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Instructor Help: Viewing Your Course Site
- What will I see when I first enter my course site?
- What is the difference between Designer Options and View?
- How can I see what my students will see?
- Why do I have to click View before I can click on my materials?
- I just added a handout to my site, but when I click on the icon all I see is a bunch of designer options. How can I view the handout?
- I added a link to my site, but when I click on the icon it doesn't take me to the new webpage. How can I test the link?
1. What will I see when I first enter my course site?
You will first see your Homepage. This is also the page that students see when they first enter your site. The Homepage contains icons for many of the basic WebCT tools: Syllabus, Discussion Board, Calendar, and a few others. You can use, rearrange, or remove these tools as desired. The Homepage also contains links that are hidden, that is, only visible to those with Designer access, usually instructors and TAs. Ecampus staff have included these links because they help instructors with setting up their page.
You will also notice a menu on the left-hand side called the Course Menu. The Course Menu contains a few quick links to course items, as well as the menu with Designer Links. You can hide the Course Menu by clicking on the green arrow to the left of Course Menu. Click on the arrow again to bring it back.
Third, you will notice two tabs near the top labelled View and Designer Options. Clicking on these tabs allows you to switch between Designer View and regular View. In Designer View, you will notice round buttons next to each item on the Homepage, and a series of designer options on the right. When you click on the View tab, these designer controls disappear and you see what a student would see.
Lastly, you will notice a menu across the very top with several options. Clicking on myWebCT will take you back to your WebCT Welcome page, with a listing of all your Ecampus courses. The Check Browser command and Help are also good links to notice. The first will help you determine if your browser is suitable for using Ecampus; the second will help you with whatever tool or item you are currently trying to use.
A typical Homepage:
2. What is the difference between Designer Options and View?
When the Designer Options tab is selected, you will see a number of buttons that allow you to customize your course site. You can add pages or tools, edit and configure existing items, remove and hide tools, or rearrange items on the page. When you want to test your materials and see how your site appears to students, you must switch out of Designer mode and into View mode. Click on the View tab at the top to switch into this mode. Sometimes you will have to click on Homepage again before you can click on the View tab.
Designer View:
Student View:
3. How can I see what my students will see?
Click on the View tab at the top of the Homepage (sometimes you have to click Homepage first, and then View). This will hide all the designer options and bring up a view much closer to what students will see. However, even in the View mode, any icons that are hidden or have conditional releases will still be visible to you; but students will not see those items when they visit the site.
Because hidden icons are still visible, the View mode only approximates the student view. If you would like to preview your site exactly as a student would see it, you can request a guest account for this purpose. Please email ecampus@humnet.ucla.edu.
4. Why do I have to click "View" before I can click on my materials?
If you click on an item while you are in Designer Options mode, Ecampus assumes you are trying to edit or change the settings for that item. You must click the View tab and switch out of Designer mode if you want to see how the item will appear to students.
5. I just added a handout to my site, but when I click on the icon all I see is a bunch of designer options. How can I view the handout?
To preview an item correctly you must switch out of Designer mode and into the View mode. Click on the View tab at the top of the page (sometimes you have to click Homepage, then View), then try clicking on the item.
6. I added a link to my site, but when I click on the icon it doesn't take me to the new webpage. How can I test the link?
To preview an item correctly you must switch out of Designer mode and into the View mode. Click on the View tab at the top of the page (sometimes you have to click Homepage, then View), then try clicking on the link.