WebCT Tools

The following table shows an extensive list of WebCT Tools

WebCT Tool

Examples of how this tool
is being used.

Good Teaching Principles
the tool facilitates

Learning Styles

Discussions
"I have an attendance forum where the online students are required to post a brief "attendance" message each week. I have a public forum for each major topic we cover in the course and I require the students to post a certain number of messages and/or replies to these forums. For example, I might have a forum called "Societal Issues and the Internet" where students can post their thoughts on legal and ethical issues, or post information about articles they have read that are related to the topic."

Faculty-student interaction

Student-student interaction

Rich, rapid feedback

Promotes active learning

Respects diverse learning

Verbal learners

Social learners

Textual learners

Chat "The feedback that we had from the students was that the Chat room was a *very useful* feature to keep in touch with the professor, answer questions, or plainly 'feeling like being in class.'"
"What I like most about WebCT this week, by the way, is my office hours. I used to try having office hours with webchat, and I had to keep hitting the chat button every minute or so, or I would miss someone. All I have to do is enter the chat room, turn on the

Faculty-student interaction

Student-student interaction

Diverse learning

Rich, rapid feedback

Promotes active learning

Verbal learners

Social learners

Compile
Student can compile pages from a path and create their own custom study guide.

Time on task

Organize Page
A WebCT Path
Compilation of chapter outlines.Presentation of detailed content for each "chapter" or "learning module".

Diverse learning

Communicates high expectations

Linear learners

Learner to content interactivity

Facilitates directed instruction through constructivism

Provides global picture

Advanced organizer

Mail
"…the mail tool provides the necessary private mail between students and faculty in the course. Also, having private mail inside WebCT helps to organize and store mail specific to the course instead of getting mixed up in all the other email that flows into a faculty's system."

Faculty-student interaction

Student-student interaction

Video
Run clips of writers -- poets, novelists, and dramatists -- reading and discussing their own work.
Run film clips -- for film studies, for drama studies -- to illustrate staging, directing variations, etc.

Diverse learning

Visual learners

Demonstration of techniques

Annotations
Use the Notes function to have students create their own annotations of various text or image documents posted within path pages in the course -- then have the students compile their notes and share them with the whole class. Opens a whole world of discussion regarding interpretation, how one approaches text and image, etc.

Active learning

Detailed oriented

Image Database
Use the image database to house images that the instructor has created, or where copyright is not a problem. Perfect for history classes (maps, images of current landscapes, diagrams of battlefields, architectural drawings, etc.); art and art history; cultural studies (advertising, etc)

Faculty- student interaction

Student - student interaction

Active learning

Supports visual learning

Resume Course
Put the resume session icon on the homepage so students can pickup at the last place they were in the course path pages.

Time on task

Sequential learners

Quiz
Practice quizzes
Mini "pop" quizzes
Surveys
Include graphics, charts, tables, links to other websites, streaming media, video, audio, etc.

Rich, rapid feedback

Communicate high expectations

Time on task

Faculty-student interaction

Active learning

Can direct student learning through selective release

Self Test
Practice questions
Test your knowledge questions.
At the end of a chapter or learning module, have several self-test questions, which directly test the learning objectives for that module.

Rich, rapid feedback

Communicates high expectations

Diverse learning

Can direct student learning· Allows for self-evaluation· Self-paced learners

Audio
Use sound clips of musicians, artists, poets, and writers, playing, reading and discussing their own work.

Respect diverse learning

Rich, rapid feedback

Auditory learners

Bookmark
Provide the bookmark tool on path pages so students can create their own custom shortcuts to key pages.

Time on task

Sequential learners

Self-paced learners

Calendar
Some use the calendar as the "grand central station" of their course. Outlining on each day the activities a student should be completing and directing students to course resources and external URLs.

Time on task

Concrete, sequential

Advanced organizer

Index
Build an index to cross reference key terms and concepts to the detail content within the course.

Time on task

Active learning

Global view of course contents

CD ROM
In a literature course, tie in reading of Walt Whitman (or other writers) with discussion questions and projects where resources are available either on CD-ROM or on the web.

