WebCT Presentation Tool

Helping Students Get Started

The student view of the Presentations tool is somewhat different from that of the instructor. Students must go through a series of command screens to upload their presentations.

You can think of each "group" as a common folder where students can share documents. You can also create an individual "group" for each student that is essentially their own personal folder.

The most important point to make with students is that they must have an index page (index.html). This page contains the links to other web pages and/or documents. These documents should be linked back to the index.html file. The index page must be saved and uploaded as index.html in order for WebCT to recognize it and use it as the entry to the group's presentation area for you and other students.

Some faculty create this page for their students (or have us at UHCL WebCT support create it for them) and then have their students save it and upload it to their folder. If you need assistance email us at webctsupport@uhcl.edu.

Student instructions for the Presentation area:

1. Click on the link to the Presentations tool in the navigation bar.
   
2. Students will then see a listing of all the groups in the course. In this case there is a group or "folder" for each student in this class. There could just as easily be fewer groups with multiple students.

   The group that this student belongs to is evident because there is an Edit Files option next to the group (or student folder) name.

   You will also notice on this image that the description is a hyperlink. That means this group has uploaded an index.html file already so that it's ready for viewing.

   
3. Click on the Edit Files link.
4. The student can then view an interface for managing files. Notice that it looks the same as the Manage Files option for the course but only the folder for that group is visible and accessible to the student.
   

    

5. The first task for students is to create and upload an index.html file. We will assume the student already has an index.html file on their desktop, ready to upload. To upload a file into WebCT, click on Upload on the Actions menu .
6. Use the Browse button to navigate to the file you want to upload from your computer.
   
7. Click once on the desired file in the Choose File window then click Open.
8. When you see the path to the file in the Filename box, click Upload.
   
9. You should then see the group's folder area with the new file added to the list of files.
   
10. To view presentation documents, go back to the group list page and click the hyperlinked text under the description field. The description text will only be a hyperlink if the index.html file has been loaded. Below is an example index.html page that links to other documents in the student folder.
    

Notes about Instructing Students in Presentations Tool

• File names should NOT contain spaces or any special characters. Using a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -, and _ should be fine.
• Each time students add files to their presentations folder they need to remember to create a link to the files in their index pages. Then the index page (or any other page to which they desire to make changes) should be uploaded again. WebCT will ask whether it should overwrite the old file with the same name. Students should choose to Overwrite.
• If students know HTML already, the presentations folder management and creation of links is relatively easy and consistent with general web development principles.
• If HTML is not a prerequisite or a skill you desire to teach, students can easily create their presentations in most productivity software (i.e., Word, Excel) then choose the option to Save As Web Page. Students can build presentations on their desktops with links to other files then upload all the files to WebCT and the links should still work.
• If students are working in groups, other students in the group can download files from the presentations area to edit then upload the modified file to WebCT.
• Converting PowerPoint presentations to web pages is more complicated than converting word processing documents. Additional information is available from the ITC if you would like students to use PowerPoint in their projects as web pages.