Getting Started
- Where should I begin?
- How do I change my personal information on the website?
- How do students log on to the website?
- What's the best way to give students these instructions?
- What are the "Settings" about?
Essential Features
- What can I do with the class list in CCNet?
- How do I post handouts and other documents?
- Can I create a list of links to other resources on the web?
- How do I send an email announcement to my students?
- Can I change an announcement that has been posted?
- Who can post announcements and/or send emails to the class email list?
- How does the bulletin board feature work?
- What are activity logs?
Teaching Assistants and Tutorial Sections
- How do I get my TAs onto the website?
- Should I give my TAs full or limited access?
- How do I prepare for online tutorial signup?
(Note: only for courses that do tutorial signup through CCNet)
- How do students sign up for tutorial sections?
- Can I change the titles of the tutorial sections?
Managing Grades in CCNet
- Setting Up the Grading Feature
- Changing the Attributes of an Assignment
- Entering Grades
- To View Grade Statistics
- Calculating Final or Other Derivative Grades
- Other Options on the Grading Screen:
- Downloading class data from CCNet
Dealing With Student Problems
- One of my students got a message saying, "ERROR: Your student number is not in the class list," but the student is registered for the course.
- One of my students got a message saying, "ERROR: Not a valid student number" when they tried to log in.
- What about students who forget their passwords?
Working With CCNet
- I have several courses with CCNet websites. Do I need to log in to each one separately?
- Is using CCNet in my course going to save time or create more work?
Getting Started
- Where should I begin?
- When the website (or your staff profile) was created you received an email notification with:
- the URL (address) of the course website
- your login name
- your password
- Write down the URL for your records, then click on it to go to the website.
- On the left side menu, click the "INSTRUCTORS" link.
- Enter your login name and password.
- You will see the Main Menu, from which you access all CCNet functions.
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- How do I change my personal information on the website?
- From the Main Menu select "Personal Profile"
- Modify your personal information, office hours, photo etc.
- click on the "Save Changes" button
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- How do students log on to the website?
- From the main course website, select "Students" from the left side menu.
- The first time students log they must register by:
- entering their student number (for identification)
- creating a password (for security)
- entering their date of birth (to allow verification if needed)
- providing a valid email (for communication with instructors and fellow students)
- specifying if they wish to receive emails ("Yes" is strongly recommended)
- They can then log in using their student number and password.
- Note: If you want to see what this looks like, a copy of these instructions, complete with screen shots, is available online as a PDF file (615kb). A Powerpoint simulation is also available for download (2.5Mb).
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- What's the best way to give students these instructions?
As an instructor you have several options for informing students about these instructions:
- Give instructions orally in class.
You might even provide an abbreviated version so students can write them down more quickly, e.g. Go to website / click "Students" / Register / Log In / Personal Profile / "Change"
- Use overhead transparencies.
NOTE: A copy of the overheads in PDF format is available online, should you wish to download and print it yourself.
- Point students to the web
Refer students to the Student Support section.
- Do a PowerPoint slide show
There is a PowerPoint presentation available that simulates a live internet connection. You can download it from the website (2.5 Mb - a big file)
- Live presentation by staff
Depending on staff availability, it may be possible to have someone come to your class and explain CCNet to your students. Staff time is limited, so this option is reserved for large classes that will be using CCNet for tutorial signup. The in-class presentation will likely be much like one of the first two options above, so you are strongly encouraged to do the presentation yourself.
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- What are the Settings about?
By choosing "Settings" from the Main Menu you can
- Change the course code and title that appear in the top left corner of the website
- Provide the URL for an alternative (e.g. an existing) webpage that will appear in the main window when people first visit the website.
- Specify whether handouts are available to all visitors or only registered students
- Acitvate / deactivate the section assignment feature, the bulletin board, and several other options.
- Add new links that will appear in the left side menu.
Essential Features
- What can I do with the class list in CCNet?
- The class list is really at the heart of a CCNet course website. At a glance it shows total course enrolment, individual student registration status, email contact information, and section assignments (where applicable).
- From the Main Menu, the "Students" option allows you to search for specific students, add students to the list, or view the list - either in its entirety or, if applicable, any section(s) of it.
- Any view of the list can be sorted by student number or alphabetically by first or last name.
