UW Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning, Instructional Computing Services
Last Revision: 15 August, 2008; R. Hill
As of Spring 2008, we offer four choices of course management system, eCompanion,
WebCT, Course Studio, and WyoSakai, to UW instructors as supplements to campus
courses. Please start at the UW Supplemental Online Courses page:
http://www.uwyo.edu/onlnsupp
You may reach it from the Ellbogen Center page,
www.uwyo.edu/ctl/,
by clicking on "Online Supplemental Courses." We run WebCT CE 4.1, which will be available only through Spring 2009.
Both of these commercial online course platforms give instructors a website with the standard tools, reached through a browser, for a campus course, through which students can view and download course notes and materials, follow links to other websites, carry on discussions, submit work, check their grades, and take quizzes.
| Getting Started | eCompanion | WebCT |
|---|---|---|
| URL for direct access | ecampus.uwyo.edu | webct.uwyo.edu |
| How to Request | Through the same Course Request form, at the UW Supplemental Online Courses page, under "Faculty Resources" | |
| What to Tell Your Students | First, tell them clearly what platform you have chosen. "We will be using a course website on the ____ (WebCT/eCompanion/) system. Go to the OnLnSupp page, http://www.uwyo.edu/onlnsupp, follow the Student Info link on the left, and read the appropriate section of the instructions." | |
| Common Feature: User's Home Page | Lists all courses for that user, as either student or instructor. (ECompanion: Click "Academics" tab.) To enter a course, click on its name, which displays the course home page. | |
| Common Feature: Two views of a course | “Course” for students; “Author” for instructors | “View” for students; “Designer Options” for instructors |
| Initial Setup | eCompanion | WebCT |
|---|---|---|
| Seen first: Home page and announcements | Home page carries introductory text, and Announcements. Switch to Author view to write introduction or "Add Announcement" with expiration date. |
Home page carries tools you've set up, as links (icons and text)
and textblocks. For announcement, add upper or lower textblock in designer view on home page. |
| Appearance and Structure | Layout provided. Organized into units in list on left, where units can be lessons, topics, or weeks; with "Course Home" the default unit. Some course tools appear in tabs across the top. | Appearance and layout can be customized. Elements appear as links on homepage, unordered, leading to a document or course tool, or another organizer page containing more items. |
| Tools Available; Adding or Removing | To units, you add content items; a content item can be either Text or some other form of document, or a Threaded Discussion, or an Exam. | In the Control Panel, under "Add Page or Tool," you can see the list of tools which can be added to the Homepage or to an additional organizer page (also created by the instructor). |
| Written Course Materials, in General | Add a "Text" content item, and fill it in through the copy-and-paste edit window; same window is used for edit. ECompanion also accepts MS Office formats for automatic conversion to web pages, and allows download of materials of all formats. Files, contained as separate objects in the File Manager and Doc Sharing, cannot be edited onsite. | Add a page of text or HTML by itself, linked to a file in the course, or as part of a Content Module, organized like a book; all will appear in the file space. Documents of other types can be provided, for download or for opening on the client machine using client software. HTML files can be edited onsite. |
| Student Enrollment | ECompanion courses are populated and updated from UW registration data, with a time lag of a day or two, or several. | Students set up their own WebCT user accounts and add themselves to courses, according to the instructions you have directed them to (see above). |
| Particular Tools and Elements | eCompanion | WebCT |
|---|---|---|
| Syllabus | Click "Syllabus" in Course Home unit; then enter individual components or use your own completed document, uploaded. | Add Syllabus tool; then enter individual components or use your own completed document, uploaded. |
| Adding New Items and Files | Add a unit, then a content item, then attach it to the unit and enter content. If a content items is entered right there through the edit window, it does not exist as a separate file. The File Manager (under the "Course Home" unit) can be used for storage or for files offered to students through links in content items. | Add new page or tool, then connect to some file or external link. A file is uploaded first, then referenced by course tool or uploaded during the creation of a course tool. Simple textblocks and files can be entered through copy-and-paste edit windows (text or HTML). These tasks can be performed in "Manage Files." |
| Discussions | Add content item of type "Threaded Discussion." Can sort by each parameter shown, and can allow students to edit with Preferences (Course Admin tab). | Add Page or Tool-- choose "Discusson." To generate display, for printing or saving, of all responses in one file, open and select all postings and use "Compile." |
| E-Mail tool (on tab) sends to UWYO addresses; allows selection of students, but no CC, no archives, and no saving drafts for finishing later. Include yourself in the list of recipients. | E-Mail tool delivers messages internally only; nothing is sent to student's UWYO address, so students must log on to the WebCT course to receive. | |
| Collaborative Assignments |
Course Admin tab --> Group Management to select students for groups; DocSharing and Discussion both have views that are sensitive to groups. | Limited facilities: Add the "Student Presentations" tool, and create groups within it. Allocates file space for an HTML hierarchy, with each student allowed read/write access. Include a group discussion if desired. |
| Calendar | Present by default, but can be turned off with Preferences
(Course Admin tab). Allows scheduling unit and item visibility and write access. Some entries derived from other tools (such as Exams); events and notes can be added. |
Add Page or Tool-- choose "Calendar." Some entries derived from other tools (such as Quizzes); events and notes can be added. (Schedule tools by editing their settings.) |
| More Advanced Teaching Tasks | ||
| Grades | Gradebook tab; select unit from drop-down list: To enter new item, "Setup Gradebook." To enter data, "View Gradebook." |
Manage Course; Manage Students: To enter data or items, "Manage Columns." |
| Exams | Add content item of type "Exam," then click on it and enter Exam Builder. | Add Quiz tool, then click on it; add questions or select questions from database. |
| How to find more help on these tasks | "Instructions for Standard Teaching Tasks in eCompanion" (Faculty Resources at the OnLnSupp page) | "Instructions for Standard Teaching Tasks in WebCT" (Faculty Resources at the OnLnSupp page) |
The other two online course platforms are either more limited or experimental. Course Studio provides communication tools and file space, but no quizzing or grading. For an overview, see the "Faculty Help" question about the new web portal, and continue to "How To... Set Up Course Studio as an Online Supplement." WyoSakai is a full collaborative platform, for both research and teaching, highly configurable, only running at UW as a hosted pilot so far (as of August 2008, the version is 2.5.1).