Time on Task

Assignments
Describe written assignments, such as papers, essays, and formal lab reports in detail. The grading criteria can be given and any external materials (example of assignment, files or URLs) can be suggested.

Rich, rapid feedback. It provides a forum for extended and meaningful feedback that the student cannot lose and can access at any time

Faculty to student interaction· Time on task

Glossary
Use the glossary to define terms but also provide media, such as images, audio, etc. that will explain the term more completely. For instance if this is a foreign language course, include an audio clip, which pronounces the term correctly.

Time on task. Students can access definitions in course without stopping to thumb through notes and texts

Rich, rapid feedback

Homepage
Use the student homepages as an introductory "ice-breaker" activity so students can get to know each other.Have students list websites in their homepage that are related to the course. Students can write a brief description of the site. This is a web adaptation of an annotated bibliography.

Student to student interaction

Respects diverse learning

Link
Use the link feature to mix media on path pages. For instance in an art class, you could include the image of Vangogh's "Starry Night", an audio clip of the song, and a web link to the Vangogh museum in Amsterdam.

Time on task (helps students reach needed materials quickly)

Active learning

Links to others resources that may promote different learning styles

Facilitates guided learning

Presentations
Use the student presentation tool to let students share their own animation, audio, video -- or archival information -- if they have been able to find the materials, for instance, in hard copy form.

Faculty -student interaction

Student-student interaction

Active learning

Diverse learning

Rich, rapid feedback

Collaborative

Constructivist - provides for application of knowledge construction

Visual

Progress
Provide this tool to students so they can quickly evaluate their participation in a class.

Rich, rapid feedback

Respects diverse learning

Faculty - student interaction

Time on task

In a constructivist environment, this tool can help a student track themselves

References
Provide students with appropriate references which tap several types of media, i.e. journals, text books, websites, etc.

Respects diverse learning

Active learning

Communicates high expectations

Search
Insert the search tool on all path pages so students can easily locate topics in the course.

Time on task

Goals
List learning objectives for each path or even each path page. Tie this tool to self-test questions, which evaluate these learning objectives.

