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Getting Started with WebCT

Technical Requirements

In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum technical requirements must be met to enable a successful learning experience. Technical requirements include but are not limited to:

Hardware

  • A Pentium processor or equivalent Mac system; Windows 98/Me/2000/XP or Mac OS 9.x or OS X 10.x.

  • Internet access with 56.6 kbps modem (minimum). A high-bandwidth connection is recommended.

  • 128 MB system Ram; 500 MB free disk space or sufficient storage.

  • Sound card.

  • CD-ROM capabilities.

Software

Web Browser Configuration

For WebCT courses to work properly, users will need one of the WebCT supported browsers listed in the validated browser list with Java enabled and cookies enabled. It is also important to set the cache settings of the browser to verify web documents “Every Time”. Users should also disable any pop-up blocking for the WebCT site. The methods for configuring these settings vary among browsers. Please go to the WebCT browser Tune Up page to find more information.

Course Access and Navigation

Most of our online courses were developed using a web course tool called WebCT. Courses are delivered entirely online. Students will be notified by email about the course access information at the start of the course. Students must have a UTD NetID and password to access the course. New students can go to the UTD NetID page at http://netid.utdallas.edu to initiate their account shortly before or at the start of the semester. The UTD NetID and password are to be used as the WebCT ID and password for login. Students can use this account to access all of UTD WebCT courses plus other UTD computing systems (e.g. your UTD email account). Please note that the account password must be updated every 6 months. UTD IR will send users a reminder message to their UTD email accounts prior to the password expiration. To update the account password, please login to the above NetID page. For more information, please visit the NetID FAQs page.

The URL for the course login page is: http://galaxy.utdallas.edu. Once you log into GALAXY, click on the "WebCT" link under "Self Service Links" (in the upper left-hand column). Courses may be accessed at any time after the semester starts. Students are required to meet all assignment and exam deadlines. Participation in scheduled class activities is required. Students should login to the course site regularly (at least three times per week) to check course updates, review lectures, complete assessment tasks, check course emails, and contribute to the discussion board.

Students will see the “My WebCT” page after login. This page lists all courses that students have registered for (including on-campus courses). Students can click the course title to access the course Home Page which displays several icon links. Clicking each icon link will take them to different subsidiary pages containing the course content elements or built-in course tools. Some components such as the Navigation Bar with Course Menu on the left side, the Menu Bar and the path link on the top, and the Action Menu on the content page can help you navigate within the course site.

WebCT Orientation

For information on how to access your WebCT course, please see the Getting started: Student WebCT Orientation.

Within the course site, students can always click HELP on the WebCT Menu Bar to find information and answers. They can also check out the Orientation Center to Online Learning and WebCT provided on WebCT’s web site. For more WebCT information and its learning resources, visit WebCT.com.

Communications

WebCT built-in communication tools

There are four built-in communication tools to facilitate learning, communication, interaction and collaboration. Announcements tool will be used by instructor to post text announcements to the class. Students can keep updated with any course news and notifications by checking the announcement messages. A course communication system, the Discussion tool, allows asynchronous communication among all course participants. Discussion topics or private discussion groups can be set up for class topic discussions and homework assignments. It also serves as a course bulletin board where the instructor can post course announcements and students can exchange information. Students can use the course Mail tool to communicate privately with the instructor and any class participant. The Chat/Whiteboard tool can be used for real-time communication among course participants. Instructor may schedule times to use the Chat and/or Whiteboard tools for office hours and/or class discussion sessions. Small groups may also use the Chat tool for group discussions. Please see the WebCT Help Menu for more details on using these tools.

Emailing

Besides using the WebCT course internal email, if there is any need, students may contact instructor via external email. UTD provides each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of individuals corresponding, and the security of the transmitted information.

To access UTD email, please go to: http://galaxy.utdallas.edu and login with the UTD NetID and password (the same as your WebCT login). The Department of Information Resources at UTD provides a method for students to forward email from other accounts to their UTD address and have their UTD mail sent to other accounts. Students may go to the following URL to establish email forwarding: http://netid.utdallas.edu. For any assistance with your UTD email account, call 972-883-2911 or go to http://www.utdallas.edu/ir/helpdesk/.

Web Conferencing

A web conferencing tool - Elluminate Live! is available for real time communications and interaction in online courses. This powerful tool combines Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), application and desktop sharing, instant messaging, and whiteboard functionality to create a powerful, easy-to-use, collaborative learning environment.

Elluminate provides an advanced web conferencing environment that is easy to use and works with most bandwidths. Below are just a few of the opportunities Elluminate Live! provides.

  • Live Web Conferencing with VoIP

  • Application and Desktop Sharing

  • Powerful Student Presentations

  • Increased Collaboration

Elluminate Training & Hands-On Demos

Elluminate’s training website provides a wide range of training guides and recorded demonstrations to make users familiar with the many easy-to-use functions available to use. Just go to http://www.elluminate.com, and click on the “Training” link on the left-hand side. This training site has numerous demos and guides for students to go through. Below is a short list of those demos and guides we have found to be most useful for students.

Demos:

Guides:

Technical Requirements for Using Elluminate

Each user will need a microphone and speakers (or headphones) connected to a computer with Internet access. Elluminate Live requires Sun Microsystems Java Web Start™ to be installed on your machine. First time users will be prompted to do a quick set-up to have this required software installed if they don’t already have it. A link to this set-up will be sent to users with the meeting access information.  For this and other useful information, go to the Elluminate Support site, http://www.elluminate.com/support/, and go through the "First Time Users" section.

How to Schedule a Student Group Meeting

To schedule a group meeting for an online class, please send a request one week in advance to gmbasupport@utdallas.edu. Please include the course name, meeting date, time, duration and number of participants. The requester will be the group meeting moderator.

For any questions or comments regarding using Elluminate, please email gmbasupport@utdallas.edu or call 972-883-5964.

Technical Support

UTD Computing Help Desk provides technical assistance with problems on UTD NetID account or problems accessing or using WebCT. Email Support  (assist@utdallas.edu), Phone Support (972-883-2911) and Live Web Support are all available. Please check the business hours and other information at UTD Computing Help Desk Web Site. GMBA staff also provides support to School of Management online courses. If students encounter any technical difficulties in WebCT site of an  online course, please send an email to gmbasupport@utdallas.edu.