backup link on the toolbar
Note: The Section Backup screen appears
- Click the Backup button
Note: The Backup Progress screen appears
- Copy down the .bak id number to locate it in the backup file folder
- Click the Continue button
Note: The section is now backed up in the Course Context Folder
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Linking to a College Logo File in a Sharable Content Folder at the Group Level
- In the Build>Basic View, click the File Manager link on the toolbar
- Navigate to the sharable content folder (contact DL for location of sharable content folder)
- Place a checkmark next to the file to be added or linked to
- Click radio button next to "File" or "File Linked To"
- Click the drop-down arrow next to "Select"
- Click appropriate section and click the Go button
- Place checkmark next to "Create content file based on this file or link" to display this file in your content inventory (optional)
- Click OK
Confirmation dialog box appears
- Click OK
- Click on Basic View tab
- Click Header or Footer edit icon
- Click radio button to turn on HTML Creator
- Click Add Image button on the toolbar
- Click Browse button
- Navigate to image file
- Click radio button next to image file
- Click Add Selected button
- Click OK
- Click Save
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Downloading the Backup File to an Alternate Location
- In the Build>Basic View, click the File Manager link on the toolbar
- Locate the course context folder (one level up from the section)
- Click the checkbox next to the backup file
- Click the Download button
- Save the file to a preferred location
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Preparing Your Syllabus File for Upload into Vista
- Open syllabus in Microsoft Word
- Select File>Save As from the Menu Bar
- Click the drop-down list in the "Save As Type" field
- Select Web Page, Filtered
- Click the Save button
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Saving Documents in Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- Open document to be converted to rich text format
- Select File>Save As from the Menu Bar
- Click the drop-down list in the "Save As Type" field
- Select Rich Text Format
- Click the Save button
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Accessing Mail from My WebCT
- Click the Mail icon on the My WebCT toolbar
- Click the course or section name to view mail
- Click the message title in the Subject column
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Creating a Message
- Click Create Message button
- Click Browse for Recipients button
- Select desired recipients
- Complete fields, as appropriate
- Click Send button
Note: Email is limited to WebCT Vista email accounts only; messages cannot be sent to external email accounts
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Adding an Attachment to a Message
- Click Create Message button
- Complete fields, as appropriate
- Click Add Attachments button
- Click Upload file button
- Click File Browse button
- Locate file and click Open button
- Click Save
- Click Add Selected button
- Click Send button
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Creating a Collection
- In the Build>Content Inventory View, click the Media Library link
- Click Create Collection button
- Enter title
- Enter description
- Enter keyword(s)
Note: Optional
- Click Save
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Creating a Collection Entry
- In the Build>Content Inventory View, click the Media Library link
- Click the Collection link in which the entry will reside
- Click the View All Entries tab
- Click Create Entry button
- Enter title
- Enter description
- Click Browse button
- Click Upload File button
- Click Browse button
- Locate file and click Open
- Click Save
- Click Add Selected
- Place checkmarks next to collections entry should be included in
- Click Save
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Importing "Student Orientation to WebCT Vista Learning Module" into your Section
- In the Build>Basic View, click the Content Import link on the toolbar
- Click the Advanced View link
- From the folder list on the left side of the window, click the Connecticut Community Colleges System folder (second from the top)
- Click the radio button next to the StudentOrientation.zip file
- Click Add Selected button
- Click Return button
- In the Build>Basic View, click Learning Module link in Add to Homepage component list
- Select Student Orientation to WebCT Vista
- Click Add Selected button
Note: Student Orientation to WebCT Vista will appear as a learning module on your course section home page
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Moving or Copying Items
- Select the checkbox next to the item to be moved
- Click the Move icon next to the row above which you want the item to appear, e.g., if you want an item to appear 4th in a list, click the Move icon next to the 5th row
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Generating Reports
- Click the Teach tab
- Click Course View or Tool View sub-tab
- Click Reports and Tracking button
- Select report type
- Enter date range
- Click Run Report button
Note: Refer to pp. 23-24 of WebCT Vista Faculty Training Manual for report descriptions
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Installing Java
- Launch Browser (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Type http://www.ctdlc.org in address bar
- Click Support link in Navigation bar
- Click WebCT Vista link in Navigation bar
- In Downloads frame on right side of page, click Sun Java Runtime environment (1.5) link
- Click Save button in File Download screen
- Click drop-down arrow next to Save In field
- Select Desktop from drop down list
- Click Save
- Click Open
- Click Run
- Accept all default settings
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Microsoft Word (.doc) version of Faculty Quick Reference
Adobe (.pdf) version of Faculty Quick Reference
 Click here for WebCT Vista Orientation for Students.
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 |