The following
guidelines are to help you start using WebCT.
The following
guidelines are to help you get started with WebCT.
How Do I Know My Global Login ID and Password?
You will assign yourself
a Global Login ID and a password only once.
You will then log on using the login and password you assign to
yourself. If you forget your password,
you must have it reset at the DABCC registration desk.
Here are the
steps in assigning yourself a Global Login ID.
1.
Go to the Pin Request page at the WebCT homepage: http://salsa.nmsu.edu/
2.
Click on the phrase in the middle of the screen that says “Create
Your NMSU Global LoginID & Password”.
3.
Follow the on-screen instructions for getting your login and
password.
Once you know
your Global Login ID and password, you are ready to begin. But a word of warning: Guard them well –
they will be the entry into all of your WebCT courses. Follow these steps to gain access to your
WebCT courses:
1.
Go to http://salsa.nmsu.edu
2.
Type in your
Global login Id and Password in the appropriate dialogue boxes.
3.
You will see a
list of courses to which you have been added.
You can gain access to any course by clicking on the title.
4.
Once you are
in a course and want to return to your “my webct” page, which lists all of your
courses, click on the “mywebct” link that is in the upper right hand corner of
the webct screen.
Logging Out
Browsers
remember id’s and passwords! If you are
using WebCT in a computer lab, be sure to close the browser and log completely
out of the session when you are done.
If you have been logged on to WebCT and leave the browser running, the
next person who uses your machine can log on to WebCT using your ID and
password. They might not even notice
they are logged in as you and turn in work, take exams, send email, and make
discussion postings – all under your name.
Before you begin
using WebCT, you need to check your browser to make sure that certain settings
have been made. A number of WebCT
features are based on Java scripting, and they will not work if Java is not
enabled on the browser the individual is using. And if the browser’s cache is not cleared every time the page
displays, changes to the page will not appear.
To check the java scripting and cache settings, use the tables
below. You can also click on this link
and go through the online instructions to check your browser settings:
What Browsers Can I Use?
·
Netscape
(current version)
·
Internet
Explorer (current version) (EXLORER WORKS BETTER THAN NETSCAPE)
What Browser Settings Are Necessary?
If you don’t
know what version of a browser you are using, click the Help button in the menu
bar and in the drop down box, click About Internet Explorer or About
Netscape.
To check to see
if the browser on your computer is ok to use with WebCT, click on the “test
your browser” link on the salsa.nmsu.edu homepage. You will see it in the lower right-hand part of the screen. You will probably have to scroll to find it.
Once you are
sure that the browser you are using is all right to use with WebCT, you will
need to check some settings in it to make sure that Javascript is enabled and
whether the cache clears on each visit to the page. You may need to change browser settings. To do that, use the instructions below.
Set the browser to enable Javascript
|
Browser |
Directions |
|
Netscape
Communicator Preference is Navigator 4.05 and higher |
Go to Edit
> Preferences. Choose Advanced. Make sure the Enable
Java and Enable Javascript boxes are selected. Click on OK |
|
Internet
Explorer Preference is
IE 5 and higher (except for 5.5, SP 1) |
If you are
using IE 5 and above, the default settings for Javascript are probably all
right. If you are
using earlier versions of IE, you might need to change the Javascript
settings. To do that, go to Tools
> Internet Options. Choose the Advanced tab. From the
long list of options find the Microsoft VM label (might be listed as Java
VM) and from there make sure that boxes for Java console enabled and Java
logging enabled are selected. Click OK. Restart your computer if you checked the Java console enabled
box. |
Set the cache to always reload a page.
|
Browser |
Directions |
|
Netscape 4.5
and higher but NOT Netscape 6) |
Select Edit
> Preferences. Click on the + sign next to Advance to see more
options. Click on Cache, and then in the radio button next to "Every
Time". Click OK. |
|
Internet
Explorer 5 |
Select
Tools > Internet
Options. Choose the General tab. In the section titled
Temporary Internet Files, select the radio button next to Every Visit to the
Page. Click OK. |
Use this link for a list of FAQ’s and answers
http://ict.nmsu.edu/%7Etraining/webct_student_support.html
Special Notes for AOL Users
AOL Users: If
you use American Online (AOL) for web access, you will need the AOL version 4.0
or higher client software and the Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher browser. WebCT does not recommend that you use
earlier versions of the AOL client with earlier version of IE, as you will have
problems accessing many of the WebCT features.
Extremely Important: Do not use the AOL browser! Connect with AOL, but then minimize it and use the other browser.
AOL has supplied stripped down versions of IE and Netscape. People have problems with WebCT when they do
not have the full version of the accepted browsers!!
For best results
with AOL, WebCT recommends the following:
1.
Connect to the
Internet using AOL version 4.0 or higher.
2.
Open a private
chat within AOL (not necessary, but this allows the AOL client to remain open
without messages asking you if you wish to disconnect once the session is
minimized).
3.
Minimize the AOL session.
4. Launch a recommended browser.
File Sharing and Compatibility
Save all
WordPerfect, Works and/or MS Word files as “rich text format” files (.rtf).
1. Click on the “File” drop down menu
2. Drop down the menu at the bottom of the screen that allows you to choose the file type in which you want to save your file
3. Choose “rich text format” or “.rtf”.
Save all documents in this format so that when you send a file, the person on the other end will be able to read it regardless of word processing program and/or version of word processing program.