Communicates high expectations

Faculty -student interaction

Time on task

WebCT Tool	Examples of how this tool is being used.	Good Teaching Principles the tool facilitates	Learning Styles
Discussions	"I have an attendance forum where the online students are required to post a brief "attendance" message each week. I have a public forum for each major topic we cover in the course and I require the students to post a certain number of messages and/or replies to these forums. For example, I might have a forum called "Societal Issues and the Internet" where students can post their thoughts on legal and ethical issues, or post information about articles they have read that are related to the topic."	Faculty-student interaction Student-student interaction Rich, rapid feedback Promotes active learning Respects diverse learning	Verbal learners Social learners Textual learners
Chat	"The feedback that we had from the students was that the Chat room was a very useful feature to keep in touch with the professor, answer questions, or plainly 'feeling like being in class.'" "What I like most about WebCT this week, by the way, is my office hours. I used to try having office hours with webchat, and I had to keep hitting the chat button every minute or so, or I would miss someone. All I have to do is enter the chat room, turn on the	Faculty-student interaction Student-student interaction Diverse learning Rich, rapid feedback Promotes active learning	Verbal learners Social learners
Compile	Student can compile pages from a path and create their own custom study guide.	Time on task
Organize Page A WebCT Path	Compilation of chapter outlines.Presentation of detailed content for each "chapter" or "learning module".	Diverse learning Communicates high expectations	Linear learners Learner to content interactivity Facilitates directed instruction through constructivism Provides global picture Advanced organizer
Mail	"…the mail tool provides the necessary private mail between students and faculty in the course. Also, having private mail inside WebCT helps to organize and store mail specific to the course instead of getting mixed up in all the other email that flows into a faculty's system."	Faculty-student interaction Student-student interaction
Video	Run clips of writers -- poets, novelists, and dramatists -- reading and discussing their own work. Run film clips -- for film studies, for drama studies -- to illustrate staging, directing variations, etc.	Diverse learning	Visual learners Demonstration of techniques
Annotations	Use the Notes function to have students create their own annotations of various text or image documents posted within path pages in the course -- then have the students compile their notes and share them with the whole class. Opens a whole world of discussion regarding interpretation, how one approaches text and image, etc.	Active learning	Detailed oriented
Image Database	Use the image database to house images that the instructor has created, or where copyright is not a problem. Perfect for history classes (maps, images of current landscapes, diagrams of battlefields, architectural drawings, etc.); art and art history; cultural studies (advertising, etc)	Faculty- student interaction Student - student interaction Active learning	Supports visual learning
Resume Course	Put the resume session icon on the homepage so students can pickup at the last place they were in the course path pages.	Time on task	Sequential learners
Quiz	Practice quizzes Mini "pop" quizzes Surveys Include graphics, charts, tables, links to other websites, streaming media, video, audio, etc.	Rich, rapid feedback Communicate high expectations Time on task Faculty-student interaction Active learning	Can direct student learning through selective release
Self Test	Practice questions Test your knowledge questions. At the end of a chapter or learning module, have several self-test questions, which directly test the learning objectives for that module.	Rich, rapid feedback Communicates high expectations Diverse learning	Can direct student learning· Allows for self-evaluation· Self-paced learners
Audio	Use sound clips of musicians, artists, poets, and writers, playing, reading and discussing their own work.	Respect diverse learning Rich, rapid feedback	Auditory learners
Bookmark	Provide the bookmark tool on path pages so students can create their own custom shortcuts to key pages.	Time on task	Sequential learners Self-paced learners
Calendar	Some use the calendar as the "grand central station" of their course. Outlining on each day the activities a student should be completing and directing students to course resources and external URLs.	Time on task	Concrete, sequential Advanced organizer
Index	Build an index to cross reference key terms and concepts to the detail content within the course.	Time on task Active learning	Global view of course contents
CD ROM	In a literature course, tie in reading of Walt Whitman (or other writers) with discussion questions and projects where resources are available either on CD-ROM or on the web.	Time on Task
Assignments	Describe written assignments, such as papers, essays, and formal lab reports in detail. The grading criteria can be given and any external materials (example of assignment, files or URLs) can be suggested.	Rich, rapid feedback. It provides a forum for extended and meaningful feedback that the student cannot lose and can access at any time Faculty to student interaction· Time on task
Glossary	Use the glossary to define terms but also provide media, such as images, audio, etc. that will explain the term more completely. For instance if this is a foreign language course, include an audio clip, which pronounces the term correctly.	Time on task. Students can access definitions in course without stopping to thumb through notes and texts Rich, rapid feedback
Homepage	Use the student homepages as an introductory "ice-breaker" activity so students can get to know each other.Have students list websites in their homepage that are related to the course. Students can write a brief description of the site. This is a web adaptation of an annotated bibliography.	Student to student interaction Respects diverse learning
Link	Use the link feature to mix media on path pages. For instance in an art class, you could include the image of Vangogh's "Starry Night", an audio clip of the song, and a web link to the Vangogh museum in Amsterdam.	Time on task (helps students reach needed materials quickly) Active learning	Links to others resources that may promote different learning styles Facilitates guided learning
Presentations	Use the student presentation tool to let students share their own animation, audio, video -- or archival information -- if they have been able to find the materials, for instance, in hard copy form.	Faculty -student interaction Student-student interaction Active learning Diverse learning Rich, rapid feedback	Collaborative Constructivist - provides for application of knowledge construction Visual
Progress	Provide this tool to students so they can quickly evaluate their participation in a class.	Rich, rapid feedback Respects diverse learning Faculty - student interaction Time on task	In a constructivist environment, this tool can help a student track themselves
References	Provide students with appropriate references which tap several types of media, i.e. journals, text books, websites, etc.	Respects diverse learning Active learning Communicates high expectations
Search	Insert the search tool on all path pages so students can easily locate topics in the course.	Time on task
Goals	List learning objectives for each path or even each path page. Tie this tool to self-test questions, which evaluate these learning objectives.	Communicates high expectations Faculty -student interaction Time on task

WebCT Tools

WebCT Tool

Examples of how this tool is being used.

Good Teaching Principles the tool facilitates

Learning Styles

Examples of how this tool
is being used.

Good Teaching Principles
the tool facilitates