Running Head: WEBCT ONLINE TUTORIAL

WebCT® Online Tutorial

Running Head: WEBCT® ONLINE TUTORIAL

WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course

Development and Maintenance

Evelyn Kwan Green

The University of Southern Mississippi

Submitted to the Department of Technology Education as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Instructional Technology

Advisor

Taralynn Hartsell, Ph.D.

October 22, 2005

Abstract

The purpose of the WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course Development and Maintenance (WebCT® online tutorial) is to provide faculty members at The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) with online course development and maintenance assistance. The tutorial’s goal is to train faculty members on the Southern Miss online course development and maintenance process via the university’s course management system, WebCT® Campus Edition 4.1. The desired learning outcome is for faculty members to become 100% proficient in performing the tasks of designing, implementing, and maintaining an effective academic online course. The tutorial consists of ten units. Each unit represents a step toward accomplishing the task of developing an online course at Southern Miss, with the final unit addressing proper maintenance to include course update and reset for use in the following semester. Developed primarily for faculty members, the tutorial will also be accessible to support staff or graduate students assisting online faculty members. The tutorial will be uploaded on the live server as a WebCT® course, accompanied by a practice course shell to help learners apply their newly acquired skills for higher retention. The Web-based instructional format is chosen for its cost effectiveness and 24/7 convenience. The Web-based tutorial also creates an opportunity for the intended audience to gain proficiency and confidence in navigating and working within the WebCT® environment.

Introduction

In spring 2004, The University of Southern Mississippi’s Title III-A grant office conducted a technology survey to assess faculty perception of current instructional technology availability and their use of equipment and software. Forty percent of the respondents indicated that they could use more training. In addition, campus offices were reorganized, renamed, and physically relocated as a result of the University’s restructuring efforts. These changes created confusion and uncertainty among faculty members (current and new) as to how and where to secure information and assistance with regard to online course issues. To further complicate matters, online course development and maintenance support is provided by three separate departments on campus with limited staff support for online course development and maintenance. Consequently, a consensus was reached by the directors of these departments that a centralized information site to assist faculty with online course issues is needed. The directors concurred that an online tutorial will provide faculty members with a “one-stop shop” for information regarding online courses.

The purpose of the WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course Development and Maintenance (WebCT® online tutorial) is to provide faculty members at the University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) with online course development and maintenance assistance. The WebCT® online tutorial’s goal is to train faculty members on the Southern Miss online course development and maintenance process via the university’s course management system, WebCT® Campus Edition 4.1. The desired learning outcome is for faculty members to become 100% proficient in performing the tasks of designing, implementing, and maintaining an effective academic online course. The WebCT® online tutorial is designed for faculty members, especially

those who are new to the University, new to online learning, or unfamiliar with the WebCT® environment. At the end of the tutorial and upon completion of the practice exercises, faculty members will produce a basic online course that can be migrated to the live server for implementation. Faculty members who are current users of WebCT® are encouraged to use the tutorial as a quick refresher and reference guide. The tutorial will also be made accessible to support staff or graduate students assisting faculty members in the online course development and maintenance process. All learners will be encouraged and perhaps, required to use the unit quizzes, practice exercises, and the WebCT® practice course shell to perform a pre- and post-assessment of their knowledge and skills. These results, along with the tutorial evaluation results, will provide feedback regarding the tutorial’s success in accomplishing its goals and objectives.

Once developed, the WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course Development and Maintenance will reside in the University’s WebCT® live server. There are two servers dedicated to WebCT® use: (1) a live server where courses reside and (2) a developmental server which support courses under development and for WebCT® training. The tutorial is uploaded to faculty members’ WebCT® accounts that will be automatically generated once the tutorial goes live! The tutorial is accompanied by a WebCT® practice course shell uploaded on the developmental server for skills application purposes. Instructions on accessing the developmental server and practice course shell are located in the WebCT tutorial under the heading “Practice exercises.” A basic template will be designed for the WebCT® practice course shell.

The tutorial is only accessible to support staff or graduate students once they have participated in a WebCT® training workshop offered by the LEC. Upon completion of the training, the LEC will forward the training sign-in sheet to the University’s WebCT administrator. The WebCT administrator will upload both the WebCT tutorial and practice course shell into the support staff or graduate students’ WebCT accounts.