| Getting Started | Course Studio | WyoSakai |
|---|---|---|
| URL for access | In your WyoWeb portal, open the "Faculty" tab. | At the Online Supplemental Courses page, follow the "Login WyoSakai" link; or
go directly to http://WyoSakai.uwyo.edu |
| How to Obtain | Provided by default for each official teaching assignment. | Submit a Course Request form |
| Common Feature: User's Home Page | In the "My Courses" channel, courses for user found on "Courses Sites" link; to enter a course, click on its name. | You will see the "MyWorkspace" site, your own personal server space. Course sites are listed across the top of the page and under "My Sites"; to enter a course, click on its name, |
| Different views of course | Views are same on Course Tools; instructors have all Content Tools, as well as the Configuration Tools section. Students who have been delegated privileges on a Content Tool will see it. | No specific student view. Screen appearance same for students, but tools provided may be limited and do not include editing options. Note: Students will be able to create their own collaborative sites (that is, to submit requests for sites). |
| Initial Setup | Course Studio | WyoSakai |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance and Structure | Layout provided (same as portal Groups). List on left links to Announcements, Files, News, Photo, Links, Message Board, and other course tools, and also configuration menus. Middle column contains Announcements and Message Board, if they are in use; not configurable beyond that. | Appearance and layout can be customized by the institution and further by the instructor. We are using the default fixed three-column layout. List on left shows course tools in use. |
| Adding or Removing Tools | To see what's available, and add or remove: In the Configuration Tools --> Applications |
To see what's available, and add or remove: Site Editor --> Edit Tools |
| Written Course Materials, in General | Upload to Files, in any format that can be opened by your students with a client application, such as plain text; HTML; Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office applications; and PDF. | Use the "Resources" tool for directories and files. HTML files can be edited onsite.
Easy upload through WebDav-- see below. Resources can be links to other Sakai elements on the same server (such as in your Workspace). Folders and files can have access privileges and release dates. |
| Student Enrollment | Automatically populated from Registrar's data. Students appear in the list of "Members" No, we can't control the goofy ordering. | Students set up their own WyoSakai guest accounts and add themselves to courses, according to the instructions to which you have referred them. You (the instructor) then change role to "student." |
| Particular Tools and Elements | Course Studio | WyoSakai |
|---|---|---|
| Syllabus | Upload the syllabus as a file, as described below. (There is no special-purpose Syllabus tool.) | Add syllabus tool; then enter individual components or use your own, uploaded. |
| Adding New Items and Files | Use "Manage Files" (in the Content Tools) to upload files of all types to the course, and organize with subfolders. Search function provided. File size severely limited (20Mb each, 100Mb total). | Set up a Network Place (in Windows) to drag folders and files into course Resources through WebDAV, or upload individually. Files launch client apps. |
| Announcements | Shown on home page. Expire in one week, then deleted. No archive. | Announcements tool. Can set time span and other options. Can merge announcements from other site (a different course) into current one. Group-aware. |
| Discussions | Message Board tool | Discussion Forums tool or Forums tool |
| E-Mail tool allows selection of members, but the list is ordered in an odd fashion. "Draft" and "Save" options do not work. | Messages tool or Mailtool. And note that a single address is provided automatically for sending to the whole class (all members); these messages are archived in the E-Mail tool area itself. | |
| Collaborative Assignments |
Delegate management authority (with the "Member" tool) to groups formed in class, for sharing News, Photos, and Links. Or request a portal Group for a student collaboration. | Site Editor --> Manage Groups Also: Grant access to outside guest instructors by e-mail address, in Site Editor --> Add Participants. Guests will be e-mailed passwords to Sakai server enabling entry to your course site only. |
| Calendar | Use the tool here, in the course, or the WyoWeb Calendar. | Schedule tool |
| Grades | None | Gradebook tool |
| Exams | None | Tests and Quizzes tool; includes a quick-create that forms questions from pasted text and extensive settings. |
| Final Prep | ||
| Where to find more details | "Instructions for Standard Teaching Tasks Using Course Studio in WyoWeb" (Faculty Resources at the OnLnSupp page) | See Faculty Resources for references to documentation, or the extensive Help pages (question-mark button) on your WyoSakai worksite. |
| What to tell your students | "Log in to the WyoWeb portal and go through the My Courses channel to the site for this course. For more details, see the Online Supplemental Courses page, Student Info." | "We are using WyoSakai, a pilot program at UW. Create your own account and join this course. See the Online Supplemental Courses page, Student Info, for instructions." |
| ICSL 1001-01 ICSL 1001-02 |
Instructors: Doctor Schmoctor (schmoctor), Preachy Teachy (teachy) Students: Judy Jetson (jjetson), George Jetson (gjetson), Barney Rubble (brubble), Wilma Flintstone (wflintstone) |