2. What do I need to be able to log
in to WebCT?
As a member of staff logging on to WebCT at Brookes you'll
require your staff ID and Brookes portal password. More details
from the WebCT login
page.
3. How do I get a WebCT teaching
module so I can make a start?
The WebCT
site request information page explains how to request a
WebCT development site. It's strongly recommended that when
requesting a WebCT module for the first time, you consider your
training needs. The Media Workshop provides a comprehensive
training programme for WebCT course designers.
4. Are there any rules when naming
my files and folders?
In preparation for uploading files and folders into WebCT it
is important to check that they are in a format which is readable
on the web.
The following are common web readable file types:
| |
|
.html or .html |
Hyper Text
Mark-up Language |
| |
|
.txt |
Text |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Image files |
|
| |
|
.gif |
Graphical Interchange
Format |
| |
|
.jpg |
Joint Photographic Experts
Group |
| |
|
.png |
Portable Network Graphics
format (only supported by newer browsers) |
Ideally the file should be saved as one word, eg. mywebpage.html
Files may be named alphanumerically but cannot contain any of
the following:
- spaces
- tabs
- : ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) + ' [ ] | < > / ? ; " '~
If you wish to use multiple words in a file or folder name,
a commonly used method to separate them is with underscores:
eg. my_web_page.html. This is perfectly valid but but try and
keep all names to a reasonable length.
NB. These rules apply to designers and students. Students will
need to be made aware of these rules if you require them to
upload assignments or upload files to the Student Presentation
area.
5. The download function
doesn't work in Internet Explorer
- is this a bug?
A download option exists both for Designer's in the Manage
Files area and Student's in the Student Presentation area.
It doesn't work correctly in Internet Explorer 5.5
(Service Pack 1).... but it's not our fault!
Here's the techy explanantion from Microsoft:
A bug exists wherein web servers (such as the WebCT installation)
which use a particular HTML command (Content-disposition:
attachment) to force the user's browser to download a file,
will not save the file correctly. Instead of saving the file
itself (for example an MS Word document), the browser will
save the HTML source code of the page.
To avoid this problem, it's recommend that WebCT users either
do not apply service pack 1 to their Internet Explorer 5.5
installation, but instead wait for a upcoming service packs
which will resolve this problem, or switch to Netscape for
downloading files as it does not have this problem.
6. How do I populate my WebCT course with students?
If you are trying to populate a WebCT course with the students registered on a Brookes module, you should read the
instructions available here.
7. I just get an error message when
I try to use WebCT's Equation Editor
WebCT's Equation Editor is a Java Applet. For optimal use of this facility your browser
needs to be correctly configured. The WebCT browser tune up
page allows you to run a series of tests on your browser,
and will recommend adjustments if required.
Pay particular attention to the points raised within the "Prepare Your Browser Settings for WebCT" section
of the main page.
http://www.webct.com/exchange/viewpage?name=exchange_browser_tuneup
8. My students say they can't
print out my PowerPoint slides or MS Word documents
from WebCT?
To avoid this problem is to save the file to your local machine and print out as a handout e.g. 6 slides to a page, as illustarted below.
9. Student with * or +
on the Manage Students list -
Student is registered in the course but when they log on they
can't see the course?
A student may well be registered on a course and not be able
to see the course on their MyWebCT page when they log on. The
course designer will see their name in the Manage
Students list with an * or a +* next to
their name. This is due to a number of reasons, including overdue
fines, non payment of fees etc, which have meant they have been
barred access.
When they have been reinstated and allowed access to PIP, email
etc they will still not be able to log on to WebCT as they effectively
been 'orphaned'.
Synchronising with the webCT database will not help.
Deleting the student record and adding them again will work, but
it will also DELETE all their records. If they have work in WebCT
which needs to be preserved, please contact Sue
Arlow who can refresh the students WebCT ID without any risk
of deleting their records.
Please ensure that your students know that they must inform you
if they are unable to access WebCT. This is especially important
if you use WebCT for assessment purposes.
10. When I click on PowerPoint
slides or MS Word documents , I can't see the File Download
box allowing me to Open, Save or Cancel?
If you have installed the service pack 2 upgrade to Windows XP, and attempt to open either a PPT or Word file from WebCT, a blank white browser window may appear.
To solve the problem you must case you need to go to the Microsoft site and upgrade Microsoft Office.
If you can now see the File Download box, and you wish to download and print then follow the instructions in item 10.
If you cannot see the File Download box then you must reconfigure your web browser security level as follows:
Note: If you have further problems contact Media Workshop x4469
11. How do I get rid of this bar, which prevents me from downloading files?
From the toolbar at the top of your browser go to Tools>Internet Options...
Click the Security tab. Click the Trusted sites icon, now click Sites...
In the Trusted Sites window type https://webct.brookes.ac.uk in the Add this Web site to the zone text box. Click Add. Click OK.
Note: If you have further problems contact Media Workshop x4469
12. When I try to download a file I get an error message saying "The file could not be written to the cache".
This is a problem confined to Internet Explorer and is not specific to WebCT. If you encounter it, consider changing to another browser, such as Firefox.
There are two things you can do to try to solve the problem.
1. Set up WebCT as a trusted site, from Tools>Internet Options>Security>Sites... (see FAQ 11 above)
2. Configure the security settings of Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer may not be configured properly to download files in secure mode (https). In this case you will see the following message:
Note: This problem only occurs with files which require an external viewer, e.g. Word, Excel, or PDF. It does not occur with images or html that are viewed with Internet Explorer itself.
To configure Internet Explorer properly, you need to set the Do not save encrypted pages to disk option. Here is how you do it:
- Go to the Internet Explorer Tools menu
- Select Internet Options...
- Select Advanced tab
- Scroll down to Security
- Check the Do not save encrypted pages to disk option
Note: If you have further problems contact Media Workshop x4469