The WebCT® Online Tutorial consists of ten units. Each unit represents a step toward accomplishing the task of developing and maintaining online course at Southern Miss. Each unit consists of learning objectives and learning task items to match the objectives, instructional materials, and the quiz that measures learning success. Upon the successful completion of each lesson unit (e.g., a score of 100% accurate in the unit quiz) learners can use the WebCT® practice course shell on the developmental server to complete the corresponding unit practice exercise to reinforce learning and gain knowledge retention.

The tutorial site is non-linear and hierarchical in structure to accommodate the sequential nature of the tutorial’s content and to provide learners with the flexibility to skip directly to the lesson unit when needed. The lessons contain (a) instructional materials related to the University’s online development process, (b) good instructional design, course layout, and file management practices, (c) step-by-step procedures on WebCT® user navigation and tools, and (d) the University’s online maintenance process.

The unit’s content presented as learning tasks is categorized by topic. At the end of tutorial, the learner will be able to perform the basic functions and activities of online course development and maintenance.

The tutorial also features a Resource Guide which includes a Webliography and Web based instruction and instructional design resource materials. A Communication Center directs learners to the Help, FAQs, and a Chat Lounge. A Site Map and the WebCT® Search tool are used to assist learners in navigating, locating, and retrieving content with ease and no additional support. Upon completion of the tutorial, learners are asked to provide feedback via a tutorial evaluation developed with quiz/survey freeware.

Web pages will be developed to house the instructional content. The Web pages will reside on a Web site which will be linked to the WebCT® online tutorial by using the link feature of the WebCT® content module tool. The instructional contents will be derived from existing training materials developed by the Learning Enhancement Center (LEC), Office of Distance Education Support (ODES), and iTech staff. However, the instructional materials will be updated for accuracy and consistency, and they will be reformatted to provide a standardized look within the tutorial. New instructional content will be developed for areas where no materials exist. Each Web page will contain a unit lesson and learning tasks associated with the lesson. Links to online support Web sites can be found in the Communication Center developed with the WebCT® Communication tools. Other instructional software and hardware will be used wherever appropriate to improve or enhance course delivery.

In order to access the WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course Development and Maintenance, learners must minimally possess a computer with Internet access (dialup or high speed) and a basic knowledge of computer and Internet use. Learners must also acquire a University identification number (Empl ID) issued by the Department of Human Resource and apply for a SOAR password with the iTech HelpDesk. Learners must be able to log into their WebCT® account using their University ID and SOAR password.

The tutorial is developed within WebCT® for 24/7 convenience and accessibility and allow learners to gain a student user perspective of WebCT®. Using the tutorial will help learners gain confidence and proficiency in using WebCT®. The tutorial is password protected and will reside in WebCT® to restrict access in anticipation of copyright and fair use issues.

Instructional Goal

The instructional goal for the WebCT® Online Tutorial: A Faculty Guide to Basic Online Course Development and Maintenance is to help faculty members become proficient in designing, implementing, and maintaining an online course using WebCT® and to identify and follow proper University online course development and maintenance procedures. The tutorial provides faculty members with an alternative learning medium and training supplement from which they can learn to produce an effective academic online course that will meet the University’s and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) guidelines and Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) standards. Upon completion of the tutorial and practice exercises, learners will become competent in the processes and tasks associated with the development and maintenance of an effective academic online course at Southern Miss.

Learning Objectives

Learners’ performance lies within their ability to successfully develop and maintain an effective academic online course in WebCT® at Southern Miss. Upon completion of the online tutorial, learners will be able to successfully demonstrate the following skills with 100% accuracy:

Define and execute the Southern Miss Online Course development process.
Explain the function of a Web course management system and WebCT® .
Plan an online course site structure and navigation.
Identify and apply the appropriate instructional multimedia to develop new or convert existing course materials for use in WebCT®.
Identify and apply WebCT® course management tools.
Describe and create a WebCT® Course home page.
Explain and apply proper file and WebCT® course content management techniques.
Identify uses and apply proper use of WebCT® communication tools.
Identify uses and apply proper use of WebCT® Evaluation and Activities Tools.
Define and execute Southern Miss Online Course maintenance process.

Unit 1

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the Southern Miss Online Course Development Process lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Locate Southern Miss Online Learning Web site.

Task 2:Locate Southern Miss Office of Distance Education Support (ODES) Web site.

