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The University of Texas at Dallas
 
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Need Assistance?
Contact the UTD Helpdesk at
972-883-2911 or assist@utdallas.edu



Students



What is WebCT?

WebCT is an online course management system that many professors on campus use with their classes. If your professors choose to use WebCT, they may post lecture notes, PowerPoints, or supplemental materials for the class. They may also require that you participate in online discussions, submit assignments online, or take tests and quizzes online.


How Do I Get Help with WebCT?

Students have several options for getting assistance with WebCT.

  • Contact the UTD Helpdesk
  • Click on the Student Tutorial course in WebCT
    • Contains online tutorials and online help files
    • Discussion tool gives you a place to post questions and read responses
  • Click the Getting Started link on the home page of most courses in WebCT
  • Student Guide to WebCT6


How Do I Log In to WebCT?

The easiest way to access WebCT is from Galaxy ( http://galaxy.utdallas.edu). After you log into Galaxy, click the WebCT link on the left side of the screen under Self-Service links.

You may also access WebCT 6 courses via the following URL: http://webct6.utdallas.edu/webct

This URL will work even if Galaxy is down or not functioning properly.


User ID/Password

You will use your normal NetID and password. Remember, you must change your password at least once a year. Make sure that your password is not expired. If it is, you will not be able to log into WebCT. You can change your password at http://netid.utdallas.edu/. The Helpdesk can help you if you have difficulties resetting your password.


Accessing course materials

When you log into WebCT CE6, you will see your WebCT 6 courses listed at the top. Your professor may have arranged your course a little differently than you have seen before, so you need to give yourself some time to explore your courses at the beginning of the semester.


Navigating in Courses

Click on the course you want to access. When the course opens, you will probably see icons on the right side of the page and a course menu on the left side of the page.

Click on the item you want to open. Course tools such as the Discussion and Syllabus tools are on the course menu. You can access them from anywhere in the course by clicking on them on the course menu.


Course Tools

You may see different tools enabled in different classes. Your professor chooses which tools to enable or disable in the class. If you do not see a tool in a particular class, please talk to your professor about it. The eLearning team will not enable tools in classes unless the professor requests it.



WebCT CE 6 Tutorials
Flash Player required to view Tutorials

Setting up your browser
Logging in
Syllabus
Announcements
Discussion Board
Calendar
Accessing Course Materials
WebCT Mail
Chat
Groups
Submitting assignments
Quizzes/exams
My Grades
Instant Messaging
Help

Setting up your browser

View Tutorial

  1. In order to access all of the features of your course, your browser must be configured correctly. For instance, if you have a pop-up blocker enabled, you will not be able to view the lectures. Without the most recent version of Java installed, you will not be able to use the chat function. Most of the technical support calls that are received are resolved by going through this step.
  2. Go to http://webct6.utdallas.edu
  3. Select “The University of Texas at Dallas”.
  4. Click on “Check Browser”.
  5. WebCT will determine if your browser is set up correctly. If anything needs attention, you should access the “Browser Tune-up Page” and follow the step-by-step instructions provided.
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Logging in

  1. To log in, go to the http://webct6.utdallas.edu
  2. Click “Log In”
  3. Type your UTD NetID in the “User Name” field and your password in the “Password” field and click "OK".
  4. The first screen that you will see is the “My WebCT Page”. This page contains a list of all of your courses. Click on the course name to access it.
  5. If you have any issues accessing your course, contact the help desk at assist@utdallas.edu or 972-883-2911.
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Syllabus

View Tutorial

  1. Under “Course Tools”, select “Syllabus”.

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Announcements

View Tutorial

  1. Under “Course Tools”, select “Announcements” You will see a green asterisk when there is a new announcement.

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Discussion Board

View Tutorial

  1. Under “Course Tools”, select “Discussions”. You will see a green asterisk when there is a new discussion posting.
  2. Select the posting you would like to read.
  3. You may reply to the message by selecting “Reply”
  4. Type your message and select “Post”.
  5. To compose a new message, select “Discussions from the “Course Tools” menu.
  6. Determine which topic you would like to post your discussion posting under.
  7. Select “Create Message”.
  8. Type your message and select “Post”.
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Calendar

View Tutorial

  1. Select “Calendar” from the “Course Tools” menu.
  2. Select the date that you would like to view.
  3. If you would like to make a note on the date, select “Add Entry”.
  4. Give your entry a title.
  5. Select the dates the entry will take place.
  6. Select if you would like the entry to be private, so only you can see it, or public, so the rest of the class can see it. This option may not be enabled in all courses.
  7. Select “Save”
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Accessing Course Materials

View Tutorial

  1. Course materials consist of multimedia lectures, documents, self quizzes, graded tests, exercises, and optional downloads. There are two ways to access course materials.
  2. Select “Course Content” To view a map of the course, select the “expand” button to the right of “Course Content”.
  3. Select the icon to open up the course material.
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WebCT Mail

  1. This tool can only send and receive emails from within the course.
  2. Select “Mail” from the “Course Tools” menu.
  3. To write a message, select “Create Message”
  4. Browse for recipients and select “Save”.
  5. Type in a subject and the body of the message
  6. You may add an attachment by selecting the “add attachment” button.
  7. Browse for the file and upload it
  8. Select “Send”.
  9. To read a message, select it. You will see a green asterisk on the “Course Tools” menu when you receive a new email.
  10. You can reply to and forward the email by selecting the button in the bottom row.
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Chat

  1. In order to use this tool, all who would like to participate in the chat must be logged on at the same time.
  2. Select “Chat” from “Course Tools”
  3. Select the chat room you would like to enter.
  4. Type in the lower box and select “Send”
  5. The conversation appears in the box directly above where you typed the text.
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Groups

  1. If your professor has assigned you to a group, you will have a discussion board area that only the group members can access. Additionally, you may have access to a private chat room. These tools are explained in more detail in the “Discussion Board” and “Chat” sections.
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Submitting assignments

  1. To submit an assignment, click on the “Assignment” link.
  2. Type in a short description of the assignment, and select “Add Attachment”.
  3. Browse for and select the file.
  4. Add a comment if desired.
  5. Select “Submit”
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Quizzes/exams

  1. Select “Assessments”
  2. Select the quiz or test.
  3. Read the instructions and select “Begin Assessment”
  4. For each question, select the most appropriate answer and select “save answer”. You may also select “Save All” at the end of the assessment. If you do not save your answers, your response will be recorded as blank.
  5. Select “Finish”.
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My Grades

View Tutorial

  1. If your professor enables the option, you may access your grades by selecting “My Grades”.
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Instant Messaging

View Tutorial

  1. If the professor enables this option, you may instant message anyone who is logged on to your WebCT course when you are.
  2. Select “Who’s Online”
  3. Select the person you would like to chat with and select “Send Chat Invitation”
  4. If the person accepts the invitation, you will be able to participate in a real-time instant message-style chat session.
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Help

View Tutorial

  1. The WebCT Help menu is set up so that when you click “Help”, you will receive information specific to the page you are on.
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Making your computer work with WebCT 6

Supported Browsers and Operating Systems

There are a few things you will need to configure to make your computer work efficiently with WebCT 6.

  1. Disable any pop up blockers for http://webct6.utdallas.edu. (instructions)
  2. If you are using Internet Explorer, add http://webct6.utdallas.edu to your trusted sites list. (instructions)
  3. Make sure you have ONE, AND ONLY ONE Java Runtime Environment installed, and that it passes the browser check WebCT runs when you log in. (instructions)