FAQ for E Courses - Pasadena City College

If you do not log off, another person may come along to the computer you were using and be able to access your WebCT account. Even if you have "surfed" on to other sites not related to WebCT, you must still log off, because anyone could use the Back button on the browser to access the WebCT course under your name. It is possible that they could view your grades, post messages to the Discussions using your name, check your email, make public or private postings to the calendar, etc. This could cause problems for you, so remember to log off every time you are finished using WebCT.

Discussions

Where did my messages go?

Click the All button. Expand the thread you want to read by clicking on the arrow next to the thread's name.

What's a Discussion Topic?

Topics are separate conferences within Discussions. They can be public (available to all class members) or private (available to an instructor-selected group of class members). If you have access to a private topic, you will see it listed. (It will be clearly marked as private.) To access a specific topic, click on the hyperlinked topic title. To determine what topic you are currently in, check the first text line of the top frame. It should read "Discussion Messages: Topic Name". That indicates the name of the topic that you're in.

Mail

What's the difference between WebCT mail and regular e-mail?

You may only send mail messages to other course participants and the instructor using WebCT mail. WebCT mail cannot send or receive regular Internet e-mail.

Can I save my message and finish it later?

Yes. If you do not want to send a message immediately after you compose it, you can save it as a draft by clicking Save Draft at the bottom of the Compose Mail Message window. To send a draft mail, click on the Draft folder. Click the draft mail link and then click Edit. From the Compose Mail Message window, click Send.

How do I find the mail addresses of my classmates?

In the Compose Mail Message window, next to the Send To line, there is a button called Browse. Clicking the Browse button will pop up a list of your classmates, and you can choose any number of them to receive your message.

Can I forward mail to another class member?

Yes. Click on the message you would like to forward and then click Forward. The Compose Mail Message window appears. In forwarding you can change the subject, and choose the recipient (use Browse to find a list of your classmates).

Can I reread messages that I sent to someone?

Yes. Click the Mail icon. Click Outbox from the Folder List window to see a list of messages that you've sent.

What happened to the messages that I already read?

WebCT will show you only the messages that you haven't read by default. To see messages that you've previously read, click the All button.

Can I use HTML tags in my messages?

Yes. If you know how to use HTML tags, you can use them in your mail messages.

Calendar

How do I add my own private entries to the calendar?

Click on the date for which you would like to make an entry. Then click Add Entry. Whatever you type in the Summary box is what will appear on the calendar. Type more details in the Details area if you like. Make sure to set the Access Level to "private" by selecting the appropriate radio button near the bottom of the page. The "private" option may be automatically selected for you. When you are finished, click Add. When you go back to the calendar, you will see your entry in Italics, indicating that this is a private entry and is not visible to anyone else.

How do I make an entry on the calendar for the whole class to see?

This can only be done if the instructor has set up the calendar so that students may make public entries. If this is the case, public entries can be made in the same way as private ones, but be sure to select the "public" radio button in the Access Level area.

When I go to the course contents, I only see a few topics but I know there are more. Where are they?

On the Course Contents page (or any other path page) there will be a list of links. Some of them may represent categories. A right-facing arrow indicates that a category is collapsed - you can only see the top-level content page. If you click on the right-facing arrow, the arrow will become a down-facing arrow, and a list of subcategories will appear below the main category. Clicking on the down-facing arrow will once again collapse the category so that only the category heading is visible.

The other possibility is that your instructor may not have made available all of the topics yet. You may see more topics added to the course as the semester progresses--check with your instructor if you are unsure.

I see more than one set of navigation buttons (back, previous, next, forward, etc.). Which ones do I use?

You should use the navigation buttons within WebCT. Your browser window will also contain back and forward buttons, but the difference is that using the Previous button in WebCT will show you the previous page on the Course Content Path, not necessarily the previous page that you visited. The back button on the browser will take you to the previous page you visited, not necessarily the previous page on the Course Content Path. In other words, WebCT's navigation buttons will take you in a linear fashion through the course content, whereas your browser navigation buttons will retrace whichever pages you have visited, whether part of WebCT or not.

Grades

I handed in an assignment or test a while ago, but I don't see my grade listed. Why not?

Either the instructor has not finished marking the assignments, or he or she has chosen not to release the grades to the students. Check with your instructor if you are unsure.

Will other students be able to see my grades?

No. Only you will be able to view your own grades. However, if someone else knows your login ID and your password, or if you forget to close the browser after you're finished using WebCT on a shared computer, they would be able to log in as you and view your grades. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep your password secure and remember to log off every time you finish using WebCT by closing down the browser.

Chat

Why are some of the rooms recorded?

Chat rooms 1 through 4 can be logged so that instructors can hold online tutorial sessions or gauge participation in assigned discussion topics - while capturing a transcript of the conversation to review later, or for students unable to attend live.

Can I send a private message?

Yes. To send a private message, first open a chat room by clicking on your selection. To send a private message to someone that is logged in, click on their name in the user list section on the right, highlighting it. Messages that are sent to you privately will say "Private Message" in front of the message text.

Quizzes

When I resize the screen during a quiz, my quiz advances to the next question before I have a chance to answer.

In certain versions of Netscape, the browser will refresh if you resize the window. This triggers the WebCT quiz to move to the next question. Carefully read the directions for your quiz. If your questions will be displayed one-at-a-time, access the quiz by using Internet Explorer. This behavior is not a bug in either Netscape or WebCT, and it is consistent on Windows 9x, Windows 2000, and Mac OS9.

Other

Why am I having problems using the AOL/CompuServe browser?

Check WebCT's Browser Tune-up for more information.