Task 3:Explain the Southern Miss Distance Education policy.

Task 4:Explain the Distance Education Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright Law and Fair Use Guidelines.

Task 5:Define online courses.

Task 6:Differentiate a fully online course versus an online course supplement.

Task 7:Download and complete the Academic and Graduate Council guidelines to Academic Course Proposal.

Task 8:Download and complete the Faculty Web Enhanced Course Request form.

Task 9:Locate and define the support services and personnel.

Task 10:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 11:Locate WebCT® practice course shell in developmental server.

Task 12:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 2

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the WebCT® Overview lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Explain the function of the WebCT® course management system.

Task 2:Explain WebCT® administration at Southern Miss.

Which department administers WebCT?
What is the role of the WebCT administrator?
How to locate live server?
How to locate developmental server?
How to logon to your WebCT account?
What is the relationship between SOAR and WebCT?

Task 3:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 4:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 3

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the Course Site Structure and Navigation lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Define course site structure.

Task 2:Explain the importance of planning a site.

Task 3:Create a course content inventory and classify contents.

Task 4:Develop a site structure that is logical and easy to navigate.

Task 5:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 6:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 4

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the Course Materials Conversion and Development lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Define and apply chunking.

Task 2:Define a Webliography.

Task 3:Explain Fair Use Guidelines for educational multimedia.

Task 4:Identify, locate, and evaluate online resources.

Task 5:Identify various types of instructional multimedia and match the appropriate multimedia with course content.

Task 6:Apply appropriate graphic design principles.

Task 7:Locate training support for use of instructional multimedia.

Task 8:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 9:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 5

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the WebCT® Course Management lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Describe My WebCT page

Task 2:Identify the WebCT® Control Panel.

Task 3:Distinguish between Basic Control Panel and Expanded Control Panel.

Task 4:Apply Manage Student tools.

Add or import students.
View students.
Search records.
Manage columns.

Task 5:Apply Track Student tool.

View some students.
Search records.

Task 6:Apply Backup Course.

Create backup.
Upload backup.

Task 7:Apply Manage Teaching Assistants tool.

Add or import a student.
View student.
Search records.
Manage columns.

Task 8:Apply Share Designer Access.

Add a designer.
Delete a designer.

Task 9:Apply Reset Course.

Task 10:Apply Import Content.

Import a Course.
Import Content Package.

Task 11:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 12:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 6

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the WebCT® Course Home Page lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Identify WebCT® homepage components and their functions.

Task 2:Identify the various WebCT® tools and their functions.

Task 3:Add/edit/delete Page or Tool.

Task 4:Perform selective release.

Task 5:Move to organizer page.

Task 6:Move/copy to course menu.

Task 7:Add/edit/delete Upper and Lower Textblock.

Task 8:Modify Layout.

Task 9:Customize page colors.

Task 10:Modify/add background image.

Task 11:Modify/add a banner image.

Task 12:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 13:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 7

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the WebCT® File and Course Content Management lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Define a file vs. a folder.

Task 2:Differentiate the various types of files.

Task 3:Perform the following in Windows XP and WebCT:

Upload a file/folder.
Create a file/folder.
Edit a file/folder.
Copy a file/folder.
Move a file/folder.
Rename a file/folder.
Delete a file/folder.
Zip a file.
Unzip a file.
Download a file.

Task 4:Apply proper file management techniques.

Task 5:Identify the purpose and differentiate single page vs. an organizer page.

Task 6:Apply the appropriate page to course content.

Task 7:Add a single page (add title, add a file, link item, and add icon).

Task 8:Add an organizer page (add title, link item, and add icon).

Task 9:Attain a 100% score on the unit quiz.

Task 10:Perform related section of practice exercise.

Unit 8

The following is a list of learning objectives that learners will achieve upon completion of the WebCT® Communication Tools lesson unit. In this unit, learners will be able to perform the following tasks at 100% accuracy:

Task 1:Identify the various WebCT Communication Tools and their functions (Discussion, Mail, Chat).

Task 2:Identify the advantages and disadvantages of each Tool.

Task 3:Apply the appropriate Communication Tool.

Task 4:Add a Discussion Tool.

Create and delete a Discussion topic.
Create and open a threaded discussion.
Save and Print Discussion messages.
Delete Discussion messages.
Organize Discussion topics.

Task 5:Add the Mail Tool.