- Selection boxes appearing to the left of student names permit you to select individual students for emailing, deletion, or whatever function is currently being used.
- The class list is used whenever you send email messages, enter grades, or assign tutorial sections.
- Clicking directly on any email address in a list opens a new message to that student.
- Clicking on a student's name opens an individual profile, including all personal details (student number, email, section assignments, etc.) and any grades that have been entered for that student. With appropriate access permission, any of this information can be edited directly here.
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- How do I post handouts and other documents?
- From the Main Menu select "Course Handouts", then "Post a New Handout"
- Enter the document title that you would like to appear on the website.
- Select a category, if you choose to subdivide your handouts
(e.g. lecture outlines, assignments).
- To upload a file from your computer, click the "Browse" button and find the file.
- You have the option of indicating start and/or end dates for when any given handout should be available online (e.g. a quiz that appears for a limited time; lecture outlines that appear progressively over the semester, etc.)
- Click "Submit" to upload the file.
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- Can I create a list of links to other resources on the web?
- Yes. The procedure is exactly the same as uploading documents, except that you specify web addresses (URLs) instead of file names.
- Note that, just like handouts, web links can be organized by grouping them into categories, e.g. online journals, image sources, document collections, etc.
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- How do I send an email announcement to my students?
- As students log on to the website their emails are automatically collected and organized for easy and efficient communication.
- From the Main Menu select "Announcements" and "Post a New Announcement"
- Type the subject and body of the message like any other email.
- Indicate where the message should be posted and/or sent.
- If desired, you can select specific teaching staff, students, sections, or any combination of the above to receive the message. (e.g. TAs can send a message to all their sections, instructors can contact their TAs, etc.)
- When finished, click "Submit This Announcement"
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- Can I change an announcement that has been posted?
- Yes, within limits. From the Main Menu select "Announcements" and "View/Edit/Remove Announcements"
- Any messages posted on the website can be modified. Alas emails, once sent, can never be retrieved.
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- Who can post announcements and/or send emails to the class email list?
- The announcement feature, since it entails full access to student email information, is only available to teaching staff.
- There is, however, an option under Settings which can allow students to use the mass email feature as well, though in a more limited form. At the instructor's discretion, this might be appropriate for something like a senior seminar.
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- How does the bulletin board feature work?
- If the announcement feature is for instructors to communicate with students, the bulletin board is where students can communicate with each other.
- Messages posted on the bulletin board are stored for other participants to read, using sophisiticated tools that allow messages to be sorted in a variety of ways: by date, discussion thread, read/unread status, etc.
- All messages are automatically "stamped" with the date and the name of the sender. They cannot be sent anonymously.
- Instructors can choose to participate or not, but it is probably wise to pay at least some attention to the kind of interaction that is happening on the bulletin board.
- The instructor always maintains full control over the bulletin board, including the ability to view, hide, or delete any current or past messages, and even to turn off the bulletin board completely (under Settings).
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- What are activity logs?
- Activity logs serve a variety of pedagogical and security functions. Students can view their own logs, while instructors can see the activities of all students and, depending on access levels, other staff.
- You can compare your personal log with your actual website usage if you suspect someone may have discovered your password.
- You can see at a glance how active students have been on the website if, for example, you choose to make bulletin board involvement an aspect of course participation.
- The logs can be accessed in several ways:
- from the Main Menu select "CCNet Tools" and then "View Activity Logs." After specifying the desired start and end dates, select either Personal Log, Students Log, or Instructors Log
- To view individual logs, from the main menu go to "Students" and then use any of the available options to find the student(s) in question (e.g. search, browse class list, etc.). Click on the student's name to bring up their record, and select "View Log."
Teaching Assistants and Tutorial Sections
- How do I get my TAs onto the website?
- To create a new staff profile go to Main Menu / Teaching Staff / Assign a New User
- Fill in the form and click "Register This User."
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- Should I give my TAs full or limited access?
- In general, unless you know there will be things you specifically don't want your TAs to access, it is simpler to begin with "Full Access" and limit it when necessary, than to begin with "Limited Access" and have to change the settings each time a TA needs to do a new task.
- Any access settings for all staff can be changed by the course instructor at any time.
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- How do I prepare for online tutorial signup?
- Determine when and where your tutorial sections are scheduled
- Give each of them some unique name.
