WebCT Vista has been retired as of June 30, 2008. LATTE is now Brandeis University's only online learning environment.
Log into LATTE here.
As of Summer 2008, all courses at Brandeis now use LATTE. If you are an instructor who previously used WebCT and have questions about your WebCT course content, please contact LATTE Help at (781) 736-5883 or latte@brandeis.edu.
For those getting started in LATTE, Library & Technology Services offers regular workshops and assistance at the Faculty Resource Center.
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Best Practices, for Faculty
Course Management Systems, such as WebCT Vista, offer you the opportunity to address multiple learning styles and ensure that your students are keeping up with your course. In order to get the most out of such online materials, the first step is to learn about what is possible and how you think you might take advantage of features like asynchronous class communication on discussion boards, electronic submission of assignments, practice tests to allow students to prepare for the exam at their own pace, among others. To take full advantage of these features, you may need to make some adjustments to your way of leading a class, which will in turn make the online teaching/learning experience a positive one both for you and your students. Some of these changes are minor; some of them may take a little time to become second nature.
Some of your peers have made successful transitions, and they often credit the success to a few techniques:
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applying reflective listening techniques into online environments (e.g., paraphrasing responses in discussion threads, leading questions that prompt others to respond directly to a student's post)
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peer reviewing projects - particularly when some initial ground rules are set - helps instill a sense of an authentic audience and can often lead to valuable feedback
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posting a prompt in the discussion board to help focus the next class's in-class discussion, often leading to lively online and in-class discussions
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significant and clear directions that define class expectations in the online environment
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carefully controlled pace of content (hiding material after a certain period of time, making quizzes available/unavailable, requiring completion of one unit before going on to the next, etc.)
The material on this page includes some specific and non-specific tips for using Vista features effectively in your class.
Contents
Clarity
Setting class expectations happens online as well as in the first few meetings in the classroom. A couple of clear principles and rules can help set the tone and direction for online interactions.
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Set rules to create a friendly environment. Take immediate action to unkind or untoward communication.
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Provide feedback as frequently as possible. Feedback in exceptional courses is generally characterized by timeliness, though perhaps delivered in a variety of ways (discussion board responses, personal email, in-class verbal encouragement, as well as the traditional, formal comments on student and group papers and projects, etc.).
Communicating: Discussion boards, Chat rooms
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Define the purpose or objective of each discussion. This will help members stay on a specific topic.
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Use a calendar to post start and end dates for specific discussion topics. If you have a scheduled chat event, post that as an announcement and on the calendar.
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Encourage reflective thinking and ongoing discussions by avoiding questions that lead to "right" and "wrong" answers.
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For traditional campus courses, consider making online discussions a part of the student's grade. Rahter than as a supplement, you might consider offering online discussion posts as a substitute for traditional class participation grade, by making a certain number and quality/depth of postings each week a class requirement. For completely online courses, clearly specify the participation requirements in the syllabus.
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Reply to student postings and prompt your students to go deeper than mere opinions or surface answers. Have students support their arguments with facts and supportive data when available.
Continuity
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Promote continuity by answering email promptly, asking open-ended questions in bulletin board discussions, and posting to discussions frequently.
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Organize your content into clear units (e.g., "Week 2: Consecutive Waw in Poetry" or "Topic 4: SPSS Data Querying Techniques"), particularly if you can use these units to guide the flow, direction of the class.
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Bring the physical world into the virtual one. Use graphics, sound bytes and digital video to create a sense of "place" and to appeal to the diverse learning styles of your students.
Community
Make sure it is easy to identify participants. A very useful first exercise online would be to have a discussion thread in which student have to respond to a prompt which helps introduce them to one another.
One benefit of using Vista is to treat the issues that arise as a consequence of the unofficial "shopping" period: not all students have the textbook, not all students are present at each of the sessions, the official enrolled students of the class is in a state of flux. Use WebCT to drive the first few meetings' worth of readings, assignments, expectations. It will be worth the initial effort!
Vista Best Practices
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Prepare your discussion posts offline, and then paste them online.
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Post PDFs, not MS-Word or MS-Powerpoint files; Microsoft products have historically had inconsistencies between versions.
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When generating HTML files, avoid using the MS-Word "convert to Web page" option; there are some significant issues with the HTML that is produced.
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Plan out your course before the semester begins, defining how and where students should go to keep on top of the course.
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Organize your discussion threads. You may want to take advantage of the feature of Vista that allows you to put a link to the relevant thread within that unit's folder.
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Use the course calendar tool to help your students keep track of upcoming assignments, projects.
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Remind your students, if it's applicable, that Brandeis is on Eastern time (GMT - 05:00)
Trends in Online Course Research
Research in online instruction reminds us that the following characteristics must be present in learning environment for programs to be successful:
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adequate motivation
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opportunities for learners to collaborate and interact
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a variety of delivery methods
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user-friendly technology
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active and participative instructors
