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February 2006 Colby College ITS
An Introduction to Course Pages and Forums
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Topics
• Course Pages
• Forums
• Together
What are they?
How do they work?
What can I do with them?
Am I limited by the templates?
How do they work together?
How do I get started?
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Before We Start…
A brief word from our “sponsor”…• Course pages and Forums are bundled under
Colby’s new content management system: CommonSpot
• This system promotes:– Template-driven web page development– A common “look and feel” to Colby College
academic web pages– Ease of use
• But– It does require that you learn the utility– Colby is in the business of learning…
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Course Pages
February 2006 Colby College ITS
What Are They?
• Web pages• That automatically contain:
– Course description and number– Instructor– Room assignment
• Which provide a “Blank Slate” on which to create an instructional entity for your course– Minimal OR Maximum– Template-Driven OR Personally Designed – You decide
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Naked Course Page
Title
Course Number
Schedule
Building
Instructor
February 2006 Colby College ITS
How Do They Work?
• Pull information from Registrar’s database
• Can include information created by instructor
• Can be accessed by anyone
• Intuitive URLacademics_cs/courses/coursenumber
Registrar’sDatabase
CoursePage
February 2006 Colby College ITS
What Can I Do With Them?
• As MUCH or as LITTLE as you want– Post syllabi– List Assignments– Provide additional reading lists– Create pages containing research aligned with
course– Embed audio and video– Illustrate key philosophies
• Link them to your personal web site• Link them to your directory page
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Linking Them to Your Other Pages
• At Colby, you have:– The option of a
personal web site– A directory web page– A departmental page
• You can link to and from your course page to any or all of these
• Expands the search results
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Course Page Examples
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Am I Limited to the Template?
• No
• Create your own page or pages “under” the default page– Use CommonSpot to create a personally
designed spaceOR
– Create your page in your personal space and LINK to it from the default page
February 2006 Colby College ITS
How do I Get Started?
• Contact ITS-Training– [email protected]– 859-4217
• Request a course page be created for your course(s). We will:– Create the page(s)– Schedule a tutoring session to introduce
you to CommonSpot and Course Pages– Support you as you build your first page(s)
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Forums
February 2006 Colby College ITS
What are They?
• Web pages• That automatically contain:
– A “Discussion” folder– A “Homework” drop box
• Which provide an interactive communication utility for students and faculty on topics of interest to and aligned with a course– All members can create topics and reply to topics– The instructor can create folders and grant access
to all or a subset of members for private or group discussions
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Naked Forum Page
Homework Default Folders
February 2006 Colby College ITS
How Do They Work?
• Add members from the Registrar’s database
• Are accessed through a forum ID numberfusetalk/forum/?forumid=nn
• Can be accessed only by members and the instructor
Registrar’sDatabase
CourseForum
February 2006 Colby College ITS
What Can I do With Them?
• Create and monitor discussion of– Readings– Homework– Projects
• Foster communication between students in a more informal setting than the classroom
• Use the homework drop box to securely receive online assignments
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Am I Limited by the Template?
• Yes
• You have freedom to– Post what you want– Discuss what you want– Organize the discussions as you please
• But– We are unable to change the layout or
display of the forums at this time
February 2006 Colby College ITS
How Private Are They?
• Colby’s forums are created in “standalone” format
• Only members and the instructor can “see” the forum
February 2006 Colby College ITS
How do I Get Started?
• Contact ITS-Training– [email protected]– 859-4217
• Request a forum be created for your course(s). We will:– Create the page(s)– Add your class as members– Schedule a tutoring session to introduce
you to CommonSpot and Course Pages– Support you as you build your first page(s)
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Course Pagesand
Forums
February 2006 Colby College ITS
Playing Together
Created from same
data
Course Pages Course Forums
Provides a web-based, access anywhere course information repository Can be
linked to each other
Provides an informal but secure communication tool