(N.B. titles that include the day, time, and location are a good idea.)
- From the Main Menu go to "Settings" and then scroll down to "Section Assignment"
- Select the option that says "I would like to use the Section Assignment feature."
- Scroll to the bottom and click "Save Changes."
- Return to the Main Menu and go to "Students" and then "Section Assignment."
- Under "Category 1" click "Add New Sections" and follow the instructions.
- When you have finished adding and naming section titles, you will see a listing of them with 3 buttons beneath: "Students" "Staff" and "Add New Sections"
- Click on "Students", choose the "Students Can Set Their Own Sections" option (assuming that's what you want to do), and Continue.
- Ensure that the grey checkbox is selected to enable the tutorial selection feature. It can be enabled/disabled at your discretion.
- Specify the limits for how many people can sign up for each tutorial.
- "Save Settings" to complete the process.
- Tell students where to find the website and how to log in (see below).
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- How do students sign up for tutorials sections?
- Students must first log in to the course website
- From the Main Menu they select "Personal Profile."
- If section signup is active, they will see a link that says "change" beside the appropriate section title.
- Note: If you want to see what this looks like, a copy of these instructions, complete with screen shots, is available online as a PDF file.
A Powerpoint simulation is also available for download (2.5Mb).
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- Can I change the titles of the tutorial sections?
- Yes. From the Main Menu go to "Students" and then "Section Assignment"
- Click "Edit" for the section you wish to modify.
- Note: this procedure only changes the section name, not any other details.
Managing Grades in CCNet
- Setting Up the Grading Feature
- From the Main Menu select "Grades"
- The first time there will be a message that "there are no grade titles to display"
- Click on the button to "Assign New Titles"
- Specify how many titles to add at this time and click "Continue"
(NOTE: additional titles can be added at any time)
- Name each assignment, and indicate what it will be out of
(NOTE: this is not where you specify it's relative weighting in the final grade - that happens later. This is the highest possible mark for the assignment - typically 100 - so students know what their mark is out of)
- Follow the "Click Here" link to modify various attributes for this assignment
or
- Return to the Main Menu
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- Changing the Attributes of an Assignment
- From the Main Menu select "Grades"
- For any specific title click "Edit"
- On this screen you can modify:
- the title/name of the assignment
- what it is being marked out of (see earlier note about what this means)
- whether or not students can view their own grade and/or a graph of the class mark distribution for this assignment
(NOTE: by default both these displays are visible; uncheck the boxes to hide the information; in the near future this option will be accessible from the main grades page)
- whether marks are displayed to students as numbers (the default option) or as letter grades
(NOTE: in either case they are always stored as numbers. For more information about the Customized Display, click on the red Help button)
- which instructors have permission to enter grades for this assignment
- Click on the "Save Changes" button
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- Entering Grades
- From the Main Menu select "Grades"
- For any specific title click "Enter"
- Double-check to make sure the right assignment has been selected
- Select the format in which marks will be entered
(sorted by student number, first name, or last name, or imported from Excel)
- Select which course sections to enter (if applicable)
- click on the "Enter" button
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- To View Grade Statistics
- From the Main Menu select "Grades"
- Click on the green buttons to view grade statistics for the entire class or for specific sections.
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- Calculating Final or Other Derivative Grades
- From the Main Menu select "Grades"
- Select the option to "Calculate Grades"
- Assign a new title to the grade that will be calculated, and specify what it is out of
- Specify whether or not students can view their own grade and/or a graph of the class mark distribution for this assignment.
(Note: University regulations specify that instructors must not inform students of their final grades. Final grades must be released officially by the appropriate faculty registrar's office.)
- Indicate the relative value of each assignment in calculating the new mark
- Select which sections of the class to include in the calculations (if applicable)
- Click on the "Calculate New Grades" button
Please Note:
- Calculated grades produce a "snapshot" as of the moment they are calculated. They are not automatically updated. If you change the marks of any individual students, you will need to recalculate final (or other) grades.
- It is possible to specify weighting percentages that do not total 100% (can be more or less), but CCNet will display a warning and ask if you wish to proceed with the calculation anyway.
