Getting started in WebStudy®
Syllabus
Guide for Instructors
What is Syllabus? The WebStudy Syllabus is different from a
traditional syllabus, and is more accurately a Timeline in function.
It serves as an interactive timeline that you can link to course
content and activities, incorporating the information usually found
in a course schedule with other information found in the
traditional syllabus. Many students will use this as a guide to
their coursework. Dates can optionally be assigned to any or all
sessions in the timeline.
What You’ll Need: In digital form, your traditional syllabus and
weekly/by session course schedule and assignment documents.
Other things you can do: You can place content in your
WebStorium, along with creating Work2Do Assignments, Quizzes
and Exams, either before or after you create your Timeline. Refer
to the appropriate Getting Started document and the Guide for
Instructors.
Creating the Timeline – Quick Method:
1. Log into WebStudy, GO to your course and click on the
Syllabus tab.
2. Click on the Edit the timeline link.
3. Click the green Add a Session edit feather. The Add A New
Session frame will open. WebStudy will default to Show the
session to students, or you can choose to Hide the session – you
will always be able to see the session when you log in as
instructor.
4. WebStudy will default to the next session number, starting
with 1 – you can re-order or add intermediate sessions later.
5. Optionally, enter a Session date. You can add a date later,
either here or in the main Edit the Timeline frame. Note that
session order is independent of the Session date – dates are
for your and your students’ reference.
6. Scroll down and give the session a Title. Try to be descriptive
yet not too lengthy.
7. Optionally, enter a session description. This can be
something you type into the Description field, or you can cut
and paste content from your syllabus or course assignment
document. You can have your word processor and
WebStudy session open at the same time and toggle between
the two. (Hint: If you know HTML and have chosen to use
HTML in your Preferences, you can use HTML to enhance the
session text. You can also use HTML created by your word
processor or HTML application. Be careful to include all
necessary HTML tags including close codes.)
8. The The Coursework scroll boxes list all content and exercises
you have already placed or created in your course. You can
use [CTRL]-Click to select and highlight one or more
materials to link to this session. The Material lists all
content from your WebStorium placed under the Readings
tab; Exam lists all Word2Do Exams; Quiz lists all Work2Do
Quizzes; Assignments Due lists all Work2Do Assignments.
See the appropriate Getting Started in WebStudy tip sheet or
Guide for Instructors section for more information on these
functions. You can add or remove selected items from a
session at any time.
9. Scroll down and click PostIt – you will get a confirmation
message from the server and the new session will be added
to the Edit the Timeline list in the top frame.
Alternate Method:
Like many WebStudy functions, there is another way to add and
edit sessions in your Syllabus tab.
1. Once you have entered your course and clicked on the
Syllabus tab, click on the pink Edit feather to enter instructor
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Syllabus
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edit mode. You will see the green Create New Session feather,
which opens the Create Session frame in the bottom of the
window. This functions the same as in the Timeline view.
2. Each session in the Timeline has a blue Edit feather which
opens the Edit Session frame in the bottom of the window.
This functions the same as in the Timeline view.
3. Note that the quick functions of renaming, reordering, redating and showing/hiding courses are not available in this
edit view. These functions can be accessed for a particular
session through the Edit the Timeline function.
Managing Your Timeline: You can change the order of your
sessions, their titles, dates and whether students can see the
session from the Edit the Timeline page. Make your changes for
each session, and when all changes are made, click PostIt and
your course will be updated. Changing the order of one session in
the timeline will cause the timeline to re-order – that session will
be placed as you have selected, and all remaining sessions will
follow.
If you choose to Hide a session from students, that session will
display with an orange background band both in the Edit the
Timeline page and the main Syllabus page. Note: Readings and
Work2Do activities linked to a hidden session can still be accessed
though the Work2Do tab – only the session and related links are
hidden in Syllabus tab. If you are using the Hide session feature
and linking Readings and/or Work2Do activities to individual
sessions, you should turn off the Readings and/or Work2Do tab.
Students can access content in non-hidden sessions through the
links in Syllabus.
Editing Your Sessions: You can edit any session by clicking on
the appropriate blue Edit feather for the session. An Edit Session
frame similar to the Create New Session frame will appear. This
functions in the same way as the Create New Session frame, with
the addition of a Delete button to permanently remove the session
from your course.
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Syllabus
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Where do I put my traditional syllabus? You’re right, the
traditional syllabus cannot be directly placed in the WebStudy
Syllabus tab. Portions of the traditional syllabus content are
distributed in About and Expanded Syllabus if entered into
WebStudy. These are placed into your course through the Course
Admin page. See the appropriate Getting Started document or
Guide for Instructors for more information.
Many faculty members create a “Session Zero” to introduce the
course. Here they include their traditional syllabus as a Reading
and possibly additional readings or general information about the
course and online learning. You can Hide all other sessions when
the course is first open to students so they can view and print a
copy of these readings, and become familiar with the WebStudy
structure and functionality without being able to start actual
coursework. Then, activate Hidden sessions individually or in
multiples once the course has started.
Do I have to date my sessions? An online course with at least
some date-based milestones is important to effective online
learning and taking advantage of one of the strengths of learning
on line – interaction. While studying at an individual’s own pace is
attractive to many, students may be too distributed in their
learning to take advantage of interaction within the course. This
can also be a management nightmare for faculty who are not only
managing a group of students at a distance, but managing
students who are at very different points in the course.
Note: Events will only display in the WebStudy Calendar if they are
placed in the Syllabus Timeline, linked to a course session, and that
session must be dated.
What about Assignments in the timeline? An assignment is
linked to the Calendar from an individual session, which means the
session must have a date. However, there’s no way for WebStudy
to tell if this is the “start the assignment” date or the “due date,”
and the courseware is based on the Calendar display date being the
actual date of the session, where work would need to be done
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leading to the session. Establish a convention and clearly notify
your students. For instance:
- You can link the assignment to the due date, and tell the
students to begin work X days before the due date.
- You can link the assignment to an appropriate “heads up”
session, letting students know that their work is due on or
before a later session
- You can both link the assignment to an appropriate “heads
up” session, and create a separate “Assignment Due” session
that is added to the timeline ahead of the next working
session. This could link to the assignment from one or more
sessions, along with a link at the due date itself. There would
be a link in the interactive calendar for both dates in this
scenario. More than one session can be assigned to the same
date.
What about assignments not on the timeline, or content not
in WebStudy? Students will still be turning to the Syllabus
Timeline for a picture of their course. If not linked to a session,
instructors should include this information in the appropriate
course Session description. Remember, the only way to cause an
event to appear in the WebStudy Calendar is to create a dare-based
session and link that content or work to that session.
See the WebStudy Guide for Instructors, , for more information on Syllabus.
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Syllabus
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