See Also

• Login page
• Off-Campus access to resources
• WebCT workshops
• Electronic grading
• Faculty Resource Center

 

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.

Using WebCT Vista's Discussions

The discussions interface is a flexible set of tools that allow you to customize how discussions work inside WebCT Vista. The Discussions Course Tool, for instance, doesn't need to be activated in order for students to be able to access a single discussion topic (which is one way, for instance, to plan future discussion topics without releasing them to your students). This document explains how to create discussion topics, activate the discussion tool, and grade discussions.

• Activate the Discussions Course Tool
• Create a Discussion Topic
  
  • Step 1: Place a Discussion Topic Inside the Course
  • Step 2: Fill out the Settings and Options
• Post to a Discussion Topic
  
  • Step 1: Click on the button "Create Message"
  • Step 2: Use the Discussion Interface to Post a Response
  • Step 3: Click "Post" to Post the message
• Attaching Files to Discussion Posts
  
  • Step 1: Click on "Add Attachments".
  • Step 2: In the My Files file browser window, click on "Upload File" to choose a file from your computer.
  • Step 3: Click on "Browse ", then click "Save" to upload it.
  • Step 4: Press "Add Selected" to attach the file to the assignment.
• Grade Student Posts to a Discussion Topic
  
  • Step 1: In the Teach tab, click on the Discussion topic
  • Step 2: Click the "Grade Discussions" button
  • Step 3: Click on the student name in the center frame to see all of that student's posts; enter a value in the left frame to grade each

Deciding how to use the Discussions

The Discussions Course Tool doesn't need to be activated in order for students to be able to access a single discussion topic (which is one way, for instance, to plan future discussion topics without releasing them to your students).

In this example, readings are grouped by week and there is a particular discussion topic (and assignment) related to these readings that also appear in the organizer page. That is, rather than having your students figure out which discussion topic is the correct one and what assignment is due after reading this material, the links have been placed inside an organizer page called "Week 1 Work" for ease of use.

Notice also, in this example, that the student can access all the discussion topics by clicking the "Discussions" button in the Course Toolbar (which appears right below the name of the class).

Activate the Discussions Course Tool

There are at least two different ways that you can use discussions in WebCT Vista. You may want to display to your students - in the traditional listserve display - a series of topics that a student can peruse, review what others have written, and post. Alternately, you can choose to choose to release topics as you see fit. (Of course, you can also choose to do both or some combination.)

If you choose to allow students to view all of the topics that have been made visible to them, you'll need to add the Discussions to the list of course tools. To do so, go to the "Build" tab, and confirm that the Discussions tool is inside (and not above, in the grey area) the white area in the top. If it is, that means it is accessible to your students. To add it, click on that tool and it will activate it.


To remove the tool from the Course Tools display area, click on the tool and choose "Remove."

From the left toolbar, click on "Discussion". Then, click on Create Discussion Topic.

Step 2: Fill out the Settings and Options

Upon creating a discussion topic, you'll be presented with the "Create Discussion Topic" screen. On this screen, you'll have the following options:

• Topic Title: what the student's will see
• Description: an area that can be used to prompt the discussion or provide helpful tips before beginning the discussion
• Grading Options
  
  • Grade Book Column Title (what appears in your grade book)
  • Numeric/Alphanumeric grade (whether to assign numbers or text, such as "Check plus")
  • Total value (for numeric grades)
• Category: If you decide to reveal the discussions course tool, you may want to categorize discussion threads (e.g., text analysis, open ended forum, etc.)

Please note that you can use HTML code inside the Description area, such as ‹i›Text to be italicized‹/i› ; ‹b›text to be bold-faced‹b›.

Step 1: In the Teach tab, click on the Discussion topic

Please remember that grading can only happen in the Teach tab.

Step 2: Click the "Grade Discussions" button

Once you are in the Teach tab, inside a gradable topic, you should see a button to "Grade Discussions" in the top right hand corner of the Vista class. Click on the "Grade Discussions" button to open the Grade Discussions interface.

Step 3: Evaluate and grade their responses.

Click on the student name in the center frame to see all of that student's posts; enter a value in the left frame to grade each student.

This page was last modified on: May 11, 2007