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- Other Options on the Grading Screen:
- Scale grades
- you can choose from 5 different scaling options
- Rearrange the order in which assignments appear in the list
- use the "Up" and "Down" buttons
- Create new assignments
- by using the "Assign New Titles" button
- Delete any assignments
- e.g. obsolete calculated grades; you will be warned if data will be lost; you must provide your password to authorize any deletion
- Download the grades database
- to keep a copy and/or work with the data in another program or format.
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- How do I download class data from CCNet?
- Log in to the course website as an instructor.
- From the Main Menu go to "Download and Backup"
- Decide what you want to download and select that option
- the grade database is the most complete, including tutorial sections, etc.
- the process is essentially the same for any of the first 3 options
(grade database, email list, archive of handouts)
- retrieving backups is another matter that will be described elsewhere.
- Click "Download File"
- A small window should open in your browser asking what to do with the file
- Options will be something like: "More Info," "Pick App," "Save," and "Cancel."
- You should (always) pick SAVE
- Another small window will ask you to specify the directory/filename for saving.
- Even for large classes the files are very compact (raw data only) and should download quickly.
- Go to Excel (or any other spreadsheet program) and find/open the file
or
- Locate it in your file-management program (e.g. Windows Explorer) and double-click the file, which should automatically call up your spreadsheet program.
- Format / edit the file as necessary and save it in spreadsheet format.
- Print, sort, calculate, or do whatever else you need to do with the file.
Dealing with Student Problems
- One of my students got a message saying, "ERROR: Your student number is not in the class list,"
but the student is registered for the course.
- If your institution updates the class list automatically: CCNet class lists are updated on a daily basis at the beginning of a semester,
and somewhat less frequently thereafter. Depending how recently the student registered on the registrar's database, they may not yet be listed on the course website.
- If your institution does not update the class list automatically: in the Main Menu click on STUDENTS -> ADD STUDENTS to import the class list.
Alternatively you can open the registration under SETTINGS to allow students to add themselves, and you can close this option after the class list has been created.
- See also the next question.
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- One of my students got a message saying, "ERROR: Not a valid student number" when they tried to log in.
- If the student number has zeros at the beginning, suggest they try entering it without the zeros when logging in.
- See also the previous question.
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- What about students who forget their passwords?
- For security reasons, currently only course staff can reset student passwords
- While logged in as an instructor, from the Main Menu select "Students"
- Use any of the available options to find the student(s) in question.
(e.g. search, browse class list, etc.)
- Click on the student's name to bring up their record.
- Click on the "Reset Password" button. The password is now the same as the student number.
- As a courtesy, send a reply email to the student informing them of their new password (this step should soon be automated by CCNet).
Working with CCNet
- I have several courses with CCNet websites. Do I need to log in to each one separately?
- If you use the same password on more than one website, you can log in to one of them and then move to any of the others without needing to log in again.
- If you forget your password, it will need to be reset separately on each course website. (in other words, don't forget your password!)
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- Is using CCNet in my course going to save time or create more work?
- The general rule of thumb with computers is that they don't necessarily save time, but they allow you to do more in the same amount of time, or at least to do the same things better. Accurately measuring any of those outcomes is always a challenge.
- Simply by virtue of its administrative functionality, CCNet certainly has the capacity to save considerable amounts of time, especially in larger courses. The efficient organization of tutorial signups, email communication, and grades maintenance, for example, has saved some instructors dozens (one insisted, hundreds) of hours.
- The ability to distribute documents easily in electronic form can save time, cost, and resources (paper, energy, etc.).
- At the same time, new features and media can serve to raise expectations, so that we end up doing more, not less, than we used to, simply because it's possible. Once it becomes easy to post a list of relevant web links, the expectation begins to grow that it should be there, and then that it should be kept up-to-date.
- Communication between and among students and instructors, and especially email, can easily consume all the time that is saved in other ways. To be realistic, this is one of the most ubiquitous issues of the modern academy, and is not unique to CCNet.
- I believe that faculty members and TAs need to spell out clear guidelines and expectations regarding matters like availability for consultation, the use of email, etc., in much the same way as is commonly done with telephone access and office hours.
- Ultimately, CCNet is a sufficiently flexible system that I hope instructors will be able to modify, limit, or simply avoid those aspects that are found to be an unacceptable burden, and not only use, but enhance and promote those parts that are found to be pedagogically innovative and administratively valuable.
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CCNet Instructor Support 